I crossed the scent wall and resumed my patrol. It was almost a relief when the sun finally set. My anger had faded, but I still felt slightly wound up for some reason. I rubbed my temples as I jogged, my headache hadn't faded, which was odd.

The scenery around me hazed slightly for half a second and I came to an abrupt stop in surprise. What the hell was that? I took a deep breath of the air, but picked up nothing that seemed out of place. I didn't hear anything odd and there was no trace of the haze now. Did I imagine it? The haze had only been present for a split second, almost as if I had been looking through the heat haze above the road on a hot day.

I let my instincts come forward in case they could pick something up. They had strengthened as the sun had set, but they seemed restless. I tested the air, but still came up clueless as to what had my instincts unsettled. I felt wisps of heat in my blood as the virus was also reacting to something.

I glanced back, but didn't see any fog or anything that looked like a gas cloud. I was in the forest and the dense trees could easily prevent me from seeing something. My run hadn't been that cautious so far and I had been traveling openly along the path. I rarely made such a mistake of traveling in such an open fashion along a deer trail and I was once more reminded that I was a Nightstalker.

I moved into the foliage and went into full stalker mode. I circled around and doubled back, trying to find what had my instincts on edge. When I moved like this in the dark, it would take another Nightstalker or a spotlight to spot me.

Nothing.

I climbed into a tree while I watched to ensure that nothing was trying to trail me by scent. I had circled this area a dozen times and came up empty. My instincts were still on edge, but they hadn't strengthened or shifted in any particular area.

With a mental shake I jumped down. If something happened when I came through in my next lap, I would note the area and have Daniel check it out during the day. Until then I would put it down as a false alarm. Perhaps I had imagined it.

I continued my patrol, but used stealth. My instincts didn't settle any and I made sure to break my scent trail several times in case something was trailing me at a great distance. None of the other animals seemed to think anything was wrong. Unless they caught my scent, they went about their lives as they normally did.

No alarm calls of squirrels or other creatures came from behind me. Even the regular zombies were acting as they always did. I took time to hunt and there was one less rabbit when I was done. I left it for the scavengers. I was not about to carry a dead rabbit around until sunrise when midnight had barely passed.

I had made another half a lap when I encountered the haze again. I whirled around with a snarl while testing the air. There were no odd scents and nothing was near me. It had only lasted a second, but I had definitely not imagined it. The haze had been strong enough to obscure my sight so I couldn't see. I turned and cautiously passed through the same spot several times, but the haze didn't re-appear.

I contemplated the haze and began to wonder if it was actually my sight instead of something around me that had caused it. My instincts were more unsettled now and stirring in response to my own unease. A tremor passed through my muscles. I narrowed my eyes, could I be getting sick? Was it possible that I was not dealing with an external foe, but an internal one?

I didn't think it was possible for zombies to get sick, so the thought hadn't even occurred to me. I focused on my body. My headache was still present and was a bit stronger. There was a very faint ache in my muscles, which I could very easily blow off as the aftereffects of my demolition derby with the trees earlier.

I did feel slightly off, but had attributed it to how my instincts were reacting. Had I been human I would have thought that I might be coming down with something. I lowered my nose to my shoulder and took a deep breath, but didn't pick up any scent of illness. With a sigh I continued on, going slower as I took it easier.

Hopefully I would get over it quickly. The last thing I needed was Nina thinking she had discovered the first ever case of illness in a zombie. I hope that Nicky's insanity is not contagious, otherwise I am screwed.

I paused to watch a normal zombie. It wasn't acting oddly as far as I could tell. Then again, it was a mindless zombie, so there was no real way to tell if it had a headache or sore muscles.

I had been one of the originals and it had taken the virus 3 months to appear after the flu shot. If the zombie virus itself had another internal clock that had scheduled more changes down the road, I would be one of the first to find out. There was no way to tell if this mindless zombie was an original or not. I kept going.

~

I paused as my vision wavered again. The haze in my vision had started appearing more often and lasting longer. The haze had also intensified to the point that I couldn't see. I actually had to stop moving in case I tripped when they happened. My headache was worse.

I resumed my swift walk, not trusting a faster pace. The ache in my muscles was more pronounced. I glanced to the east and the sky was just starting to lighten. It would be an hour or so before the sun truly started to peek above the horizon. Another tremor ran through my muscles.

I started heading back toward the gate and put on my sunglasses. All of my symptoms were getting worse. Something was obviously not right and it was bad enough at this point that it concerned me. As much as I hated to admit it, there was only one person here who might be able to figure out what was going on. I didn't like it, but things were not getting better. In fact, it was getting progressively worse. If my control came into question, someone had to know that I might become a potential threat.

I walked through the gate and tossed the walkie talkie to the guard above. The kitchen staff weren't even up yet. I was back earlier than usual. I took a deep breath and kept my walking strides steady as my vision hazed over for almost two entire seconds. I entered the secondary building and continued down the hallway instead of going up the stairs.

I exhaled gustily at what I was about to do. I knocked on Nina's door three times and waited. I heard shuffling as she got out of bed and approached the door. The door opened to reveal a sleepy looking Nina in a housecoat. She blinked in surprise at seeing me, "Trinity, is everything all right?"

"Nina, I am sorry to disturb your rest, but have you ever heard of zombies getting sick?"

She blinked in sleepy confusion, "No, why?"

I sighed. Here we go... "Because something isn't right."

She looked startled, "What do you mean?"

I hated admitting any weakness, but there was no way around it at this point. "I almost feel like I am coming down with an illness or something. My vision is wavering occasionally and my muscles are trembling intermittently, although there is no weakness."

She frowned, "Give me a minute to radio Daniel, then I will take you to the lab to check your blood pressure and vital signs."

I waited as she disappeared into her room. I heard the click and faint buzz of a walkie talkie. "Daniel? Could you please meet me in the lab? Over."

"Affirmative. Over." I was surprised that he wasn't in his room considering the sky was more dark than light. My instincts hadn't really started fading yet, so I was surprised that he was up and about considering it was technically still night. I could move around in the day, though, so it made sense that he could be active at night. I wore sunglasses and he used strong flashlights as we defied the limits that the virus tried to place on us.

Nina came back, having thrown on some clothes. She looked more awake now, "Sorry, but if you have any problems with control, it is better if Daniel is nearby."

I nodded and walked beside her down the hallway. I understood her worry. A feral Nightstalker was not something that anyone wanted loose in this place. She opened up the door that lead down to the lab, "When did you start noticing the symptoms?"

"The first time my vision hazed was just shortly after midnight and it barely lasted a fraction of a second." I paused on a step and shook my head fiercely as my vision disappeared momentarily. Nina looked at me as she waited for an explanation. I exhaled gustily, "And it just happened again. It is happening more often and they are lasting longer each time."

Nina frowned in concern, "Let's get you downstairs and sitting down. Are you dizzy at all?"

"No."

Nina went into a different door on the hallway. The room looked like an oversized examination room. Nina gestured toward a chair, "Take a seat."

I reluctantly sat down and watched her as she grabbed a stethoscope, blood pressure band, and some other things. I had never liked hospitals. I may come on my own power, but I still didn't like admitting that I may need help if I got too sick. Nina put the blood pressure cuff on and started to pump it up. I heard footsteps approaching at a fast walk and looked at the door as Daniel came in.

He would have picked up my scent, but he still seemed surprised and confused to see me here. He waited inside of the door as he watched Nina jot down some numbers on her notepad. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Nina?"

Nina didn't even look up, "Trinity said that she didn't feel well. I am quite inclined to believe her, especially considering that her blood pressure is extremely high. I have never seen numbers this high in a zombie before. I wanted you here in case she runs into problems with control. Unless something happens, please remain over there just in case she is contagious."

Daniel's eyes focused on me, "Are you having any problems with control?"

I shook my head, "Not that I have noticed."

He nodded and relaxed a bit. Nina dropped the stethoscope end down my shirt and pressed the cold thing against my chest. She frowned and looked at her watch before moving the stethoscope to listen to my lungs. I watched her as she put the stethoscope down and started scribbling, "Well?"

She glanced at me, "Your heart is flying as if you were running. Your lungs are clear though and I don't hear anything else that strikes me as being odd."

Daniel blinked in surprise as he took a seat in a chair against the back wall. Considering I wasn't sure how I had contracted this illness, I wasn't sure if that amount of distance would help him if it was airborne. He hadn't gotten the vaccine until later, so if it was something to do with being an original, he wouldn't notice for several weeks.

Nina bent down and started lifting up my pant leg. She looked at the scar from my leg injury before letting the pant leg fall back down, "The scab is gone, not that it surprises me. No signs of infection here. I will just peek down the back of your shirt to check your shoulder."

I held still as she pointed a flashlight down the back of my shirt collar. "That one is fine too, so I don't think it's related to your previous injuries, unless one of them is red and inflamed looking?"

I shook my head, "No, they all look normal."

Nina grabbed her notepad and sat down in a chair on the other side of a nearby counter where she could see me, "Please start from the beginning. Any details at all will help, especially timelines."

I sighed, "Just after midnight my vision hazed for half a second, almost like the heat haze above a highway. My instincts had been unsettled and I thought that maybe they had picked something up. I eventually kept patrolling and about an hour later it happened again."

I shrugged, "At that point I realized that it was truly me and not fog or my instincts acting up or trying to warn me about something. About that time a tremor ran through my muscles. My muscles also started to ache a bit, which isn't too unusual in itself if I do a lot of physical activity. Both of these things are happening more frequently, although the haze in my vision is happening more than the muscle tremors."

Nina scribbled away on her notepad, "Does UV light bother you the same as normal light does?"

I blinked in confusion at her question, "I have no idea."

Nina dug around in a drawer and pulled out a flashlight, "Daniel, could you please turn off the lights? Trinity, let me know if this light bothers you."

The lights went out and Nina turned the odd purple flashlight on and pointed it at the floor. I carefully lowered my sunglasses, but swiftly put them back on, "It is almost as bad as normal room lighting."

Nina sighed, "Too bad, I was hoping to get a look at your eyes. Daniel, you can turn the lights back on."

The lights came back on and Nina put the flashlight back before writing more notes. A tremor rolled through my muscles. "Trinity?"

I glanced over to see Daniel watching me with tense muscles as he readied himself to intervene if necessary. He had seen it.

"My control is fine. But nothing I do stops or affects the tremor."

Nina came over, "I saw it too. Usually tremors don't affect the entire body like that, they tend to be localized."

She lifted my arm and felt the muscles underneath, "Does the tremor itself hurt?"

"Not really. The ache in my muscles is worse."

"Is it getting worse?"

"Slowly."

Nina went over to a drawer and pulled out a blood collection needle and vials. She filled three vials and put them on the counter. "We will have to compare your blood to the earlier samples and see if there are any differences."

I nodded and resigned myself to being down here for some time.