The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 4: The Water Gun Runs Out

I furrowed my eyebrows as she slathered PVC glue onto a PVC pipe and attached a ninety-degree turn to each end. "What are you building?"

In theory, we could use four ninety turns and some pipe to form rectangles and chain several of them together to form a hanging ladder, but I had a strong suspicion that wasn't what her plans were.

"To hell with ladders. I'm out of soap, so I'm building a potato cannon."

"A potato cannon?" I asked, hoping I'd heard wrong, but the pieces she was using were about the right size for smaller potatoes.

"When I said I wanted to make something go boom, I didn't mean by whacking a zombie over the head with a water gun. I'm sure the manufacturer didn't declare it fit for that sort of use."

"I would have been worried if they had," Wren murmured as she sifted through boxes in a different section, relaxing now that she knew Nicky was unharmed.

Nicky grabbed the hacksaw off the pile and began sawing a piece of PVC pipe in half. I shook my head and decided to leave her to her entertainment. With luck, it wouldn't work, but knowing Nicky, something would be whizzing through the air by nighttime.

At this rate, I was going to need a ladder to get out of her range. With that in mind, I renewed my search for anything we could build ladders out of.

~

A knock on the door had us turning around. I frowned, although I didn't have to worry about Nicky since she was safely perched on a bucket in a corner as she fiddled with her new six-foot-long potato gun. Or as I called it, Trouble.

"I brought some food and a bow," Daniel said as he opened the door. He used his heel to close it behind him, somehow effortlessly balancing three stacked plates in one hand and a bow and quiver in the other.

"Oh, food!" Nicky bounced to her feet and scampered over. She thoughtfully took a plate to Jax and Wren, who set their half-built ladder on the ground.

"What is that?" Daniel asked, staring at the C-shaped PVC construction Nicky had been fiddling with.

"A potato cannon!" Nicky proudly stated as she speared a potato wedge with her fork. "Don't worry. It uses an air tank, not flammable liquids. You'll be fine. Nothing creepy ever comes out of old barns."

I begged to differ on that subject, but it had kept her out of mischief for several hours, and we could always brandish it in the air if we wanted raiders to question our sanity.

Daniel didn't look convinced either. "You wouldn't have enough time to load it if another zombie appeared in front of you."

"Then I'll climb up the ladder Jax is making and bop them from a distance."

I tilted my head. "How did you know about the zombie incident?"

"One of the riders saw it and came to find me," Daniel said with a shrug. "The soap-covered zombie is currently bobbing down the water canal."

"Would a potato gun even stop a zombie?" Jax asked. "I know some can pack a punch, but unless you manage a serious headshot at close range, I don't think you'll do more than make it stumble or knock it over." He pushed the beans to a remote corner of his plate and started eating everything else.

Nicky made a face. "If killing them with potatoes, rocks, and kindness doesn't work, I might need to turn it into a baseball bat."

"She plans to use a bicycle pump to pressurize the air tank," I added. "And I'm not sure how much air you can store in that six-inch-wide PVC pipe."

"You can stop bringing logic into this at any point," Nicky muttered before stuffing more potatoes in her mouth.

"The air tank isn't very long," Daniel replied as he walked over for a better look. "A potato isn't the lightest thing to get moving, so that will reduce some of the speed. Nightstalkers should be able to dodge it. Feral Runners wouldn't be clever enough to recognize an aerial attack, but I'm not sure it will do more than inconvenience them."

Nicky sighed and gave him a level look. "A potato isn't quite a rutabaga, and this ain't quite a firecracker, but I'm sure I can make it go boom. I just need to find a bicycle pump to test it out."

"Not inside the Stronghold," I warned her. "And no stealing potatoes. That's a waste of food."

She stared at me. "How did you know I planned to borrow one or two from the root cellar?"

"Use rocks," I told her firmly. "There's plenty around. We can go for a walk when you're done eating and look for some."

Daniel handed the bow and quiver to Wren, who shyly accepted them with a quiet "Thanks." She asked me, "Do you mind if I tag along for the walk? The locals might be less nervous if we're with you."

I shrugged. "You might as well join us."

"I'll take the plates back and return to the lab in case Nina needs anything," Daniel said. "Trinity can radio me if something comes up or if anyone has more requests."

Nicky piped up, "I'm requesting a potato!"

"Declined," he replied calmly, not even batting an eye at the strange request.

"How about a bicycle tire pump? I did make it air-powered even though using flammable substances would have been much more fun."

"That can possibly be arranged assuming all target practice is done far away from the Stronghold," Daniel allowed.

To prevent Nicky's wishlist from growing, I asked Daniel, "How worried will this place be if I'm not inside the fence by sundown?"

He easily guessed the unasked question behind my words. "I don't think they realize you're a zombie, but they know your two companions are, so they'll assume you're safe with them. The rider who saw the zombie attack identified Nicky as the woman with the red hair and said that 'one of the others' tackled the zombie."

"My hoodie could have easily been mistaken for Wren's dark sweater," I mused. "They might not have been able to tell us apart from a distance."

While the others ate, Daniel told us more about the Stronghold, the rider patrols and how far they went, and a bunch of other details. When everyone finished eating, he took our plates and asked, "Do you want me to take these ladders as well?"

"The two over there are done, but that one still needs some work," I replied.

He nodded and picked up two of the ladders as Jax opened the door for him.

"Have a good evening," he said as he ambled down the trail with plates stacked in one hand and two ladders balanced in the other.

"Let's go for a walk!" Nicky said as she skipped out the barn door, leaving her potato gun inside since she had no way to use it yet.

"We can head toward the canal," I said, nodding in the correct direction. "If zombies appear, there are a few bridges we can cross to lose them."

"I don't even see any ferals right now," Nicky commented, peering around.

I gestured to the riders in the distance. "The horseback riders are probably working hard to lure them away and prevent a repeat of the zombie attack."

Nicky shrugged. "If a zombie shows up, it shows up. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"You'd be better off crossing the bridge so the zombie falls into the canal."

"Nah, that'd make things too simple."

"You realize that if you burn the bridges, I'd throw you across the canal, right?" I informed her, hoping she'd abandon any pyrotechnic plans.

She took the not-so-subtle hint. "Hmmm... Point taken. And there are a few too many rocks around here for me to practice my landings."

Jax and Wren exchanged a look, possibly questioning their decision to come with us or silently commenting on the bizarre bantering between Nicky and me. As Wren strung the bow, I scanned the area for rattlesnakes and other dangers. Taking a stroll beside an overgrown forest was never without its risks, especially in a zombie apocalypse.