Several minutes later, I lifted my head as I heard a deer running in this direction with Daniel's footsteps approaching equally as swiftly. Could he be chasing it toward me? I hadn't expected that, but I wasn't going to argue.

There was a deer trail nearby, so I got up and moved behind a leafy shrub. If the deer tried to escape along this route, I'd be able to ambush it as it went by.

The deer raced into the clearing. It hadn't even gotten halfway across before Daniel bolted forward with inhuman speed and slammed his fist down on the back of its neck. I heard the crunch of the spine shattering, and the deer collapsed lifelessly in the middle of the clearing.

Daniel looked around the clearing; his eyesight must be phenomenal since he managed to spot me even though I was mostly hidden in my chosen ambush position. "Here you go. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

With that, he turned and left the clearing. I remained motionless for several seconds longer to ensure he wasn't coming back to claim his kill. My eyes examined the deer as I walked toward it; it looked like his strike had come close to pulverizing the neck instead of simply shattering or breaking it.

I didn't have a knife, but with a bit of work, my sharp nails shaved the hair away and pierced through the skin to get to the artery. The hot blood was welcome and seemed to bolster my energy levels almost instantly. The pain in my wounds also subsided a bit.

By the time I drained the deer, I was quite full. And just like when I had been human, when I was stuffed, I was also tired. Badly injured Nightstalkers tended to hole up until their injuries healed, but a Stronghold wasn't exactly my first choice.

My leg was still throbbing, so I walked to the far side of the clearing and sat on a log to wait for Daniel's return. It wasn't long before I heard his footsteps approaching.

He walked into the clearing. "We can go if you're ready."

I managed a half smile. "I'm really good at procrastinating."

He chuckled and leaned against a nearby tree, calmly watching me in silence. I was quite surprised he was being so patient. It wasn't a trait normally found in zombies.

"You said that guy tried to kill you before?" Daniel quietly asked. "When Nina was patching you up, she mentioned you had some scars that looked as if you had been shot in the past. Did he do that?"

I was silent for a bit before responding just as quietly. "It happened about a month after I turned. I found half a dozen men cornered by a couple of Runners and helped them fight the ferals off. After thanking me, they invited me back to their Stronghold. They offered me a room and a hot meal for the night since I'd helped them. They also said they were going to give me directions to the nearby Strongholds, so I agreed and went back with them."

The memories weren't fond ones. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing, "I had been there less than two hours before the same group tried to ambush me with guns and other weapons. I dodged the swords, although I ended up twisting that guy's arm to get his gun out of my face. I'm still not sure if I actually broke his arm or not."

With a shake of my head to refocus, I continued, "It wasn't easy, but I got out of the Stronghold without any serious injuries. The biggest problem was that there was a large field between the walls and the forest. They caught up in their cars."

A low growl rumbled through my chest, although the faint bubbling in one lung only reminded me of my most recent brush with death.

"Six bullets hit me as I tried to dive into a nearby river. One struck my heart dead on and stopped it. Did you know that even if your lungs fill up with water and blood, a zombie doesn't actually pass out?"

He shook his head, still silent.

"Well, we don't. It's a good thing for those of us who are sane, but it's a horrendous sensation. In case you weren't aware, if your lungs give out or if your heart stops, you're even weaker and slower than a normal zombie. You're lucky if you can manage a shuffling walk until they heal enough to start working again."

Shaking my head, I resumed my story. "I eventually washed up on a river bank and managed to crawl out. It took almost two weeks before I could function halfway normally, and longer to fully heal. After that, I decided that entering Strongholds was too risky. I went downwind of each place to check if my sister was there, although I'd occasionally ask people along the road if they had heard of her."

His eyebrows furrowed in thought. "How did you hunt?"

"I waited until night. My Nightstalker abilities allow me to move silently, even if I'm reduced to a shuffling walk. I was able to sneak up on rabbits and large game birds until I had regained enough strength to manage larger prey. I set up some live traps as well."

He was silent for some time before he looked up. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. None of those remaining will harm you. If you're up for a walk, it's probably best if we head back before Nicky comes looking for us like she threatened to."

My time had come to an end. With a sigh, I gave in as gracefully as I could and stood up. Daniel went over to the deer, threw it over his shoulder, and picked up the first aid kit in his other hand. I gave him an odd look, confused as to why he was taking the carcass.

"The humans will either bring it to a boil in soup or turn it into jerky," he said, noticing my expression. "The virus can't survive high temperatures or drying out. There's no sense in wasting the meat."

I nodded; the waste of the meat and hide had always bothered me in the past. I was surprised they'd risk it; most humans were very worried about the zombie virus and went to great lengths to avoid any potential exposure. Then again, they welcomed Daniel into the Stronghold and most had been welcoming enough toward me during the fifteen minutes I had been inside the fence.

Daniel pushed his way through the shrubs alongside a deer trail, leaving the easier path for me. It wasn't long before it was obvious that my previous run hadn't been a good idea. Despite our slow walk, I was breathing noticeably hard. My leg hurt worse now than when I had first woken up in the jail cell, and it complained fiercely about its mistreatment.

We exited the forest in a different place than where I had entered, and I narrowed my eyes at the sight of Nicky putting nail polish on her toenails while sitting on a side-by-side ATV.

"About bloody time you showed up," she said when she looked over. "If you had taken much longer, I was going to have to break down and do a full makeover. Get in. The passenger seat is yours. If I let you touch the steering wheel, Nina said she'd kick my behind. I, of course, expressed my disbelief in her ability to do so, and she said if she didn't succeed, she'd send Daniel to trounce me. And honestly, I don't think a one liter can of tomato juice or a bar of soap is going to stop that guy."

Daniel gave me a frustrated look, obviously still confused about the tomato juice and soap reference. I was busy eyeing up the ATV; this thing was so narrow that our elbows would almost be brushing. Nicky and I hadn't even sat this close together in the back of the truck, let alone when my shirt was wet with blood. From the expectant look on her face, she wasn't worried about being in close proximity with an injured zombie.

I tilted my head in slight disbelief. "And you have no problem with a zombie sitting right beside you?"

To my surprise, she grinned at me. "If you were going to kill me, you would've done it long ago. Likely on one of the great many occasions when I pissed you off. At the moment, I'm offering you a lift, which you will secretly appreciate, even though I fully expect your bright and sunny personality to grumble at being forced to accept the ride."

Talk about hitting the nail on the head with a hammer. "I think you are beginning to know me too well."

"I also know how much your leg probably hurts right now. I recognize that slow walk from my own attempts at learning kickboxing. I bet you'd have a pretty good limp if you went any faster. In fact, I think I even see a slight limp as it is."

I growled lightly in annoyance; I thought I had been hiding my limp sufficiently. And I didn't exactly appreciate having my injuries pointed out in this manner.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, just get in already. Preferably before someone realizes I hot-wired this thing instead of taking the quad they tried to give me."

Yep. This lady clearly couldn't be left unsupervised. With a heavy sigh, I climbed into the passenger side as Daniel began jogging ahead with the deer still slung over his shoulder. Nicky bent under the dash, and with a faint zit, the motor rumbled to life.

She sat up and grinned at me. "Hang on."

Oh shit. I swiftly grabbed onto the handles and braced my feet as I realized my mistake. I had just gotten into a vehicle that Nicky was driving. Memory of Hank's tone when he told Nicky she couldn't drive flitted through my mind, leaving me to wonder just what sort of blunder I'd just made. My head injury was obviously affecting my better judgement more than I had realized.

She only had time to burn a few doughnuts and drift a bit on the long grass before Daniel returned. She had to straighten out of her circles to avoid sideswiping him, which was a wise move on her part since he was likely strong enough to grab the bumper and bring us to a sudden stop.

"Cut that out," he told her with a frown. "Drive as if you were trying for your driver's license. You can torment one of the older quads later tonight if you want to horse around."

"All right, all right," Nicky grumbled as she started driving straight. "Don't get your panties in a knot. It was just a bit of fun. Besides, the guy I tried to get my license with actually jumped out of the moving car within five minutes of us starting."

"I think I was safer in the forest..." I grumbled.

"What are you mumbling about?" Nicky asked, turning her head to face me.

I smirked; her hearing was obviously nowhere near as good as mine or Daniel's. "I said that you should pretend to drive like Hank does."

"That's a terrible thought," she said, making a face. "He actually reads the signs and says the lines on the road mean something."

I made a mental note to never get into any vehicle if Nicky was behind the wheel, belatedly remembering this wasn't the first time I'd told myself that. I glanced over at Daniel, who was looking as if he had learned something he would have rather not known.

"Despite Nina's threat, it'd probably be safer if I drove," I said.

Nicky grumbled under her breath.

Daniel sighed and replied, "We're almost there."

Despite Nicky's desire to perfect her stunt driving, we drove around the forest and back to the Stronghold without any other incidents. Daniel guided her back to where we had parked the truck. Nicky came to a stop in front of the building beside it, where Nina sat on the front stairs, clearly waiting for us.

Nina raised her eyebrow at my chauffeur and asked, "Why did you steal that side-by-side when they gave you the keys to a quad?"

"Every once in a while, I actually do use my head. It wasn't too bad getting Trinity on this thing. It would have been a lot harder to get her behind me on that quad, and with how she's bleeding, I would've ended up walking back and letting her drive."

Nina stood up. "Daniel, could you possibly have a word with the guy in the garage so he doesn't freak out on Nicky?"

"Sure. I can also let them know that they'll have to disinfect the seat, then I can drop this deer off at the butchers." He tossed the first aid kit to her.

"Thanks." She caught it and turned her gaze to me. "Let's go inside so I can check those wounds."

I made a face as I got out of the side-by-side. "You're aware that zombies don't get infections, right?"

"Yes, but considering I can smell your blood from here, that's saying something."

As much as I didn't want her around my wounds while they were still sore from my run, I wanted to replace my blood-soaked bandages and clothing with clean, dry ones. Besides, I'd use almost any excuse to get out of the deathtrap Nicky was driving. I grabbed my backpack from the truck box before following Nina up the steps and inside the building.

As I entered the doorway, I took a tentative sniff, but the smell of humans wasn't as bad as I had feared. In fact, it wasn't even as bad as some nights I'd spent inside during our road trip.

Fewer than thirty people slept in this building, and they must not spend much time inside during the day. The window at the end of the hallway was also open, which helped air things out.

Nina led me to a small examination room where a bowl of water and wash cloths were waiting. There were some other supplies as well, including a needle and some fine thread.

Nina closed the door behind me. "Let's check your wounds. Do you need help getting your shirt off?"

I tried to get it over my head, although every movement of my arms pulled on my injuries.

Giving up, I sighed and said, "Just cut it off."

Nina put on a pair of elbow-length rubber gloves and picked up a pair of scissors. She cut my shirt and peeled the sticky red fabric away, revealing the soaked, scarlet bandages.

"Oh my. I didn't expect it to be this bad."

She cut the bandages free as well, easing them away from the injuries slowly enough that the bleeding didn't restart. Wetting a rag in the warm water, she sponged the blood smears off my skin, slowly working around the wounds. She left my shoulder and the cayenne powder for last.

"Well," Nina finally said, "the one that hit your heart doesn't seem to have gotten any worse. Just a small crack. Your shoulder didn't fare too badly. The one that struck your lung had a good chunk of the scab come loose. I'm just going to put more salve on it to keep it soft and hope it adheres to the skin again."

She moved to my back, and she tried to ease the gauze pad off. "Did you fall on your back? I think the gauze somehow got partially pushed into the wound."

"Yeah..." That would be the same branch that ripped my leg even further open. I might have to go back and reduce that thing to toothpicks for its actions.

Nina reached over and grabbed a water bottle. "Let me see if I can get it out. Tell me if you need me to stop."

The gauze went cold as Nina tried to use water to loosen it. When it didn't immediately come free, she picked up some fresh gauze pads and spread a generous amount of salve on one, likely to put over the wound afterward. She pulled a small plastic packet out of the first aid kit and opened it.

"If it doesn't hurt too much, can you lean forward a bit? Once I get the gauze off, I want to give it a quick wipe before using Woundseal powder to stop the bleeding."

I complied, leaning forward a bit even though my injuries protested.

"Here goes..." Nina lifted the edges of the gauze, and after a few very light tugs, she put most of the bloody gauze sheets on the counter beside me. "Just the bottom one left."

I gritted my teeth against the pain, although I felt the gauze slide out of the injury. Nina quickly dabbed the area with the sponge, then with a dry towel, before grabbing the small tube of Woundseal. Moments later, she picked up the gauze pad with the salve and gently pressed it against my back. The cool unguent felt good against the throbbing injury.

"There we go, just let me get a square bandage over it so it can't fall off." She put the larger bandage over the gauze. "You can sit up now."

She came in front and examined the other injuries before going back to the counter to gather more salve, square bandages, and long wrap-around bandages. I took the opportunity to lean over and dig a clean bra out of my backpack.

"Want me to undo the clasps in the back?" Nina offered.

"Please." My reply was growlier than I intended, although she didn't take any offense.

Once the bloody piece of clothing was off, I quickly wiped the blood-stained skin down with the sponge before putting the clean bra on. Nina did up the clasps on the back before turning her attention to my injuries once again.

By the time she finished covering each wound and wrapping my chest up like a mummy, I was more than tired of having someone in my personal space. I pulled a clean shirt and a pair of shorts out of my backpack. It took me some time to get my shirt on, although I left the shorts on top of my backpack for now.

She glanced at the clean clothing beside me. "Mind taking off your shorts so I can check your leg as well?"

I stood up and removed my current pair of blood-soaked shorts. While I did that, Nina wiped the chair down. Once she finished, I sat back down. Even though I had rebandaged my leg, streaks of red were smeared across the top layer, courtesy of my shorts, and a few spots of bright red marred the white bandage from beneath.

With a frown of concern, Nina began unwrapping it, inhaling in surprise when she gently eased the gauze away from the angry, red injury. She began trying to clean the wound, almost at a loss as to where to start.

It looked like something that would make an ER doctor do a double-take. The scab once more clung to the gauze, revealing ragged flesh that blood still oozed out of. Nina carefully dabbed the cayenne powder and congealed blood away with a damp rag until the extent of the damage was revealed.

Now that it was cleaned up, it was easy to tell that my impact with the branch had done more damage than I realized. If I had thought the original injury was bad, it was worse now.

She sat on her heels with a sigh. "Well, you aren't going to be moving much for a while. It's a very good thing you can't get infections; otherwise, this would have me quite worried."

Going back to the counter, she grabbed the needle, thread, and a different jar of salve.

She started gently applying the salve to the edges of the injury. "This will numb it, but the effect only lasts a minute or two with a zombie. I'll try to sew it up some, although I'm not sure how long it will hold. In theory, these stitches should dissolve in about six weeks, but if they behave like the thinner stuff I found at the truck stop, they'll probably only last a day or so."

She threaded the needle and turned to my leg. I narrowed my eyes, but the salve was already working, and I barely felt the prick of the needle. A dozen stitches later, she had secured the worst edges together. The wound no longer gaped open quite so widely, but there was no way the hand-sized wound could be completely stitched closed.

Nina picked up the Woundseal and sprinkled the last of it onto my leg to stop the blood still seeping out. After a generous helping of salve, she put a large bandage over it and wrapped the long bandages around it again.

"There. Let's see how that holds up. I'd like to check it tomorrow since the bandages will probably have to be replaced."

While I pulled the clean pair of shorts on, Nina put the bloody bandages in a small plastic bag with a biohazard symbol.

"I know you probably don't want to be around a bunch of humans right now. Do you want me to guide you to one of our guest rooms? I can also wash your shorts and bra and return them to you later if you want. I have to wash these bandages anyway."

I nodded. "Thanks. I'm not exactly fit for company at the moment."

"I'll show you where it is and then come back and disinfect