I halfway glared at the Stronghold in the distance. Daniel was once more driving the truck while Nicky and I were in the back. Nina had a travel plan drawn up that would allow us to visit two or three Strongholds a day. She hoped to get to all of the closest ones within two weeks. The wave should have started by then, but even with traveling almost all day, we could only cover so much ground even if Daniel used those bright headlights to drive most of the night.

Nina glanced back, "How are you holding up?" She knew that I really didn't want to go into strange Strongholds considering my past experiences with them.

I sighed, "I seriously hope that this doesn't turn out to be a mistake."

Nicky was gazing at the sky and idly commented, "I never make the same mistake twice. I make it at least five or six times just to be sure that it is actually a mistake." She turned her head to look at me, "If five places try to kill you, then I will help you burn them to the ground."

I blinked slowly, "Thank you, I think..."

We fell silent as we got closer to the Stronghold. Nicky sat up, "Well, I have never been here before."

I took that comment as a good thing. People were waiting for us at the gate, so it looked like our arrival had been expected. Lovely. I had a feeling that this trip was going to bring out my sarcasm in a rather unfortunate way.

"Daniel, Nina, glad you could make it. You can park right over there since I know you won't stay long. Can we offer you some lunch?"

Nina nodded, "Thank you Rick, lunch sounds good."

I sniffed the air as Daniel drove to the indicated spot, "You smell that?"

I heard Daniel take a deep breath and a faint growl sounded from inside the truck, "Yeah."

"Huh. Well it looks like both of us can smell it even though we have at least a week before the first case can possibly arise."

Nina looked startled, "Someone here is infected?"

Daniel parked the truck and got out, "Yes."

I jumped out of the truck and took a second sniff, "There are at least two that I am picking up."

Nina nodded as she pulled a small backpack out. It held the cure and other drugs she had brought along. Rick walked over, "Would you like lunch now or do you want to do an inspection first?"

His eyes glanced over Nicky and me as he noted the two unfamiliar faces. Nina tilted her head, "How about lunch first?"

"Certainly. This way please." He was quite polite, but considering he knew that two zombies were present, that was a wise move on his part.

Lunch was venison, bread, and soup. The dining area was fairly empty, although anyone we passed stared at us. Much to my annoyance. I had forgotten how quickly the people at Ironwind had gotten accustomed to my presence and knew I didn't like being stared at.

This is going to be a long two weeks... The two women grabbed some food. My instincts were not enjoying being inside of a strange Stronghold. They analyzed everything in suspicion. As much as I liked their assistance in case of an ambush or trap, having my instincts so active was a pain in the ass and quite distracting since they also affected my temper.

I didn't find anything amiss though, so that was good. The guy tagged along with us as he mainly spoke to Nina, who was quite talkative.

"We took care during the last wave, so we hope this wave won't give us any trouble."

A bit late for that bud. I hope the other places were more successful otherwise some people are in for a rude awakening. Nina made a face before replying, "Unfortunately, we know that at least two here are infected although we don't know who they are yet."

The man gazed at her with a devastated expression, "Are you sure?"

He had likely forgotten that Nina had a cure with her, or perhaps he doubted its effectiveness. In the past, knowing that someone was infected was more or less a guarantee that death was looming close for that person.

Nina nodded, "Both Daniel and Trinity could smell them, so we will track them down after eating and see if they want the cure or if they want to try out life as a sane zombie."

Rick was surprised, so I assumed that he had indeed forgotten that there were options for those infected. He was silent for the rest of the meal. I was beginning to wonder exactly why I had agreed to come along. Daniel's nose was sufficient to pick up the scent of those infected.

There was little wonder that my horse had started acting up weeks before I had turned. It was more surprising that I had not smelled it on myself in the days before the event. Eventually the women finished eating and Rick escorted us around the Stronghold.

Daniel sniffed the air before shaking his head in frustration, "Whoever is infected has made miles in this place. I can't seem to determine which trail is most recent." He glanced at me, "Can you track it?"

Now I saw why I was along. Daniel could smell it, but the person had wandered around so much that it was tough for him to pick up the most recent scent trail. Daniel relied more on sight, while my world tended to revolve around scent. If it had just been Daniel, he would have had to check out each person here just to be sure.

I nodded slowly, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Daniel stood up straighter, "Take us to anyone who is infected. Nina and I can handle it from there."

Easy enough. I took a deep breath of the air before heading in one direction. My sense of smell was a huge time saver in a Stronghold with a few hundred people all crowded into one rather small area. We rounded a few corners as I tracked the most recent scent on the air itself, ignoring where the person had walked. Three women were grinding grain into flour.

I slowed to a stop as I approached the group. They fell silent as they watched us approach. Nina walked up beside me, "Is it one of them?"

I nodded silently and the women paled. Nina turned to them with a gentle expression, "Could you please come up one at a time so we can determine who is infected? I have both a cure and a drug that would allow you to remain sane if you decided to become a zombie. The choice is up to you."

One thinner lady got to her feet first, "I don't like suspense, so I just have to know."

She walked forward slowly. I took another breath as she approached Nina and shook my head, "It isn't you."

She sighed in relief, before turning to her friends in worry. The two looked at one another before a brunette came forward. I didn't even need a deep breath. I glanced at Nina and jerked my head toward the woman approaching. The woman paled as she understood the silent gesture.

Nina walked toward her in sympathy, "I am sorry, but at least we caught it in time."

The woman looked devastated, "You said you had the cure, right?"

Nina nodded, "Yes. I have a cure. I also have something that will allow you to remain in control if you want to become a zombie."

She shook her head rapidly, "I don't want to be a zombie. Please give me the cure."

Nina reached into her bag to pull out a syringe and load it with liquid from a vial. "If you are ready, please hold out your arm. This will completely cure you within six hours."

The woman wordlessly held out both arms to let Nina take her pick. Nina injected the cure with ease of practice that came from years of handling needles, "There you go."

"Thank you." She turned to her friend, "I think I am going to go lie down for a bit."

Her friend nodded sympathetically. Such news wasn't really something you could easily break to someone, even if you did have the cure.

Nina turned toward me, "Next one?"

I exhaled gustily before checking the air and leading the way once more. We found the man in the garden and Nina gave him the same options. He also picked the cure without even a thought for the other drug. It didn't surprise me.

Most here would be scared of zombies or the downsides of being one outweighed the possible advantages. Most humans could not stand the thought of catching, killing, and drinking the blood of an animal several times a week. They would also be unable to kiss loved ones without risk of them also getting infected. Another fear was that of not fitting in. No one wanted to be different, or to be an outcast.

Fear of the unknown was also daunting. The seizures were scary and the thought of wanting to kill your friends was not easy to bear. They had been so scared of being infected and turning into a zombie in the past, that it simply wasn't even something they could consider at this point. For them, it was like being told that it was safe to grab the blade of a running chainsaw. They just couldn't fathom attempting it.

Rick took us on a quick tour afterwards to ensure that we hadn't missed any areas or people. At the end I shook my head, "Nothing, just those two."

Nina sighed in relief, "That is good news." She turned to Rick, "Thank you for taking time out of your day to help us. We appreciate it and are glad we could help, but we are going to keep going and see how many more Strongholds we can visit before the sun sets. I did leave three vials of the cure with Elizabeth, so if we did miss someone and they start sneezing, you do have something to turn to."

Rick nodded, "Thank you very much for coming out. Always feel free to come by for a visit or for a guestroom. Our gates are always open for you. Travel safe."

"Thank you."

We hadn't unpacked the truck, so we simply got into it and headed toward the gate that was opening up for us. One place down, a few dozen to go...

~

Nina looked out the open window of the truck at me as we approached the third Stronghold, "How are you holding up Trinity?"

I huffed, "This is going to be the longest trip ever invented."

My instincts did not like visiting strange Strongholds filled with numerous strangers who rudely stared and whispered amongst themselves. I had known this in theory, but it was really sinking in. And we have barely even started...

At the last place I had growled at a teenager who had attempted to touch my elbow on a dare. He had gotten into a boatload of trouble with the three adults who were guiding us on a tour. My mood had only gone downhill since. We had not found any infected people at the second place, but Nina was planning on leaving the cure at each location, just in case.

She had also informed me that we were going to try to visit every Stronghold that we could until the wave was over, even if they had not expressly invited us. Our travel plan was to slow spiral away from Ironwind while going further with each circuit.

Nina sighed, "Sorry. Wish I could help. We can stay the night at this place and leave early in the morning. This group won't mind you going outside the fence at night. Daniel and I have stopped here before."

I didn't respond. I was once more reminded of how tempting a remote cabin in the foothills sounded. Nina glanced pointedly at Nicky. Nicky raised an eyebrow in self-defense, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I can help defuse an actual incident, but there isn't much I can do if she is just feeling crowded and peeved. She is a Nightstalker."

I growled faintly, "You can stop talking about me like I am not here at any time..."

Nicky apologized, "Sorry."

I was in an unnecessarily grouchy mood and I knew it. I just didn't care enough to attempt to correct it. The Stronghold was now in sight and that didn't encourage an uplifting of my attitude any. I would try to remain civil and not insult anyone without provocation, but that was about as much effort as I planned to put in.