The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 109

Nina's aim was better than Nicky's, much to my relief. I kept tabs on the wind, although it wasn't in my favor. I did know when Daniel came back, although it took him some time to locate us. He seemed somewhat surprised to find Nina shooting a bow.

I glanced over my shoulder as I heard him approaching, "Welcome back. No one is trussed up or being held against their will either."

Nicky piped up, "And we haven't even hit the maximum casualty limit that Trinity set for us."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged, "Nina wasn't sure if her aim was better than Nicky's, so I had to set some ground rules before I let them pick up weapons."

He chuckled and shook his head before going to grab a bow for himself. I watched him take a few shots, "I wasn't aware that you practiced archery."

He shrugged as he hit the bullseye yet again, "I tried it once when I first arrived at Ironwind, but it never really grew on me."

Either he had practiced a really long time, or else his instincts assisted him much more than mine did when it came to using weapons. I suspected the later reason. After his encounter with the three Nightstalkers, he did carry a dagger now. The question is, can he actually use it?

"So you can use a bow. Do you also know how to use that shiny new dagger?"

Daniel made a face, "Not really."

Sometimes the levels of intelligence and common sense around me just left me speechless. His aim with a bow was perfect, yet he didn't carry one. Instead, he chose to carry a weapon that he likely had never practiced with. Brilliant... Trying to use a weapon you have no skill with is sometimes worse than not using it at all. This was particularly true among zombies.

Daniel lowered his bow as he focused on me, "I saw you using that belt knife of yours when we fought those Nightstalkers, can you give me some training?"

He was tentative, partially due to not liking to ask for help, but also partly because he wasn't sure how I would react. I sighed as I considered the stronger zombie in front of me and how my past training attempts with other zombies had gone.

"I don't know much beyond the basics, but we can try. You do realize that any training session will probably frustrate you beyond belief and it will likely end up in a wrestling match, right?"

Now that I thought about it, any time that I had shown another zombie something, or if they had tried to teach me, it had always ended up in a wrestling match. Our instincts simply didn't understand sharing knowledge and they considered any corrections or comments to be a tiny challenge that slowly, but surely riled us up. Our humanity would allow us to redirect that energy into a wrestling match instead of First Strike or an actual fight.

Daniel looked curious, "I wasn't aware of that, but I would like to try. This dagger doesn't mean much if I have no clue how to use it."

At least he had some common sense. I put my bow and arrows on the holders on the side of the building beside us. I looked around, "We had best take this to that more open area over there."

He nodded as he put his own bow and arrows away. I pulled my belt knife off of my belt and ensured that the sheath was firmly secured to the blade. "Leave the sheath on for training like this. Normally there are practice blades to use, but if we ask we might end up with an audience."

None of the locals were within sight, but the archery area was isolated behind the garages. Trees blocked the view as well. This was a good thing as far as I was concerned. Well, if Nina thought I was purposefully riling him up before, just wait until they realize how well zombie instincts tolerate training.