The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 81

All the bystanders were watching us; the traders with confusion, and the locals with an evaluating gaze, one or two were likely considering ways to keep this so-called 'old friend' here despite his earlier words to Nicky.

I rolled my eyes, "I think the sun baked your brains to cause such memory loss. It would cost you your life."

He dropped his arms, "Yeah, I guess we really didn't get along. Any chance of starting off with a clean slate?"

I raised an eyebrow as I gazed down at him from my perch, "Considering you were hassling my best friend, I fail to see how you consider that as a clean slate."

"Aww... Come on, don't be like that. I thought everyone I knew was dead or undead." He paused with a look of confusion, "Wait, I thought that everyone in your workplace got the flu shot every year? Didn't you get it?"

A stranger rounded the corner just behind the group and his eyes locked onto Nicky, "Oh shit. Nicky ended up here? Justin, whatever you do, don't let that redhead come back with us regardless of what this place bribes you with. She chases people around on a daily basis. It isn't worth it. She is insane."

That last comment crossed a line and my temper flared. Nicky clenched her jaw in anger as she refrained from responding to the man that she obviously recognized. I could see that the comments had hurt her even though she was trying to hide it.

I bristled at this new man's attitude as my opinion of this trader group continued to drop like an overripe apple from a tree. All that remained to be seen was how big of a splat it was going to make upon impact...

I growled as I shifted my weight to drop off the railing I was perched on. It was nothing for me to drop down one story and land lightly on my feet. Gasps sounded as the traders realized that I wasn't human. I took several slow smooth steps forward with a grace not possessed by humans as I walked up beside Nicky.

My gaze was locked onto the latest man. Anyone could tell that I was not impressed and my stance clearly said that he had made a serious blunder. The man took a few shaky steps back as others swiftly made sure that they were not between him and me.

My voice was a low growl and dangerous, "It is one thing to annoy my friends, but when you insult them you play a dangerous game."

The man was terrified and still slowly backing away without a response. I decided to let him sweat and worry for a bit. I turned to the side to face Justin and my voice was close to what it had been when I was talking with him earlier, "I did get that flu shot, although I was out of town when I turned."

Justin blinked in surprise and was also speechless. He had not realized that I was actually a zombie. Some of the archers had rappelled down the rope to the ground. I noticed that several local guards and more from the archery group were also swiftly approaching from various directions.

One of the archers from the deck was not in a good mood as he approached the man who had insulted Nicky, "You will not come in here and insult our people. You can wait outside the fence until your friends are done. Move it."

The man looked at him in disbelief, but a glance at the other stern armed fighters who had just arrived showed that this wasn't a joke. He turned and headed toward the gate and the newly arrived fighters followed him. The archers may not be that fond of Nicky and her mood swings, but they had accepted her and would defend her. Word of how she had defended the Stronghold from the two arsonists had also had a huge impact.

I crossed my arms as I watched the guards and archers usher the man away and commented idly to Nicky, "It is a good thing that I like those archers. They are clearly not aware of how dangerous it is to intervene in a zombie's quarrel. Although it may be for the best, I could have a hard time explaining to Daniel exactly why I thrashed a visitor."

Intervening was not a wise move on their part, most zombies would have taken almost as much offense to that as they would have over a stolen kill. My level of control, the way they had stuck up for Nicky, and the fact that I didn't really want his blood on my hands gave them a pass, but it was a cautionary word for the future. Most zombies would have reacted quite poorly though.

Nicky gave me a shaky smile, still trying to hide the wounds those callous words had left, "Don't mind the archers, they did what was best. It really shouldn't come to bloodshed. Besides, if you want to pick a fight with that Terror, I can think of better ways to piss Daniel off."

I chuckled darkly, "Oh, so can I. It is pretty easy to annoy him if you do it right." I wasn't sure who that man was that he had gotten a reaction like that out of Nicky. They clearly knew one another, but he would be wise to not show his face again.

Justin and his four lackeys were speechless and clearly not sure what to make of me at this point. Most humans went far out of their way to avoid a zombie and here we were idly considering how to piss off a Terror. Life had taught people one thing since the zombies had first appeared – zombies were dangerous. I was also a zombie.

Justin was practically shaking in fear since he had insulted me before he realized that I was a zombie. I turned to face Justin and he paled as my gaze once more rested upon him. "I don't know who that was, but he would be well advised to keep his distance. My patience when I was human was slim and it is worse now. My ire is not an easy thing to bear, as you should well recall."

He shuffled his feet nervously and I could smell his anxiety at the topic at hand, "Uh... I will have a word with him later."

I snorted, halfway amused at the irony of the situation, but still annoyed, "As if you have any room to talk. Time and survival have clearly not done your disrespectful manner any favors."

He was sweating and couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't land him in more hot water. He clearly expected that he would not walk away unharmed. He had good reasons to expect that, he had been a jerk in highschool and made the mistake of punching some of my friends for no reason on a few occasions.

The first time I had walked away with bruises, a split lip, and a black eye. His parents ended up taking him to the hospital and he was put on bed rest for a week. That wasn't the last time we had clashed either. If his friends didn't intervene, he never came out on top. Just because I was short didn't mean that I couldn't clash with a wannabe football jock. Even back then I had a tendency to play dirty.

Justin apparently decided that an apology and a bit of groveling might be the best way to appease a zombie's wrath, "I apologize for what I said to your friend."

I raised an eyebrow with a low growl, "Telling me that you are sorry when she is standing right here is not helping your case any."

Throughout all of our high school years I had never managed to get him to apologize to any of my friends directly, regardless of how many fights it caused. I could smell the fear rolling off him, as well as the mixed emotions from the remaining archers. None of them were sure where this was going.

Justin visibly swallowed his over-inflated pride as he faced Nicky, "I am sorry for what I said. My temper sometimes gets the best of me."

Nicky tilted her head as she considered the apology. She finally nodded, "I'll buy that lame excuse this time. I suggest taking some yoga or meditation though. Zombies are a lot like fairies. You often don't realize what they are until they decide if they like you or not. If they like you, great. If not, you are up shit creek without a paddle."

This has to be the first time that I have ever heard of a zombie being compared to Tinkerbell...

He nodded slowly, "I will keep that in mind."

Nicky frowned, "Oh, and keep Kane away from me. If he tries anything, I am sending Trinity after him."

"I will do that. We won't bring him here again."

That was a wise plan on their part considering Kane's life may hang in the balance. I was tired of this nonsense and exhaled gustily, "I'll ignore our past disputes, but keep a civil tongue in your head. I am not the only sane zombie kicking around in this world and quite a few would have thrashed you for such comments."

Justin nodded in relief at his lucky break. "Thank you."

I snorted lightly and shook myself as I turned to climb the rope back up to the balcony. Nicky managed to get up the rope with far less difficulty than I had anticipated. Justin and his group swiftly made themselves scarce. No surprise there.