The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 87

It was late in the afternoon by the time we found a place to camp. It was an old gas station. I grabbed a few bags of supplies as I jumped off the truck and sniffed the air, "There is at least one regular zombie around, but nothing else that I can detect."

Nicky stood up and brandished two rather vividly colored pairs of socks, "I finished them!"

Daniel grumbled, "Fantastic."

Nicky beamed at him, "Great! I want both you and Trinity to wear these at least once."

A growl from Daniel and me told Nicky what we thought of that plan. Nicky raised her chin, "If I spent hours coloring a sock, then the least you can do is wear it for a day. One freaking day. Is that really too much to ask?"

Daniel gritted his teeth and growled faintly. Nina moved closer to him and was whispering too quietly for me to hear from over here, which was a remarkable feat. I narrowed my eyes at the flamboyant objects in her hand as my mind tried to find an easy way out of wearing that mortifying object.

Perhaps there was another way around it. It wasn't so much that I didn't want to wear a pair of socks as that the color would damage my rather over-inflated pride and lead to people staring. Having people stare at me set my instincts off in a rather unfavorable fashion.

I tried to think of another alternative. Sometimes indirect plans were the easiest... I had to clarify some details to know if my potential plan held any merit.

"One day? You just want us to have them on our feet, correct?"

Daniel sent me a surprised look, startled that I was giving in so easily when I had growled earlier at the thought. Nicky nodded, "Yes. Just wear them for one day. I don't care who sees them, I just want you to wear them."

I didn't like being pushed into any situation, but her conditions allowed me to form a plan for this particular one and that made it bearable. I huffed, "Fine."

Nicky turned expectantly toward Daniel, who intentionally avoided her gaze as Nina still tried to convince him to not hurt her feelings. I wished her luck with that one considering the mood Daniel was currently in. I walked toward the door to take the first load in. This place looked even worse from the outside than the previous house did.

I pushed the door open. Instinct made me try to dodge the trap even before I realized what was happening, but I was not quite fast enough to completely avoid the bucket of stagnant water that had been precariously balanced above the door inside. I snarled in rage as I shook myself off. My vision took on a reddish hue in my indignation and fury.

My clothing was halfway soaked and I was not a happy camper.

Nicky gasped, "Are you all right?"

I dropped the bags and my backpack on a dry spot on the ground as I wrung out my long braid with a half-snarl, "Just peachy."

I knew that Nicky was honestly concerned, but I was too angry to manage a civil response. Who the hell would prop a bucket of water above a door in a random building?! I would be checking the scent on that bucket before we left. If I ever crossed the path of that person, we would be having a little discussion.

My sunglasses had water splatter on them and taking them off for a cleaning wasn't possible with the sun shining on us. Even if I switched to a backup pair, the few seconds when my eyes were unprotected would be uncomfortable even if I stood in the shade of a big tree. I hated dirty glasses too.

Daniel seemed to find my impromptu shower funny and smirked, which didn't help my temper any. He faintly chuckled, "You look like a dog that got caught out in the rain with your hair like that."