We visited with Luke for an hour before taking our leave. Nina was itching to get back to the lab and look at his blood sample. We were also expecting a group from another lab sometime this afternoon, so Daniel drove the truck back while the rest of us caught a ride.

"I know you usually patrol around now," Nina said, "but do you mind hanging out in the Stronghold until our guests arrive? One's actually a scientist, and he's hoping to meet the Nightstalker who helped develop the cure."

"Why does he want to meet me?" I asked, suddenly suspicious. Normal people did not want to meet zombies – sane or feral.

Nina thought for a bit. "I think it's because he's never seen a Nightstalker before. They don't even know your name – just that you're currently residing here and occasionally letting me collect a few saliva and blood samples."

"Like a celebrity?" Jess asked with a mischievous glance in my direction, knowing just how much such a thought would impress me.

"That's actually a good comparison, at least among the scientists," Nina responded, unaware Jess was teasing me. "Several of the closer ones have come here in the past to meet Daniel. It's just-" She cut herself off and shook her head. "I'm not explaining this well, but Trinity and Daniel have been so instrumental in designing these drugs we wouldn't have succeeded without them. To meet one of the people – well, zombies – for someone who has spent countless hours researching, it's an honor and possibly a once in a lifetime chance."

"Going on a patrol is sounding better all the time," I muttered, absolutely thrilled to my toes to be such a sought-after person. Not.

Nina smiled sympathetically. "They probably just want to say hello. They know questions aren't recommended, and I'm sure Jess is willing to come find us after ten minutes to request your presence elsewhere."

"What are the odds of telling them Nightstalkers only come out at night?"

"They know you use welding glasses, although that's about all we told them. Oh, that reminds me. One second." She dug around in her backpack for quite some time. "Here, I was going to give these to you when we were visiting with Luke, but I got distracted." She held a small box through the back window of the truck.

I examined it before leaning forward to take it. A few small streaks of bright pink marred the white cardboard box. "If whatever is in here matches the color of the clothing I helped Nicky burn last night, I'm requesting a refund."

"The dye on the box was an accident, but I think you'll like what's inside."

Still not sure what to expect, I opened it and pulled out a white cloth bag with a very familiar shape inside. Suddenly intent, I tugged the drawstrings open and slid the object inside onto my palm.

They were welding sunglasses.

They were almost the exact same type as what I was wearing. I turned them over in my hands, noting there was nothing about them that resembled goggles. They were a very dark pair of stylish sunglasses, which were the type I loved. Brand new too.

"Thank you," I finally said, with real gratitude in my voice as I raised my head to face Nina.

"You're welcome. I'm trying to get more like that, but they aren't common."

I knew exactly how hard they were to find. I'd only ever found four pairs in all my wandering, and as a zombie, I could freely wander through any overrun or abandoned town. Humans didn't have that luxury.

With one last look at my new treasure, I put the sunglasses back in their bag, then into the box, hoping it'd provide enough protection for now. I'd have to leave them in my room until I found a proper hard case for them. It would probably be wise to leave one of my backup pairs in my dresser in case something ever happened to my backpack.

The truck drove around the side of the forest, allowing us to see Ironwind Stronghold. No strange vehicles were visible from here, nor did I pick up any new scents, so our guests weren't here yet.

Jess had better not be late in coming to find me once their ten minutes were up.

~

       Jess pointed to another plant. "This one is doing very well. If you see any small ones in the forest, can you mark them so I can dig them up? They're really good for sunburn."

"I can," I replied, before glancing over my shoulder. My voice went flat. "And here are our guests."

Nina and Daniel escorted two strangers in our direction. Strangers. I hadn't realized until now that I subconsciously considered the people living here as "belonging" and "not strangers", even if I hadn't spoken to them.

These people weren't of Ironwind, and I was about as excited to meet them as any other stranger during my months of traveling. This time though, I knew where my sister was, and there was nothing to gain from talking with them.

"Remember, ten minutes," I muttered to Jess, who nodded absently.

As they got closer, Nina said, "Hello, this is Paul and Richard from the lab in Idaho. They came for a sample of the cure and hoped to meet you."

I noticed she didn't provide my name, which I appreciated. Unknown scientists didn't need to know my name.

The chubbier man took off his worn baseball cap and inclined his head diffidently. I nodded in return, partially as a hello, and partially in approval of his toned-down greeting.

His companion also nodded a welcome. His scent was thick with nerves and delight as he began speaking faster than Nicky during a coffee high. "I'm not entirely sure what to say, but it's a pleasure to finally meet a Nightstalker. Thank you so much for helping Nina. The cure is such a huge milestone, and it means so much to us." His head shook side to side, at a loss for further words, or possibly worried about babbling and annoying the Nightstalker he was trying to thank.

Still holding his cap to his chest as a sign of respect, the first man held out a tall paper bag, the kind that wine bottles came in. "We recently heard about a sane Nightstalker down south who accepted tribute in exchange for things. We weren't entirely sure what counted as an acceptable gift, but please have this as a token of our appreciation for a sample of the cure."

I stared at him for several seconds, motionless and unsure of how to proceed. I finally said, "This is the first I've heard of such a thing." I still didn't approach the man to take the gift, somewhat suspicious about such an offering.

Nina winced slightly, and Daniel closed his eyes, possibly counting to ten while wondering if I had been raised in a barn for my lack of manners. Jess mistook my suspicion as an indication of me having issues with strangers in my personal space.

Before the man could come up with a reply, she walked over to him and gently took the bag. "Thank you for bringing this. Another sane Nightstalker, you say?"

The man no longer looked so dejected, now assuming I was referring to the other Nightstalker, and not the gift. How could someone be so good at smoothing things over?

Jess came back, angling her body so she could watch the man as he said, "It was passed through word of mouth, not from someone in that area, so it might not be accurate, but we heard there's a sane Nightstalker in the Oregon mountains. Supposedly, he's not a fan of humans or zombies, but he'll sometimes help people with a task if they bring a satisfactory offering."

"We hadn't heard anything about that yet," Nina said, listening intently.

"It could just be rumors," the man said, shrugging. He hesitated, then continued, "They also said he killed a few zombie hunters and possibly a few other people who angered him. I'm not sure how much is rumor and how much might be the truth after so many retellings."

Jess passed the bag to me, quietly asking, "Is such a thing likely?"

Her voice was loud enough for the others to hear, and we now had their undivided attention.

"For a Nightstalker, it's actually quite plausible," I replied at a similar volume, as if speaking just to her, but letting the others listen in. "Especially if he was territorial and those people had approached his cave. If the group had been zombie hunters, they probably wouldn't survive the attempt. Even I've killed a few who were set on harming me."

Jess blanched, likely imagining all sorts of vivid scenes of hunters and me engaging a bloody game of hide and seek in the dark, not realizing I was referring to the events at the truck stop where I got shot. Turning my attention to the bag, I opened the top and peered at the object inside.

As I pulled the metal water bottle out, I saw the sides had a night theme. A full moon shone on a blue sky with black outlines of trees and a few deer. It was empty, which was good, since I wouldn't have drank the contents anyway. After a wash or two in hot, soapy water as a precaution, this could come in handy.

"Oh," Jess exclaimed, marveling at the scene on the side, "that's beautiful. You can finally replace the dented one you carry."

Was nothing a secret around here? I gave my loud-mouthed sister a sour look. She grinned sheepishly and ducked her head as she stepped back. The men watched in worry, concerned for her safety after our recent discussion.

I turned my attention to them. "Thank you."

Reassured that the woman beside me wasn't in immediate danger, they relaxed. The second man replied, "You're most welcome. I wish we had been able to bring you something as valuable as the cure, but I don't believe such a thing exists. We remain in your debt."

This guy was worse than a fan-girl at a concert when the lead singer ripped off his shirt to flaunt his six-pack. And if he started shrieking at the top of his lungs like those girls, I was out of here.

"If you don't have the cure yet, you'll have to ask Nina." All I could think of was that Jess's ten-minute allotment had to be up by now, even though I knew only a few minutes had passed.

Nina took that as a hint to distract the men. "How much were you looking for? I've been creating a stockpile to help with the upcoming wave, so I have plenty to spare."

"With the wave so close, how much can you spare? We're passing by a number of Strongholds, and we'd like to leave some at each location to help those who start sneezing. Those who get exposed during the upcoming wave will have to wait until we make more and circulate it."

"If one of your trucks is willing to use the highway that detours to the east and stop at all known Strongholds on their way back, I can give you a third of what I have. That should be enough to cover all those Strongholds and give you plenty to start the formulating process. The more people we can help, the better. We haven't started circulating any of the drugs to nearby Strongholds, so that'll also save us some time."

"If you have a map, we have a few people who'd be delighted to take them to any Stronghold you point out. They can deliver them while we head straight back."

"Certainly. I know a few groups will be coming to your Stronghold instead of driving all the way up here, so I'll give you a bit extra. Daniel, can you please bring the cure for these gentlemen while I find a map?"

Daniel nodded and told the men, "If you want to wait by the vehicles, I'll bring the boxes over."

"Thank you," the man replied. With his cap still plastered to his chest, he bowed slightly in my direction. "Have a good day."

I nodded. "You as well."

My non-hostile response and tone had him beaming like he had won first place at the county fair.

Once they were out of hearing range, I turned to Jess. "Your ability to tell time stinks."

"Hey, you got a fancy water bottle out of it. I doubt they were here for more than five minutes. Besides, I'm not even wearing a watch."

Why that little... "Let's go for a walk. I think the horses are looking for an excuse to have the water in their trough cleaned."

"Nope. I think I'll go see what Nicky's doing. It's been really quiet today, so I'd better check on her." With that, she quickly made her getaway.

I shook my head and glanced at the water bottle before heading to my room to collect my backpack and go for a late patrol.

~

       I was slightly late returning for dinner, although I wasn't in a rush. When I came out of the forest, I slowed to a stop at the sight before me. After a few slow blinks, I walked toward the new building halfway between the tree line and the fence.

The smell of freshly cut wood grew stronger as I approached. Even though I had never seen it before, I knew exactly what it was and what I'd see inside. I went to the front and undid the sliding bolt keeping the door closed. A grin slowly spread across my face as I looked inside the meticulously built rabbit shed. Every detail I recalled Luke telling me was present. All that was missing was the rabbits.

Luke was going to be in for a shock. For that matter, I was surprised as well. The plans I had sketched up were for a small shed barely bigger than a car; this building was much larger, but included all the required details. Food and water could be funneled in from outside through special gravity chutes so the rabbits wouldn't realize he was there. He could even clean the trays without going inside.

For some reason, rabbits didn't seem to recognize our scent, which was half the reason they were a good creature to hunt. Even when we had released the rabbits in the barn with the feral Nightstalker, they hadn't realized the feral was there – and she had been in that building for days. It should be easy for Luke to care for rabbits in this setup.

I left the rabbit shed and continued to the Stronghold. My eyesight wasn't good enough to see if the guards by the gate were grinning at the way I had immediately investigated the building. Even if they had been, I was willing to give them a break this time since I was too impressed by the builders' speed and skill to get the entire thing built in a day.

Our scientist guests were long gone, and I could see the others on the roof, which was typical for this time of day. I went up to join them. They were almost done eating when I arrived.

"So, what'd you think of the shed?" Nicky asked as I sat down.

It wasn't surprising they had seen me stop there. "It's exactly what Luke was after, although I can't believe how fast they built it. Kind of impressive, actually."

With a smirk, Nicky said, "I hear you were less than impressed with the researchers even though they brought a peace offering."

I frowned at the redhead. "I make an exception for Nina, but otherwise, I want nothing to do with people who are intrigued by the virus and want to play with chemicals. For that matter, I'm glad Nina didn't mention my name."

"I'm happy I got that part right," Nina murmured. "I wasn't sure if you'd think the omission was an insult or not."

"When it comes to scientists, researchers, and the like, I'd rather them not know," I replied firmly.

She nodded. "I can keep it that way fairly easily since most research groups usually rely on radio contact. Their trip to collect the cure is the first time most of them have been here. It's a long journey, so they rarely leave their Strongholds."

Nicky's fork clattered onto her now-empty plate. "If they come back and you want to scare them away permanently, just give me a few cups of coffee. I'll take care of them for you."

Suddenly wary, I eyed up Nicky. "If I have to pick between the two, I think I might choose to visit with the scientists for another ten minutes. You are not allowed coffee."

"But coffee is the best! It livens up everyone else's day when I have it!"

"They have enough excitement with the ferals outside the fence."

With a sigh, Nicky gave in. "But those were such memorable days..."

I had other words for those occasions.