Chapter 14

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The sky slowly grew lighter. Before too long, it became uncomfortable enough that I had to put my sunglasses on. As the world outside brightened, I heard movement from Tom and Marissa's room as they woke up. Their footsteps were joined by Liz's as they went to the roof to make breakfast.

I overheard Marissa say, "Oh, someone put the soup on. That was nice of them."

Things grew quieter, and I knew from the lack of snoring that Hank and Ben had woken up.

A loud bang came from their room, followed by Ben's sleepy and irritated voice. "Darn chair. You weren't supposed to fall over like that."

Of course, blame the chair. He was the main reason I put the coffee out. Nicky was the second reason. I looked over as that very lady sat up with a grumble.

"There is coffee and soup on the roof," I informed her.

Nicky jammed her sunglasses on her face and wrapped her sleeping bag around her before standing up with a scowl. She trudged out the door without so much as a good morning. I shook my head and slowly trailed in her wake.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Hank and Ben came out of their room. Farther down the hallway, Daniel also emerged with Nina behind him. He eyed me up with an expression that looked like curiosity with a hint of a challenge. Nina would have told him who the Nightstalker really was, so the guessing game was over.

I went up the stairs, both to avoid Daniel as well as to not block the narrow stairway. I sat in the same seat I had yesterday, declining the bowl of soup Marissa offered me. From the way she immediately passed it to Hank, she had expected my response. They had gotten used to me skipping most meals.

I couldn't eat much in the way of real food anymore, and one small meal a day was my limit. I could easily go a day or two without real food. In theory, I was technically unable to starve to death, but I had no desire to attempt it. I liked my food too much.

To my surprise, Daniel accepted a small bowl of soup. I watched Ben down his cup of strong coffee like water. I couldn't figure out how he managed to swallow it – it smelled strong enough to enter a kickboxing ring.

After appraising the amount of soup left, Ben opened up a can of beans and put them by the fire to warm up. Liz finished her bowl of soup and came to sit on my lap. I made a face but let her climb up.

My sunglasses shielded my eyes and allowed me to observe Nina and Daniel without getting caught. A few tiny scratches crisscrossed Nina's arms, and there were a few small scabs on her elbow, but otherwise, she didn't have any noticeable injuries.

Nina kept glancing at me with an intrigued look. Daniel was more open about his watching, and his eyes often strayed to me. He didn't seem openly hostile, although every time I shifted my weight, I gained his immediate attention. He looked pretty laid back with the other humans, but I clearly recalled his growling as he went to check on Nina. I could also pick out the signs of distrust in his body language.

Ben yawned and held his bowl out. "Hey, Nicky. Could you please wash my dishes?"

"They're disposable styrofoam," she retorted. "Wash your own bloody dishes."

"Pretty please?" He wiggled the bowl mid-air.

Nicky whipped her spoon at him, and Ben moved his leg to avoid the off-course missile. Daniel examined the fiery lady who had clearly not woken up enough for Ben's teasing. I suspected she was wearing her sunglasses as an attempt to confuse Daniel. If it hadn't been for last night's events, it could have kept him uncertain for a while longer.

Ben chuckled at Nicky's reaction before turning his head to appraise Nina. I began counting in my head as I waited to see how long it would take Ben to make a nuisance of himself.

One, two, three-

"I bet you would look cute with your hair done up in a ponytail or a bun."

Perhaps I needed to hand Nicky a few more objects to throw at Ben as a distraction.

Nina barely spared him a glance. "In that case, I will leave it hanging as it is."

She clearly had no intention of putting her loosely flowing hair up if it made him attracted to her. Score one for her subtle putdown. As per usual, Ben ignored the disinterested request for peace.

"A cutie like you shouldn't be ashamed to dress up and live a little."

"I'll pass. I don't need to dress up, and the term 'live a little' brings to mind things like wild parties and bad decisions, neither of which interest me."

I smirked as Nina's comeback earned her another point in my mental tally.

Ben obviously had lots of practice in being blown off because he didn't even bat an eye. "I'd be happy to go on a walk with a beauty like you."

Daniel exhaled gustily and frowned at Ben. "Leave her alone."

Hank immediately raised his head. From his expression, he had just realized there was more to this man than met the eye. Since Daniel's overly-loud exhale of mild annoyance was so similar to the one Hank had heard from me numerous times, it had probably tipped him off.

Ben wasn't so observant and rolled his eyes dismissively. "Relax, dude. I'm sure your questionable manliness can handle me flirting with this cutie pie."

Daniel's eyes shifted to a glowing red as he gave a sharp growl of warning. Ben froze with wide eyes, staring at the zombie. Nina calmly watched as most of the others froze in alarm.

Nicky looked utterly bored as she downed another swallow of her coffee. Hank regarded Daniel warily but didn't seem terribly surprised.

The growl had been a warning growl, not a true threat, but my instincts still shifted uneasily – and it hadn't even been directed at me. I kept a wary eye on him as I resisted my instincts' desire to leave the area. Ben finally unfroze enough to swivel his head toward me with wide eyes.

I snorted at his expression. "Don't look at me for help. A Terror wouldn't have any more problems beating a Nightstalker than a Nightstalker would have beating a Runner. And I don't particularly feel like being pinned face down in the dirt this early in the morning. Especially over your ill-timed flirting."

His jaw dropped. "You mean you knew?"

I gave him a look that plainly said how dense I found his observation. "His scent gave him away the second he came within range. There were a few other clues if you were looking."

How did I get myself into these situations? Last week I had been traveling through the wilderness in blissful solitude, then I ended up trying to escort a bunch of humans to safety. Then, to make things worse, a Terror had appeared and some of the humans seemed determined to tick him off. This trip was going downhill so fast that it was practically in freefall.

"But- How-" Ben still gaped at me as his eyes occasionally flickered toward Nina and Daniel.

With a yawn, Nicky commented, "Ben, is your head up your ass for the warmth? If so, I'm sure these two red-eyed freaks can help you with that."

I growled lightly at her choice of names, and she sent a half-hearted punch at my shoulder to show that she didn't give a shit. Even though I let her hit my shoulder, I barely felt her teasing blow.

She smirked at me, knowing I had let her get that tap in. "It's my job to be grouchy in the morning. You can take over later on."

I rolled my eyes – not that she could see it – but my facial expression would give it away. Apparently, much to our great fortune, Nicky was starting to wake up. Sometimes I wasn't sure what was preferable, her scowling at her morning coffee in silence or her attitude once the caffeine kicked in. Nina and Daniel watched our interaction.

"So, you really are a Nightstalker?" Nina finally asked, her eyes practically burning with curiosity.

I looked across the firepit at Nina. "Yes. I assume Daniel is a Terror?"

They both nodded.

"About five months ago, a sane Nightstalker stopped by Ironwind for a few days," Daniel commented thoughtfully. "Although she was quite the cantankerous thing and easily lost her temper. I ended up pinning her a dozen times in three days because she kept trying to attack me. Very temperamental. After meeting her and hearing a few other stories, I was under the impression that all Nightstalkers were a snarly bunch, but I truly thought you were human last night."

Nicky snorted. "Once she's aware that you know her secret, she doesn't hide her temper so carefully. I lost count of the number of times she growled at me yesterday."

"You deserved every one of those growls," Ben countered, finally regaining the frayed remains of his composure.

"Probably." She didn't seem to care that a zombie had growled at her a dozen times and that she now sat with a Nightstalker and a Terror. I wasn't sure there was any medication out there that could possibly help her at this point.

With his eyes back to their camouflaged brownish color, Daniel's gaze moved back to me. "Thank you for saving Nina last night."

The others glanced at each other and Nina in confusion.

I shrugged lightly, uncomfortable with the attention. "No problem. I originally thought you had returned and both of you were sneaking out. I didn't realize she was in trouble until I saw them through the window."

Daniel blinked slowly as he regarded me, as if he wasn't overly sure what to make of me now that I had blown his preconception of Nightstalkers out of the water. He was still watchful, likely uncertain about how unpredictable I really was. If he had met a Nightstalker whose personality was closer to dynamite, then I couldn't exactly blame him. I had met one of those as well.

Tentatively, Nina inquired, "If you don't mind me asking, I thought Nightstalkers had severe problems with light and couldn't handle being outside during the day? From what I heard, even sunglasses let in far too much light."

I turned my head to face her. "Mine are actually welding glasses. I altered them so they seal around my face to prevent any light from coming in. They're the only reason I can handle this level of light."

As if to echo my words, the sun's early morning light was just beginning to shine on us, preventing me from even looking in that direction. It only added to the irritation that was already building from the numerous questions.

"You don't seem to have any problem with Liz on your lap. Surely you feel the bloodlust?"

"Yes, I can feel it, although it's low right now," I reluctantly replied. "Being around this group so much has desensitized the severity of it somewhat, but it's still there. I can always feel it, even though my control is fine."

"And if your control became shaky?" Nina quietly asked.

A growl rumbled lightly in my chest at that thought. "I take precautions, but if I thought my control was close to breaking, I would do my best to get away from any humans. Human blood is a short path to madness, and I like having my mind at least mostly intact."

Not bothered by my growl, Nina nodded. "What sort of precautions?"

I exhaled gustily at the interrogation. She was traveling with a Terror, so she likely knew all of this already. "Mostly, I hunt regularly. The smell of human blood is the worst, especially if it's in the immediate vicinity. If it gets too bad, I leave the area. If that option is out, then I generally try to breathe through my mouth or somehow mask the smell."

Nina's eyes widened as she stiffened slightly. Daniel transferred his gaze to her reaction in confusion. I also tilted my head.

"Last night, you said you could smell my blood," Nina eventually said, furrowing her eyebrows in thought, "and I was right beside you. You also led me back, and there was no way to mask the smell on our trip. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you." She sounded apologetic and concerned.

"Your injuries barely bled, so the scent was faint. I had also hunted very well the night before. Yes, the bloodlust was worse since I was so close, but my control wasn't in question. If it had been, I would have directed you back to the motel and gone hunting." I paused and turned to Daniel. "How far away did you go? I was surprised you didn't pick up the scent of her blood sooner."

He blinked at my question. "A mile or so. I caught her scent once I was halfway back."

It was my turn to be confused – a Terror should have picked up the scent at a greater distance than that if he had been downwind.

"Directly downwind? I'm surprised you didn't notice it sooner."

"I was downwind, but that's a long distance for a smell to travel, even if it is the scent of human blood."

Both of us looked at each other in confusion, perplexed by the other's responses.

Nina interjected, "Trinity, you said you picked up my scent when you left the motel. Would you have picked up the smell of my blood a mile downwind?"

I nodded and slowly replied, "If it was directly downwind, certainly. When I went to rescue Tom and Marissa, I picked up the smell of blood from farther away, although much more blood had been spilled."

"I thought that all abilities were heightened with each zombie rank," Nina said, glancing between me and Daniel, "but after our discussion, I'm having doubts. I wonder what the differences between a Terror and a Nightstalker really are. Would you mind doing some experiments?"

My muscles tensed, and I watched her like a hawk. Experiments? I was suspicious, to say the least. Nina quickly noticed my silence and tension.

"Like a race between you and Daniel," she clarified. "Or lifting something. To see if he is actually faster or stronger. Maybe something to see how your sense of smell compares."

I relaxed slightly and considered her suggestion. If Daniel had previously met a Nightstalker, then he already knew he was faster and stronger. This would be a harmless way for me to see just where Daniel's abilities were compared to mine.

Clashes were bound to happen between zombies of different ranks, and if he came after me, I wanted to know how many steps I would manage before he caught up.

"Alright," I agreed, still somewhat reluctant.

I wondered how badly this was going to bruise my Nightstalker pride and ego.

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