We entered a main room in the building where the rest of the group was relaxing. They all looked up as we entered. Nicky whistled, "Wow. You are in rough shape."

I growled half-heartedly at her, "Thanks..." My sarcasm was definitely recovering faster than my wounds. No surprise there.

Nicky chuckled, "I told them that I would probably be the first to get a growl out of you. Guess I win that bet. Welcome back by the way."

There was a chair a bit to the side, away from the others, and I sat in that one. Daniel took one not that far from me while Nina sat by him. Hank was sitting by a fireplace and held up an empty bowl, "Want some soup? The rest of us already ate lunch."

I nodded, "Half a bowl would be good, thanks."

I was trying to be polite since I knew my manners weren't going to last long. Nightstalkers were known for being easily irritable for good reason, injured ones were even worse. They were likely going to figure that out very shortly. Daniel got up to take the bowl and pass it to me. As much as my instincts didn't want the higher-ranking zombie so close to me, my human mind preferred him over the humans at the moment.

I was full from the deer blood, but I managed to down the soup. My stomach ached a bit from the amount of food I forced into it, but I knew I would be burning through calories like a fire through dry kindling. I may have been awake, but even that small walk had tired me.

Ben stretched, "We will stay here until tomorrow morning. Think you are up for a truck ride tomorrow?"

They must have found the part for the truck. At least they weren't asking me to walk. I didn't feel like being jounced around in the back of a truck, but I nodded anyway. Nina perked up a bit, "I know that you originally planned to head home once we hit the Stronghold, but it might be best if you stayed there until your injuries healed."

I turned my head to examine the lady who I was quite certain had patched up those very injuries, "I don't like Strongholds. My past experiences with them have been anything but good."

She nodded with a kind expression, "I can see that. This place has no problem with Daniel, so your presence won't bother them. Besides, you took two bullets meant for me. I can't exactly let you go off alone when you are barely able to walk."

Daniel fixed his eyes on me as he knew her last sentence would have triggered my instincts. I didn't dare growl at the lady while her bodyguard was watching so intently. I settled for sighing gustily in annoyance at her high handed assumption that she could control where I went, "I prefer to avoid large groups of humans, so I would rather not stay in one of those places."

Nina looked amused, "I'll make a deal with you. When we get there, if you can outrun me for half an hour then you can head wherever you like. If you can't, then it shows that you are still recovering and you stay with us."

I gritted my teeth as I looked away from the crafty lady. I wouldn't be able to win that bet for at least five days and I knew it. Apparently she did too.

Daniel sighed, "I'll tell you what. If anyone gives you trouble, I will set them straight. Very few dare to irritate Nina and even fewer want to cross me."

Daniel was offering to protect me instead of threatening to flatten me into a Nightstalker pancake. This had to be a first. I also had no clue what to say in response to that. This scenario had never even crossed my mind.

Nicky rubbed her hands together gleefully, "Count me in as well. If anyone tries to pull any underhanded tricks, I get to go after them. I have four cans of tomato juice in my backpack that I have been dying to use. If they work on zombies, they will probably have some effects on humans too."

Daniel gave her an odd look. This time she noticed it and grinned at him, "No worries, I have a bar of soap as backup in case a zombie appears. I even found a tiny bottle of liquid dish soap last night."

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion since Nicky looked eager to take on a zombie with just soap. Odd as it was, I knew that she wouldn't dare let a zombie close enough to her that she could stick soap in its mouth. I noticed her grin triumphantly at Daniel's expression and it clicked.

At this particular moment, this was not the insane Nicky. This was the somewhat crazy, but far too observant Nicky. She had figured out that Daniel had no clue what the soap reference was about and was using that to torment him. For the first time today, I felt humor cross my mind, although I let no trace of it be seen on my face.

Nina ruined the moment, "So, what do you say? We aren't going to let anything happen to you."

I turned my head to face her. Her question hadn't really seemed like a question. "I somehow suspect that if I try to decline that you are going to get Daniel to force me to stay."

She found my observation amusing and shook her head, "Unless you heal much faster than I anticipate, even I have a good chance of winning any fight with you."

Her amusement did not help my already smarting pride. The worst part was that she was also correct. The extra strength, speed, and stamina that came with being a Nightstalker were currently on vacation. For very short periods of time, I would be able to use them, but unless I was trying to win an arm wrestling match, it wasn't going to be doing me any good.

I was more or less a badly wounded human with a dangerous virus in her blood and a short temper. I huffed in annoyance as I turned my gaze to the flickering fire.

Nina apologized, "Sorry, I shouldn't have found it funny, but I never thought that I would ever have the upper hand over a Nightstalker if it came to a fight. I will be honest, that guy would have killed me if you hadn't intervened. I don't think I could live with myself if I knew you were off on your own with serious injuries caused by saving my life. So please, for my peace of mind, please stay with us at the Stronghold while you recover."

I knew that this wasn't an argument I was going to win. The human part of my mind did understand Nina's perspective and on some level agreed with her. I had managed two weeks with a group of humans already. Could I manage another two weeks in a Stronghold? Considering I knew that I didn't really have a choice until I was well enough to evade a Terror, it was a pointless question.

I sighed gustily in resignation, "Fine, but you could very well regret your persistence. Injuries like these make a Nightstalker's temper even worse."

Nina grinned, "I am sure we will manage just fine. Besides, we survived Nicky yesterday, so we are ready for anything you can throw at us."

I glanced at Nicky, who was shamelessly eavesdropping with a big grin, before I looked back at Nina, "She had another insanity blitz?"

Daniel snorted, "I think that is far too mild of a term for what we had to deal with. I ended up tying her to a chair, not just once, but three times because that little rat managed to get loose within minutes. I have no idea how you dealt with her that one morning."

Nina was amused as she elaborated, "She severely tried Daniel's patience and wasn't at all intimidated by him even when he snarled at her, which is something I have never seen before. Daniel hates cooking, but he has started making breakfast before everyone gets up just so we can stuff her full of food the second she wakes up."

Nicky chuckled, not at all embarrassed by their tales, "It turns out that it is hard to be cranky when you are full of good food. That is our plan for you too. Daniel already has some rabbits locked in crates by the back door so you don't have to go hunting."

That was a kind, if odd, gesture. It may have taken me an hour, but I could have caught a rabbit once night fell. In a way, I was glad I wasn't going to have to stalk through the forest tonight to land a kill. Even that small walk down the hallway told me that it would be days before I could walk without pain.

I shrugged, "Interesting plan, but I wouldn't bank on it working as well as you are hoping."

Nicky wasn't fazed by my pessimism, "It is worth a try and it can't hurt."

I had no way to argue with that. Nicky started sharpening her sword. Nina seemed content now that I had agreed with her plan. I had a feeling I could regret it if I was constantly trying to dodge her questions every time I turned around.

Daniel seemed relaxed. I didn't recall ever seeing him this relaxed. It was as if he knew that I had no chance of even attempting to fight him and his instincts weren't bothering him at all. I wondered how long that would last.