The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 81

"Wow. Daniel sure did a lot," Jess said, staring at the neat row of telephone posts that circled a quarter of the Stronghold.

"Most of it was already up when we left," I reminded her.

"It's more noticeable coming from this direction," she replied, still gaping at the work that had been done.

Nicky looked impressed despite herself. "I still say ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy."

"I think he's more bored than anything else," I said. Not to mention he seemed to enjoy it.

"Probably," Nicky agreed. "There aren't many non-tedious chores zombies can do when you take into account how much animals like you guys. He already runs patrols, drags back dead trees for firewood, and does a dozen other odds and ends that mostly involve moving or building stuff. Rumor says half of his bedroom is filled with shelves of books."

"Reading is a good pastime," Logan commented in approval, "and he's certainly doing a lot of the work on the fence."

"Trinity," the guard said, "Nina was hoping you'd go to the lab when you returned."

"Are you guys fine unloading all this?"

"Oh yeah. We can make Logan do most of the work," Nicky said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the man who had bundles of plant clippings piled against his legs.

"If you two can help me get these into my workshop, I can do the rest," Jess quickly added.

"That means we can make Trinity carry a load in too! To the lab we go!" Nicky stomped her foot on the gas pedal and zipped through the gate.

I shook my head and decided a walking speed was a perfectly reasonable pace when someone wanted to put me to work. The guard smirked at my intentionally slow footsteps and closed the gate behind me.

By the time I reached the secondary building, they had already made a couple of trips.

"Did you get lost on your way over?" Nicky asked. "Or am I going to have to draw you a map for the future?"

"Pick which bag you want me to carry before I completely ignore you."

"Any of them. They're all light."

I grabbed a handful of handles and lifted several bags out. Nicky wrapped her arms around as many bundles as she could and paraded in front of me like she was bringing an offering she had personally picked.

"Trinity's here!" Nicky hollered as we descended the stairs. "I'll send her your way as soon as we bring Jess more presents!"

"Thanks!" Nina's voice called from somewhere ahead.

We went down the hall to the two rooms Jess had taken possession of. She was in her element, happily spreading plants out to dry or sticking them in jars with various types of liquids.

"Where can I drop these?" I asked.

"On the chair by the door, please. I'll have to sort through them and organize them."

Nicky put her bundles on the floor. "Where's the fun in that? I thought you'd be the kind of person who loved scavenger hunts."

"I like scavenger hunts as a game, but not when I'm trying to find something I need."

"Some days I wonder if organized people are just too lazy to look for things." Nicky flashed a quick grin at my sister's back, hoping she'd take the bait.

Without taking her eyes off her work, Jess replied, "With pencils and pens, I don't mind a bit of hunting, but some of these herbs look very similar once they're dried, and you don't want to mix them up. Many herbs used in poultices to keep infections at bay will make you vomit up your toenails if you ingest them. Not something you want to accidentally put in a drink meant to soothe an upset stomach."