The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 9: Goose Quills To The Rescue

Shouts came from the wall as the defenders called for a ceasefire, realizing too late that some of their archers didn't have the best aim.

I slammed my hilt into the head of another zombie as I called to Jax, "Don't try pulling it out! If it's anything like these others, the barbs will slice deep, and you could hit an artery."

He glared at the arrow buried deep in the side of his leg and lashed out at a zombie that tottered past him. Even that bit of movement had him gritting his teeth and shifting his weight so his injured leg barely touched the ground.

"Give me a minute," I said, darting after the last few zombies.

Wren went over to him as I quickly knocked out the remaining zombies. I was breathing hard as I grabbed an arrow off the grass and jogged over to him. The shaft and fletching looked similar, and I held the loose arrow next to the one in his leg.

"That's in deep," Wren murmured in concern. "And those barbs are almost as long as my finger."

"Probably just easier to jam it the rest of the way through and break the tip off," Jax said through gritted teeth.

"That's a good way to cause a lot more damage," I retorted. "There isn't enough blood for it to have hit an artery or vein yet."

"I thought zombies couldn't bleed out?" Jax furrowed his eyebrows as doubt entered his expression.

"Bleed out and die, no," I said, still examining the arrow. "But bleeding out with that sort of injury would require almost a week of recovery time."

Nina's voice called out, "Is it safe for me to come out? I can remove the arrow and bandage up his leg."

I glanced over, now seeing Nina standing inside the gate with Logan and Nicky beside her. Why had I even bothered building so many ladders? They were supposed to climb to safety, not stand mere feet from the gate in the aftermath of a zombie attack. At least the archers had the good sense to be up in the guard posts.

Still, her timing was good. If anyone could get the arrow out with no additional damage, it was Nina.

"Do you think you can handle her coming close?" I quietly asked Jax.

He scowled at his leg, now aware of our audience. "Fine."

"You can come out," I told the humans. "Just keep an eye on the zombies in case we didn't knock them on the head hard enough."

When the guards didn't climb down, Logan and Nicky removed the bars and safety chains keeping the gate closed. Nicky—with her air cannon propped on her shoulder—took the lead as she meandered between the fallen zombies with as little concern as a cat strutting along the top of a wall.

Logan followed Nina like her shadow, holding a heavy knife in his hand and scrutinizing each zombie they passed as if it were playing dead. Nina knelt beside Jax without bothering to ask the clearly defensive zombie if he would consider sitting or lying down.

I hadn't required medical assistance since my first months at Ironwind, but I was certain she recalled my stubbornness during those distant days. She had patched up a few Runners over the years, so that experience would come in handy.

I took a step closer in case Jax's control slipped, and the way his eyes flickered to me showed his instincts were currently more concerned about my proximity than the scientist who was pulling gloves and feathers out of a first aid kit.

"Feathers?" I quietly asked Nina, wondering if Nicky had slipped some additions in while we weren't looking.

"Goose quills. If we push the feather shafts over the tip of the barbs, we can pull it out without damaging the artery and veins that run behind the femur." She looked up at Jax. "Getting them in place can be painful, especially when the arrow is this deep. I have some numbing serum, but it will only do so much."