The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 3: The Barn

"I have a list of things we're running low on. Do you need anything?" Daniel asked us when we arrived at the guest house and found the others carrying in their gear.

I shook my head since things like a transport vehicle big enough for several hundred people and all their animals and valuables belonged in a far-fetched science fiction novel.

Nicky wasn't as restrained by the fabric of reality as I was and happily requested, "A concrete fence strong enough to repel a Terror, a bazooka with unlimited rockets, and a dozen rutabagas and firecrackers. Oh, and an espresso for the grand finale!"

I wasn't sure I wanted to know what she had planned for a grand finale if it involved an espresso at the end of such a...unique wish list.

"Not happening," Daniel told her as she carried her backpack inside.

She shrugged. "Either that or a potato gun."

Nina looked up. "You don't have any potatoes or a proper accelerant for a launcher big enough to hold a potato."

"I know," Nicky groaned. "It's a tragedy. But I'm sure I can find some rocks of the appropriate size, and in theory, there's a way to distill flammable oils from a wood gas engine."

"Are you trying to build a potato gun or launch a meteorite into orbit?" I asked her, mildly concerned that she seemed to have carefully considered all of her realistic options.

She tilted her head in thought. "Can I do both?"

"No."

"Drat. I really wanted to make something go boom. There goes that plan." With a sigh, she scratched her head and looked down the hallway. "Which bedroom am I sleeping in?"

"Either one on the left side," Nina said absently, still sorting through a box.

It didn't take Nicky long to dump her backpack in a room and come skipping back. "So now what are we going to do?"

"I'm going back to the lab to start working on those samples," Nina said.

Logan had clean clothes and a towel draped over his arm. "The shower area looked empty, so I'm going to wash up."

"I can keep Nina company," Daniel said as he dug a book out of his duffel bag.

Nicky spun around to face me with a grin. "This means I get out of babysitting duty! What plans do we have for our new-found free time before it turns into utter boredom?"

I had somehow just been put in charge of someone who needed far more supervision than a preoccupied scientist. "Uh, I'm sure they'll let you clean out the chicken coop if you want?"

Her grin turned into a glare. "That's only fun when the chickens know me well enough to chase me. Next suggestion."

Daniel interjected, "The locals said the barn to the north—the one with the shingles, not the tin roof—is full of metal and wood scraps that we're welcome to use. You can help Trinity make a couple of ladders."

He must have overheard our previous conversation and was either trying to be helpful or perhaps he was trying to get Nicky out of the Stronghold before this place realized exactly what they had let inside.

"That would work," Nicky said, her eyes lighting up once more.

I nodded in agreement; it was a good solution that would keep Nicky preoccupied and help create a safety feature. It would also give me something to do outside the Stronghold. They probably hadn't realized I was a zombie yet, and that was bound to lead to some personal space issues before too long.

"Do you mind seeing if Jax and Wren are nearby and asking if they need food or anything?" Daniel asked.

"I guess," I said. "The shipping container isn't too far away from the barn, if it's the one I'm thinking of."