Thankfully, Nicky drove in a fashion that didn't leave me wondering if I would make it back alive. It didn't take long to reach the small forest, which happened to be the same one I'd fled into yesterday. She drove down the trail until she reached a clearing.

She stopped the side-by-side. "Supposedly, he put the animal traps down that deer trail and tied some orange trail ribbon above each one. He also said you'd probably have no problem locating them."

I nodded and tossed the bag of peanuts to her. "I should be back shortly. I don't smell any zombies, but keep an eye open, just in case."

She stared at me. "You're just going to leave me here alone? What if I get kidnapped?"

"Honest, they would bring you back."

"That's exactly what Hank told me!"

I shook my head in disbelief and went down the narrow trail. It didn't take me long to find all three traps. Two had rabbits in them. I drained both and treated the injury on my leg since I wanted it healed as soon as possible. The stitches had already dissolved, although the edges of the wound were holding themselves together on their own, albeit barely.

I headed back to where Nicky was waiting and slowly sat in my seat as I tried to figure out what she was doing.

"Why did you line up the peanuts along the top of the dashboard?"

She shrugged as she scooped them back into the bag. "I wanted to see how wide it was when measured with peanuts."

Sometimes you meet people who are just a few screws short of a full set, and at other times, the whole freaking toolbox is missing. I bet a squirrel had given her advice on how to measure things after he stole her tape measure.

I refrained from commenting as she started the small vehicle and began driving back to the Stronghold. Nicky parked it in the garage with several quads and other all-terrain vehicles.

She looked at the clock. "We're just in time for dinner! Let's go before all of the good stuff is gone!"

"I'll drop these rabbits off with the butchers and meet you there."

She wasted no time in running toward the dining hall. I shook my head and walked in the direction of the butchering building. I hadn't gone far when voices came through an open window above.

"They've locked Mack in one of the old jail cells. Nothing seems to get through to him. They aren't sure how he lost control – he hasn't even been in contact with a human since he turned."

"He turned into a Runner, not a regular zombie, right?"

"Yeah, he's definitely a Runner, but he goes ballistic whenever he sees a human. Daniel keeps going in with whatever animal blood the butchers collected."

"I hope he snaps out of it and gains control soon."

A door shut as the two left whatever room they had been in, although the news I'd overheard wasn't the best. Against all odds, he had turned into a Runner, so the zombie in the creek must have been a Runner after all. The smell of so many humans was probably throwing his bloodlust into overdrive and completely clouding his mind. Runners weren't exactly the brightest bricks in the wall to start with.

I found it odd that he had completely lost control; anyone here was smart enough to avoid giving him raw meat or human blood. Other than me, Daniel was the only one who could approach the Runner safely, so I doubted I'd be seeing much of the higher-ranking zombie for a while. That didn't hurt my feelings in the least.

I reached the butchering building and went inside. It smelled surprisingly clean, although no amount of cleaning would ever remove the iron tang after so long.

"Hello, can we help you?" a nearby man asked, standing behind a stainless-steel counter as he chopped the drumsticks off a chicken carcass.

"Where am I supposed to bring these rabbits?"

"Ah, Ray can take those. If no one's here, just put them in the solar ice chest beside the door. We have to process them separately."

Another man with elbow-length gloves came over to take the rabbits, not at all nervous in my presence. With a nod of thanks, I left the small building and headed over to the dining hall.

When I reached the doorway, I paused at the sight of the crowded room. At least a hundred people were already here, all of whom were happily chatting with each other. The air was practically hazy with the scents of so many people in one place.

I breathed through my mouth since my nose was being assaulted by the miasma. Laughter and voices echoed across the din, as much as it could with so many talking at once. The sheer amount of noise tormented my ears.

I was never coming here in the middle of the dinner rush again.

Steeling myself, I went through the doorway. I had never been around this many people since I'd turned, and it was a struggle to not keep glancing around me suspiciously. People gave me space, and I took care not to follow too closely behind those ahead of me in the lines waiting for food. There was nothing like having a bloodthirsty zombie following you in a dinner lineup to make you uneasy.

Elsewhere, people bumped elbows without qualms and gave little regard to personal space. Yeah, my Nightstalker instincts wouldn't tolerate that. They were already on the fritz because my injuries made me vulnerable and it was impossible to watch everything. Tightly-packed crowds of strangers were hell on Earth for me.

While in the lineup, I spotted Nicky against the far wall near the corner, where she had managed to claim a small table with two benches. When she spotted me looking in her direction, she waved to make sure I saw her.

After I put some fruit and a few other items on my plate, I headed toward her, making sure to choose the least congested route I could see. I slid onto the empty bench across from her with a sigh of relief.

"I figured you'd want to be against a wall," Nicky said. "I tried for a corner, but they were all taken. You look like you're on edge."

"You have no idea how hard it is for me to be in this room with so many people. If I hadn't said I'd meet you here, I would have turned around at the door."

We ate our meal in silence as more people kept entering the room. Most tables were packed, and the benches were holding more people than they had been intended for. No one joined us at our table, which was a relief for me. I made a mental note to grab extra food at lunch so I could avoid this madhouse in the future.

Paranoid Nightstalker instincts did not do well in any crowded situation. My eyes scanned the packed room restlessly as my muscles grew tense. The constant noise and sheer number of people were triggering instincts that were better left buried. My mood was going downhill fast.

I had made a huge effort to be polite and tolerant today, but this dining hall and all its occupants had me at my limits. I felt like snarling simply for the need of space. More people kept piling into the room, and there wasn't a single empty bench to be seen. By the time I finished eating, I had already picked out the nearest exit.

I stood up, telling Nicky, "I need to get out of here."

Nicky followed me with her empty plate. I noticed she gave me more space than she usually did. We put our dishes in the proper bins, and I made it outside without anyone bumping into me. There were a few people already on top of the secondary building, so that spot was out. Where in this madhouse could I go while avoiding people?

Nicky touched my elbow as she passed by me. "This way."

With my instincts so high, I growled faintly at the contact but followed her. She led me to the chicken coop, then went into the space between it and the fence. There were a couple of stumps leaning against the side of the coop, and Nicky sat down on the farthest one.

She gave me a sympathetic look. "You were starting to look like you were at your limits, so I figured you needed some space. This is the best I can think of without going past the fence. I know you would be fine out there, but that could make people question your control."

"Thanks."

I sat on another stump. The coop blocked the view of the small settlement behind us, and fortune decided to grace me with a breeze right from the fields and forest, which minimized the human smells. I wished my leg was healed so I could go for a run through the trees.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I tried to settle my worked-up instincts. It took time, but they eventually subsided to the point where I didn't feel like growling from feeling caged and overcrowded. The breeze smelled more like the forest than the human Stronghold I was in, and we were far enough away from the main buildings that the only noise was from the chickens.

I exhaled and finally opened up my eyes. Nicky was quietly braiding a handful of grass. She glanced over at me but didn't say anything.

"Thanks. I'm in a better mood now."

"Glad to hear it."

She fell silent as she continued tormenting the grass stems. I found it weird that Nicky was more in tune with my body language and zombie instincts than Daniel or Nina. Sure, she occasionally pressed my buttons, but she had always avoided pushing me too far. Somehow.

"There!" Her voice held accomplishment.

I turned to look at Nicky's wide grin as she held up some sort of circle made of braided grass and daisies. I sighed at her creation and enthusiasm. Where did she come up with such ideas? She was at least twenty years old, not eight. She jumped to her feet and walked over. I stilled as I watched her. What was she up to now?

"It's a flower crown. Let me put it on you!"

I clenched my jaw to restrain a growl as her hands approached my head. Even Kelly and Travis wouldn't lightly attempt what Nicky was doing. Nina had looked at the scab on my head once I was awake but had made no move to touch it.

Allowing anyone to put their hands near my head involved a lot of trust. I watched as both of her hands moved the leafy circle closer. I tensed as she approached but didn't make a sound when I felt her hands brush against my hair.

She gently draped the weeds on my head and pulled her hands back. Anyone else would have gotten snarled at. The very fact that I had been able to curb my instincts enough to let her do this made me realize something astounding. Somewhere, deep down, I actually trusted Nicky on some level.

It hadn't been easy, but I had done it. To the best of my knowledge, the only other people who would have been able to do that were Kelly and Travis. We could wrestle at the drop of a hat, but even they would have checked with me before attempting to touch my head.

Nicky dug around in her pockets before producing a small makeup mirror and holding it up with a cheerful smile. Please let no one else see this, I thought as I looked at my reflection. A woman with a suspicious expression looked back at me. Her dark reflective sunglasses made her look distant and somewhat dangerous. The slightly lopsided grass and daisy flower chain were completely out of place. As if I were humoring a four-year-old...

I sighed heavily and shook my head before reaching for the makeup mirror.

"Just don't break it because you don't like the picture inside," Nicky said as she reluctantly handed it over.

I snorted and angled it to inspect the side of my head. Shifting my hair slightly between my fingers, I inspected the scab above my ear. It was a good thing I had left my hair in a braid; otherwise, trying to tame my waist-long hair would have been hell the way the scab had anchored itself among the strands. It was healing very well. The skin around the scab was pink but not red.

Whatever healing speed was lacking in my leg had obviously been redirected to this wound. I gently rubbed a finger over it, but it wasn't really painful, just somewhat tender. It wouldn't surprise me if the scab lifted in a few days. I didn't realize that head wounds healed so quickly. My heart and lungs had probably healed at a similar rate in the beginning.

I handed the mirror back to Nicky, and she stuck it in her pocket before sitting on a closer stump.

A more serious look crossed her face as she said, "Did you hear that someone was infected and turned into a Runner?"

"I heard a bit, but not much. Someone mentioned he was having severe control problems and wasn't what I would call sane."

"They locked him in a cell similar to what we had you in. He knew what was going to happen and how hard it was going to be at first. Apparently, he is nothing more than a feral zombie now, even though he hasn't been in contact with any humans. How could he already be feral if he's a Runner?"

"A Runner isn't the brightest thing around, and his intelligence would have dropped during the change. The bloodlust isn't something you can prepare yourself for. If the room he's in smells strongly of humans, then I can understand his reaction somewhat."

Nicky lifted her head at my wording. "Somewhat?"

I exhaled slowly in thought. "He should have been able to regain control, even if it took a few hours. If Daniel snarled at him, his instincts should have backed down enough for his human mind to take over. Especially if he's running on pure zombie instincts. It's only due to my humanity overriding my instincts that I'm a constant thorn in Daniel's side."

"This is so confusing," Nicky groaned. "I talked to Hank this morning, and he also noticed that the people here don't quite trust us yet. Conversations still occasionally stop when we get close. He put it down to us being new. Then again, he also blamed part of their reactions on my behavior this morning."

I reluctantly inquired, "Why? What did you do?" I wasn't really sure I wanted to know, but I had a fair idea of what the answer might be.

"I may or may not have chased about twenty people around with a baseball bat before Hank and Ben managed to drag me to breakfast."

It was her first morning here, and she was already chasing the local population around? No wonder they had reservations after that. They were probably convinced she was off her rocker.

"Why did you do that?"

She shrugged without concern. "I'm not entirely sure, but there must have been a good reason, even if I don't remember it."

Nicky was definitely... unique. I sighed and turned my eyes back to the forest.