The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 5: Duck!

Wren shot another arrow at a ball of grass we'd hung on a tree, and it struck true yet again.

"I think you have the hang of it," I told her. "Do you want to see if we can find some rabbits or quail?"

Jax pointed to the side. "I think I saw some quail over there when we were coming this way. Not sure if they're still there or if they scampered off."

"Let's go check," Wren said eagerly.

We let her take the lead as we trudged through the shrubs and tall grasses. With the amount of noise we'd been making while Wren was trying out her bow, the quail had likely moved on. The smell of water grew stronger as we approached the canal, although I couldn't smell any quail.

Wren's shoulders slumped when we reached the canal. It was over ten feet across, and quail were noisy little buggers in the air, so we would have heard them take flight. A couple of dragonflies zipped above the water as minnows created tiny ripples.

Her gaze skimmed the shrubs behind us. "They must have left. I wonder if there is anything else around."

Past Nicky's shoulder, some ripples appeared on the water as a duck swam into sight. I inclined my head in that direction. "Duck."

Nicky instantly dropped to the ground and rolled to the side. Even as she craned her neck around to see what was behind her, the duck quacked several times.

"You have good reflexes," I commented, impressed at how quickly she'd thrown herself to the dirt with zero warning.

She mock-scowled at me and stood up, dusting off her knees. "After the week we've had, you really have to be more specific when you stare at something behind me and say duck."

She might have had a point, but I wasn't about to admit it. Instead, I asked Wren, "Do you want to shoot it down there or spook it into flight so we aren't trying to fish it out of the water?"

Wren pursed her lips and glanced at the bridge several hundred feet away. "The water is at least four feet below the top of the canal wall. It'd be easier to collect it on dry ground, but it'll fly away from us, and it might bleed out by the time we reach the bridge and get across."

"Wait here," I said as I jogged away.

Once I was far enough away to not bother the duck, I picked up speed and jumped over the canal. The duck would fly away from the one spooking it, and if that someone was me, it would fly to Wren's side of the canal.

Wren put an arrow on the bow as I looped around, guessing my plans. As I got closer, I could see that there were two more ducks farther down the canal. If they behaved like the wild ducks back home, the instant one took flight, the others would too. I took my bow off my backpack and grabbed two arrows in case Wren missed her target.

"I'll let you shoot, but if you miss, I'll see if I can bring it down." My words were loud enough that the duck was making small quacks and watching me rather alertly. Unfortunately for the duck, its reflexes were nowhere near as lifesaving as Nicky's were.

I raised my arms and ran toward the canal. The duck in front of me began running across the water to take flight, flying away from me and toward the zombie whose drawn bow followed it.

The other two ducks decided something wasn't right and also began fleeing. I veered to the side and nocked an arrow on the bowstring as I gave chase. As soon as they were past the canal and over solid ground, I loosed my arrow. The duck fell from the sky in a similar fashion to Wren's target.

I waved a hand toward the downed bird as I told Jax, "It's all yours."

He crossed his arms. "I'm not taking your dinner again."