The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 34

My mind went over my past training attempts with other sane zombies and recalled the various tricks and tips we'd learned, as well as the stumbling blocks. One of which being how our instincts reacted to such sessions.

Our instincts simply didn't understand the concept of sharing knowledge, and they considered any corrections or comments to be tiny challenges that slowly, but surely, riled us up. Even a First Strike match wouldn't ease this sort of buildup since we'd already be trading blows. Thankfully, we'd be able to redirect that energy into a wrestling match instead of an actual fight.

"I don't know much beyond the basics, but we can try," I finally said. "Are you aware any training session will frustrate you beyond belief and will likely end up as a wrestling match?"

"No, I didn't know that, but I would like to try. This dagger doesn't mean much if I can't use it properly."

At least he had some common sense. I passed my bow and arrows to Nicky as I looked around. "Let's take this lesson to the open area between the garage and the fence. I'm pretty sure neither of us wants an audience."

He nodded and passed his bow and arrows to Nina, who went with Nicky to put them back in the shed. His eyes changed to their usual camouflaged brown, possibly hoping the lack of red would prevent his rank from unduly bothering my instincts. I hated to break it to him, but if such a thing worked, my sunglasses would have kept my presence from annoying him.

I pulled my belt knife off my belt and made sure the sheath was firmly secured to the handle. "Leave the sheath on for training like this. Normally there are practice blades to use, but I don't know where they're stored, nor do I feel like asking and having strangers stare and whisper from the sidelines."

This location was about as good as we were going to get. None of the locals would see us unless they saw us go this way and came to find us, and no one was inside the garage to hear us.

Nina and Nicky caught up, and without being told, stood near the corner of the garage where they could watch in relative safety. If Nina thought I was purposefully riling him up before, just wait until they realize how well zombie instincts tolerate any kind of training.

I exhaled gustily as I turned to face Daniel. "Okay, first thing is stance."

I shifted into a fighter's crouch and held my blade at the ready. He copied me with ease, as if he had done something similar in the distant past. My instincts immediately protested facing off against the higher-ranking zombie. They knew an attack was basically a suicide mission, and they were doing everything they could to convince me of that fact.

"Yes, just like that. Let's try a few simple moves..."

I swung my blade at his side, letting him analyze the angle and allow plenty of time to block it. I alternated between a few different types of strikes, murmuring about ways to block, attack, hold his knife, or change his stance. The repetition gave him a chance to see each one several times.

When the intense concentration left his eyes and was replaced by something akin to recognition, I said, "Now you try those."

His focus sharpened again as he swung at me, going at the same speed I had been. With Daniel now on the offensive, my instincts clamored for me to get the hell out of this situation. It was hard to ignore them as I moved my belt knife into the correct position to block the gentle strike.

Despite only having seen the moves a few minutes ago, Daniel managed to replicate them far better than I had anticipated. He also knew exactly how to step forward and back with each blow and retreat.

"You're taller than I am, so you'll have to angle your blade a bit more when you come in from the side – yes, like that."

After he went through each move and tweaked it, I took it up to the next level. I blocked his next blow, then immediately went for a strike of my own, still not going overly fast. His reflexes stood him in good stead and allowed him to parry the unanticipated blow, although not quite like I had shown him.