The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 34

Much to my relief, Nina's aim was better than Nicky's, although that wasn't too high of a bar to pass. The wind wasn't in my favor, but I still kept tabs on it, so I knew when Daniel was on his way back.

When I heard him approaching, I glanced over my shoulder. "Welcome back. You'll be delighted to know I didn't tie anyone up or otherwise hold them against their will."

"And we haven't even hit the casualty limit Trinity gave us!" Nicky exclaimed.

When Daniel gave me a questioning look, I shrugged. "Nina wasn't sure if her aim was better than Nicky's, so I had to set some ground rules before I let them pick up weapons."

He chuckled and shook his head before regarding the archery lanes. "It's been a while since I shot a bow. Which shed are they in?"

"The left one."

When he came back, he took the lane beside Nina and took a few shots at the target – all of which clustered together in the bullseye.

"I don't think I've ever seen you use a bow before," I commented, noting his stance wasn't correct, nor did he have that air of someone who was doing something they've done a lot. Yet, not a single arrow had missed that small red circle.

He shrugged as his next arrow hit the bullseye, narrowly missing the other four arrows beside it. "I tried it once when I first arrived at Ironwind, but it never really grew on me."

Either he had practiced a really long time, or his instincts assisted him much more than mine did when it came to using weapons, which was much more likely. His next two arrows also ended up in the bullseye. They were so perfectly placed that none of them touched, yet all were in the red center. I had originally assumed the spacing was unintentional, but I was having second thoughts about that now.

His aim made it even more surprising that he didn't bring a bow on trips like this. To give him credit, he carried a dagger after his encounter with the three Nightstalkers. The question is, can he actually use it? If we ended up in another ambush, this was something I needed to know.

"So, you've proven you can use a bow, but do you know how to use that shiny new dagger on your belt?"

"Not really," Daniel admitted ruefully, glancing at the object.

I managed to turn my groan of annoyance into a wordless grumble. His aim with a bow was perfect, yet he didn't carry one. Instead, he carried a weapon he hadn't spent much time practicing with. Sometimes the lack of intelligence and common sense I encountered left me speechless.

Among zombies, something like a dagger gave us a bit more reach and a sharp edge capable of dealing more damage than our nails alone, but the potential advantage it gave us could easily be negated if we didn't know how to use it.

Judging by Daniel's confused look, even his keen hearing wasn't able to turn my grumbling into sensible words.

"Have you at least practiced with that thing?" I asked.

"A bit by myself, but that probably doesn't count for much." He tilted his head slightly. "You seemed to know how to handle your belt knife when we fought those Nightstalkers. Could you give me some training?"

His voice was tentative, most likely due to him not liking to ask for help. Then again, my track record for withholding knowledge about tomato juice, dish soap, and how to speed up healing wasn't something that inspired confidence in my willingness to teach or share tricks.

I sighed and considered the stronger zombie in front of me. If he didn't learn how to use that knife, he'd be a liability in an ambush or fight. And I fully expected at least one of the Strongholds to chase us out with weapons.