As I quietly stormed away, I had no real destination in mind, so when I heard someone cough several times, then sneeze, I followed the sound into the next building. Nina lingered to exchange a few quiet words with the mother, although I knew she wouldn't be far behind.
I entered a side door on the main building with a frown of distaste, which wasn't too much different from the frown I had been wearing about thirty seconds ago. The smell in these hallways hadn't improved any. I paused to listen, and another sneeze gave away the location of the person I was tracking. I rounded the corner and spotted Joel mopping the floors ahead.
He blew his nose before noticing me. He hastily tucked the handkerchief into his pocket and slid his mask back onto his face. "I'm sorry for taking up your time for something like this. I think I caught a cold when I got wet and chilled a few days ago, but I also helped clean up the room where Charlie turned, so I'm not sure..."
"Shirt," I said, somewhat impatiently.
He flinched slightly at my tone, which had me regretting coming here before I had shaken off my ire. With only the barest hesitation, he removed his shirt and – with commendable courage – walked over to hand it to me.
"It doesn't take much to put me in a foul mood some days," I muttered, "and no, it wasn't anything you did." Why on Earth was I apologizing? Shaking my head, I took a quick sniff and handed his shirt back to him.
"You caught something, but it isn't the zombie virus," I informed him, more mildly than before. "It doesn't quite smell like a cold, but your body will probably shake off the infection in a week or so."
"Thanks," he replied, flashing me a shy smile as he accepted my unintentional apology. "I appreciate you coming when I know you're busy. I trust your judgment more than Nina's tests."
His casual reply was somehow worded in such a way that it was a mildly flattering compliment. It was also toned down enough that I didn't have to reply.
"Thank you for sparing the time to check," he continued gratefully. "If you ever need anything, I'll try my best to help."
His ability to wind down a conversation with a grumpy zombie was also commendable. There hadn't been any hint of a rush, and it also gave me an opening to continue talking if I so chose. I was somewhat impressed.
"I'll keep that in mind," I said, turning to leave. "Have a good day."
"You too."
Nina was just opening the door as I reached it, so she held it open for me as I came into fresh air.
She hesitated but wisely chose not to mention the previous event. "Did you find Joel? I believe he was supposed to be cleaning the hallways inside."
"Just some other minor infection."
"Ah. Thanks."
"Where are the rest of these people hiding?" I asked, wanting to get this task over and done with.
"They're scattered around. The closest one should be this way." She led the way as I walked beside her.
~
It took us almost an hour to find all fourteen people. Most just had the cold that was going around, although a few were suffering from allergies. All of them had been so happy to see me – even before I told them they weren't infected – that it slowly mollified my temper.
Ironwind Stronghold was clearly a strange place. Who in their right mind was happy to see a zombie? I was seriously beginning to wonder if the water in this place was drugged with something. Perhaps Valium, Xanax, or some other happy drug. Nicky would probably know more about them than I did.
Nina and I walked a loop inside the fence to be certain, but there was no scent or hint of any potential infection.
"That means the third wave will spare this place," Nina said, relief prominent in her voice. "Five other labs are already making large stockpiles of all three drugs, and they're sharing the knowledge with any place capable of making it. There are still two who are on their way here for starter samples of the cure, but overall, we will be much better prepared than last time."
"What are the places without labs doing?"
"If they have any face masks left, many places ask people to wear them the entire duration. The wave only lasts a week or so, and people are paranoid, so they'll probably do everything they can to avoid infection. The virus in your saliva and blood might die as soon as it dries out, but the airborne strain can survive up to a minute in the air. In theory, now that everyone knows about the danger sneezes pose during the wave, we might be able to eradicate the airborne strain of the virus."
As we walked toward the secondary building, I played the devil's advocate. "All it takes is a few people to not cover their mouth, especially if they're the ones sneezing."
"True, and having a virus float around for sixty seconds is actually quite a long period of time. That's why the second wave destroyed so many Strongholds – they had been exposed during the first wave when we were just learning this. Luckily, each person is only infectious for a few days. Can you imagine how bad it would be if the virus became airborne before the sneezing started? Or if it lasted weeks?"
I shook my head. "Not many would survive that."
She nodded in agreement. "We're very fortunate the virus doesn't survive long outside the body or live on surfaces. Even if someone sneezes, if the other people can hold their breath until they can cover their mouth and nose with a mask or some sort of fabric, people are generally safe. The air is fine after several minutes." She shrugged. "As far as prevention goes, this is actually an easy virus to stop. It's the three-month incubation period and having them turn into a zombie that really trips us up."
"I bet that isn't something you scientists have seen before."
"Not really, although some viruses like rabies affect the mind, and there are longer incubation times out there. Look at chickenpox; people often catch it as kids, then it hides in the nerves and comes back in their fifties or sixties as shingles."
"In that case, I hope the zombie virus removed that from my system."
"Probably. The zombie virus invaded every cell in your body, including the nerves, and it usually doesn't share well."
"If not, I'll probably find out one day."
"I doubt it. On a different topic, how is Luke doing?"
"The food was a no-go. He said the symptoms were in line with what I went through, just not quite as severe."
Nina nodded thoughtfully. "I suspect that's because he's a Runner. As much as I want to ask for a blood sample, less than twenty-four hours have passed, and I don't think he would do well with me that close to him."
"You would likely be correct." At least she was being thoughtful despite her drive to learn and observe. "He's writing everything in that book you gave him."
"That in itself will be priceless."
"He's thinking of moving into the Stronghold if the controlex removes his bloodlust sufficiently," I commented, figuring I should give her a heads-up.
"Really? Well, there are a number of rooms available, particularly on the second floor, if you don't mind having him that close. There are some on the third floor as well."
"Any of them will work. Just not in the rooms right beside mine."
She dismissed that concern with an idle wave. "The rooms right beside yours are basically considered off-limits unless you offer them to someone. We might turn them into storage areas one day."
I wasn't too sure what to make of her response, but now wasn't the time to dwell on what else they might have done in the name of giving me my space.
"The second floor should be fine. Luke and I get along well enough, although you won't be able to stick a third zombie on that level."
"We can let him choose. There are plans to find several small cabins and place them outside the fence for those who might not want to be around so many people, but that won't happen for a while yet. The groups scavenging for supplies are keeping their eyes open, although whatever they find has to be small enough for a semi to haul back."
"Even a small mobile home or a large RV trailer would work," I mused. "And there's plenty of those in the surrounding towns."
"I'll mention that to them, although I think they were after something a bit fancier than an RV trailer."
"Most sane zombies aren't that fussy." I tilted my head in consideration. "On a different note, if I happened to know the design of a particular rabbit housing setup that allowed zombies to maintain it without scaring the animals, how hard would it be to convince a small group to help me build it outside of the fence?"
Nina blinked at me in confusion. "I thought there was a rather large surplus of wild rabbits in the surrounding area?"
"There are, but Runners aren't fast enough to catch a rabbit without traps, and some of them really like the idea of a hobby farm. Luke went into so much detail I know this is something he wants to build one day."
"Want" was far too mild of a term for the single-minded way he had gone on and on about every little freaking detail, right down to the proper angle to hammer in nails.
A slow grin spread over Nina's face as she caught on. "Speak with Josh in the carpentry group and give him the plans. We don't have any meat rabbits here since there are so many wild ones, but I'll put word in with our traders to get us some. How many would be good to start with?"
Luke had gone over this detail four times, so I didn't even pause to think before saying, "Two bucks and four does of different bloodlines."
"I'll tell the traders to put it on our list. After that, I'm heading to the lab."
"Where is this Josh person likely hiding?"
"Try that big building beside the barn. If he isn't in there, someone will know where he is."
"Thanks." I went off in search of the mystery person while Nina went to tell the traders this place needed more rabbits.
I entered the specified building, which I now saw was a large carpentry shop. I had always assumed it was another garage.
A man drilling holes through a wood plank looked up. "Hello, how can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Josh."
"That's me." He put his drill down and dusted the sawdust from his hands.
"I'm wondering if you or someone else can help me build a particular type of rabbit hutch for Luke."
"That's the Runner in the forest?"
"Yes."
A big grin spread across his face. "Certainly." He waved me toward a table. "Let me grab some paper and a pencil. What kind of hutch?"
I sat on a stool as he took a seat across from me with his pencil at the ready.
"It's complicated and fairly large, but it'll let him tend the rabbits without spooking them. The biggest thing is the water and feed funnels..." I continued listing the details of everything Luke had told me.
In the end, it took him an hour to sketch out the blueprints with all the tiny details Luke had managed to unintentionally lodge in my mind. I hadn't realized just how much he had told me until Josh started asking questions.
Josh nodded in satisfaction at the finished drawing. "A bit complicated, but the fact that we know exactly what we want actually makes it easier since we aren't guessing about personal preference. I heard rumors Luke might try moving into the Stronghold before too long?"
"That's the general plan," I replied, not giving too many details to this stranger, although being a resident of Ironwind, he probably knew more about zombies than twenty outsiders put together.
"I heard he took the controlex, and since it only takes a few days to work, he'll probably come by for a visit fairly soon," he said, thinking aloud. "I'll round up the lads and lasses who have too much time on their hands, and we'll make him the best welcome gift he's ever had."
"Thank you," I said, somewhat surprised by how fast he wanted to get started on this project.
Josh grinned at me. "No, thank you. We like to make you sane zombies feel at home. Between you keeping them ferals at bay and helping Nina with her research, it's the least we can do."
And right on cue, here was another person who thought sane zombies were the best thing since sliced bread. Their hospitality couldn't be beat, but I still found it strange.
"Okay... How can I help with this project?"
He looked around the shop. "Leave this with me for now. I have to make sure I have everything we need before we start. We have enough wood, but I'll have to check on the mesh and metal funnels."
I nodded. "Just ask someone to find me later."
"Sure thing."
I left the building and made my escape. There was still some time until lunch was ready, but not enough for a patrol, so I opted to go to my room and have a nap.