I examined the bridge as we drove over it.

"Well, this is a vast improvement from last time," Nicky commented, also glancing over the side. "Definitely built by zombies. Do you think Travis and Kelly might be responsible for this lovely bit of architecture?"

"It looks like Travis's style," I said, "and it's definitely sturdier than the pile of logs Daniel and I built."

"Those were only meant to get us across, not last forever," Daniel commented. "I wonder where he got the steel beams."

"They look like those metal trusses you see in some stores. He probably dragged them here with a vehicle before the fuel ran out," I said.

"At least we don't have to build a bridge or make a detour," Nicky said. "Speaking of detouring, when's lunch? We probably have to refill the wood hopper as well."

"We can stop once we're off the bridge," Daniel said. "We're only about two hours away, so this will be our last break."

When the truck came to a stop, everyone got out and stretched. I merely stood up and leaned on the top of the cab.

"I'll lure those zombies away," Daniel said as he jogged toward the two regular zombies heading our way.

Nina looked up at me. "I forgot to ask. Can we let this Stronghold know you're a Nightstalker? They know Daniel is a Terror, and they have no problem with it."

I made a face as I remembered this aspect of road trips. If people didn't know I was a zombie, they unintentionally pestered me and often stepped over boundaries they didn't know existed. If they did know, it often led to subtle pointing and whispering, which was guaranteed to put my hackles up and send my mood on a downward spiral. Neither option was appealing.

"I vote for yes," Nicky piped up. "It means they'll give you your space, and if something goes wrong, they'll be more likely to listen to you."

I frowned at her, knowing it would solve a lot of my problems, but I wasn't quite ready for the stares and whispers that always set my instincts on edge. "How long are we going to be here?"

"Hopefully just a couple of days," Nina replied. "They've always been polite on radio calls, although they can get a bit talkative."

"Trinity's people skills actually aren't that bad," Nicky commented. "It's her tolerance levels around idle chit chat that we have to work on."

"You're not helping," I told her.

"Well, I'm still alive, so I have to be doing something right."

I exhaled gustily. "Fine. They can know. But it's your job to keep them from pestering me."

Nicky scratched her head. "Why am I getting all these jobs? Why doesn't Logan have to do anything?"

"Because he'll be helping Nina in the lab," I said.

Logan wisely kept silent as he refilled his water canteen from a larger jug.

"I guess that makes se-"

Growls and crackling tree branches had us looking at the trees.

"It's upwind, so I can't tell for sure, but it sounds like a Runner," I commented.

"I don't recall sending out any invitations for lunch," Nicky said. "Can you please go dissuade whoever is trying to crash our party?"

With a sigh, I jumped out of the back of the truck and jogged into the trees. A couple of light whistles caught the wayward zombie's attention and it crashed toward me, thinking I was one of the humans it could smell.

Once the female in dirty, tattered clothing spotted me, she snarled and redoubled her efforts. I bit back a growl and sped up as I veered toward the river. The shoulder-high riverbank was too steep for her to easily climb out.

My silent footsteps were a stark contrast to the Runner careening through the underbrush behind me. My instincts itched at the back of my mind, insulted that we were running from the lower-ranking Runner.

The smell of water grew stronger. When I reached the river, I darted along the embankment, glancing back until my pursuer was also close to the edge. I slid to a stop and turned around with an affronted snarl, informing the Runner where her place in the hierarchy was.

She slowed down but continued to edge closer with a challenging growl, not quite believing me since my sunglasses hid my eyes and I had previously run away. I poised my hands for First Strike. She mirrored my actions and charged forward. Instead of playing by the rules and slashing her arm to prove I was faster, I skipped to the side and aimed a kick at her ribs. She stumbled off the edge and tumbled toward the shallow river.

With a disdainful snort, I turned and walked away. As I made my way back, I wondered if the two strange zombies were going to be as easy to deal with.

~

"There's the Stronghold," Daniel commented.

I leaned back to see around the truck cab. From a distance, it looked like most Strongholds. The chain-link fence was tall and didn't hinder the zombies' sight, lest they try climbing over the obstacle. Wooden guard towers stood beside each gate; the guards mostly carried crossbows, although two had a rifle or musket. There was also some sort of cannon or oversized potato gun attached to the guard post.

"Finally!" Nicky said. "I am so tired of sitting. I forgot how boring road trips were."

"Boring is better than the alternative," I muttered. I took a deep breath. "There's definitely some sort of strange zombie around here, but it doesn't smell like the one in the barn."

Nina turned around with a concerned expression. "Just in case we are dealing with something infectious, please wear your mask and gloves when we go near it. It shouldn't take me long to determine if it's contagious, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Once we're closer, I might be able to smell if it's sick. I can smell illness in animals and humans, although a zombie might be different."

"We can make some plans once we see it. I'll still want to check a blood sample for any illness or disease. We've never found a sick zombie before, but considering zombies are already infected with the zombie virus, their scent might not change as much as we assume."

I shrugged. "Fine with me." It wasn't like I was going to be doing much until Daniel needed help tracking down the second zombie.

"Are those goats hitched to that wagon?" Nicky asked, craning her neck.

Sure enough, there were two big goats pulling a tiny wagon with lumber piled on it.

"There's a dog team by the trees pulling a log back," Daniel said. "I hope our presence doesn't cause them too many problems."

"If you're trying to think of reasons for me to spend most of my time outside the Stronghold, I really don't need excuses," I murmured, already eyeing up the fence, which had large sheets of tin at the top to prevent zombies from climbing over.

We slowed down as we got closer to the gate and the two men waiting to welcome us.

"Hello, are you Daniel and Nina?" an older balding man asked.

I glanced in the rearview mirror, noticing Daniel's eyes were his usual camouflaged orangish-brown color, which was probably why the man was double-checking our identity.

"Yes," Daniel replied. "We brought a few friends along to help. Logan often assists Nina in the lab, Nicky is an expert on zombie behavior, and Trinity is a Nightstalker who's helping me track down the second zombie."

I didn't bother changing my halfway irritable expression. First impressions were important, and heaven forbid if they thought I was a people person. Nicky was openly grinning at how Daniel had introduced her. Logan was his typical calm self and gave a wave.

"Welcome to Graydon Stronghold. I'm Wyatt, and this is Fred. Can we show you around and let you get settled in?"

"If you can show us where we'll be staying and then give us a quick tour, that would be great," Nina said. "After that, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a look at your lab and see the strange zombie."

"Sure. We have a guest cabin over there. Unfortunately, it only has four bedrooms. We have other rooms available if you like."

"Four will be fine," Daniel said. "Trinity prefers to spend most of the night outside the fence."

"Ah, okay." He glanced at me in perplexity, then back at Daniel. "You can park your truck anywhere along the fence but not within fifteen feet of it. The sentries need to be able to see the zombies at night."

Daniel drove ahead and parked beside the cabin we'd be staying in. While the others carried in their luggage, I fiddled with the air valves on the wood gas canisters to starve the fire of oxygen and extinguish it. Our two guides helped carry boxes inside.

"The rest is lab equipment and my notes," Nina said as she came outside. "There's no rain clouds, so we can leave it here for now."

"No one will bother it, and we can help you carry it into the lab whenever you like," Wyatt said. "You wanted a tour first?"

"Please," Nina requested.

Our group followed the two guides as they pointed out the buildings that would interest us more, such as the dining hall and showers. I halfway paid attention to the discussion while appraising the Stronghold's defenses and layout.

The tin sheeting on the fence would be a right nuisance to climb over without damaging it, and I didn't consider it to be a viable route. There were various access gates, although I'd have to wait until nightfall to see how well they were guarded. I could always ask the guards to let me out and in, but there was just something so satisfying about sneaking around undetected.

"This is the damage that weird zombie did," one of our guides said.

I came closer for a better look at the slightly bent chain-link fencing, as did the rest of our group.

"Not nearly enough damage for a Nightstalker, but Runners usually can't bend the metal strands like this," I commented.

"I agree," Nina said. Glancing at our guide, she asked, "You said this zombie didn't make any attempts to climb like Runners usually do?"

"No, it just kept trying to push through the fence."

"The zombie in our barn never tried climbing either, but it would have torn through the chain as easily as a Nightstalker, so I think we're already seeing some key differences."

"We thought it was a Runner at first due to its speed. Once we noticed its cloudy eyes, a couple of the braver lads came closer to the fence and took turns standing still to check if it could only see motion like the one you found, but it kept trying to reach them."

"Did it attack any other zombies?" Nina asked, pulling out a notepad.

"No, and it ran past several when approaching."

Logan continued to peer at the bent pieces of metal. "The one in our barn would have been a Nightstalker. Could this one have been a Runner?"

"That could account for the differences we're seeing," Nina replied, "but I really need to run some tests and see what this thing's triggers look like."

"We can show you the lab and take you to the shed we put the zombie in," Wyatt offered.

Nina nodded. "That would be great, but just in case we're dealing with some sort of transmissible zombie disease, I'd like to take a few precautions." She turned to Daniel and me. "Let's stop by the truck. I packed a few things for you two since you're most at risk if it's contagious among zombies."

"What sort of things?" I asked. She knew we packed a face mask and gloves. What else could we possibly need?

"You'll see," she replied evasively. "We can visit the lab first."

Daniel's perplexed expression didn't help with the misgivings I was suddenly having.