The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 5: Duck!

The show of chivalry only exasperated me. "I'm a Nightstalker. I have zero interest in food while the sun is in the sky." The controlex was really to blame for my current lack of appetite, but he was too far away to smell the partial lie and I didn't feel like elaborating at this exact moment.

He hesitated, and after a glance at Wren, who was crouched down with her back to us, he began jogging to where the other duck had fallen. I jumped back over the canal and went over to Nicky as she examined two fist-sized rocks, pointedly keeping her gaze away from the zombies who might be self-conscious about their dining habits.

"Do you have a bag in your backpack for me to carry these in?" she asked.

I pulled off my backpack and dug through it until I found a folded bag made from scraps of hide. It had plenty of sap stains from how often Jess had borrowed it during our evening strolls. Nicky picked a few more rocks while waiting for our companions.

"I think this is about as many rocks as I dare bring back after Daniel saw what I was building," Nicky told me as Wren came over with the dead duck in her hand.

"You can leave it in the barn with the potato cannon," Wren suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Nicky promptly ran over to grab another rock. "I wonder how many more I can find on the way there."

"You're carrying all those back," I informed Nicky, "so you might want to wait until you're closer to the barn before collecting too many."

"Drat. I was counting on your muscles to carry back a haul worthy of making Daniel do a double-take."

As Jax came over, he said, "The locals were dumping rocks from the fields into the edge of the forest. There are quite a few piles along the tree line by the barn."

"Perfect!"

That wasn't the word I had for this situation. Nicky had a potato cannon capable of launching rocks, there was apparently an endless supply of stones at hand, and Daniel was likely finding her a bicycle pump. The only thing limiting the potential destruction at hand was how long her arm muscles could pump up the air chamber to the required pressure.

"Let's put those rocks in the barn, and you can take the bucket of paperclips back," I told Nicky, ready to hand her off before she got too many more ideas. I was sure Daniel needed something to keep boredom at bay, and supervising Nicky would be a full-time job.

"The sun is still a couple of hours from setting," she said, glancing in that direction and back at me.

"I want to go exploring before Regan returns," I replied. "If Jax and Wren feel like tagging along, we can check the town and see if there are any live traps or anything else we might need. Daniel didn't bring any traps, so I'm betting this place isn't willing to part with theirs."

"I'd like to check the town," Wren murmured, and Jax nodded in agreement.

Nicky sighed and gave in. "I should let the PVC glue cure overnight, so I might as well head back and color Daniel's shirt a bit more. He loves watching my progress."

Of course he did... Not.

Nicky left the rocks in the barn in case someone decided to steal them, or so she claimed, then we escorted her and her pail of paperclips to the Stronghold gate.

The guards let her in, looking almost as confused by the contents of her bucket as they did when I turned away from the gate. Before they could ask if I was coming inside, Nicky held up the ducks and asked them if they had ever cooked a sane zombie's kill, and they glanced at each other in confusion. Leaving Nicky to explain things that were considered common knowledge in Ironwind, I left with Jax and Wren.