The five adults must have heard the truck since most of them were looking through the door. Considering they weren't outside trying to wave the vehicle down, they must have known it was me returning. Then again, ever since the zombies began plaguing the roads, I'd never seen a human drive at night.

After I parked the truck in front of the store and turned it off, I pocketed the keys and got out. I slowly approached the grocery store. Hank and Ben held their ground by the doors while Nicky watched almost eagerly from farther back. Tom backed up until he was standing nervously by Marissa, who remained sitting on the floor by Liz.

I paused in front of the glass doors as I looked at those watching me. "Did I scare you guys shitless or are you still willing to put up with me?" They would have no problem hearing me with just two old glass doors separating us.

Hank pushed the door open, and I grabbed the handle as I slowly walked inside. My caution was both to avoid scaring them as well as to ensure they weren't about to try ambushing me. Hank warily backed up until he stood by Ben.

Nicky came forward with an amused expression, ignoring Hank's caution. "So, what's the casualty count?"

I somehow doubted she believed the story the guys had given her.

"There's one less moose in the forest, but that's about it."

For them, the room would be almost pitch black since it was well past midnight, but I could see them perfectly.

She came closer fearlessly, almost eagerly. "Can I see your eyes? Ben kept claiming they were glowing red, but I think he needs his vision checked."

I had kind of expected this. With a sigh, I reached up and took my sunglasses off. Unlike other zombies, a Nightstalker's eyes normally had a faint glow in the dark, which probably had something to do with our excellent night vision.

She blinked in shock at my red eyes. "Wow. That's so cool. How come they were brown yesterday?"

I gave her a confused look, uncertain how she was accepting this so easily. Most humans put as much distance between themselves and me as possible, if they didn't try to kill me first.

"I can control the color and glow to a certain extent."

Ben turned on a small pocket flashlight, and as he was turning it in my direction, I growled sharply at him, which made him freeze as the blood drained from his face.

"Don't you dare point that in my direction. If you want light, then point it at the ceiling." Having a light pointed at me flared up my temper in a fashion that little else could.

Unease rolled off him as he complied. The low ambient light allowed the humans to see me better while hopefully not being so bright as to lure in zombies. I avoided looking at the flashlight or the spot it was illuminating on the ceiling; it was dim enough to be tolerable, although it still emitted more light than was comfortable.

Despite my growl, Nicky's excitement only climbed as she bombarded me with questions. "How long have you been a zombie? How come you can talk and the others can't? Are you always grouchy because you're a zombie? I have a hard time believing you're a zombie considering you haven't tried to eat us yet."

The questions came too fast to even attempt a reply, so I waited until she finally ran out of breath. She didn't seem bothered in the least as my glowing red eyes watched her.

"I turned about a week after the zombies first appeared. I can talk because I'm still in control. Yes, the irritability is common in all zombies. I don't attack humans mindlessly because I'm in control."

Most of the others either looked curious or surprised, although Nicky was already excitedly rattling off more questions. "How come you are in control while the others are all deranged morons? Yeah, I wouldn't eat Ben either. Insanity is contagious, and considering the stench in that bathroom after he used it, you know he would give you food poisoning. How come you had to go out so badly? If I get bitten by a zombie, how do I stay in control?"

I restrained my irritation at the bombardment of questions and kept my answers as patient as I could. Questions in general annoyed me, but I knew that knowledge often dissipated fears. They had let me in, so they probably trusted me enough to not lunge for their throats.

"The regular zombies have no chance of retaining their sanity. They're insane the moment they turn. For the other zombie ranks, as long as they avoid human blood, human flesh, or any raw or undercooked meat, they can remain in control. Many don't realize the dangers, and when you first come to after turning, there is an extremely strong craving for raw meat and blood."

Perhaps it was a good thing I was full from that moose. It took the edge off my instincts, and even the powerful smell of six humans barely bothered me. That was a good side-effect as far as I was concerned.

Nicky still stared at my red eyes with all the excitement of a hyperactive child. "But why did you have to go out? And what did you mean by there was one less moose in the forest?"

The answer to this question was one that tended to alarm humans. Here we go...

I sighed before replying, "Sanity is shattered by human flesh, human blood, or any type of raw meat. To remain in control, a zombie needs blood from other animals. I had to go out because my control was waning and I had to hunt. The moose blood allowed me to regain full control."

Tom made a face, and Marissa looked pale.

Nicky's excitement flew through the roof. "Like a vampire! Awesome!"

I blinked in confusion at her wild excitement. This girl was definitely off her rocker and had possibly fallen on her head as a child. Several times.

Hank had been watching me closely since I returned and spoke for the first time. "You're too coordinated for a Runner. Are you a Nightstalker or a Terror?"

Ben's eyes went wide at Hank's question.

I nodded at Hank's keen observation. "Nightstalker."

Nicky spun to face Ben with an evil smile gracing her face. "Still feel like kissing her?"

Ben rapidly shook his head, and I chuckled at his sudden change of heart.

"You should be proud, Ben," I told him. "You managed to piss off a Nightstalker at least five times in two days, and you're still alive. Not many can claim that feat."

Words still seemed beyond him at this point in time.

"You don't act much like any zombie I've ever seen or heard of," Nicky commented, tilting her head in thought.

"I was acting as human as I could. Now that you know, I won't be trying so hard, so don't be surprised if I growl or snarl at you. It's as natural for me as breathing is for you."

Nicky grinned at me. "As irritable as you seem, I suspect I'll be hearing more growling than laughter from you."

I bared my teeth in a parody of a grin, letting my white teeth glint in the darkness as proof of how true her words were. I was a zombie.

Nicky grimaced. "Just give me warning before you eat me."

I snorted. "I have no plans on eating you." Especially her. Just in case whatever she had was contagious.

Hank gave Nicky a confused look. "You can't outrun a Nightstalker, and I doubt your sword could stop her. What good would a warning do?"

Nicky cheerfully replied, "I would drink every drop of hot sauce in this place and give her indigestion as revenge."

I sat on the bench beside the door. "It wouldn't do you any good. You can't give a zombie indigestion or poison them. It simply isn't possible."

"You're ruining all of my fun."

Liz sat up from her bed in the corner and blinked sleepily at us, obviously just waking up after Nicky's earlier chatter.

She spotted me by the door and blinked a few times at my red eyes. "Trinity?"

"Yes, it's me." I wasn't sure how the girl would react; I hoped she wouldn't start screaming about zombies and freak out.

With a big yawn, she grabbed her blanket and stood up. Before Marissa thought to grab her, she walked over and climbed onto the bench beside me. With the exception of Nicky, the others tensed up as Liz leaned against my side and pulled her blanket over herself.

She didn't seem to see anything strange about my red eyes as she mumbled, "I'm glad you came back."

With another yawn, she curled up and promptly fell asleep again, saving me from having to come up with a response.

"That was how you knew to evade all of those zombies and keep our scent down," Hank murmured. "It was because you're a zombie."

I nodded as a silent confirmation.

He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "I saw you tense up when Liz cut herself the other day, but I didn't think much of it then. The smell of her blood affected you, didn't it?"

"Yes," I admitted. "Even the smell of humans is a temptation, which is why it lures in feral zombies so easily, but I can ignore that as long as I hunt regularly. Fresh blood is much worse. I wasn't expecting her to cut herself, let alone while sitting in my lap when I hadn't hunted recently."

Marissa went even paler as she belatedly realized the danger the child had been in. People working in orphanages had always been worried about negligent or abusive parents. Bad parents had nothing on me – I could have easily killed and eaten the child over a paper cut. I set a whole new definition for bad parenting.

Marissa slowly stood up and came a bit closer. "Can I please take her? No offense, but I just need some time to adjust, and I'd prefer her in my arms for now."

Knowing she didn't want to come any closer, I picked Liz up and held her out. Marissa came forward a couple more steps with a nervous watch on my red eyes, her scent sour from fear.

I spoke quietly. "Had I truly wished you harm, I wouldn't have helped you when we first met. During the first night, you all slept so hard that I would've thought you were dead if it hadn't been for the snoring. Yet, you're still alive."

She nodded slowly and took Liz, quickly backing up. Even with those words to try and make her pause to think, I was pretty sure I had seriously rattled her. She would likely start avoiding me, which was typical behavior for most humans.

Nicky covered a yawn with her hand. "Well, if you aren't going to kill us, then I'm going back to sleep. I'm assuming Hank will be up at the crack of dawn since you brought us a new truck."

"I have no plans to kill you." At least at the moment. Although I was already fairly certain I'd want to throttle them before it was time for lunch. Hopefully, now that they knew what I was, they would avoid irritating me as much as they had so far.

Nicky yawned again and headed to her sleeping bag. "Good. See you in the morning."

Ben seemed at a loss and looked at Hank.

Hank shrugged. "I think it's best if we all get some sleep. Trinity, I assume you'll keep an eye on the door?"

"I can do that."

When Ben gave Hank a disbelieving look, Hank told him, "If she wanted us dead, she would have killed you yesterday."

Ben winced, unable to argue with that logic. They went back to their sleeping bags and laid down. I doubted Ben or Tom would sleep – they were simply too nervous. Tom hadn't spoken a single word since I returned, and Marissa was even more spooked. Soft snores already came from where Nicky was curled up in her sleeping bag.

Hank was one of those people who thought about something, analyzed it from every angle, made his decision, and went with it. He would almost certainly fall asleep.

Once they had settled down, Ben turned the small flashlight off uneasily, leaving the room in darkness. They didn't bother locking the door again.

I turned my red eyes toward the doors and acted the part of a silent sentry.