The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 139

We sat on the bench while Nicky somehow managed to wolf down everything I had packed in that box. She sighed in satiation, "That was good. I feel much better now. On a side note, how bad is the collateral damage?"

I glanced at her, "What collateral damage?"

"Did I scare John, Luke or Logan out of the Stronghold?"

"No. You severely confused them though."

"I tend to be really good at doing that for some reason..."

I didn't bother responding to that comment. Nicky stretched, "So what is on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"First off, I think you should change and brush your hair so people don't think you slept in a cave. Then you can think of what tasks you feel like attempting. I already spent all night patrolling, so I did my due diligence."

"Braggart. Just because you finished working doesn't mean that you can rub it in."

I snorted, "After what you just put me through, why not?"

"Because it reminds me that I haven't even started my chores yet."

By this time we had reached the secondary building and Nicky went inside. I decided to wait a few minutes to give Nicky a head start before going in so that she wouldn't realize that I was in my room. Someone else could deal with her for the rest of the day.

After sleeping so much yesterday, sleep didn't want to come. I did manage to nap a bit on and off though. It didn't take long for me to get bored and give up. I headed downstairs and looked around once I was outside.

I decided to go chop wood. As per usual it was deserted. Wood chopping must not have been a popular chore since no one had really done much since I left. They had hauled the pieces here to be split, but had not taken the axe to them yet.

I had nothing better to do, so I kept chopping wood through lunch and well into the afternoon.

Luke eventually showed up, "Well, you certainly put a dent in that pile."

I swung the axe again, "Someone else gets to stack it. That is an easy enough job."

He shook his head in amusement, "I doubt they will argue. But I was sent to fetch you while the others went to grab some food."

I put the axe away and walked back with Luke as we headed to the secondary building. We reached the rooftop just in time to see the others exit the mess hall and headed in this direction. I was somehow not surprised to note that no one other than our group planned to eat up here tonight. They were either nervous about having three zombies in one spot, or they were giving us our space. It was almost certainly the second option.

I slowly blinked as I noticed that Liz was also tagging along with them. Nicky was carrying her plate for her. I sat down in a chair to wait for them to climb all those stairs.

I looked at Luke, "What have you been up to all day?"

He grinned at me, "I played in the lab, of course. John, Nina, and Daniel were down there as well, although Nina and Daniel were often in different rooms. Logan came back just before lunch with some weird plants that have Nina pretty excited."

I rolled my eyes, "If it involves science, then it is pretty easy to get her excited."

Luke was silent for a moment, "Is there something going on between Logan and Nina? He never took his eyes off of her..."

Luke was much more observant after the controlex removed the haze from his mind. I chuckled, "He has a crush on her, but don't tell her that. I am waiting to see how long it takes her to notice."