I grappled with my temper, and my anger slowly simmered down to something that didn't demand I chase down the infuriating woman to settle this once and for all.

Eventually, I rose out of my fighting crouch and shook myself. I crossed my arms in agitation, still too worked up to consider sitting. Some of the tension in Nicky's shoulders dissipated now that I was finally showing some visible sign of progress.

"Nice snarl," she complimented me, "although I was hoping you'd slash her for such a remark. If Daniel hadn't shown up, I might have let loose and gone crazy on her. And honest, if I purposely decide to lose my cool, I go completely bat-shit crazy. She would have looked like a squirrel that stuck its tongue into an electrical socket by the time I got done with her."

I turned a faint glare on her. "You're not helping with my resolution to let her leave this building unscathed."

"Who says I want her to go unpunished?"

"This isn't the sort of distraction I need to avoid causing potentially fatal bodily harm," I told her with a growl.

"You need a distraction?" She suddenly grinned and excitedly asked, "What if I paint myself blue and swing from the tree branches like a monkey while singing 'Who Let The Dogs Out'?"

I stared at her in complete disbelief. Apparently, she had considered my comment a challenge. If that wasn't bad enough, I also knew she was the type of person who would do something like that. I wasn't sure how to erase that disturbing image from my mind.

Nicky continued to watch me with all the excitement of a four-year-old after drinking a stolen espresso, practically bouncing in her chair in her eagerness to try this new idea out. I had no clue how to respond to such a comment. Judging from Nina and Daniel's expressions, neither did they. Ironically, my anger had partially abated with the distraction.

I exhaled gustily as I sank down into my chair, grumbling, "Whatever are we going to do with you?"

Nicky burst out laughing. "Keep me around, obviously! What kind of question is that?"

Her crazy comment had derailed my line of thought enough that my vision was back to normal. I was still mad but no longer furious. Nina kept looking between Nicky and me with a dumbfounded expression.

On the ground below, Louise was making a hasty beeline back to the dining area. My eyes followed her, easily noting the fear in her stride and anxiousness in how she frequently glanced over her shoulder. Had it been dark out, she would have made the perfect paranoid target. Shaking my head, I resolutely turned my attention back to my companions before my temper rose with renewed vigor.

Trying to distract myself, I muttered to Nina, "Promise me you'll hide all the cans of blue paint where Nicky can't find them."

The possibility of the redhead actually attempting such a stunt was higher than the odds of Louise learning manners. Which made it far too likely.

"Hey!" Nicky protested, sitting up in alarm. "That's not fair! You can't ruin my fun like that!"

"Your idea of fun is often a challenge to our sanity," Daniel retorted, speaking for the first time since Louise left the roof.

Nicky raised her chin in defiance. "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, if your criticism insults them, you're a mile away from them and you have their shoes. Speaking of shoes, I still have a standing grudge against your left shoe. You should lend it to me for half an hour. I saw a package of markers somewhere."

"Not a chance. Even my shoe deserves to have its dignity left intact."

"I'll get a hold of it one day. Just you wait."

"That might not be a wise plan," Nina gently cautioned her. "You might regret it in the morning. Besides, there are plenty of archery targets you can color."

Nicky shrugged. "The last time someone told me I'd regret something in the morning, I just slept until noon. Problem solved." She shoved a forkful of food into her mouth.

I had no idea what to make of Nicky's view of the world some days. Nina hesitated, then apparently decided that not replying was the easiest way out of this conversation. Daniel also continued eating his dinner now that the shoe-obsessed redhead was preoccupied with hers.

With a thoughtful expression, Nina kept looking between Nicky and me as she ate dainty bites of her salad. After several minutes of this, I raised an eyebrow as a silent inquiry.

With a slow blink, Nina said, "I heard Nicky had a knack for helping calm you down. I hadn't seen it until now, but I'm still trying to determine exactly what I saw. You were furious, and in under two minutes, Nicky managed to get you sitting down."

Nicky snorted. "For someone who prides herself on being observant, you really miss a lot, don't you?"

A faint growl came from Daniel, but Nina gently waved him off as she regarded Nicky in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"You really need to pay more attention. The tactics I use to help Trinity calm down are the same ones she uses to help me recover from an insanity blitz. Distraction. Admittedly, her approach is more tolerance with a good dose of distraction while she fends me off, but that's beside the point."

"That's a rather interesting comparison..." Nina murmured.

Nicky gestured toward Daniel. "The methods you use to defuse Daniel's temper aren't something I can use with Trinity. You helped him with control when he first turned, and somewhere deep down, he probably counts your presence as being supportive. That's also why he's so protective of you and accepts your suggestions so readily."

I blinked in surprise, although her observation actually made a lot of sense and explained Daniel's diligent guard dog act. Some days, Nicky's perceptiveness scared me.

Judging from how Nina and Daniel exchanged a startled look, they had never thought of it in quite that fashion either. Nicky rolled her eyes at their surprise.

"Basic Psychology 101. You may be a scientist, but I know psychology, and I've met hundreds of counselors and psychiatrists over the years. My name has appeared in over fifty research papers." She paused and tilted her head. "Or were they restraining orders? I can never keep those two straight."

I shook my head, almost tempted to snicker despite my lingering irritation with Louise. I bet it was the same counselors and psychiatrists who requested those very restraining orders in an attempt to protect themselves. As if a mere piece of paper was going to stop Nicky...

Nicky held out a couple of apple slices, and even though I wasn't overly hungry, I took them. I slowly nibbled on the crisp fruit as the humans continued eating. Nina ate in a polite and dainty fashion; a stark contrast to Nicky, who more-or-less shoveled the heaping pile of food into her mouth.

Nicky sighed as she chased the last bit of gravy around her plate with a piece of bread. "That tasted great. Good thing archery doesn't require much moving." With a groan, she stood up and stretched, not bothering to let her food settle. "Come on, Trinity. Let's get down there before someone tries to take my favorite bow."

"There are fifteen identical bows in that shed. There's no way to tell them apart," I replied as I remained sitting.

"Excuses, excuses. Stop procrastinating. An hour or two of archery won't kill you unless you get too close to my target."

With a sigh, I got to my feet, knowing she wouldn't leave without me. She held the door open until I reached it, then she clattered down the stairs ahead of me excitedly. Shaking my head, I followed her at a more sedate pace.

After the door clicked closed, I heard Daniel's faint voice. "As annoying as Nicky is, she's worth her weight in gold when it comes to helping Trinity calm down."

Nina replied, "Indeed. She had some very interesting observations, but I doubt anyone else could come up with half of the comments Nicky does. I've never seen distraction used in such a manner before. I hope Louise keeps her distance, or she likely won't walk away unscathed next time, especially since I told Trinity minor injuries were allowed, if sufficiently provoked..."

Nina's voice faded out as I continued down the stairs. I shook my head, kind of wishing I had heard the rest of that discussion. As much as I wanted to go to my room and open my window to eavesdrop on them, there was no distracting Nicky when she was on a mission. Not to mention Daniel and Nina would notice if they didn't see me walking to the archery area.

A few people were already on the archery field when we got there. Shortly after, Joel and two others led Liz into the field. I was surprised to see her; it wasn't often she left Marissa's sight anymore, despite numerous attempts.

When Liz saw me, a huge grin appeared on her face as she ran over, leaving her escort behind. "I missed you!"

Her tiny frame hit my legs so hard she almost rebounded, overly excited to see me again. Others on the field smiled at the child's enthusiasm. Everyone here knew I had agreed to stay, but they still went out of their way to make things easier or make staying more tempting.

Reluctantly, I patted the child on the back. "It's good to see you too. What have you been up to?"

Liz stepped back so she could see my face easier, which gave me some space. "I've been helping Marissa and going to school. Can we do archery?"

I nodded toward the shed. "Your bow is on the left wall."

With a squeal of excitement and a sneeze, she jogged toward the shed to get her bow. Joel's two companions followed her. I sniffed the air, although no taint of the zombie virus was present. Just a faint sourness on her breath that likely heralded the beginning of some sort of cold or flu.

Joel inclined his head toward me. "I'm going to disappear before Marissa catches me here."

"And to think she was probably the one who entrusted you with babysitting duty."

He shrugged. "She seems to think I'm terrified of zombies and wouldn't even consider coming over here."

"So, you aren't scared of zombies anymore?" My lip quirked up as I very clearly recalled his reaction the first time he'd heard me snarl.

He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "You and Daniel aren't so bad, but the ferals still give me nightmares."

Ignoring what should have been a more serious topic, Nicky told him, "Yeah, ferals are a headache. With the sane ones, if you act meek or humble, you'll be fine. They tend to growl a warning if you toe the boundaries."

I raised an eyebrow at Nicky. "And just where do you fit into that?"

She tilted her head. "I don't think anyone has ever called me meek; so in my situation, it's go big or go home. And as much as I'd love to go home and take a long nap, it ain't a possibility. Luckily for me, I've always rocked the 'go big' part, and I have the attitude to back it up."

Weren't we ever so lucky...

Nicky turned her attention to Joel and advised him, "Whatever you do, don't try to bluff a zombie unless you know you can back it up. They can smell lies as easily as we can smell Ben across the dining area after he eats beans. They also don't like being challenged or belittled. It's the fastest way I've ever found to piss them off."

"And you definitely have enough experience to say that with such certainty," I muttered, crossing my arms as I regarded her.

"Yep," she replied cheerfully. "And you still put up with me."

Joel edged away. "Well, I better get going. See you later."

He beat a hasty retreat, possibly now more scared of Nicky than zombies.

"I wonder how long it'll be before Marissa realizes Liz isn't with Joel," I pondered aloud.

With a smirk, Nicky replied, "Ah, but there is a difference between realizing she is missing, and dodging people who are trying to delay her."

"Why do you sound like you know something I don't?"

Nicky chuckled and pointedly looked at the archery group. "We're missing the prankish twin. The only time he's absent from the archery field in the evening is when he's causing mischief."

A quick glance confirmed Nicky was correct. The missing man's brother just happened to be close enough to overhear Nicky's comment and gave us a wide grin before turning back to watch his friend shoot. I guess we'll see how talented his twin is.

I put a target closer to me and let Liz fire at it while I aimed at the regular one. The shorter distance meant she could hit the target on her own, which kept her happy.

~

       The missing twin must have either been quite talented or had a lot of help since it was almost two hours before Marissa made her predictable appearance. She came from the other direction, approaching from our side of the field, so the archery group didn't have a chance to close ranks on her again.

Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she wordlessly held her hand out to Liz. Liz passed me her bow and arrows before walking across the substantial distance to Marissa. Marissa promptly turned around and stomped back the way she had come.

I snorted quietly once she was gone. "At this rate, she'll transfer to another Stronghold just to get away from me."

"She's planning to," Nicky said. "The traders aren't leaving for about a week though."

"I'm not too surprised. It's not like I'm actively competing for Liz's attention, so I have no idea why she's suddenly so passive aggressive. She was fine with me on the road."

"Well, I happen to know what caused that change of heart." Nicky gave me a sidelong look.

I pretended to be bored and fired another arrow as I replied, "And what would that be?"

With a glance at the others on the archery field, Nicky lowered her voice considerably. "She's scared. I don't think she really believed you were a zombie until you attacked those bandits, but that's when she started avoiding you. You were technically dead though, so you won't remember that part."

With a frown, Nicky continued, "Marissa tried to get us to leave you behind at the truck stop, claiming that you were an out-of-control monster. There was one event with a knife, but Daniel snarled at her and snapped the blade in half. She basically just kept her distance after. The fact Liz likes you is just slowly twisting her panties into a pretty knot."

An event with a knife while I was unconscious? Something that got Daniel so upset he snarled at her and broke the weapon? My narrowed eyes drifted back in the direction that Marissa had gone. Aware of the people coming to use the lane near Nicky, I decided it would be best if I saved my burning questions for later.

I shook my head. "If she's acting like this just because I killed a couple of bandits, then she's an idiot. If I hadn't attacked them, someone would have died."

"Well, technically you did die, but I know what you mean."

I rolled my eyes and aimed my bow down the archery lane again. The arrow whistled away and plowed deep into the target. If Marissa knew I had been picturing her face on the bullseye, she would have been begging the traders to leave earlier.

I had a problem with people if they tried to kill me, even if I didn't have any proof other than a passing comment about such an event.