The original rough draft of The Virus Within is back! Here is a line for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-Readers (RR).

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I shifted silently through the trees. Despite the dark night, my red-tinted sight allowed me to see every blade of grass and leaf as if it was noon. The wind gently blew strands from my waist-long braid behind me.

The wind also blew hundreds of scents at me. I could identify each of them with ease. I considered my choices. A rabbit would be sufficient for tonight. I darted silently through the brush in a hunting crouch as I followed the scent.

I passed a small pool of water and caught a fleeting glimpse of a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes in the reflection. Such a sight would have had any of the remaining humans shaking in their boots. That was if they even spotted me at all. Like the ninjas or assassins in the Hollywood films, if someone spotted me, they knew that it was too late to escape unless I let them.

The scent of the rabbit was stronger now and I knew I was quite close to it. I slowed as I looked around. The rabbit was just ahead of me as it napped under a shrub. It was sleeping, and if I had my way, it would never wake up.

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I returned to the old log cabin since the sun would be rising very shortly. Even if I hadn't known exactly where I was, I could have easily followed the smell of wood smoke back. This cabin had probably been a small hunting lodge at one time. There was one queen-sized bed in one corner, a petite kitchen, a wood stove, and a chair. It was small, but more than enough for one woman.

The rabbit I had caught would hold me for a day or two before I would have to hunt again. I opened up an airtight container and took out a dehydrated apple slice. I munched slowly on it as I cleaned up a bit and checked on some other fruit on the drying racks.

I peeked out the window blinds. The sky was just starting to get light. I squinted against the brightness. Even the earliest stages of a sunrise were too bright for me to look at. With a sigh, I dug out my pair of special sunglasses and put them on.

Technically, they were not actually sunglasses. They were welding glasses that looked like wraparound sunglasses. Their snug fit and shape was more suited to a man's face, but I didn't care since they protected my eyes without creating too many blind spots. No light came in around the edges, which was the only reason I could go outside during the day.

I went outside and considered my options. There wasn't much to do here and some of my supplies were starting to get a bit low. I decided to head to town and settled my backpack on my shoulders. I ran in the forest alongside the road. I had preferred to keep a low profile even when I had been human and my zombie instincts preferred it as well. Besides, if other zombies saw me running, they would try to follow thinking I was chasing something.

Some of the Runners would probably snap at me. I didn't have the ambition or tolerance to deal with that drama today. It was easier to just stay out of sight when I traveled.

I paused to examine dozens of zombies roaming around the town. I wasn't overly bothered by their presence; I was no more human than they were. I just had more control. Most were the common mindless zombies that were barely able to move faster than a jog. About as bright as a brick, all they knew was to chase and try to attack. They rarely bothered me and if they did, a quick growl usually made them change their minds.

Roughly one in a ten thousand zombies were Runners. Not much slower than their previous human selves, but they were still a long stone's throw away from intelligence. They were stronger and more aggressive though. Like feral dogs, they would try and test other zombies to establish a spot in the pecking order.

They ignored the regular zombies since they didn't care about such things as hierarchy, but Runners would challenge anything else with red eyes. If it didn't have red eyes, they would attack it before seeing if it was edible. My sunglasses sometimes caused them to challenge me just because they couldn't see my eyes, but the light was simply too bright and painful for me to remove them.

Two Runners happened to be in this town today. Neither of them were sane. I had met a handful of sane Runners, but they were extremely rare since their intelligence took a dive south once bitten. They had great difficulty thinking and they usually gave into their cravings without realizing the danger. By then it was too late and they numbered among the mindless horde.

With a faint growl I gave into the inevitable. I wasn't getting anything done by just standing here. My vision took on a slightly redder hue and I felt the heat rise in my veins as my instincts rose a bit higher. I came out of the trees in a steady smooth walk. The hint of a stalk to my movements proclaimed me for what I was. It would also keep other zombies from bothering me.

The slightly aggressive and predatory stance came easily to me. Most Runners in this area knew me by sight and scent. They rarely bothered me anymore since they had lost every challenge. Even a feral Runner hated losing time and time again.

I didn't even have to think about my movements. They felt natural. Much like a practiced fighter, my knees were always slightly bent. To stand straight and tall was a human action and would attract unwanted attention.

I walked toward the corner store. I knew there was some food left in there from previous trips. A larger guy sniffed the air and growled as he turned to face me. Others turned in his direction to see if he had found anything edible. This Runner must be new in town. I paused and dropped into a fighting crouch. I pulled back my lips to show my teeth in threat as I let out a challenging snarl.

He took several steps closer and I slightly spread and tensed my fingers as I turned to face him. I gave another warning growl, which he ignored. He took another step and I launched towards him with a snarl. I slashed out with my hand and my sharp nails left four bloody furrows on his arm. He snarled and swung as well, but I was more coordinated and faster than he was. I easily ducked before kicking his upper leg.

I resumed my fighting crouch and took one threatening step forward with a snarl. With a growl the Runner lowered his gaze to the ground as he took a step back. He had lost this match and he knew it. I remained where I was until he turned and staggered off in a different direction.

I shook myself off with an irritated growl. Feral zombies didn't really think, they tended to rely on the few instincts they had. Even dogs were smarter than the average zombie, but like dogs, they occasionally challenged one another.

Usually the first one to land a strike won. I didn't even bother using weapons in cases like this since weapons riled up the other zombies. Against a Runner, a Nightstalker always won. Even as a Runner would always win against a normal zombie. One on one, none of the present zombies were a match for my Nightstalker abilities. I could be in trouble if they ganged up on me though, especially if I was unable to outrun them. That wasn't a likely scenario though. I was much faster than they were.

I tended to get challenged more often than other zombies. My scent was not quite right since I used soap when I bathed and washed my clothing. The man-made chemicals altered the zombie undertone in my scent just enough to confuse the dim-witted zombies. My sunglasses didn't exactly help either. They couldn't see my red eyes that told of the virus lurking in my blood.

I couldn't exactly blame them though, Nightstalkers usually roamed solitarily at night and rarely mingled with their lesser relatives. I hated admitting that I had anything in common with these feral creatures. The irony of that detail was that my still-bloody fingers had bits of Runner flesh under my fingernails from our minor spat.

I was more fierce, but in the end my instincts were just as feral as theirs were. The only real difference was that I was able to hide it under a more refined veneer of humanity. They had no humanity and I fiercely clung to the remains that I still had left. I will run to the arctic circle before I let myself become a mindless entity.

I opened the door to the small store and walked in. This place was just as empty of company as it had been last week. I cleaned my hand with some water and a napkin before I went shopping. I grabbed some canned goods and dried mixes for soup. There wasn't much left on the shelves here after all of this time. I hefted my loaded backpack onto my back.

Still, this much food would last me a long time. I didn't eat much normal food. The fact that I did need more than blood showed that I was still sane and in control of my own mind. I had only met four other Nightstalkers. Two had been sane and had been traveling together. Two had lost their minds to bloodlust. I had ended up killing one that kept trying to attack me.

I glanced around the store, but didn't see anything else interesting. I walked to the front window and gazed outside. I was always cautious in this new world and my caution had paid off more than once.

Not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. Zombies roamed mindlessly through the streets. There weren't as many as usual today. They came and went with no real rhythm that I could see. They did tend to congregate in towns and along streets, probably lured in by the still lingering smells of the humans who used to live here. The human scent had ingrained itself into the very walls and pavement over the years of human habitation. Even I could smell this town from miles away, despite the fact that it had been abandoned to zombies over six months ago.

I let my eyes scan the streets carefully. My Nightstalker instincts preferred it when I remained hidden and watched the world around me. I had a lot in common with most ambush predators. Besides, the world was always willing to give trouble away. For free.

Heavily armed groups of humans still went from safe zone to safe zone, usually congregating in their Strongholds. There was always the possibility of another Nightstalker passing through as well. There was another infected creature even higher up the totem pole out there, but they were much rarer than Nightstalkers. They were called Terrors, although I had never actually seen one before.

There were different hierarchy ranks among zombies. The mindless ones were on the very bottom and made up the vast majority of the zombie population, Runners were above them, Nightstalkers ranked higher yet, and then Terrors claimed the top rank. The higher the rank, the rarer the zombie seemed to be. Each rank was also stronger and faster than the one below.

Both Runners were in my line of sight. They turned and started heading towards the West at a run. Other zombies were starting their jogging shuffling gait in that direction as well, alerted by the Runners. I jumped on top of a counter for a bit more height as I craned my head in that direction, wondering what they had seen.

It was either an animal or something that would annoy me, and with my usual luck, I was mentally preparing myself for an annoyance.

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Author's Note:

Please note, if you are reading this book anywhere else, it's a stolen, pirated copy, likely on a virus-filled mirror site.

Copyright © 2017. People may use my 'world' to create fanfics/spinoffs as long as proper credit is given (ex. Inspired by CrystalScherer's story The Virus Within). Please note that this does not allow you to copy my story - this allows you to use my world-building and zombie ranks in spinoffs/fanfics with credit given.

Sorry, no translations are allowed.

Thank you for your time. Happy Reading! 💖