I slammed the pickaxe into the dirt again, yanking a clump free and kicking it behind me. I jumped out of the trench to check the area. Other than two regular zombies and an unranked one, the night had been quiet so far.
Regan hadn't been interested in a wrestling match tonight and was alternating between digging the trench and patrolling. I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Daniel or Ethan since the sun had set. I put on my sunglasses as I scanned the area around the fence.
A dim light shone through the lab windows, brightest near the table and chairs. Nina had given Ethan a journal written by a sane Runner, so perhaps he was finding some answers by reading about another's experience.
My instincts stirred, and I removed my glasses as I examined the tree line again. Everything looked quiet, but I was certain something was amiss. Most of the insects in one area had stopped calling.
Taking the pickaxe with me, I slipped into the southern forest. I crossed a scent trail near the tree line, and my lips pulled back at the muddled Runner-like scent. I took off after the interloper.
The crashing in the underbrush let me locate the woman stumbling around. I turned on a flashlight so she could see me. She sent a faint growl in my direction and kept going.
I stared in surprise. I wasn't upwind, so how did she figure out I was a zombie? I'd never seen a feral Runner this perceptive before, but she definitely wasn't sane. Turning off my flashlight, I ducked into the shadows and pulled my hood up.
When I noisily tromped through the leaves, she gave chase, only to stop shortly after. I turned around and realized the moonlight highlighted my outline. As she stumbled into a shrub, a rabbit took off, and she gave chase, only to blunder into a tree.
She ignored me as I walked closer and checked her scent, which seemed like a typical unranked Runner. Just one that ignored humans. As I knew very well, controlex was almost scentless and impossible to detect in one's scent. Could Trent have found her when he left?
It would explain why she had left the town and roads to wander through the forests in search of prey. So, the good news was that she wouldn't chase after humans, but she would be a threat to the livestock. Unfortunately for some unlucky critter around here, I needed bait to lure her away.
A mouse rustled through some leaves nearby. That was good enough for me. I quickly located the rodent and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. Its high-pitched squeaks and protests had the zombie stumbling in my direction.
I started to head for the canal but changed my mind. Most of Nina's testing had been on Runners, so this one's arrival was timely. One of the zombies in the cages was about to get a roommate.
It was slow going since the zombie didn't see as well as I did, but we eventually reached the cages. With one hand still holding the protesting mouse, I managed to undo the metal wire twisted around the door.
The unranked Runner caught up just as I opened the door. I shoved the current prisoner back, then pushed the female Runner inside. Bracing the door shut with an elbow, I twisted the wire back up and watched for a minute to make sure she couldn't break out.
Satisfied that she wasn't going anywhere, I headed back to the forest and released the mouse as thanks for its participation.
~
"How are you doing?" I asked Wren as she stopped the dune buggy next to me. She hadn't been outside the trailer the handful of times I swung by lately.
She winced. "Not good. I had to start draining blood into a cup."
That wasn't a good development, but at least she was smart enough to take the precaution. "If you need any help or want any larger animals, just let me know."
She nodded and moved to the tree line as the truck stopped nearby. Like the last few times, Ethan appeared out of the forest, having just finished a quick patrol to make sure no danger lurked nearby. Regan stood to the side, waiting for the morning updates.
As Nina got out of the truck, her eyes immediately went to the depressed-looking zombie. "Good morning, Wren."
"Morning," she mumbled, barely loud enough for us to hear her from fifty feet away. "I'm here, but that's about all I can say. Things went downhill again last night." Her shoulders slumped at the admission.
"Sorry. I noticed a trigger released sometime overnight, and it's one of the ones that affects the bloodlust. That raises a question I wanted to ask. Do you want to remain a zombie or would becoming human be an acceptable option?"
Wren blinked at the question. "Either works. As long as I stop wanting to eat people. Becoming human might be better, actually."
"I'm happy to hear that, because we changed tactics with most of our experiments. The trigger combination that the regular unranked zombies need is incredibly unstable. So instead of trying to lock the triggers in place, we're using chemicals that we've already tested to hold them in place long enough for the cure components to work."
"You're changing the cure so it works for unranked zombies?" she asked, tentative hope appearing in her voice.
Nina nodded. "Yes, and because we know which triggers we need for the mind to remain—or possibly even return—this should also work on regular zombies."
That caught my interest. "Really?" Regular zombies lost their mind as soon as they turned, so none of the past cure attempts had ever worked. It just left Nina with a comatose former zombie. But Ethan had regained sanity after losing his mind, so there might be hope yet.
I had never told anyone, but the lingering faint traces of hope had prompted me to return to my father's house after joining Ironwind and make sure he was securely locked inside, just in case Nina's research ever succeeded.
"I spent years analyzing the cure and tweaking it," Nina replied. "Those chemicals are the ones I'm the most familiar with, so I know what many combinations will do. I should be ready to move into blood tests by noon, although I don't expect a miracle right away since adding new chemicals always causes unexpected interactions."
Still in the back of the truck, Nicky sighed, "And here I was hoping to introduce the joys of soap to newly awakened zombies."
"If you want to play with soap," Daniel said, "there are a bunch of beakers, vials, and petri dishes that need washing."
"That sounds like work. I think I'll help Trinity with the trench."
"What does soap do?" Ethan asked.
"Oh! This could be fun!" Nicky exclaimed, sitting up straighter and grinning at her newly acquired target.
"Wrong question," I muttered.
He looked between the two of us in growing confusion. Jax and Wren didn't look any wiser, although Regan was smart enough to keep a straight face.
~
I rolled a knee-high rock out of the way and kept digging, only to find an even larger stone moments later. There were far too many rocks in this spot.
"As soon as Daniel or Ethan return, they can have the joy of digging up this section," I muttered. They had been taking turns and alternated between who stayed inside the fence and who got to patrol and dig. Daniel left an hour ago to patrol, so it was a toss-up if he'd come back to help dig or relieve Ethan of supervising duty.
"You knew it would be like this," Nicky reminded me as she tossed a clump of dirt out of the trench. "I told you not to dig tunnels. At least Jess isn't here, or she'd be having nightmares about zombies digging under the fence again."
"You have to admit that it's diverting a lot of zombies."
"It does, but that horse sure didn't appreciate the screamer zombie in the trench this morning."
Overnight, the unranked zombie had fallen into the trench, but it had wandered toward our recent digging area as opposed to going the other way and falling into the canal.
I shrugged. "I bet they didn't realize that old nag could still run that fast."
Nicky snickered. "I overheard a few comments along those lines."
The puttering of the dune buggy interrupted our conversation, and we looked up as Jax stopped beside the trench.
"Trinity, do you mind visiting Wren for a while?" His voice was casual, but something in his tone hinted at potential problems.
"Sure. Someone else can juggle all these rocks." I leaned the pickaxe against the dirt wall and jumped out. Sitting in the passenger seat felt strange after standing on the back so often. I set my backpack between my feet so I wasn't perched on the edge of the seat.
"What's up?" I asked as soon as we were out of hearing range of all the people, many of whom were now casting uneasy glances at the trees now that there was no sane zombie present and they knew the dune buggy patrols were on a short break. Regan appeared farther down the tree line just long enough for them to spot him.
The tires rumbled over the wooden bridge the locals had built yesterday as he replied, "Can you help me catch a deer or something for her? I'm hoping it might cheer her up some. There isn't much in rabbits, and we've already caught most of the unwary ones."
"Let's head down the path by that fallen spruce tree," I said, now understanding why there was a pail with a lid in the tiny storage area on the back of the dune buggy. "There was a small herd over there this morning."
He immediately veered in that direction. When we came around the corner of the forest, I could see a couple grazing along the tree line.
"Wait here," I told him as he came to a stop.
The deer looked up, watching the distant vehicle warily as I slipped into the forest. Jax prudently reversed the dune buggy around the corner and out of sight. I was already running silently through the undergrowth before they decided the situation was too suspicious.
I slowed down as I got closer, keeping low to avoid being spotted. A young buck was reclining on the moss and chewing its cud. Its chewing paused as it sniffed the air. I chose that moment to strike. It barely had time to register my presence before my fist shattered its neck.
It slumped into the leaf litter as I shook myself off and whistled to bring Jax in. I didn't want to use my proximity call in case Regan thought I was requesting his presence. With some rope from my backpack, I hung the deer from a tree branch by the back legs.
I was securing the knots when Jax arrived with the bucket and knife. Since he seemed determined to bleed it out himself, I wandered to the side and scanned the area in case any predators came sniffing around.
A flash of movement in the distance had me zeroing in on that area. The next glimpse was of a blue shirt that matched the color of the one Ethan had been wearing this morning. He must have heard my whistle and swung by on his patrol. He didn't stop or come close enough for Jax to notice.
"Do you want any?" Jax asked, reclaiming my attention.
I shook my head absently, and we waited for the blood to drain. We eventually hauled the carcass over to the dune buggy, which would be dropped off at the Stronghold later.
We took the blood to the trailer Wren was staying in. As I got out of the dune buggy, the zombies beside the nearby shipping container growled and fought against the bars. Their cages barely even creaked.
The trailer door opened as Wren came out. "Oh, hello Trinity."
I held up the bucket. "We brought you a snack. Do you happen to have a cup?"
She disappeared inside and quickly came back out. Not a single protest emerged as she took the bucket, and after checking if Jax or I wanted any, promptly filled her cup to the brim and took a deep drink with slightly shaky hands.
I sat in a chair and stretched out in the sun, my pose far more relaxed than I actually was. The way she drank the blood was rather concerning, almost like she was dying of thirst or right at the end of her control.
I'd have to ask Ethan or Daniel if they could roam farther afield and bring back a deer each day. I didn't want to overhunt the Stronghold's lands, but for some reason, Wren clearly needed more blood than the rabbits provided, and the Terrors had the range we needed. Using the truck or dune buggy was another option, although Daniel and Ethan would probably be more than happy to assist.
Half of the blood was gone before Wren sighed and sat down, still clutching the cup. "Thank you. Have you heard anything from Nina? I think she said the first tests should be completed before noon?"
Not much would have happened between this morning and late afternoon, but I wasn't about to tell Wren that. It usually took weeks or months before the blood tests provided enough information for Nina risked using the chemicals on a feral test subject. If Nina was just tweaking the cure—something she had heavily researched—it might not take that long.
"No, but I could go ask for an update. I haven't gone inside the fence since the assistants arrived. It would give me a chance to check on them too."
"Please." Her grip on the cup tightened.
After visiting a while longer, during which Wren cajoled Jax into accepting half a cup of deer blood, I promised to come back with any news or updates. Jax gave me a lift to the Stronghold, slowing down as I grabbed the deer carcass and jumped off. With a final wave, he zoomed away from the odorous human settlement.
Nicky was sprawled in her bean bag chair outside the original lab with her eyes closed. A ten-foot-wide swath of dry leaves and grass were spread in front of Nicky's guard post. Like that was going to stop me.
Mere feet from Nicky, I asked, "What kind of guard are you?"
She jumped as her eyes flew open. "Gah! Give me some warning next time!" She stared at my feet and the undisturbed crackly plants behind me. "How? Even Ethan couldn't jump it without making some noise! And it's not night, so you wouldn't have turned into an owl and flown over."
I smirked. "It'll give you something to think about. Wren sent me to ask for an update."
"That bad, huh? She wasn't looking good this morning. Nina and Daniel are in the radio tower asking Luke to relay more notes, but you can torment the assistants until they return."
That had been one of my goals, so I wasn't about to object. Daniel's nose wasn't as keen as mine, and Ethan lacked the years of experience I had. Since Nicky was watching me expectantly, I jumped over her leaf barrier so she couldn't see how I had shifted my feet under them when sneaking closer. With a groan, she flopped back into the bean bag chair.
The assistant's lab had a couple of caution signs on the door, which I ignored since Nicky would have given a warning instead of telling me to go in. The open layout I had expected was only partially present since shelves and cabinets formed partition walls that reached to the ceiling. All the "cubicles" faced a central hallway, and there wasn't a door to be seen.
On a nearby couch, a man and woman stared at me in curiosity, the notes scattered across the coffee table in front of them momentarily forgotten. I walked down the hallway and glanced into each of the six cubicles. Each one seemed to be for a different type of work.
Two had setups similar to the ones that made the controlex and cure. Two others had a lot of microscopes and other lab equipment. Bookshelves were a prominent feature in one, with tables and padded chairs.
I paused at the last work area, where two people leaned over a drone. I circled closer, and one jumped when she noticed me. Her companion stared at me blankly then blinked as realization appeared in his eyes. The presence of two Nightstalkers in the area wasn't exactly a secret, and wearing tight-fitting sunglasses indoors made my identity rather obvious, particularly among scientists.
The man shifted under my silent scrutiny, but apparently decided that an explanation was the best option. "We can't always go close to zombies," he quietly said. "The cure can't be spread by air, but we can attach a small harpoon needle to inject a dangerous zombie in a barn, house, or even in the canal."
I nodded silently. As I expected, the man's nerves were rattled enough that he kept talking.
"The cure Nina and the others are working on can be used on any zombie. It'll take more tweaking, but it'll lock the sanity triggers into place before the other components start working."
When her companion trailed off, the woman added, "It's not something humans can take if bitten—some of the chemicals are just too toxic. They'd have to use the regular cure. If they ever get reinfected, the sanity serum—the pre-existing serum Nina made, not the revised cure we're working on—won't stop them from turning back into a regular zombie. So if they don't get the regular cure in time, they'd need the refined one."
"How long does this refined cure take to work?" I asked.
"We're testing about fifty variations," the woman replied. "The ones that take seven or eight hours are the ones we're having more success with."
"Is that the only drug you're working on?"
"Other than making the regular cure, controlex, and stuff, yeah. But this is huge—being able to turn feral zombies into their former, thinking selves?—it never crossed Gerald's mind. He was just trying to make the zombies less aggressive."
"We're happy to help Nina with this," the man said. His smile held a tinge of pain. "We won't deviate from her instructions. None of us have that sort of training anyway. Just Gerald, Elma, and Derby, and they're gone."
His scent held nothing but the truth. Maybe a bit of truth-stretching on the training part, but it was clear enough that he didn't think the survivors were as knowledgeable as their fallen comrades.
Satisfied with that, I said, "There are a bunch of unranked zombies out by the shipping container, but don't go out there without Daniel or Ethan. The sane unranked zombie is in a nearby trailer, and her control isn't the best right now. How long do you think it will take for the refined cure to be ready for her?"
The woman shrugged. "It's hard to tell. We're still working with blood samples. Nina... Well, she's more optimistic and thinks we'll have something we can test in a week, but it took us almost a year to create the airborne serum, and you saw how well that turned out."
"We were too excited," the man murmured softly. "Too many things were rushed. Nina says she knows the cure almost inside and out, so that will speed things up, but each test takes about eight hours to run, so there's a lot of wait time between revisions."
The main door creaked as Daniel's voice said, "Trinity, are you still in here?"
With a sigh and a nod of thanks to the two, I went to see Daniel. Perhaps Nina would have a firmer timeline, and if not, I'd tell Wren a week or two and hope Nina knew as much about the cure as she thought she did.
The problem was that Wren might not have a week or two left.