We watched Ethan pin the zombie against the cage bars so Nina could administer the drug without going inside.
"Normally, I'd prefer to watch the samples for a day or so," Nina said as she gave the injection to the feral, "but the situation is a bit dire." She made a face. "The worst that could happen is that we'd have to re-infect non-responsive bodies. But none of the blood samples had any lasting negative effects, and the virus had been completely removed, so we can try it."
Wren watched hopefully from upwind, not realizing that Nina would never use the word "dire" lightly. The scientist alternated between two different vials as she visited ten zombies, another clue that she hadn't tested as much as she usually did. If she hadn't spent countless months studying these chemicals, I would have questioned her decision.
Ethan noticed my faint frown and spoke too quietly for Wren to hear. "We talked about testing for another day, but a set of triggers in Wren's blood are destabilizing. Nina is certain if all of them release, her mind will disappear. This is just a version of the cure, so it won't cause any lasting harm to the zombies if it fails. They'd just be comatose like with the regular cure."
I didn't like it, but I'd never been a fan of reinfecting the unresponsive humans. I wasn't sure why this felt different from when Nina had tested the original cure in Ironwind, unless it was because she had tested until the blood tests couldn't tell her anything more.
Nina hadn't enjoyed the re-infection process back then, and judging by her tone earlier, that hadn't changed. It was the only consoling part about the race to save Wren before time ran out.
"There," Nina said as she dosed the tenth zombie. "I'll get the assistants to take a blood sample every thirty minutes so we can track the cure's changes."
Daniel turned to Wren. "I hope you don't mind if I hang out here most of the day."
"You're always welcome," she said quietly. "If—if the wind shifts, I'll go into the forest."
He didn't argue, merely inclining his head in acknowledgment of her decision. His gaze didn't linger on her, but I knew he'd seen her muscles tremble on and off, usually whenever she looked at one of our human companions. It would be a long day for her with the human assistants hanging around.
Ethan murmured, "Once Nina is in the lab, I'll go hunting and bring back some deer blood. Maybe an elk if I can find one."
I hoped it would be enough to tide her over.
~
I swung by the clearing yet again, drawn back by unrelenting curiosity. Some zombies had been making unusual sounds during my last two visits. Could it have been an early attempt at speech? One of them had blood streaked all over his clothing as if he had fed on an animal carcass, so his mind should have been gone forever.
From my observation post behind the trees, I saw six zombies sluggishly trying to stand or reach their arms out to grab the assistants, which was typical behavior around the sixth hour after getting the cure. The assistants never noticed my hidden form, although I was sure Daniel had noted my presence.
My eyes locked onto the other four. Daniel spoke with one, who replied by baring her teeth from where she stood against the back of the cage. She shook her head yet again, as if trying to clear her mind. He let her be and moved to the next cage.
The man in that cage stuck an arm toward the assistant with a blood collection vial. The hand was palm-up, not reaching, as he leaned his head against the bars, breathing heavily and blinking in a dazed fashion.
Daniel gently held his arm steady as the assistant took a sample. When his other arm tried to reach for her, Daniel blocked it by simply putting his hand in front. When the assistant stepped back, the zombie sat down and leaned against the bars, closing his eyes as the drug warred with the virus.
The other two zombies were similar. One stood back defensively, growling. The other stuck an arm through the bars for a voluntary blood sample. All four of the promising ones had received an injection from the same vial.
It was an interesting development. I'd have to come back in an hour. It was time to check the forest again, which would give Regan a chance to slip up here to examine the proceedings.
~
I jumped over the canal and heard a splash and spluttering growls behind me. Now that the zombie was no longer a threat to the humans, I slowed to a stop and scanned the area. Jax hadn't returned yet, although the zombie he had been luring away was an unranked one, which he wanted to trap in an abandoned house. It could take him a while to return.
A shifting of the shadows among the trees near the trench confirmed Regan was present. It was safe enough for me to check on the caged zombies, and I really wanted to know why the truck was going that way with Logan and Nicky in the back.
My feet swiftly carried me to the clearing. Wren stood well to the side as Nicky and Logan helped four humans with disheveled hair and clean clothes into the back of the truck. In the cages, six humans lay on the ground as if in a deep sleep.
I wandered over to Wren. "Bringing them clean clothes was a nice gesture."
"There were a bunch in the house, and we just hung a blanket for some privacy," she replied with a shrug. "I'll get Jax to take me into town tonight so I can get more clothes for the others. Daniel figures Nina will be ready to test the other ten tomorrow."
"They're going to need more houses at this rate," I commented.
"If Nina can create a drug that works on every zombie, how can we stop?" she asked simply.
It was an intriguing concept. The chemicals Nina was using weren't endless. They were either the dredges of old-world versions or created in various ways, much like how she had been using bacteria to create insulin.
My eyes never left the four settling into the truck as I murmured, "Even if we had gallons of the stuff, we couldn't move fast. The people we are bringing back need support, and if they turned during the Outbreak, they will only remember the old world. Life in a Stronghold is very different."
She nodded. "I can't wait until I can help. Human or zombie, I don't care which."
A few tasks came to mind if she needed a distraction. "We'll probably need to build more cages. I can borrow the truck later and grab more of those fencing panels. We can build them in the south forest so you don't have so many guests."
"Actually, can we build them here? Seeing them gives me hope. I don't mind the zombies. I'd love to help the humans, but I just can't go near them right now." The frustration in her voice was replaced with determination. "But I can guard them from any zombies wandering through."
If it gave her a purpose, I wasn't about to argue. Nicky waved at me as the assistants gathered their last blood samples and climbed into the truck. Daniel began driving them back as Ethan wandered over to us.
"I agree. We're going to need more cages," he said. "I've been taking the blood samples to Nina as soon as they were drawn, so she probably already knows why the other six didn't wake up. We just reinfected them, so they'll be on their feet by morning."
I should have known he'd be eavesdropping, although with his sensitive hearing, it was pretty much impossible for him not to do so.
"Why don't we grab the truck and go fetch those panels?" I suggested. "I can help Wren build the cages if you want to work on the trench and help keep zombies at bay."
"Sure. As soon as everyone is out of the truck, I'll bring it back." Ethan took off at a light run.
~
I twisted a piece of metal around a joint to hold the cage roof panel in place as tires grated on dirt and gravel. I turned around with a frown, wondering why the vehicle was moving at a crawl.
"This better not have been your idea," Nicky informed me, crossing her arms inside the trailer cage as a dozen zombies clung to the outside and tried to reach her.
I tilted my head. "Well, that's definitely a new use for the cage and trailer."
From the driver's seat, Ethan said, "I was pretty sure you had some cages ready by now."
I waved at the two rows of cages that stood back-to-back. "Take your pick. All of them should be capable of holding a regular zombie. You'll have to double-check them if there's an unranked Runner in that group though."
"Just regular ones right now. Two are unranked." Ethan stopped the truck. He began dragging the zombies off the trailer and pushing them into their new homes.
As soon as he grabbed the last one, Nicky unlocked the cage and emerged. "Can someone please tell me why every road trip involves me being used as zombie bait?"
I shrugged. "Considering how quickly you volunteer to lock yourself inside, I thought you enjoyed it."
Nicky sighed and told Wren, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day, so don't believe her all the time. My hobby is escaping from impossible situations, not being trapped with no way out."
"Here's some dinner," Ethan said, holding a box out to Wren. "Daniel plans to go out hunting shortly, and he was wondering if you wanted him to bring anything back."
"Thank you, but this will be enough," she said as she took the box and peeked inside.
She didn't notice his faint frown and how his gaze lingered on her.
"You can put rabbits in all her traps if you want," I murmured too quietly for Wren to hear me. "I'll show you which plants will cloak your scent."
He nodded, accepting the compromise.
"Nina figured out why those zombies didn't wake up," Nicky said, leaning against the trailer.
"Why?" Wren asked, looking up.
"The first formula didn't hold the triggers in place long enough, so it acted like the regular cure. For the second formula, one guy had type B-negative blood, and that's the same one that gave Nina a headache with the vaccine."
"I assume she's already tweaking them?" I inquired, asking more for Wren's benefit than my own.
"Yep. She's pretty sure she knows exactly how to correct both of them. They have so many tests going that Logan had to make a summarized list so they didn't duplicate anything. They're close enough that they even named it. It now has the rather unimaginative name of restoration serum. I was all for calling it the virus twister!"
I was rather glad Nina hadn't left Nicky in charge of naming it. To get her back on track, I said, "If they're that close to a final product, I don't think thirty-four cages is going to be enough. We might need to make another trip to town since we only have a handful of panels left."
"Actually," Nicky lifted a finger in correction, "we have enough simply because the Stronghold can't handle that many newly awakened humans at once. Today's four had been infected during the first wave. They remember nothing of the time between, so everything is new for them."
It would be like a time traveler's nightmare. Fall asleep, only to wake up half a decade later to discover that the world had been knocked back a century. No phones, no internet, and limited electricity would just be the tip of the cultural shock iceberg.
"They're really disoriented," Ethan added. "Daniel or I will take the truck to some remote areas and bring back a couple of deer so the Stronghold has enough food. The radio tower is already reaching out to other Strongholds to see if they're willing to take in some of the newly awakened if tomorrow's tests go as well as we hope."
Nicky said, "You should have seen the taller woman's expression when she learned the water only got lukewarm and that most showers only had sun-warmed water." She tilted her head. "I don't think she believed me when I told her that a zombie had thrown me in a lake half a dozen times."
Ethan glanced at the redhead. "Do people normally get tossed in lakes by sane zombies?"
She grinned at him. "Only the special ones."
"There are more empty cages," I muttered.
"I'm sure you tested them sufficiently," Nicky quickly said.
"Who said they needed testing?" I asked, a corner of my lip lifting. "I believe they need occupants, and it will keep you out of mischief."
She turned to Ethan. "I'm blaming this on you."
He blinked owlishly, trying to figure out which rabbit hole this conversation had just gone down.