The howling wind, thunder, and downpour would have had humans seeking shelter, but it didn't dissuade me. The guards on duty had tried to talk me out of my patrol, but I had gone anyway. It was about the only large period of time that I got away from the press and stench of humans and I wasn't about to miss my chance.

It wasn't as if I would come down with hypothermia. The cold barely bothered me and even though my skin was chill to the touch now, it would warm back up once I dried off. My instincts were high as they tried to survey the world around me while the storm was making it difficult.

I knew that there was no chance of Daniel coming out here in a storm like this after dark. His flashlight wouldn't light up much in this downpour. The wind, thunder, and rainfall would also render his enhanced hearing useless.

Truth be told, I couldn't hear much either. The rain was killing most scents and enhancing others. I couldn't see that far, but I could see far enough to satisfy me. The scent of wet rabbit was strong, some nearby bunny was unfortunate enough to get caught away from its burrow in this storm.

The storm made me much harder to spot and my instincts knew how to move so I was impossible to detect. I closed in on the rabbit. It was huddled inside a hollow log, probably displaced from its burrow by a predator. I silently crept up to the log and turned my head as my suspicious instincts flared.

I turned the other way and took another deep breath, but picked up nothing out of the ordinary. That didn't mean anything in a storm like this though. That first gust of wind had brought me the faint smell of wood smoke. I was much too far out to pick up the smell of smoke from the chimneys in the Stronghold with a downpour like this.

It was the rabbit's lucky night as I silently disappeared into the shadows to locate the source of the smell. Smoke didn't travel far in a downpour and it didn't take me long to find the fire. I camouflaged my eyes to a non-glowing orangish brown to avoid being seen since my glasses would have made it nearly impossible to see anything with this much rain.

The small rag-tag group of humans was unaware of my presence. I regarded the seven people who were huddled together in an uneasy sleep under a tarp. The smoking fire in front of them was barely burning. They were a long way away from any road, which was probably the only reason that a zombie hadn't stumbled across them yet.

I was quite close to Daniel's perimeter and they must have crossed it some point after his last afternoon patrol. My footsteps were silent as I backed up and moved some distance away. I had never used this communication radio before, so this could be interesting. I also didn't want the group to hear it.

"Trinity to the Stronghold. I spotted a group of seven humans near the border. Over."

The radio was mostly static, but understandable, "What is their purpose? Are they bandits? Over." The voice was rude and my eyes narrowed at his tone.

What kind of questions were these? Bandits didn't exactly wave a flag around announcing who they were. The man's manner particularly irritated me, "I doubt they are bandits and how the hell am I supposed to know why they were sitting in the middle of a forest in a torrential thunderstorm? I said that I spotted them, not that I sat down and had a tea party with them."

The radio was silent for half a minute. A different voice came over the radio. Apparently the first man had either been fired from his radio duty or had decided to pass this hot potato to the next unfortunate victim. "Can you please provide me with as many details as you saw? Over."

This guy at least had manners. I didn't snap at him like I had the previous idiot, "Four males and three females under the age of thirty. They are sitting under a tarp with a sorry excuse of a fire. They look like they have been on foot for quite some time. They are just inside of Daniel's perimeter to the south so they are quite some distance from the Stronghold. I saw a couple of daggers, some belt knives and two bows, but nothing more. Over."

"Are you close to a road? Over."

"Negative. The nearest road is at least a twenty minute walk away. No nearby quad trails either. Over."

This guy was much easier to deal with than the first one. The radio was silent for some time before he responded. His voice was tentative, "I have no right to ask this, but would you be willing to keep zombies away from them until this storm passes? We think they may be trying to find a Stronghold from your description. Over."

I glanced at the cloudy sky and took a deep breath to sample the air. "This storm should pass in about two hours and dawn isn't long after that. I can keep a distant guard on them. No zombies in the immediate area anyway. Once the sun rises do you want me to see if I can approach them and lead them to the nearest road for pickup, or do you want me to meet you at the road and get you to walk in? You aren't going to get a quad into this part of the forest. Over."

"If you can lead them to the road come dawn, that would be the easiest. I will have a couple of trucks ready to roll at first light. Which road are you closest to? Over."

"The closest road is the one to the south, not far past where that big RV flipped over in the ditch. Over."

"Affirmative. Just give us a shout when you want us to head out. Over."

"Copy. I will let you know. Out."

Just like that I managed to sign myself up for at least three hours of babysitting. The things I get myself into. Seriously, what are the odds of running around in the forest in the biggest downpour I have seen since I was human and I find a bunch of strays? This forest has Daniel and me both patrolling it several times daily and this group just has to show up on my watch in the worst possible weather when they can't possibly get any further away from a road. My luck has clearly never studied the laws of probability.

I shook myself off with a faint growl as I went to check on the sleeping humans. They were still huddled together and sleeping. I quickly made a thorough check of the area, but no zombies or large predators were present.

My mind contemplated various ways to approach the group. I did not have the sunny disposition to approach them with a friendly wave and greeting like most people would. That approach was completely out the window and it wasn't my style anyway.

A stranger appearing in the middle of the forest was going to creep them out regardless of what I did. It didn't take long for me to make up my mind and decide on a plan. I did another check of the area in case anything had come closer, but it was still clear. I also took the time to hunt down some pheasants. Two were for me and four were for the group that I somehow ended up babysitting.

Finding dry wood after an entire night in a downpour was interesting to say the least, but I managed to find some. The rain had eased up to a light drizzle at this point. I put my sunglasses on as I carefully examined the sleeping people.

They hadn't woken up or moved since the first time I had seen them, so I could probably pull this off fairly easily. If they did wake before I finished, my presence would probably scare the hell out of them.

I silently came forward to put the dry wood on their flickering fire and put the rest to the side for them to add later. The pheasants were already on a stick and I carefully propped them above the wood to cook. I left a small bag of trail mix beside the fire as well before silently backing up.

Their feet almost touched the fire as they curled up, so finding this here would startle them. They would know that someone had come within reaching distance of them while they slept. It should show them that if I had meant any harm that I would have done so while they slept. Or it could just completely creep them out.

I moved away before sitting on a large rock under the shelter of a tree as I watched them in the slowly growing light. Sunrise was still about half an hour away. Once things got brighter, they would be able to see me sitting here.

They had managed to wedge themselves into a space under the roots of a fallen tree as it formed a half cave. They were somehow sharing three blankets. I took a deep breath to test the air, but I couldn't pick up the faint scent from here. I had smelled it when I was putting wood on the fire. One of them was infected.

It was one of the men, but they were all in such tight quarters and the smell was so faint that I hadn't been able to pinpoint which one it was. As faint as the smell was, he was probably two days from turning. I silently waited for them to wake and my instincts assisted with the patience that came with an ambush.

~

One lady stirred and blinked slowly. Her eyes focused on the fire with confusion as she noticed that the fire was burning nicely while providing some good heat. She sat up in confusion as she saw the food. Her movement disturbed the three she had been in contact with and they also started to wake up.

"Who found the food?" Her quiet voice had the others looking around groggily.

I remained motionless on my seat. I wasn't easy to spot with an idle glance, so they would actually have to be looking at their surroundings to notice me. The group wasted no time in falling upon the birds like they hadn't seen food in days. They had slept longer than I had anticipated and the birds were probably overcooked, but the way they were eating showed that detail was one of the last things on their mind.

There wasn't enough food there to fill them up, but it gave them all something warm in their stomachs. One man picked a wing bone carefully clean, "Who caught the birds?"

They all looked at one another and their confusion grew as no one took the credit. One woman examined the ziplock baggie that the trail mix had been in, "Who brought this? I can't see anyone hiding it although someone may have forgotten they were carrying it..."

Looks were once more exchanged as they became more uneasy at the mysterious food that had literally been dropped at their feet. I found it somewhat amusing.

"If one of us didn't do this, then who did?"

Eyes turned toward the trees as they all had the same thought. I had been waiting for this. I doubted I could manage a believable welcoming or sympathetic expression, so I settled for a neutral one as I waited.

It didn't take more than a few moments for someone to spot me and point. All seven were unsure of what to make of the silent woman watching them. I was far enough away that I wasn't an immediate threat, although with the dense forest I was close enough to speak to if they raised their voices.

The one man slowly stood up and took a few tentative steps forward, "Uh... Hello?"

At least they weren't running away while screaming. Yet. I nodded a greeting, "Good morning. I hope I didn't startle you too badly." I tried to keep it polite. The longer they thought I was human, the easier my task would be.

"We didn't expect to see anyone out here. Sorry, we didn't leave any food. We didn't realize that someone brought it."

I shrugged, "No worries. I already ate. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out here? There is a Stronghold not that far away and we are curious if you need any help."

I didn't bother mentioning that one of them certainly needed help. He likely had no clue he was infected. Looks of relief appeared on their faces. One lady spoke, "Our vehicle broke down and we got lost as we tried to evade the zombies by going into the forest three days ago. We can't even find a road. Can you help us?"

I recalled making a promise once before and having it drag me across the country on an unpleasant two week journey. I held up my communication radio, "There is a road about twenty minutes from here and they are willing to bring some trucks to pick you up if that is what you want. I can guide you to the road."

"Oh! Thank you so much!" The lady scrambled to her feet in excitement. I was glad I was this far away, otherwise she may have tried to hug me out of gratitude.

I stood up and stretched, "Let me know when you are ready."

They scrambled to pack up their stuff, although they didn't have much. Only two of them even had backpacks. They came closer with a bit of caution, but they relaxed once they saw that I was only carrying a belt knife. My sickle was in its usual hiding spot. My short stature also didn't do anything to intimidate people. All of them were taller than me, but I was used to that.

I looked over them, "Ready?"

They nodded and I waved an arm at a deer trail, "Then let's go."

I took the lead as I picked up the radio, "Trinity to the Stronghold. We are just leaving the camp. It will be about twenty minutes before we hit the road. I left a large orange streamer of flagging tape where the trail comes onto the road. Please have the doctor and Nina on hand for a checkup when we get back. Over."

That was a subtle way of saying that Nina's services were needed as opposed to just the main doctor.

The radio crackled to life, "I will send them off. Over." This was a different person from the two I had spoken to last night.

"Copy. Out."

I kept my walk slow and people followed swiftly behind me like a long line of ducklings that were desperate to not be left behind. One of the women inquired, "Which Stronghold are you from?"

Her question made me realize that I was no longer really a traveler just biding my time to escape. I technically did belong to a Stronghold now. I glanced back over my shoulder, "Ironwind Stronghold."

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought, "Isn't Ironwind Stronghold the one with the tame zombie? I thought I heard a rumor that it was a Terror or something dangerous."

Tame zombie... Daniel would probably growl at that term, if she had said zombies, then I may also have taken offense, but I doubted that word of my presence had spread yet. This could be entertaining once they realized what I was. I would try to put off that discovery as long as possible though.

I kept my voice neutral, "The proper term is sane zombie. Yes, there is a sane Terror, although you won't see much of him. He may growl if you offend him or as a warning, but I have never heard of him harming anyone unless they tried to attack him first."

A man was curious, "Does he speak?"

This group had clearly never encountered a sane zombie or reliable gossip. Most people knew that sane zombies could speak, so I wasn't sure where this group had originated. Odd that they knew a sane zombie was here, but weren't sure if he could talk.

I nodded, "Yes. He can speak just as well as you or I. I have had several discussions with him. As long as you remain respectful and don't try to touch him, you won't have any problems."

I didn't bother mentioning that I occasionally irritated him on purpose and still lived. That might just unnerve them. They were silent as they mulled that over and simply tried to keep up. Five minutes down, fifteen to go...