I wasn't in a rush to return and Nicky was easy to distract with wild strawberries. I left Nicky pigging out on strawberries as I went to check out the rabbit traps. I left the three dead rabbits on the side by side and proceeded to raid the mostly untouched strawberry patch. Strawberries beat dry bread for supper and Nicky was thoroughly enjoying her appetizer as we picked in silence.

I glanced up at the sound of footsteps, but I had already caught Daniel's scent. He slowed as he approached and walked out of the trees while simply watching us. I glanced at him, but continued picking the small sweet pieces of fruit.

It took several minutes for Nicky to realize he was here. When she finally spotted him, she jumped in surprise and looked at me accusingly, "You could have told me we had company. How long has that stalker been standing there?"

I shrugged, "About three minutes or so."

She stuffed more berries in her mouth and grumbled around her mouthful. She turned her glare to Daniel, "Why are you out here?"

He blinked slowly at her, "You disappeared for five hours. Surely you didn't think that your absence went unnoticed? I came to make sure that Trinity hadn't murdered you yet considering some of the tales I have heard recently."

She frowned, "I am sure that those guys were exaggerating. I did not chase them with a tire iron."

"Of course." He didn't sound at all convinced.

"Those guys really need to learn the names of tools. It was actually a prybar."

He growled, "You aren't supposed to be chasing them with anything that resembles a weapon."

Nicky protested, "But they started it!"

He glared at her, obviously losing patience, "How so?"

"They gave me coffee!"

He gritted his teeth with a growl as he closed his eyes, "That is not a good enough excuse for terrorizing a quarter of the population."

He seemed in an oddly short tempered mood compared to what I had seen in the past. He turned his reddish eyes toward me, "Just how have you not murdered her yet? I have been here less than five minutes and she is already testing my patience."

I bared my teeth in a dark parody of a smile. He narrowed his eyes somewhat at the action. "She hasn't said a single thing for almost an hour, so I think you just bring out the worst in her. It makes me look normal if I hang around with her. Besides, her mere presence also keeps everyone else at a distance."

He gave me a disbelieving look before shaking his head, "Supper will be ready in half an hour." He turned and abruptly left the clearing. I blinked slowly. That was rather odd.

Nicky gave me a confused look, she had also noted his behavior. Perhaps he was just upset that Nicky keeps causing problems and doesn't realize she shouldn't be pulling such stunts. I wasn't about to be the one to try and explain it to her.

I shrugged as I avoided the topic, "Why don't we keep picking strawberries for another ten minutes before heading back for supper?" She nodded and turned back to searching for the red fruit beneath the leaves.

We headed back and parted ways. She was heading for the mess hall while I dropped off the rabbits before heading to my room. I had stuffed myself with strawberries so I wasn't hungry. I sat on my bed and gazed out the window. Most of the people were already in the mess hall although some stragglers were still making their way there.

"Joe almost got through the bars and managed to grab one of the nurses. Daniel ended up killing him before he could bite her."

"Yeah, I heard. That sucks. I was hoping that he was going to pull through. At least that Nightstalker is still here."

"She may be so badly injured that she is barely walking, but they are having a hell of a time trying to get her to remain here. Even being welcoming and giving her some space is barely making it tolerable for her. They keep going over all of Nina's observations trying to figure out a way to make it easier for her and convince her to stay here."

"How did they get blood from her without her being aware of it anyway?" What?! I stiffened as I listened to the three voices on the road below my window.

"Apparently she has a wound on her back. It started bleeding once or twice while Nina was cleaning it and she managed to get a small vial of blood on those occasions. Nina grabbed some saliva and blood from her when she was out cold, but otherwise Daniel is getting blood and saliva samples from the feral Runners and zombies. He can't seem to catch a Nightstalker though, so this one is our only source for Nightstalker genotype blood. The fact that she is sane makes things both easier and harder."

A woman huffed, "As I said before, it is like caging a falcon. I can't see it lasting long term."

"Daniel says that this one isn't as aggressive as the other sane one he met. She hasn't tried to attack anyone at any rate and she has been here three days already. So that is quite promising. It has been, what? Six months since that first one stopped here? The feral Nightstalkers pick up Daniel's scent and avoid the entire area. Chances of finding another sane or feral Nightstalker are slim to none. We really can't afford to lose her, but we aren't having much luck in convincing her to stay."

"It is just going to get harder as she heals. Nightstalkers are known to be solitary creatures with a short temper. I fail to see how they are going to convince her to stay here. If it weren't for Daniel dragging her back that first day, she would probably be long gone already."

"That is what they are trying to figure out."

"Well they better hurry up. Zombies heal fast so they only have a matter of weeks to figure it out."

The group fell silent as they continued to the mess hall. My vision was red and I was shaking in rage. What the hell is going on in this place?! Why were they taking blood from me – even more importantly, why were they doing it in secret? My suspicious instincts suddenly seemed justified and they were quite elevated at the moment with what I heard.

Now I knew the subject that so many had avoided talking about. Zombies were indeed the topic they had skirted around, but I had thought it was fairly harmless gossip about the fact that I was a Nightstalker. This... This was nothing like I had assumed. The fact that everyone here knew exactly how injured I was only added fuel to the fire.

They knew I was somewhat vulnerable at the moment and they were thinking of ways to keep me here. I growled lowly as I felt like I was being trapped, just like those rabbits I had killed earlier. I did not like this feeling.

I was torn between pacing in my room like a caged lion or sitting silently to disguise the fact that I had started to uncover something that they obviously had not meant for me to overhear. I opted for the second option since my leg was still sore from crouching down to pick those strawberries. Heat rolled through my veins as I realized just how much the humans here had thought things out.

Daniel and Nina were in the middle of whatever was going on. All of those questions and notes... A growl rumbled through my chest as I realized that they now knew far more about Nightstalkers than I was comfortable with. I had traveled with them and Nina had obviously been watching me and my behavior the entire time. This was why she had never written things down when I could see what she was writing.

No wonder Daniel had relentlessly followed me to bring me back. I was the only Nightstalker he had managed to get close to in six months. I had no clue what they were doing with my blood, but roughly 200 humans felt that it was important enough that they were going out of their way to try and make a potentially dangerous zombie feel welcome here. I had never seen that many people agree on one thing before; the 36 people in my old work place couldn't even settle on five different types of pizza.

I narrowed my eyes as I realized that this was partially why Daniel had always offered to kill the Runners. It wasn't because he was stronger, he had been after their blood and saliva. It also explained why I had not seen or scented any Runners in the area.

I gritted my teeth. I was in a Stronghold with a conspiracy that was focused on me, and my leg had not healed enough for me to get away. What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?

~

I was on edge the next day. My instincts were not convinced that I was actually safe and they were altering my behavior a bit. I knew just enough to fire up my suspicious nature, but not enough to truly know what was going on. I felt like an overtightened guitar string.

Those in the kitchen didn't seem to notice any difference as I peeled various vegetables. Several ladies were kind and thanked me as they had yesterday. Nicky raised her eyebrow at me as we ate lunch, somehow noting the subtle tension in my body.

I had to give these people credit for their ingenuity. They had placed a four seater table in the far corner and pushed the other tables away from it a bit. It was always left open, as if it had been done just for me. I had to admit that it gave me the bit of extra space that my instincts sorely needed at the moment.

I glanced across the table at Nicky. Other than Nina or Daniel, no one else had tried to sit at whatever table I was sitting at. I had plenty of invites to sit at other people's tables and join them, but I had always declined.

Lunch was much quieter than supper and the place usually had less than fifty people in it as the various groups staggered their lunch breaks or simply took food with them for lunch. No one was close enough to overhear a quiet conversation.

I spoke lowly, "After last night, I am in full agreement with your thoughts the first day."

She yawned, but I could tell that she was focusing intently on the conversation, "That bad, huh?"

I chewed a mouthful of bread before replying, "You have no idea. Can you see if you can get a map of the area and local Strongholds without anyone knowing? Hopefully before you take me out to the forest."

She chuckled, "Planning on making a break for it already?"

I made a bit of a face, "It sounds like we really will be breaking out."

Her eyes flickered over to me in surprise. She hummed thoughtfully, "I will see if I can get that map on the quiet side. I think I saw one in a small office. I will come find you later on, it might raise suspicions if we disappear all afternoon again."

I nodded, "I plan to walk the perimeter of the fence before hanging out on the roof for a while."

She nodded as her eyes got distant in thought. I watched before commenting, "Oh, Nicky?"

She glanced at me, "Yeah?"

I smirked, "For my sanity, please avoid coffee for the foreseeable future. Coffee really scrambles your wits."

She grinned at me, "Can I still chase people around in the morning occasionally?"

I chuckled, "Sure."

"Deal."

I almost pitied those people.