Nicky even drove in a fashion that didn't leave me wondering if I would make it back alive. She pulled up to the side of a trail and pointed, "Supposedly he put them down that side trail. He tied some orange trail ribbon above each one, although he said that you would probably have no problem locating the traps."

I nodded and tossed the bag of peanuts to her, "I should be back shortly. I don't smell any zombies, but keep an eye open just in case."

She looked at me in surprise, "You are just going to leave me here alone? What if I get kidnapped?!"

I rolled my eyes, "Honest, they would bring you back."

"That's exactly what Hank told me!"

I shook my head in disbelief as I ducked behind some trees. It didn't take me long to find all three traps. Two had rabbits in them. I drained both of them and made sure to treat the injury on my leg while I was at it. I wanted it to heal as soon as possible. The stitches that Nina put in had already dissolved.

I headed back to where Nicky was waiting. I slowly took my seat as I tried to figure out what she was doing. "Why did you line up the peanuts along the top of the dashboard?"

She shrugged as she scooped them back into the bag, "I wanted to see how wide it was when measured with peanuts."

Sometimes you meet people who are short just a few screws, other times the whole freaking toolbox is missing. I bet that the squirrel had given her advice on how to measure things after he stole her tape measure.

I refrained from commenting as she started the small vehicle and started heading back to the Stronghold. Nicky parked it in the garage with the other ATVs. Nicky looked at the clock, "We are just in time for supper. Let's go before all of the good stuff is gone!"

I picked up the two rabbits, "I will drop these off and meet you there."

She wasted no time running toward the mess hall. I shook my head and headed toward the butcher building. I heard some voices through an open window.

"They have Joe locked in one of those old jail cells at the moment. Nothing anyone says seems to get through to him. They aren't sure how he lost control considering that he hasn't even been in contact with a human since he turned."

"He did turn into a Runner and not a regular zombie, right?"

"Yeah, he is definitely a Runner. He goes ballistic whenever a human approaches the cell. Hopefully he will eventually calm down enough to snap out of it."

I heard a door shut as the two left whatever room they had been in. So that guy had turned. It was surprising that he had turned into a Runner considering the odds had been stacked against him. The zombie in the creek must have been a Runner after all. The smell of so many humans was probably throwing his bloodlust into overdrive and completely clouding his mind. Runners weren't exactly the brightest bricks in the wall to start with.

I found it odd that he would have completely lost control since they would have known to avoid giving him raw meat or human blood. Daniel was the only one here, other than me, who could approach the Runner safely, so I doubted that I would be seeing much of Daniel for a while. That didn't hurt my feelings in the least.

I left the rabbits with several people who said that they would clean them. The mess hall was pretty packed as supper was in full swing. The smell of over a hundred people in one room was an assault on my nose and the amount of noise tormented my ears. I was never coming here in the middle of the supper rush again.

People gave me some space and I took care not to follow too closely to those ahead of me in the lines waiting for food lest I make them nervous. There was nothing like having a bloodthirsty zombie following you in a supper lineup to make you uneasy. Elsewhere others bumped elbows without qualms and gave little regard to personal space.

Yeah, my Nightstalker instincts would not tolerate that. They were on the fritz as it was since it was impossible to watch everything around me. Tightly packed crowds of strangers were hell on earth for me. I did manage to spot Nicky against the far wall, she had managed to claim a small four seat table.

I headed toward her after I put some fruit on my plate and I made sure to choose the least congested route. I slid into the empty seat with a sigh of relief. Nicky grinned at me, "I figured that you would want to be against a wall. I did try for a corner, but they were all taken. You look like you are on edge."

I raised an eyebrow, "You have no idea how hard it is for me to be in this room at the moment. If I hadn't said that I would meet you in here, I would have turned around at the door."

We ate our meal in silence. Most tables were packed with benches holding more people than they had been intended for. No one joined us at our table, which was a relief for me. I made a mental note to grab something at lunch as well just so I could avoid this madhouse in the future.

Paranoid Nightstalker instincts did not do well in a crowded mess hall. The constant noise and sheer number of people were triggering instincts that were better left buried. My mood was going downhill fast. I had made a huge effort to be polite and tolerant today, but this crowd had me at my limits. I felt like snarling simply for the need of space. By the time I finished eating, I had already picked out the nearest exit. I stood up, "I need to get out of here."

Nicky stood up and followed me. I noticed that she gave me more space than she usually did. I made it outside without anyone bumping into me. I could see a few people already on top of the secondary building, so that was out. Where in this oversized chicken coop could I go while avoiding people?

Nicky touched my elbow, "This way."

I narrowed my eyes at the contact but let her lead the way. She led me to the far side of the chicken coop that faced the fence. There were a couple of stumps leaning against the side of the chicken coop and Nicky sat down on the furthest one.

She gave me a sympathetic look, "You were starting to look like you did that last night in the grocery store. I figured you needed some space and this is the best I can think of without going past the fence. I know you would be fine outside of the fence, but Daniel and Nina would have my hide."

"Thanks." I sat down on another stump. The coop blocked the view of the small settlement behind us and fortune decided to grace me with a breeze right from the forest, which minimized the human smells. I wished my leg was healed so I could go for a run through the forest.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I tried to settle my worked up instincts. It took time, but they eventually subsided to the point where I didn't feel like growling from feeling caged up in this place. The breeze smelled more like the forest than the human Stronghold that I was in and we were far enough away from the main buildings that the only noise was from the chickens.

I exhaled as I finally opened up my eyes. Nicky was fiddling with a handful of grass as she braided it, she glanced over at me, but didn't say anything. "Thanks. I am in a better mood now."

She nodded, "Glad to hear it."

She fell silent as she continued tormenting her handful of grass. I found it weird that Nicky was more in tune with my body language and zombie instincts than either Daniel or Nina. Sure, she occasionally pressed my buttons, but she had always somehow avoided pushing me too far.

"There!" Her voice held accomplishment.

I turned to look at Nicky's wide grin as she held up some sort of circle made of braided grass and daisies. I sighed, where did she come up with such ideas? She was at least 20 years old, not 8. She jumped to her feet and walked over. I stilled as I watched her, what was she up to now?

"It's a flower crown. Let me put it on you!"

I restrained a growl with difficulty as her hands approached my head. The head and neck were a very touchy area for a sane zombie. Nina had simply looked at the scab on my head once I was awake and made no move to touch it. I doubted that I could have let her touch it even if Daniel had been in the room. Even Kelly and Travis wouldn't lightly attempt what Nicky was doing.

Allowing anyone to put their hands near my head involved a lot of trust. I watched as both of her hands held the leafy circle closer. I tensed up as she approached, but I didn't make a sound as I felt her hands brush against my hair.

She draped the weeds gently on my head. Anyone else would have gotten snarled at. The very fact that I had been able to curb my instincts enough to let her do that made me realize something astounding. Somewhere, deep down, I actually trusted Nicky on some level.

It hadn't been easy, but I had done it. To the best of my knowledge, the only other people who would have been able to do that while I was awake were Kelly and Travis. We could wrestle at the drop of a hat, but they would have checked with me first before attempting to touch my head.

Nicky dug around in her pockets before producing a small makeup mirror and holding it up with a cheerful smile. Please let no one else see this... A woman with a suspicious expression looked back at me. Her dark reflective sunglasses made her look distant and somewhat dangerous. The slightly lopsided grass and daisy flower chain looked completely out of place. As if I were humoring a 4 year old...

I sighed heavily as I shook my head at my reflection. I reached out for the makeup mirror. Nicky reluctantly handed it over, "Just don't break it because you don't like the picture inside."

I snorted as I angled it to inspect the scab on my head. I carefully moved my hair a bit as I checked it out. It was a good thing that I had my hair back in a braid, otherwise trying to tame my waist long hair would have been hell. It was healing very well.

Whatever had been lacking in healing speed for my leg had obviously been redirected to this wound. I gently rubbed my fingers over it, but it was not really painful, just somewhat tender. It would not surprise me if the scab lifted in a few days. I did not realize that head wounds healed so quickly. My heart and lungs had probably healed at a similar rate in the beginning.

I handed Nicky back her mirror and she stuck it back in her pocket before she sat on a closer stump. A more serious look crossed her face, "Did you hear that someone was infected and turned into a Runner?"

"I heard a bit, but not much. Someone mentioned that he was having severe control problems and wasn't what I would call sane."

She nodded, "They had him locked in a cell similar to that jail cell we had you in. He knew before he turned what was going to happen and how hard it was going to be at first. He was determined to remain in control, but apparently, he's nothing more than a feral zombie at this point. He hasn't been in contact with any humans, so how could he be feral?"

I sighed, "A Runner isn't the brightest thing around. His intelligence would have dropped during the change. The bloodlust isn't something that you can prepare yourself for if you have never experienced it. If whatever room he is in smells as strongly of humans as any building here that I have been in so far, then I can understand his reaction somewhat."

Nicky lifted her head at my wording, "Somewhat?"

I exhaled slowly in thought, "He should have been able to regain control even if it took a few hours. If Daniel were to snarl at him, it should have made his instincts back down enough for the human mind to take over. Especially if he is running on pure zombie instincts. It is only due to my humanity overriding my instincts that I am a constant thorn in Daniel's side."

Nicky groaned and rubbed her head, "This is so confusing. I talked to Hank this morning and he has also noticed that the people here don't quite trust us yet and conversations occasionally stop when we get close. He put it down to us being new. Then again, he also blamed part of their reactions on my behavior this morning."

I reluctantly inquired, "What did you do this morning?" I wasn't really sure I wanted to know, but I had a fair idea of what the answer was.

She chuckled, "I may or may not have chased about 20 people around with a baseball bat before Hank and Ben managed to drag me to breakfast."

No wonder people didn't quite trust her after that. They were probably convinced that she was off her rocker. I shook my head in disbelief, "Why did you do that?"

She shrugged without concern, "I am not entirely sure, but there must have been a good reason even if I don't remember it."

Nicky was definitely... unique. I sighed as I turned my eyes back to the forest.