The Virus Within: The Unranked (Book 4)

Ch. 11: Nicky: Master of Tents and Dust Bunnies

As we approached the gate, more locals converged on the crowd of refugees, leading small groups away once Nina and Daniel made sure they weren't infected. Wyatt shouted instructions and made sure anyone with injuries saw the doctors and nurses. It looked like semi-organized chaos in a handbag.

"Why don't we help set up that big tent until the crowd dissipates?" Nicky suggested, pointing to the side. "I don't know what circus they stole it from, but your muscles will come in handy, and almost no one is over there."

"As long as I don't have to go through that crowd," I replied, veering toward an access gate.

"I fully agree with that plan since it means no one will notice me sneaking inside."

A handful of people were unrolling the massive party tent when we got there. It looked big enough to host a wedding in and had so many support poles that I was second-guessing my decision to help set up this monstrosity.

"How can we help?" I asked. "As long as no one crowds me, I can handle all the heavy lifting."

"We'll take any help we can get," a woman replied. "There aren't enough rooms, so this will give them a place to sleep. We're currently trying to figure out where the cross beams go. So far, we know the supports with an E go in the blue clamps, so if you want to collect those, that would be a good start."

"Don't put them in the clamps yet," Nicky said, peering at one of the clamps. "We need whatever goes in this bracket first."

After a couple of questions, the group quickly commandeered Nicky, whose pastime with IQ puzzles was finally paying off. She simply had to see the slots, roll the various posts around, and she knew exactly which pieces went where and the order we had to assemble them in. I didn't even try to figure it out and simply followed the instructions they gave me.

Daniel, Nina, and Logan arrived just as we were finishing up. Their timing was perfect because the refugees were anxiously trying to help in any fashion they could, and it was becoming unpleasantly crowded.

"All that's left to do is secure the tent pegs!" Nicky shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

I rolled my eyes. "Was yelling really necessary? Some of them were already starting to do that."

Nicky grinned at me. "Probably not, but they likely heard me already. I also think we did our good deed for the evening, so let's get out of here before they decide they want to set up a second tent."

That sounded like a good idea, so I wandered over to meet our three companions.

As we got closer, I asked, "How many people were in that caravan?"

"About three hundred, which was most of their population" Daniel replied. "Some got cornered or didn't make it out before zombies caught them."

Nicky crossed her arms. "I don't even need Trinity's instincts to proclaim something is fishy. We come looking for a weird zombie, and suddenly, a nearby Stronghold falls? Not to mention we have a mysterious dead guy, possibly a group making mutant zombies, and Trinity has mentioned the lack of coyotes three times now. And this is just the first day! I know we break the laws of the impossible whenever we take Trinity on a road trip, but this is getting a bit excessive."

"Where exactly is this Stronghold?" I asked, ignoring the redhead's attempt to summarize the day's events.

"It's Odessa Stronghold. They're east of here, about halfway to Spokane and a bit south," Daniel said.

My eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected answer. "So nowhere close to where we were searching for our mystery zombie?"

"No, we went south. But they did report a zombie with jerky movements."