The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 8

Surprise, then more frustration crossed his face at the nearly useless advice. I wasn't sure if he wanted to thank me for the warning or strangle me for being such an ambiguous pain in the ass.

He settled for a gruff response. "Thanks."

There was more than a hint of sarcasm in his reply, which I found more amusing than irritating in my current mood. He dropped off the roof and was soon jogging to the forest again.

As vague and nonspecific as the warning was, it was a valid concern. The heat that focused around a wound while it was being doctored could reach insanely painful levels if too much blood was applied at once. The heat also took quite a bit of time to fade, sometimes even hours.

He would be careful with anything he tried now, so he should be able to avoid that error. I smirked as he disappeared into the trees, knowing the suspense would drive him crazy as he wondered if each attempt was going to help or hurt. I believe I might be the kind of teacher that students pray they don't get.

I leaned back in my chair and regarded the fire through half-closed eyes, admiring the yellow in the flames. After not being able to see it for so long, it really made me appreciate the bright color.

"Well, that was fun," Nicky commented.

She started digging through her backpack and pulled out a bag of peanuts to munch on. Nina was still writing in the notepad, so both of them were occupied for now.

I wondered how long it would take Daniel to realize he actually had to put blood on the wound. It really wasn't that obvious considering we normally drank it. Our own blood didn't do anything, but the second he saw the animal blood disappear into the wound, he would know he'd found something noteworthy.

Putting her notebook down for now, Nina pulled some flour and several other items out of a bag by her feet. Her meticulousness in the lab transferred over to her cooking. I had never seen someone manage to make bread dough without getting a single spot of flour on themselves. Admittedly, it also took her much, much longer.

The bread and fried sausages were almost done cooking by the time Daniel finally emerged from the forest. About time, I was beginning to wonder if he had gotten lost... As he jumped onto the roof, I glanced over and did a double-take as I regarded him in faint disbelief.

He hadn't figured it out.

Despite his thirty-minute excursion, his scratches still weren't doctored. How is this even possible? I know his instincts are alive and kicking because I'm constantly triggering them. How did he spend so much time out there searching for the answer and still not figure it out?

From his sour expression, he was more upset about that than I was, and my disbelieving gawking wasn't helping his mood. Nina looked up with an expectant expression, but it disappeared when she saw his expression.

"No luck?" she asked somewhat tentatively.

"None," he growled. "I'm so full I couldn't even manage another drop. It did nothing, and I made sure to target rabbits too." He turned to me with a frown. "I'm obviously missing something."

Did he really expect me to just explain it to him? He needed his head examined with thoughts like that. I wasn't that type of teacher, nor had I ever met a zombie so out of tune with their instincts before. Even after being around him for over a month, I still had a hard time wrapping my head around it. I was sorely tempted to make him walk back, adding rules like behaving like a zombie whenever he encountered a feral.

"It took you over a week to figure out the wrestling thing, so you'll eventually manage this. This time you have some incentive." My blunt tone revealed I wasn't going to budge in my decision.