The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 49

I approached the cabin near sunrise, and the empty cage outside the door gave me some hope Daniel might not be a complete lost cause. When I opened the door, he gave me a triumphant grin.

He had finally figured it out. Hallelujah.

I smirked and went to sit on one of the kitchen chairs. "How many hours did it take you?" I kept my voice down since Nina and Nicky were still asleep.

"I'll admit it took me a couple of hours," he replied honestly, looking amused at my first question. "I simply couldn't figure out why you would bring me a squirrel, although it could have been an evil joke to make me wonder all night."

"That does kind of match my sense of humor."

"And it wouldn't be the first time you messed with my head, but I couldn't see you coming inside the fence for something like that when you wouldn't be around to watch my reaction. The biggest clue was when you mentioned it wasn't a snack, which made me think outside the box and wonder if it had anything to do with my arm. Then I remembered how you kept removing the salve from your wounds when they were healing so quickly."

"So you managed to put two and two together?"

He shrugged. "In a rational world, it wouldn't have worked, but the last nine months have continuously reminded me that I'm smack dab in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The idea lingered, and it wasn't as if I had anything else to do."

"I wondered if a few hours of bored contemplation would help bring about that revelation."

"It did. Do wounds always heat up like that?"

"Yes, and if you add too much blood at once, it can actually get painful."

He nodded slowly. "I'll keep that in mind for next time. I don't suppose you'd tell me what the soap or tomato juice does while you're in such a generous sharing mood?"

"But what would occupy your mind the next time you're bored?" I replied with a dark chuckle. "If Nicky could figure it out, I'm sure you can too."

"If it took a bullet wound to get you to spill this secret, what would it take for the other two?" He regarded me as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

I grinned ferally at him. "Let Nicky color your jacket and wear it along with everything else she has colored for you, then hand her a bottle of soap, five big cans of tomato juice, and three extra-large espresso coffees."

He winced. "I think that might be worse than getting shot in the arm..."

"Possibly. There is one way to find out though..." I trailed off, letting the idea stand on its own merit.

"No. I've seen what two cups of coffee do to that human. I have no desire to know what would happen if she got her hands on one espresso, let alone three of them."

I chuckled at his response, and we both lapsed into a comfortable silence as the sun crept above the horizon.

~

       "Okay. Who the hell put a dead squirrel in the garbage can? It's one thing for us to toss food wrappers in there, but you guys are usually better about burying your unwanted leftovers."

Good morning to you too, Nicky... The cantankerous redhead was still in her PJs as she glared at the offending object in the garbage can.

Nina yawned and got out of bed. "Just a squirrel? Be thankful it isn't a rabbit, a beaver, or a bear."

Nicky transferred her early morning glare to Nina. "If one of them managed to stuff an entire bear in there, we'd have other issues. But it's definitely a squirrel."