This Stronghold let us in easily enough since they had heard we were coming. Apparently someone had sent a message via a homing pigeon several days ago. Someone was guiding Joe to the showers.

The man in charge here was happily guiding us on a tour as Daniel tried to track the one infected person present. Liz looked around in curiosity, but thankfully didn't make any attempt to leave the group. Nicky was walking beside her, as bored as usual.

I focused on Daniel's arm. His scab must have come off while we were driving since only a red mark showed where the injury had been located. That healed faster than I had anticipated, even taking into consideration that he had discovered how to doctor his injuries properly. I suspected that Terrors healed a bit faster than Nightstalkers, even as Nightstalkers healed a bit quicker than Runners. It was barely noticeable, but it looked like it made a difference if you were a Terror.

Daniel didn't have any real difficulty locating the lady we were seeking. Joe caught up to us just as we were approaching the truck. I could barely even scent the zombie undertone on him now. A cat was walking across the road and Liz pointed toward it, "Look at the kitty!"

Nicky snagged her hand, "We can go see it if you want, but kitties don't like zombies, or those who have been close to them. The kitty probably won't let you pet it."

After sitting in my lap for so long, I could guarantee that the cat was not about to let Liz anywhere near it. Nicky had a better chance of getting close to the cat and her odds were also so small that they might as well be non-existent.

Nicky nodded toward Joe, "Why don't we let Joe try first?"

"Okay." Liz looked at him expectantly.

Joe took the hint and walked slowly toward the black and white feline. The cat didn't seem to notice anything amiss until he had almost touched it. It backed up quickly before slinking away while looking back suspiciously. It hadn't hissed though, or attempted to scratch him.

He looked disappointed. For that matter, so was I. Had the cat let him pet it, it would have meant one less person in the crowded truck. I knew I was getting grouchy from being crowded so much, but there wasn't much help for it. The scent had faded enough that he should be able to remain at the next location, although this place would probably accept him if Nina said she had given the cure.

The cat made its getaway and it wasn't long before we were in the truck once more.

~

"He headed north this morning, if you move quickly, you can probably catch him."

Nina nodded, "We will try to locate him before returning."

Nicky passed a spare face mask to Liz, "If someone sneezes around you, hold your breath and put this on quickly."

Liz clearly didn't understand the reasoning, but nodded obediently. Daniel started the truck before glancing back at me, "Trinity, can you pick up his scent?"

I had already checked the air, "No, so he is downwind somewhere."

"Well, that is north..."

We knew it had been coming, so coming to a location that had just expelled someone who was sneezing heavily was not a surprise. Nina was quite positive that the cure would work as long as the person didn't turn during the 4-6 hours window that it took for the cure to completely destroy the virus. In theory, they shouldn't be able to turn at all since the cure was reducing the virus below the required concentration.

If they were in that closing window, she planned to administer the serum that blocked the normal zombie trigger since it worked much faster and would allow them to remain sane when they turned. Then she would offer them the cure if they wanted to be human again. The controlex didn't play nice with humans, so it was only available for someone who was already a zombie.

I wasn't sure if I could handle a newly turned zombie in the back of the truck. It could come to blows pretty quickly. The odds of them turning into a Runner were in my favor though. If they turned into a Terror, I would be walking back.

~

"There you go. Just keep that mask on and hop in the back."

I stifled a growl as the current occupants of the truck shifted closer to me to make room for the man we rescued. Nicky glanced at me before pulling Liz into her lap. She knew my instincts were getting worked up and having Liz in direct contact with me for most of the day had them on the fritz. Thankfully we wouldn't be in this truck for much longer today.

It only took us half an hour to return to the Stronghold. Only Daniel and myself didn't bother with a mask. Everyone else wore one just in case. The sneezing man had already agreed to stay in an abandoned house outside the fence for three days, so we dropped him off there. Someone from the Stronghold had already left supplies at the front door for him.

The leader was waiting by the door, "You found him?"

Daniel nodded, "Yes. He will stay at that place for three days just to be sure, but he shouldn't even be sneezing by morning."

"Thank you very much. Can we offer you lodgings for the night?"

"You're welcome. We will accept your offer."

It looked like the tour would wait as we were led toward the guesthouses, but I didn't smell any other infected scent trails, other than what the previous sneezer had left behind. The man looked at our group, "I don't think any single room or house can hold your entire group. Do you mind being split up?"

Joe spoke up, "I was just traveling with them and I am actually hoping to stay, if that is possible."

The leader looked surprised, but nodded, "Certainly." He waved at a different man, "Bob, can you please help Joe find a room? He is planning on staying, so give him the tour and stuff."

Joe must have decided to not even bother the test with the cat after he realized that he would be dealing with possibly infectious people if he remained with us. He had been infected by a sneeze once, so he would remain as far as possible from such another situation.

The large cabin would hold the rest of our group since Logan and John didn't mind sleeping on the floor in their sleeping bags. We dropped our bags in our room since a thunderstorm was on the horizon. No sense getting our gear wet if it was easy to avoid it. The leader escorted us for an early supper.

I just walked along with the group and didn't bother taking a plate. Liz stood on her tip toes as she tried to peer at the food on the serving table. Nicky was focused on the food and ignoring her charge. So much for my earlier idea...

I took Liz's plate and pointed to one bin, "Do you want some rice?"

"Yes please."

I helped her fill her plate and carried it for her in case she spilled it. The leader ushered us onwards. Thankfully it was a private room he led us to, and not the main hall. If that main dining area got even halfway as busy as Ironwind's did, then I would have been going outside for fresh air.

Liz sat on my left side since I carried her plate and Nicky was quick to claim my other side. I took a sip of water as I listened to the others talk with the handful of locals who had followed us on our tour. One of the women across from me commented, "Don't you want anything to eat?"

I shook my head, "No, I am not hungry." I was tired of making excuses or brushing off inquiries every time we had a meal at a Stronghold. As much as I hated to admit, I was beginning to miss Ironwind Stronghold. That thought just irritated me further.

"I am sure the cooks can make something if you want something different." The lady was quite concerned that I was not eating. Perhaps she was worried that their hospitality was lacking.

"No thanks, I am not hungry."

Nicky must have been in a rather observant and intuitive mood since she distracted the lady, "Do you know if the places down the road might have heard any rumor of a group traveling with a cure? It makes it much easier when we arrive."

I knew that such details did not really interest Nicky. She considered travel plans and pit stops to be Nina's responsibility, so such a question was purely a distraction. It worked though, and the woman was distracted. The meal passed so slowly that it was almost painful.

Afterwards we got a general tour. This place was set up like quite a few other Strongholds, but their fence clearly needed an upgrade. I had no clue how a Runner had not scaled it yet. I muttered just loud enough for Daniel to hear, "That fence needs some serious work. I have no idea how it is still standing..."

Daniel turned his head and also examined the unusually short fence with a frown. He inquired with our guide, "I have never seen such a short fence before. What do you use to keep Runners and such away?"

The man winced, "We have been meaning to build it higher. You can already see where we dug the additional post holes. There is a big river just past those trees, so not many zombies show up. Some of the teenagers lure the zombies off on a dirtbike. They drive across a narrow bridge and the zombies are dumb enough to just walk into the river."

This place was a time bomb just waiting for a trigger. There was no way a ten foot chain link fence was going to stop anything more than regular zombies. There wasn't even any barbed wire on top to slow anything down. I had seen better fences around junk yards before the collapse. Sometimes I was rather glad I wasn't human, and being in a situation like this was one of them. I didn't really have anything to fear from feral zombies due to the fact that I was a zombie.

We finished the tour and headed back to the cabin we had been given. The locals left and headed to wherever they normally spent their evening. Nina glanced toward the gate, "I wonder if that guy outside the fence wants to come with us? It would be interesting to see how fast the cure worked."

I growled, "If you invite anyone else along, then we are going to need another vehicle or someone could get hurt."

Nina was surprised by my tone, "I forgot how crowded it was getting in the back. I noticed that you were getting grouchy, is anything wrong?"

Nicky rolled her eyes, "We crammed a Nightstalker in the back of a truck for nine days and keep adding people – strangers I might add – into the mix, and you are asking if anything is wrong? I even feel cramped back there. The fact that there have not been any casualties is a small miracle. At this rate we are going to need to hook up a trailer so we can travel in comfort."

Nina winced, "Ah, I think we are better off avoiding that. We packed some gas, but the Strongholds have been donating most of what we are using. A trailer would affect our gas mileage terribly."

I shook myself off in hopes it would settle my mood somewhat. I had no such luck. "At least I won't have any problem getting over that fence tonight."

Logan spoke, "I can't believe this place is standing with a fence like that." He glanced between me and Daniel, "If this place gets overrun in the middle of the night, are you two able to keep our group safe?"

Daniel glanced at me uncertainly, "During the day, I would say yes. Then night is trickier. I know you see well in the dark. I assume you plan to stick around close enough to notice if this place runs into trouble? Do you still have the walkie talkie I gave you?"

I sighed in irritation, "I suppose I can stick closer. Yes, I am still packing that piece of dead weight."

I knew that Daniel didn't plan to mention his weakness while we were on the road. He was letting them assume that his vision at night would be similar to theirs, while hinting that mine was much better. The night vision and nocturnal preferences of Nightstalkers were quite well known.

I didn't appreciate having to stick closer, but with my luck Nicky would start sleepwalking and teleport right through that lousy excuse of a fence before getting into a fist fight with a tree. I glanced to the west, but the sun wasn't going to disappear for a few more hours yet.

I remained outside while the others went in to figure out who was going to crash where for the night. A break away from people was all I really wanted at the minute, but inside of a Stronghold, that was next to impossible. My gaze slowly skimmed over my surroundings looking for any place that may provide peace and quiet.

The flower trellis against the side wall caught my attention and I wandered over to it. It reached right up to the roof. Good enough for me. I started climbing as silently as I could, which wasn't the easiest feat on a rickety trellis made from old sticks. It was squeaking enough that Daniel could probably hear it if he was paying attention or listening hard enough. Although with the amount they were talking inside, he probably wasn't paying attention to the sound of sticks creaking outside.

John had the same manners his brother did, "I can take the floor again. Let Nicky and Nina have the bed."

Logan really didn't seem to care where he slept, "Sounds good to me."

I reached the roof and silently padded up to the peak before sitting in precious solitude. Too bad I couldn't tone down my good hearing the way I could change my eye color.

"Liz, you can have this bed tonight. You must be getting tired."

"I'm not tired."

Nicky groaned, "She slept almost all day in the truck. Getting her to sleep tonight is not going to be fun."

I laid back on the shingles to attempt to relax in the heat of the sun while trying to ignore whatever game of tag had started inside as Nicky tried to tire Liz out on short notice. I was so glad that I was not inside right now with whatever was going on.

Several minutes later Nicky still hadn't worn Liz out. "Let's go find Trinity instead."

I hope that they don't look up. Perhaps walking several laps around this place will tire them both out. I cracked one eye open as I watched them walk down the beaten dirt path. I am not sure who let those two out without supervision, but I am not volunteering. I closed my eyes and remained where I was.

~

It took them about an hour to locate me. If the sound of the trellis creaking hadn't given them away, then their hushed giggling would have. The locals weren't aware that I was a zombie, but they would not have tried to climb onto a roof to bother any guest. I could only think of two people in the immediate vicinity who would try to sneak up on me.

Well, if you can call that sneaking... Even if I had been halfway deaf I would know that something was up. The hour hadn't done much for my temper, but my temper being out of sorts was not exactly a new or novel thing. I growled a reluctant welcome without bothering to open my eyes.

Nicky whispered to Liz, "Always pay attention to a zombie's growl as well as their body language. Did you hear how that growl didn't seem serious and how she didn't bother even sitting up? That means it wasn't a true warning."

I exhaled slowly in irritation, not entirely impressed that Nicky was giving Liz zombie communication lessons 101.

"And that sound is one she makes a lot when you start to annoy her, which is quite frequently."

I turned my head to regard the two interlopers, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Nicky grinned as she sat down beside me, "Actually, no."

I huffed to show my opinion of that. Nicky chuckled before leaning her head back to watch the clouds that were colored pink by the sunset. Liz sat down between us and also watched the sunset in silence.