I relaxed in a chair on the secondary building roof while the others arrived with their dinner.

"Where are my handcuffs?" Nicky asked.

"No idea. Why would I need handcuffs?" I asked, watching her in amusement.

"You might not need them, but that wouldn't stop you from taking the ones I pilfered. By the way, I'm keeping the notebook as a souvenir."

"You'll have to keep looking."

"I already tried that. I even tried retracing your steps to figure out where you left them, but that didn't work because I couldn't find you. Where were you hiding all day?"

"I was out collecting samples for Nina."

"You brought those vials back shortly after lunch," Nicky stated, once more proving her observation skills.

"The handcuffs are no longer in my possession, and I assume they have been returned to their rightful owners."

"Drat. That explains why the guards hid the lockbox again," Nicky muttered.

Jess asked, "Did you ever try telling them it was just for a zombie break-in drill?"

"Actually, no. That might be an idea..." Nicky mused, picking up a piece of cheese. She held it up to the light and asked Nina, "Doesn't cheese have some types of yeast?"

"Some, yes. They didn't work well for what I was trying," the scientist replied.

"Yeast is used to make cheese, and yeast is used to make bread," Nicky mused. "Does that mean cheese is really just a loaf of milk?"

"I think the fumes from the felts went to your head," I told her. "I should have saved them for your birthday instead of giving them to you before I left."

She flashed a grin at me. "I didn't even open the package yet. I'm saving it for a special occasion."

"Lucky us," I muttered. "I wasn't supposed to be in the fallout zone when those things came out."

"You gave her felts?" Daniel asked, frowning at that news and probably doing a mental tally of any white clothing he might not have seen in a while.

"I couldn't find another boomerang to add to her collection. You could leave a random white shirt where she can find it."

"As if I'd fall for that," Nicky quipped. "Besides, I need some sort of coloring implement for rainy days."

"You don't care if you get rained on," I pointed out.

"That's beside the point- Hey! That guy is running faster now than when I chased him earlier!" Nicky exclaimed, glaring daggers at the man running out of the main building.

"He's coming this way." Jess set her plate on the flat roof and walked to the railing for a better look.

"Don't you dare lean over that railing," I warned her. "I'd probably break a leg if I jumped off the roof of a three-story building, so you sure as hell won't land gracefully."

Daniel went over. "He can see me, and he's not calling out, so it's not an emergency."

"If it were an emergency, he'd be running away from me, not toward me," Nicky muttered.

"He works in the radio relay room," Nina said. "I hope Nessian Stronghold's insulin cultures didn't crash again. They almost lost someone last time."

"They were fine two days ago," Jess reassured her as she sat down. "If it was important, he would have called out instead of coming up here."

"We'll find out soon enough," Daniel said. "He's halfway up the stairs."

It wasn't long before the man pushed the door open, panting. "Graydon Stronghold just radioed. They knocked out an attacking zombie, but its eyes were cloudy, and it was strong enough to bend chain-link fencing. They're asking if you want them to keep it alive or take a few blood samples and kill it."

"Its eyes were cloudy?" Nina asked as Daniel and I exchanged a look.

"Yeah. They thought it was a Runner at first, but its eyes reminded them of the one in our barn. It could see them, even if they stood still, so it's not exactly the same. It was shot in the head, so it's not an immediate threat, but their hunters spotted a second zombie also acting strangely."

Daniel frowned. "What do they mean by acting strange?"

"They said its movements were erratic and jerky, like a rabid fox. It had problems running and frequently stumbled, but it was still faster than a regular zombie. They aren't sure where it went. This one's eyes weren't cloudy."

"Two weird zombies? At once?" Nicky asked in disbelief. She turned to me. "Am I hearing things or was Jess's tea more potent than I realized?"

"Where is this Stronghold?" I asked, watching the man intently.

Nina murmured, "It's one of the places with a small lab. I can't remember where it's located..."

"Almost straight south of here, not far from Coulee City," the man said. "It's about a hundred and fifty miles according to the map, but I'm not sure which roads are usable anymore."

My gaze went back to Daniel, who nodded in silent agreement, confirming he was thinking the same thing I was.

"Needless to say," the man continued, "Graydon Stronghold is a bit freaked out by having two unusual zombies appear within three days. As much as they'd love to set the shed on fire, they don't want to destroy something that might be valuable in your research." His lip quirked up. "But if you want that zombie, they are kindly requesting you come and collect it at your earliest convenience."

"Cloudy eyes and south? Like the direction Louise went? That takes all the guesswork out of it," Nicky said, flopping back in her chair.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Perhaps, but two zombies at the same time, that are slightly different? It's been three and a half years since Louise died in that fire, and no other strange zombies have been reported until now. So unless someone went into a barn or a house and two of Louise's experiments got loose, something else might be afoot."

"Could it be a disease?" Jess asked. "I know zombies don't get sick, but could some sort of infection have adapted? Or could the virus itself be mutating?"

"It's very unlikely," Nina said slowly. "I exposed zombie blood to every pathogen I could find, and they never survived. And we've never seen a sick zombie. As for mutations, the zombie virus is extremely stable, much like rabies. Even my chemicals just alter the triggers, not the virus RNA itself, and I never saw any mutations despite infecting millions of culture samples."

"It sounds like these two zombies are different," Daniel pointed out. "Which makes an infection even more unlikely since the symptoms would be similar."

"That's what the two scientists at Graydon Stronghold said," the man commented. "The mutant zombie in our barn was found about fifty miles away from their location, so they assumed these two might be an experiment gone wrong."

"If that isn't Louise's signature theme, I don't know what is," I muttered. How is she still causing problems when she's dead? That should be illegal.

"We'll have to be careful until I can make sure we aren't dealing with something infectious. Considering the location, they likely got an incorrect serum." Nina looked at the man. "Can you ask Graydon if I can use their lab to make sure it isn't a disease? It isn't wise for people to transport blood samples if they're potentially contagious." She glanced at Daniel. "Would you mind coming with me?"

"Of course. If they don't let you use their lab, I can go get a few blood samples and bring them back."

"Thanks." She sent him a grateful smile, although everyone knew it would have been harder to make the Terror remain behind while his friend went into potential danger without his protection.

"I'll go ask." The man jogged to the stairwell.

Nicky told Daniel, "Since you're going on a road trip, make sure you bring us back some souvenirs, preferably felts or a boomerang. A potato gun will suffice."

Ignoring the redhead, he turned to face me. "Do you mind coming with us?"

"Why me? If it's in a shed, you don't need me to track it down."

"We don't know where the second zombie went, and I've never been to this Stronghold," he replied patiently. "We also don't know what these zombies might be capable of. Your strengths cover my weaknesses perfectly, and once darkness falls, you're the only Nightstalker I trust enough to let near me."

I grumbled slightly but gave in with a sigh. "If this road trip goes sideways, I'm blaming you."

Nicky snorted. "If you're along for the ride, we'll be lucky if the trip just goes sideways."

"I'd like you to come as well, Nicky," Daniel said.

"Hey! I asked for mementos! People on road trips have to work for those things."

"You have a special assignment."

"Assignment is just a fancy word for boring work," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "You honestly expect me to work and behave?"

"If you can manage both of those, I'll even wear those rainbow shoes for an entire week."

She sat up straighter in shock. "You mean you've had them all this time? I've looked high and low for those things for years!" She paused as a wary expression – a very rare thing for her – appeared on her face. "You hated those things with a passion. What kind of assignment are we talking about?"

He looked her directly in the eye. "I'll be leaving Nina in the Stronghold while Trinity and I search for the other zombie. That's a lot of time for her to be outside Ironwind without my protection. This visit could take several days. Possibly even a week. If you can keep out of trouble and protect her if danger shows up, I'll wear those shoes."

Nicky pursed her lips in thought. "You're right – that is a long time. Can I color a shirt to go with the shoes?"

"Fine," he huffed.

"Awesome! A road trip, it is!"

He blinked slowly. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be..."

Nicky chuckled and rubbed her hands together deviously. "Oh, as soon as Trinity agreed, I planned on coming anyway, but I wanted to see what else I could get out of the deal."

Daniel gave her a sour look, although I smirked at his lack of negotiating skills. Fortunately for him, Logan would almost certainly come with us, so at least there'd be one responsible adult keeping an eye on Nina.

My eyes strayed past the fence and lingered on the trees in one particular area. "As much as I detest going into the barn, I should look at that mutant zombie again."

"I'm going to completely avoid that trip," Nicky stated. "That thing still gives me the creeps."

Daniel made a face. "Let me know when you come back. If we have to deal with another one like that, I should go in there as well. I suspect we'll leave in the morning, so I'll prep the truck and pack tonight."

"Make sure you pack a white shirt and a pair of white socks!" Nicky said with a big grin.

He glowered at her wordlessly.

"What? We have to make sure we pack accordingly! That means all the essentials like food and zombie deterrents! I even have a big bottle of dish soap left!"

"At this rate, the zombies will be running away when they see us coming," I muttered.

She tilted her head. "You know, if it made our job harder, that's actually a possibility with your luck."

I growled at her. "You keep talking like that, and I'm dragging you into that barn with me."

"I believe I shall begin practicing this thing called 'good behavior'," Nicky said, promptly taking a bite out of her bun.

It was never a good day when Nicky opted to behave in order to avoid a zombie. As if that wasn't enough of a bad omen, we now had two strange zombies to deal with. Were they really victims of Louise and had somehow been locked up for three and a half years? Was it a disease? Or was it something else entirely?