The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 140

"I am going to tie a rock to that ribbon of yours yet." Nicky scowled as my arrow once more hit the target perfectly even with the wind.

I stepped back to let the next man have his turn, "You are just jealous."

"Of course I am. How could I not be?"

Liz was practically bouncing beside Nicky. I had let her aim my bow once, but convinced her to use her own bow without the ribbon after that. Nicky watched the man shoot before hefting her bow, "My turn. Cheer me on Liz!"

Liz clapped excitedly, "Go Nicky! You will hit the target if you keep trying!"

I snickered at Liz's innocent comment. Nicky winced, "I am not sure if that was encouragement or an insult."

Quite a few others were grinning, but this game was often accompanied by bantering and joking. Nicky fired and managed to hit the piece of plywood, but was nowhere close to where it should have hit. She groaned, "Okay Luke, your turn."

Despite his earlier objections, we had managed to convince Luke to come into the archery area while Nicky held a bow. Luke and his brother were intrigued by the game and had joined in. Luke's aim was better than Nicky's, but not by much.

A wind gust made his arrow hit the donkey's front leg instead of the rump. He shook his head with a faint growl of disappointment. The sound didn't bother anyone and only a couple even glanced over when they heard it.

Nicky scratched her head as she looked behind me, "Well, that is a new one."

I turned around to see what she was looking at. She had a right to be surprised. I hadn't noticed since the wind wasn't in my favor, but Nina and Daniel were coming over.

Once they got within easy speaking range I tilted my head as a silent inquiry. I had already given Nina three vials of blood yesterday, so I couldn't see her needing more already.

We must have looked curious since Daniel enlightened us, "We figured that Nicky's aim had improved to the point where it was safe to stand somewhere behind her."

The jibe hit home with Nicky. "Hey! I only managed to hit something behind me once! And that was an accident!"

Nina was looking at the giant donkey with a grin, "It looked like fun, so we thought we would join as well. If you don't mind, that is."

I shrugged, "Go for it."

Turning them away would have been ten stages past rude even for a zombie. We would just have to separate Daniel and Nicky. Nina and Daniel went to the shed to acquire a bow.

Nicky and Daniel predictably sent a few jibes at each other as the game progressed. It mostly consisted of Nicky complaining about his far-too-perfect aim while he inquired about where she was actually aiming. The wind sometimes grabbed the ribbon and took Daniel's arrow for a ride, much to my silent amusement.

Nicky cheered as she finally hit the donkey's rear end. She tried to playfully elbow me in the ribs and I used my arm to block her while growling idly. Liz peered up and tried to mimic my growl again. Many chuckled at that. I snorted faintly, "Keep that up and most Strongholds will think you are infected."

Liz just smiled up at me before turning to watch the next person firing their bow. She clearly did not understand what that meant or the implications of a human trying to act like a zombie.

Nicky grinned at me, "You have sure mellowed over the last few months."

I growled wordlessly at her. Nicky smirked, unaffected by my growl, "Just do all of us a favor and don't become as humanized as Daniel."