Nicky wiped the sweat off her forehead again and scowled at the forest. "We've been walking for over four hours. Are you sure it was in this direction?"

Even though we were walking in the shade of the trees, the heat and humidity were taking their toll on the plodding humans. They'd been making inroads on the water I was carrying, and we'd been stopping frequently for short breaks, but most of them were sweating heavily enough that I was worried about heatstroke. I was not carrying them.

"Yes. The smell is much stronger. We should reach it within twenty minutes, even at this pace." I could smell several regular zombies as well but didn't bother mentioning them just yet.

The news didn't improve her grouchy mood. She took another big drink of water and continued grumbling under her breath.

It took us about half an hour before we finally spotted the buildings.

"Really? They classified this as a rest stop?" Nicky demanded. "We could stick all six of those buildings in a Walmart with room for a bonfire!"

"It beats sleeping under a tree," Ben countered tiredly.

"Yeah, but I ain't sleeping with those two zombies."

With a resigned sigh, I put the two duffle bags down. "Wait here. If anything shows up, give me a holler, but unless something is hiding upwind, I'm only picking up the scent of four zombies."

I jogged toward one of the two small houses. Predictably, the zombies swiftly noticed me and gave chase. I opened the door and barged past the zombie already inside, quickly exiting the back door and slamming it shut behind me.

By the time I came back around to the front, the other two had gone in and were visiting the resident zombie. I closed the front door, sealing the new prisoners inside. There weren't any large windows on this house, so they probably wouldn't be able to break out.

I located the fourth zombie in the small restaurant, and it seemed to be sufficiently contained. As I walked past the corner store, I glanced inside. The damaged door had been left open by other looters, proof that we weren't the first ones to drive on this road. Judging by the scent, the lone male had passed through just a couple of days ago. The store was tiny, and the shelves were fairly empty, but there were still some supplies left.

I returned to the waiting group and picked up the duffle bags. "All clear. Just avoid the restaurant and the house I lured the zombies into. Not much in the corner store, and the door won't stay shut."

Ben followed me out of the trees. "Could you please check if the motel is safe to sleep in while we scavenge through the corner store?"

"Sure."

I carried the duffle bags to the small motel. I opened the unlocked door to reveal a grand total of six rooms along the hallway. The narrow staircase at the far end made me pause since this building wasn't tall enough for a second floor.

With my curiosity piqued, I climbed up the stairs and opened the door. The flat roof boasted lawn chairs, a raised firepit, hotdog sticks, and a dozen empty beer bottles. The waist-high parapet had prevented me from noticing them from the ground.

Down by the corner store, Nicky waved at me to catch my attention. I waved back and vaulted off the motel roof, bending my knees to absorb the impact as I landed on the grass. Dropping off a one-story building was well within my Nightstalker abilities, although I wouldn't attempt it from the roof of a two-story building.

Nicky shook her head as I got closer. "Show off. This place is basically empty. What did you find over there?"

"Six rooms and no zombies. There is a patio and firepit on the roof."

"Sweet. We can finally have a hot meal."

"I'll go collect some firewood."

I passed Chloe's bone to Ben and scanned the area while the group packed their original luggage and armful of scavenged supplies into our new hangout. It only took them one trip, and once they were safely inside, I retreated to the forest. The task itself was somewhat relaxing, although the biggest perk was that the air wasn't tainted by the close proximity of humans.

My strength allowed me to break a dead tree into decent-sized pieces that wouldn't burn as fast as the small branches. By the time I made the third trip, the fire was burning merrily while Marissa stirred a pot of soup over it.

Ben walked to the edge of the roof as the sky started to darken. "The fire and the smell of the food cooking isn't going to attract too many zombies, right?"

I walked over to look around, although no zombies were in sight at this moment. I took a deep breath to test the air.

"There aren't any zombies upwind, but a few downwind may come. There shouldn't be too many in this area since it's fairly remote. The doors on this place are metal and swing outwards, so the average zombie or Runner can't get in."

"And if a Nightstalker comes?" Hank asked from his seat by the fire.

"Might be troublesome, especially if they catch your scent. Nightstalkers don't appreciate company, so I have one trick that should make them keep their distance, although it might scare the crap out of everyone here."

Nicky crossed her arms and grumbled, "Well, whatever it is, you better do it. I don't want a feral stopping by to visit."

I raised an eyebrow at the sullen woman who was still wearing her sunglasses. The heat may have taken its toll on her earlier, but her tone still rubbed my instincts the wrong way.

My lips peeled back in a predatory grin. "You were warned."

I looked up at the darkening sky and let my instincts rise past the levels I usually restricted them to. Most Nightstalkers gave their territorial scream as soon as they came out at night. The sun had halfway set, but it would be a couple of hours before it would be dark enough for ferals to come out.

I filled my lungs before releasing the signature cry of a Nightstalker, more or less claiming the town as mine for any listening Nightstalkers.

Chloe blasted back down the stairs with her tail tucked between her legs. The humans all jumped and stared at me with wide eyes. Most of those standing had even taken a step back at the inhuman sound.

After a couple seconds of silence, Nicky finally huffed, "What exactly did that accomplish?"

Yep. She wasn't in a good mood. Hopefully, a good night's sleep would help her; otherwise, I might end up strangling her.

I growled a light reprimand for her tone. "That was a Nightstalker's territorial scream. The first one to scream generally claims that hunting range for that night. If any were close enough to hear it, they should avoid this area. I'll probably repeat it in the middle of the night for any that may be wandering through."

It was similar to the First Strike rule in a way. Although if one came close enough to scent the humans, the scream wouldn't stop it from hunting. If they didn't pick up the humans' scent, then they would move farther away.

My growl didn't faze her, and the furrows on her forehead made it clear she was glaring at me from behind her sunglasses. "That seems stupid."

"If it works, that's all that matters," Ben said, shuffling back to his chair while trying to pretend it hadn't rattled him. "You just don't want to admit it scared you."

"It did not scare me!" she indignantly replied with a huff.

"Right, you jumped just as much as everyone else did." Considering he still had goosebumps, he didn't have room to talk.

The bickering reminded me of a pair of six-year-olds. Even Liz was better behaved than these two.

I intervened before Nicky could reply. "Ben, why don't you go find Chloe and see if you can convince her to come back up here?"

He hesitated before reluctantly going in search of the husky. Marissa watched him go as she continued stirring the soup, although her wary gaze moved back to me as soon as he went down the stairs.

It took Ben much less time to convince Chloe to rejoin our group than I had expected. On a whim, I dug into my backpack and pulled out one of her favorite dog treats. She heard the crackle of the plastic and trotted over before I had even got it out of the wrapper. This dog clearly had the worst zombie radar in canine history.

I held the treat out, and she happily accepted the peace offering before going back to where she had been lying by the parapet to eat it.

Peace mostly reigned as the soup cooked. From what I could tell, the sunset was spectacular. Unfortunately, I couldn't look at it, even with my sunglasses on.

Marissa checked the soup again and finally announced, "Dinner is ready."

She dished up bowls that Liz proudly ferried to each person in turn. Silence fell as everyone ate. Between the warm meal and the hiking trip, most of them looked exhausted.

There was too much in my bowl, so I let Chloe finish it since animals couldn't be infected by the zombie virus. Once she finished, I tossed the paper bowl and plastic spoon into the fire. It wasn't wise for anyone else to touch them unless they immediately washed their hands; even then, any small scratches or cuts could let the virus into their bloodstream. Skin contact was one thing, but my saliva was just as infectious as my blood.

Marissa got up to toss her empty bowl in the fire, and Liz dragged her light blanket over to me. I gave a long-suffering sigh but let the child climb onto my lap. As I half expected, it didn't take her long to doze off.

"Hello to the camp!"

I raised my head with a light growl of surprise at the unknown lady's voice.

Ben raised his eyebrow at me, and I shrugged as I muttered, "They came from downwind. Not much I can do."

Hank and Nicky went over to the parapet to see who was below. Ben got up to investigate as well.

The lady's voice called again, "We're unarmed. Our car broke down, and we're looking for shelter."

Ben told them, "If you mean us no harm, you're welcome to spend the night with us."

Nicky groaned and left the railing to flop on the chair beside me. I fully agreed with her opinion of Ben's open greeting, although her reaction was a bit beyond what I had come to expect from her.

I tilted my head and murmured, "How are you holding up?"

"Just peachy," she retorted.

There was more than just a bit of sarcasm in her response. I wondered if throwing a can of peaches at her was worth enduring her reaction and losing a precious tin of fruit. Probably not.

Ben and Hank put two more chairs on the other side of the fire for the newcomers I could hear making their way up the stairs. Our guests came through the doorway just as the two men sat down in their original chairs.

A slender lady with long, light brown hair came through first. A well-built man followed her. I was lucky if I came up to his collarbone. He had short, brown hair, and while he wasn't overly muscled, he wasn't a lightweight either. The way he moved put me on edge.

"Feel free to take a seat," Ben said, gesturing at the chairs.

"Thanks," the woman replied as she sat down. "I'm Nina, and this is Daniel."

I stilled as I finally picked up the man's scent – which had the same underlying musk that all zombies did. There was a crisp undertone to it though, so he wasn't a regular zombie, a Runner, or a Nightstalker. That left only one option. A Terror. Bloody hell... Can my luck possibly get any worse?

Nina's scent was clean with some sort of rather flowery perfume that almost completely obscured her human fragrance. She was obviously human though, unlike her companion.

I tried to appear relaxed while Ben introduced all of us. The Terror's gaze lingered on Nicky and me. He had undoubtedly caught my scent and knew a female Nightstalker was present, but he didn't know exactly who it was. Marissa's blue eyes immediately ruled her out, and it was a fluke that Nicky was still wearing her sunglasses.

He was mostly focused on Nicky, who was oblivious to his scrutiny. Her foul mood was more in keeping with a Nightstalker, and I had an obviously human child on my lap. I hoped Nicky didn't get too mouthy; I wasn't a match for a Terror if she provoked him. Although, since he was in control, he would likely growl or snarl a warning first.

At the moment, he seemed relaxed, although I was picking up the tension in his scent, possibly because the Nightstalker wasn't giving him any clues as to her identity. It wouldn't surprise me if he could pick up the unease in my scent as well.

It was rude for me not to make my presence known, but the powerful zombie had me off balance. With him being the only new male, it was an easy deduction to determine who the zombie was, but I just couldn't bring myself to reveal that I was the Nightstalker. I'd never encountered a Terror before, and now I knew why sane Runners were often uneasy around me for a while. His presence was going to take some getting used to.

My companions didn't seem to realize that anything was amiss. Even if darkness hadn't been falling, I wasn't sure they would have noticed his eyes. I'd never seen a zombie camouflage them so well – they were primarily brown with a faint orange tinge. Chloe snored faintly from the far corner, completely oblivious as to what had appeared on the roof. Some guard dog she was.

"What are you two doing out here?" Ben asked.

Nina replied, "We were heading back to Ironwind Stronghold, and the storm must have washed the bridge out. We tried detouring, but our car broke down. Once we were close to this place, we could smell your campfire."

"There is some leftover soup if you want some," Marissa offered.

"I'd be happy to try some. Thank you so much for offering."

Daniel also replied, "Thanks, I wouldn't mind half a bowl."

Marissa filled two bowls and passed them to the newcomers, who took them with thanks.

"We're also trying to locate a Stronghold," Tom said. "Could you possibly give us directions or let us accompany you?"

Whereas I would have huffed or exhaled in annoyance, Daniel didn't seem bothered by the thought of traveling with a group of strange humans. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was used to human company.

"Sure, we can guide you," Nina said, blowing on the steaming soup. "Is there enough room in your vehicles for us?"

Ben sighed. "Our truck ran out of gas just up the road. We're stuck on foot too. We were going to check around this place in the morning to see if we could find a working vehicle. I guess the other possibility is draining the gas from your car and then putting it in another vehicle."

Nicky snorted. "We've had two trucks break down in two days. I checked the three on the road, but all of them are out of fuel. Luck isn't exactly on our side at this point."

The Terror tilted his head slightly as he examined the irritable woman beside me.

Oblivious to the unspoken game of Guess Who, Ben told Nina, "We haven't checked the garages yet, so we might find something. Even if we don't, you're more than welcome to travel with us. There are six rooms downstairs, please help yourself to one."

"Thank you. We can take whichever one you aren't using."

"We haven't picked rooms yet. How far away is this Stronghold?"

"If the bridge hadn't washed out, we could drive there in a day. If the bridge up north is still standing, it'll take us about three days of driving. We'll probably end up sleeping in whatever building we can find close to nightfall."

"Are there any Strongholds between here and there?" Marissa asked.

"I've never driven along this road before, although I do know there are others past Ironwind, either to the north or south. I think there's only a couple of Strongholds to the west, mostly because of all the zombies along the coast."

As much as I preferred to stay silent, I quietly asked, "Have you ever met someone named Jess Kessler on your travels?"

Nina tilted her head in thought. "Not that I know of, although I rarely ask people for their last name."

I nodded in disappointment. If nothing else, now I knew there were a number of Strongholds in this direction. It would be a good starting point once I left the humans at this one.

Ben reclaimed Nina's attention with more questions about the Stronghold and the people in it. The rest of us listened silently.

Nicky occasionally grumbled to herself as her mood slowly worsened. My instincts were starting to awaken as the last traces of light faded from the sky, and they were unsettled by the Terror's presence.

When Nicky started glancing at the door to go back inside, I decided to see if I could get her downstairs before she took off her sunglasses and brought the guessing game to an end.

I nudged her foot and very carefully controlled my voice lest it give me away. "You wanted that big room by the bottom of the stairs, right? We can share it, if you want. It's starting to cool off, so I wouldn't mind going inside. Could you give me a hand getting a bed put together for Liz?"

Marissa gave me a strange look and stood up. "I can set up a bed for her in my room."

I nodded and stood up with the child in my arms, gesturing with my head for Marissa to open the door. Nicky passed both of us and threw the door open, not even glancing back to see if we were following.

Marissa kept it from swinging shut as I went inside. I ensured I walked like a human since I could feel both Nina and Daniel watching us leave. He must have picked up my scent quite some distance away and told Nina that a Nightstalker was present. They probably suspected it was Nicky, but that ruse wouldn't last very long.

It didn't take Marissa long to unroll a sleeping bag for Liz. I put her down before leaving the room in search of my red-headed accomplice, who was just coming out of the bathroom. I closed the bedroom door behind me as she unrolled her sleeping bag with a kick then threw it on the bed.

"Keep your voice down," I murmured. "That guy is actually a zombie, so he has excellent hearing."

She spun around with shock written all over her face. "Are you serious?" she asked in a hushed voice, startled and somewhat alarmed by my revelation.

"Yes."

She pulled her sunglasses off to see me better in the faint light that was still coming through the window. "I thought your cry would keep Nightstalkers at a distance, not call them in."

I growled lightly at her accusing tone. "That cry will only work on ferals, and only as long as they didn't get a whiff of a human. Besides, unless I am severely mistaken, he's a Terror."

She sat down hard on her sleeping bag. "Shit. I didn't even notice. How do you zombies blend in so easily?"

I shrugged. "We were human not that terribly long ago. On a side note, what's bothering you? You were grouchy enough that the Terror seemed to think you were actually the Nightstalker. He would have known it was one of us, but our sunglasses and behavior had him confused."

She sighed as she flopped on her back. "I think I got a bit of heatstroke today. How dangerous is that guy?"

I closed the curtains and sat on the other bed. "I'm not entirely sure. He's in control, but I've never met a Terror before, so I'm not sure what to expect. He'll figure out that I'm actually the Nightstalker as we travel tomorrow. Try not to antagonize him."

She closed her eyes with a groan. "I'll try to keep that in mind."