I dug around another large rock and exposed the edges enough for Daniel to lift it out later. I should have known the ground was full of rocks ranging in size from gravel to boulders practically the size of the truck. Ironically enough, the large rocks were actually speeding up our digging process since Daniel could hoist them out of the trench, leaving an open spot we didn't have to dig.
Some of the locals had been so overjoyed at the prospect of having a new trench that a dozen had flocked out here to join us. They had quickly abandoned the idea of digging, especially with how fast Daniel and I were working.
Most were bringing in boards, small tree trunks, and anything else they could find to reinforce the sides of the trench and prevent erosion when zombies tried to climb out. A handful were on top, restacking the rocks and dirt to form a waist-high retaining wall that would keep any zombies from successfully climbing up.
One perk was that I didn't have to worry about scooping up all the loose dirt since the locals were happy to assist with that. Their work took longer than ours did, so we were over a hundred feet ahead of them already.
Wren and Jax zipped by on their nearly continuous patrol. Only a couple of zombies had stumbled out of the forest as the afternoon wore into late evening, which was a good thing since the humans were rather uneasy this close to the tree line. It was only the presence of two sane zombies that convinced them it was safe.
"We'll have to build them a bridge soon," I said, keeping my voice low enough that only Daniel would hear it.
"I'll check if the locals want to do that. I could build one, but I think my digging abilities are needed more."
I nodded absently, huffing when my shovel hit another rock. The pickaxe was more useful in the gravel-filled soil, so I put my shovel to the side and grabbed the other tool to speed up my digging. When I unearthed a horse-sized rock, I left it for Daniel and kept digging past it.
To my surprise, the humans and Daniel continued working until the sun began to set.
"I think that's about as far as I'm going to get tonight," Daniel said, lightly jumping out of the chest-deep trench.
Our helpers took that as their cue to climb out, using the ladders they'd built while reinforcing the sides.
"We got more done than I expected," I said, looking back. "It's not a fast process though. It'll take us over a week just to protect half of the tree line."
One of the women said, "Two mechanics are installing a wood gasifier on a backhoe. It's really a small excavator, but it can help. We used it last year, but we needed the boiler on the tractor more. It should be ready by tomorrow. It's not the fastest thing around, and it can't move big rocks, but it works."
"Any help will be welcome," Daniel said. "Let's head back." Glancing at me, he said, "Have a good evening."
I remained in the trench and leaned on the pickaxe. "I'll keep digging for a while longer. See how many more boulders I can find."
He chuckled and waved as he walked to the Stronghold with the humans.
~
I climbed to the top of the building and scanned the streets from my vantage point. No scent of a Runner reached my nose. A few scents weren't quite right, evidence of several unranked zombies, but overall, it was very quiet.
Reassured that nothing concerning was passing through the town, I returned to the highway and went around the forest to avoid leaving an obvious trail that ferals might follow.
Having already hunted, I circled the sleeping Stronghold and went back to digging. It was only midnight, so I had plenty of time to see how much I could get done. It wasn't like I had anything else to do.
Hours later, branches crackled and a quiet dirt bike engine hummed. It came to an abrupt stop, and it didn't take long for the cloaked figure to drive along the trench and stop a polite distance away.
"I was not expecting this."
"Nor was I, but a zombie horde dictated otherwise."
"It must have been quite a fight. The blood still lingers in the air."
"About two hundred zombies. One of them was an unranked zombie whose calls formed groups, so we saw them coming and had plenty of time to get everyone inside. It wasn't too bad once we took out the unranked. The Stronghold did a good job of fending off the remaining zombies, and it wasn't long before they got the horseback riders to lure them away."
He blinked quizzically at me. "You made the Stronghold fight them off? You didn't help?"
I leaned on the pickaxe, halfway looking forward to seeing his reaction. "Jax, Wren, Nicky, and I had to go rescue Daniel and Nina from kidnappers."
"Kidnappers?" he asked, as if he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.
"Turns out three of the lab assistants had heard some radio conversations and decided they needed Daniel's blood for their research. They also had the super bright idea of using Nina as leverage."
His nostrils flared. "His scent is quite recent. I assume they didn't get far?"
"They made it to the Stronghold to the north. Then Nicky blew up a storage barn to distract the locals while they made their escape."
He stared at me, eventually saying, "I was gone for a mere two days. How does all that happen in so little time?"
"Bad luck, kidnappings, and explosions seem to be the norm on our trips," I replied, making a face to show my opinion of those facts.
"You sound like you've had some adventures."
That was the biggest understatement of the year. I didn't have words to explain how most of my road trips usually went. Instead, I said, "Life isn't fair, but I have yet to convince it to stop giving me so many lessons proving that point."
He examined the trench. "Ferals fall in and follow it to where it connects to the canal to the west?"
"That's what we're hoping for."
He picked up a spare shovel and began digging nearby. "I'll help. How did they kidnap Nina and Daniel?"
I told the story in as much detail as I could since I had no idea what else we might talk about. We normally roamed the forest and played tracking games. Such pursuits didn't involve much discussion.
"You make it sound as if Daniel ran through a wooden wall like it was made of straw," Regan observed.
"He's a Terror. They're insanely strong and fast. He rolled that boulder like it was a pebble," I said, pointing to a rock half the size of the truck.
"In theory, I'm aware of such details, but I'm having a hard time comprehending it," he finally admitted.
"If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have understood the extent of it either. Even after all these years, he occasionally pulls stunts that leave me blinking at him."
"You trust him."
"It took quite a while. We fought against a feral Terror shortly after we met, and that helped a lot in the tolerance department. My mind has finally accepted that he won't hurt me, and he's loyal to the core once he trusts someone."
"Admirable traits. This other Terror—the one at Yersin—how does he compare to Daniel?"
I frowned at the reminder. "It would be like comparing a Nightstalker's strength to a Terror's. It's an entirely different level, at least from what I saw. In ideal situations, I'd have half a chance of killing a feral Terror. I doubt I'd be able to kill this new one."
He gave me a long look. "Its abilities concern you."
"Yes." There was no point in denying it. He'd smell the lie.
He considered it for a moment. "Did Daniel's presence worry you like this in the beginning?"
"The first few days, yes. But I'd never met a higher-ranking zombie before, and this one doesn't exactly play by the zombie rules."
"That complicates things." He was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure I can help against this other Terror considering how even Daniel's presence has my instincts so off-balance. I remember how his snarl affected me."
He was revealing more than I knew he was comfortable with, but I wasn't sure if his main goal was to become more accustomed to Terrors or help me with the one in Yersin.
"There are several Nightstalkers that frequent Ironwind, and none are exactly relaxed around Daniel either. The biggest difference I can think of is that I fought the feral Terror. It wasn't easy, and if my friends hadn't been in danger, I wouldn't have done it. Once I managed to join the fight and land a strike, my instincts no longer regarded Terrors as quite so lofty. I've never met anyone else willing to contemplate wrestling with Daniel, but perhaps such a thing would help?"
Regan frowned at a dirt clump as he tossed it away. We dug in silence as he mulled over my words and suggestion. His instincts—normally invaluable danger detectors—would be refusing to consider such a wrestling match. They saw any "fight" with a Terror as a suicide mission, or at the very least, a definite lost match. His pride wouldn't want to admit that those were his main issues.
It would probably depend on how badly he wanted to overcome the influence of a Terror's presence. He knew I'd wrestled with Daniel in the past, and now he knew that I was the only one to have ever done so. Others hadn't been able to, which gave him an option to bow out gracefully. But I had managed it. There was a precedent to prove it was possible.
Regan exhaled slowly. "I believe I'd like to try."
"We can tag team him, if you want," I suggested. "I've always wanted to do that."
Some of the tension left his muscles. "That might be interesting. I never fought alongside another zombie until we fought that unranked zombie." He glanced toward the Stronghold, which we couldn't see since we were in the ditch with piles of dirt blocking our view. "I don't think I've seen him come out at night."
I casually tiptoed around that landmine. "He leaves the night to me since he knows my instincts can get a bit testy after sundown. He trusts me to keep watch, and it lets him guard our companions while they sleep."
His eyes flickered to me, seeming to sense that I'd left something out, but he didn't inquire. There was no way I'd mention Daniel's inability to see in the dark. That was his secret.
I tossed a football-sized rock away and shrugged. "We can invite him out for a wrestling match in the morning. Nina and Logan get up as soon as the sun rises."
"That would work."
I leaned the pickaxe against the dirt wall and picked up my radio, turning it down before pressing the transmit button. "Daniel, once Nina and Logan are up, do you mind meeting Regan and me in the north forest? We're bored."
It was similar to a few calls I'd made in the past, and he'd expect me to ambush him. Now that he knew Regan was out here, he'd also watch his reactions more closely. I somehow doubted he was going to be as thrilled as I was about his first two-against-one wrestling match.
"Sure," he replied, his voice quiet. "I'll be there as soon as the sun starts to rise."
Regan looked lost in thought. Possibly second-guessing his original decision or trying to think of strategies for the upcoming match.
I couldn't resist it. "By the way, if you can see his eyes, he can see you."
His lips twisted into a faint grimace, some of his carefully-constructed plans undoubtedly falling apart.
As for me... I was looking forward to the wrestling match.
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Author's Note:
For the Christmas season, the unlocking schedule will continue so readers can read all of book 5 for free! Please note the last ten chapters will regain their paywalls in the new year.
I hope you've enjoyed the story so far - you've read over 800,000 words!