The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 73

The sun had cleared the horizon by the time I headed back to the fence, which meant I was far later than usual. Most people were getting up, and the early ones were already heading for breakfast.

I tossed the radio to the guards above and gave them directions to where I'd left an elk carcass several miles north of the border. I continued to the secondary building, and Luke and John came out as I approached the door.

"Good morning, Trinity," Luke greeted me. "I assume nothing exciting happened last night?"

"It was pretty quiet. One less elk though."

I kept a subtle watch on John and was entertained by the range of emotions that crossed his face as my words and their meaning sunk in. Sometimes messing with the minds of humans was endlessly amusing when they were reminded someone was a zombie, even if they looked and mostly acted like a human.

Luke didn't see his brother's face. "Oh, good. I heard the cooks were hoping to make more elk jerky."

"I put it by the road and flagged it," I replied with a shrug. "The gate sentries are already sending someone to collect it."

John stared at us, confused and somewhat disturbed by what he was hearing. I was positive he was going to be asking his brother to explain a few things as soon as I left. Like why someone would eat meat from a zombie kill.

Luke was just about to reply when a shout from above interrupted him.

"We're going to have a party today!"

Luke paled slightly. "Was that Nicky?"

My eyes narrowed as I glanced up at the open window the wild voice had come out of. "Unfortunately. I think the chains on her mood swing just broke. Run."

I made good on my own advice and darted across the street into an open garage. The back wall was heavily cloaked in shadows and was the perfect place to wait out the coming storm. I peered out of my hiding place, noting the lights in Nicky's room were off, although Jess's were still on, so her usual tardiness was actually working in her favor for once.

John blinked in confusion and turned to his brother for an explanation, still standing at the bottom of the stairs. Luke gazed in my direction with a faintly worried expression, possibly wondering why I would pull such a disappearing act, although he hadn't connected the dots yet.

That's right. He's never seen Nicky take a trip to the wildside before. The handful of people who had been on the street needed no additional explanation. Most had heard Nicky's announcement and were already making themselves scarce.

They knew what was coming.

How the hell can she manage an insanity blitz the first morning after we return? Is she trying to remind everyone that she's back? If Hank put her up to this, we're going to have a very lengthy discussion. I growled faintly in growing irritation. My morning had been going so well until now.

The front door flew open to reveal a wild-eyed Nicky. Her untamed hair clearly hadn't been brushed yet, and she still wore her faded pajamas. Her crazy grin focused on the two unfortunate men who hadn't been fast enough to move away from where they had been standing in front of the building.

Luke took one look at the big bottle of dish soap in her hands. "Shit. Run!"

I'd never heard Luke swear before. Apparently, it was a rare event since John gaped at his brother's language. Luke's words and urgent tone sunk in just before Luke grabbed his brother's hand and started running. Nicky wasted no time darting after them, only slightly slowed by the pair of oversized bunny slippers on her feet.