I sat up out of my slouch and sniffed the air. "Daniel, stop the truck for a moment."

Even as the truck slowed down, I stood up to get my head above the still-swirling air behind the cab.

Now that I had my bearings, I said, "Turn left ahead. Someone in that direction is infected."

The truck picked up speed as Daniel complied with my blunt orders. His irritation drifted up to me, no doubt aggravated by my tone. Dust rose into the air as we began driving down the rutted gravel road. I remained standing with one hand on the roof in case my balance somehow failed me as the truck bounced over the ruts.

"Down the left driveway."

As we approached the cottage, I jumped out of the truck before it stopped and sniffed the air with a frown.

"Wait here. The scent isn't as strong as it should be. I think he left."

I quickly circled the cottage to check every window. Nothing. I went in the back door just to make sure no one was here.

I returned to the others and told them, "He's gone. Probably left a day ago."

"Any idea which way he went?" Nina asked, still inside the truck with her window rolled down.

"There's no trail, so he must be driving."

"Let's keep following the highway and hope he didn't turn off somewhere. We might catch up to him."

I jumped back into the truck box and sat down. Still giving me the proverbial cold shoulder, Daniel drove over the long grass as he turned the truck around and headed back to the highway.

~

       We kept driving until late in the afternoon in hopes of finding the infected guy, but I hadn't caught a whiff of him over the last five hours.

"Anything?" Nina asked again.

"Still nothing."

"I can't see anyone going that long without a bathroom break. He must have turned off at that last highway intersection. We might as well stop for the night since we won't catch up before the sun sets. There's a gas station ahead that's flagged as being fortified."

"Fortified?"

Nina shrugged. "Probably bars over the windows and other things to make it Runner-proof."

And here I had been envisioning something like an old-fashioned castle with protective brick walls or a moat. Nope. A gas station with bars over the windows. People really needed to learn the meaning of fortified. I wonder if there's even a lock on the door. Maybe someone had the brilliant idea of using one of those twist-lock door handles. We could break in with a nail or bobby pin!

I began to suspect this trip was taking a bit of a toll on my patience.

I closed my eyes and tried to distract myself by focusing on the world of scent, although it was to no avail since the air circled around me in an annoying fashion. Today was clearly not my day. Hopefully Jess was having more fun than I was. In fact, I was pretty sure I'd also be having more fun if I'd remained in Ironwind. If nothing else, at least I wouldn't be bored out of my mind.

Time passed far too slowly, with plenty of bumps from potholes and branches. Daniel was kind enough to slow down for them, but there were so many that it only delayed our pace.

It smelled like his instincts were running higher than usual, which had my instincts keeping a closer watch on him. I wasn't sure what was riling Daniel up today, unless it was due to our enforced close proximity and my joyous personality. The lingering fumes from his colorful socks probably weren't helping.

Finally, at long last, a gas station appeared ahead. Half of the gas pumps had been run over or were missing, the white paint was peeling off the wooden boards, and several of the window panes had been broken behind their protection.

Well, if you could call it protection. Pieces of chain-link fence had been nailed over the openings, which I thought was worse than boarding the windows up. At least two windows had wooden storm shutters, although one was secured with a bungee cord, displaying yet another shining example of top-notch security.

I sniffed the air as we got closer. "There's at least one regular zombie around, but nothing else upwind."

Nina nodded absently, packing her stuff into a cloth bag to carry inside. When the truck stopped, I grabbed a few bags of supplies and jumped out.

"I finished them!" Nicky brandished two rather vividly colored pairs of socks in the air, one set in each hand.

"Fantastic," Daniel grumbled as he got out of the truck.

Nicky beamed at him. "Great! I want you and Trinity to wear these at least once."

Both Daniel and I growled at that plan.

Nicky planted her hands on her hips as her excited grin dropped into a scowl. "If I spent half a day coloring you a pair of socks, the least you can do is wear them for a day. One freaking day. Is that really too much to ask?"

Daniel glared at the larger pair of socks, still growling faintly. Nina moved closer to him and began whispering too quietly for me to hear from where I was standing, which was a remarkable feat. I narrowed my eyes at the flamboyant objects in her hand as my mind tried to find an easy way out of wearing that mortifying object.

There had to be another way around this. Those colors were far too bright, and people would undoubtedly stare, which would set off my instincts. If someone snickered or giggled, my mood would probably get even worse than what Daniel's currently was.

An idea occurred to me, and I considered it. That might actually work. First, I had to clarify some details to know if my potential plan held any merit.

"Just one day? And they only need to be on our feet, correct? We don't have to show them off or draw attention to them?"

Daniel sent me a surprised look, startled that I was giving in so easily when I should have been the one making the most fuss.

Nicky nodded, looking more hopeful now. "Yes. Just wear them for one day. I don't care who sees them or doesn't see them. I just want you to wear them."

She had clearly never had to deal with a younger sister, or she'd have been far more suspicious about my sudden interest in the fine details. Her ignorance was my opportunity, and her conditions also allowed me to form a plan that would make this bearable.

"Fine," I huffed.

Nicky turned expectantly toward Daniel, who intentionally avoided her gaze while Nina still tried to convince him to not hurt the redhead's feelings. Considering the mood Daniel was currently in, I wished her luck with that task.

Taking the supplies I'd grabbed, I headed for the door before Nicky thought about questioning my intentions. This place looked worse close up than it had from a distance. Who in their right mind decided this place was safe to sleep in? The warped door wouldn't even close all the way – there was another bungee strap on the outside holding it shut.

Unhooking the strap, I shouldered the door open. A metallic creak from above triggered my automatic reflexes as my instincts flared in alarm. I tried to leap back before I even had a chance to glance up.

Cold, stagnant water cascaded down where I had been. Even though I managed to avoid most of it, the smelly water ran through my hair and soaked part of my clothing. The bucket clanged as it hit the floor, echoing my enraged snarl at being caught in such a trap. I shook myself off as my vision took on a reddish hue.

I was not a happy camper.

Nicky gasped. "Are you all right?"

I dropped the bags and my backpack on a dry spot and wrung out my long braid with a half-snarl. "Just dandy."

I knew Nicky was honestly concerned, but I was too angry to manage a civil response. I fumed, trying to ignore the water-soaked parts of my clothing and the water splatter on my sunglasses.

Taking my glasses off for cleaning was almost impossible during the day. Even if I switched to a backup pair, the few seconds my eyes were unprotected would border on being painful.

"Whoever did that needs their ass kicked," Nicky stated, looking between me and the bucket with a frown. "Do you think those Nightstalkers might be responsible?"

"Only humans have been here recently," I replied curtly. "Although I fully agree with the ass-kicking part. I'll be checking the scent on that bucket later, and if I ever cross paths with that person, we'll be having a little discussion."

Now that he knew it was just a water trap, Daniel jokingly said, "You could always thank them for the free shower before kicking their ass."

His comment pushed me over the edge, and I rounded on him, snarling furiously. The fierce and challenging snarl hit Daniel's instincts and roused his smoldering temper with a vengeance. He stalked forward with a threatening stance, snarling at me to back down. My conduct had just crossed several lines and pushed his instincts far past what any higher-ranking zombie would tolerate.

"Daniel!" Nina tried to catch his attention, but both of us ignored her.

Nicky grabbed Nina's arm and pulled her back out of possible danger. At least one of them had some functioning brain cells.

I snarled right back at him, so thoroughly pissed off even my instincts didn't want to back down. He hadn't upheld his rank after my challenges earlier today, and my instincts wanted to challenge this Terror and urged me toward First Strike. He'd taken off his bandages sometime today, and the marks on his arms only goaded my instincts on.

Neither of us were in a good mood, and neither of us were backing down as we entered each other's personal space. Daniel's eyes were solid red and glowing strongly, just as mine probably were, although he couldn't see them. His deep, rumbling growl was a serious warning that practically vibrated the air.

Terrors might tend to give warnings and let the lower ranks back down before getting into a fight, but unfortunately for him, pissed-off Nightstalkers didn't have that sort of patience. I snarled and struck out at his arm as fast as I could, aiming for a First Strike slash.

Rationally, I knew I didn't stand a chance of hitting him. He'd proven plenty of times he was fast enough to dodge me as easily as I could dodge a Runner. He growled fiercely and tensed up as my hand slashed through the air with incredible speed.

But he didn't move his arm.

At the last second, I curled my fingers so my knuckles skimmed his arm harmlessly instead of leaving deep, bloody furrows with my razor-sharp nails. Completely taken by surprise, I snarled and backed up several steps. He had actually let me get a strike in on him. The shock and pure disbelief distracted me from my anger and shook me out of my instinct-induced trance.

Daniel was still growling, but he watched me speculatively with a look of concentration on his face, as if he was trying to figure something out. He shifted his stance, and I narrowed my eyes as I dropped into a deeper crouch. I knew that stance very well.

It was the same one I had seen numerous times with Kelly and Travis. The very one I had taunted Daniel with this morning and several days ago.

An invitation for a harmless wrestling match.

His movements were tentative as he tested the waters of this new silent language, as if he wasn't quite sure what he was doing now that he was finally beginning to make the connection.

I could approach this in two different ways. If I chose to take it easy on him, I could go slow so he could learn without pressure. Or I could just push him into the river and see if he could swim.

I altered my body language before launching at him with a snarl. He saw me coming and braced himself, but the force still sent both of us tumbling to the ground as we snarled at each other. The tone changed slightly from what it had been before; no longer was it the vicious rank-upholding timbre, but rather, something less serious. A reflection that our instincts were shifting gears, although most humans wouldn't be able to tell.

Nina was practically in a panic. "Stop! Don't hurt one another!" She freed her arm from Nicky's hold and ran forward.

Nicky grabbed Nina by the belt and hauled her backward, both of them landing on their rumps on the packed dirt. "Sit down and shut up. If Trinity was serious, she would have drawn her weapons."

Realizing Nicky was right, Nina stopped fighting to get free. Both of them sat in the dust beside the truck and stared at us.

I ignored them as I concentrated on Daniel, who was larger and faster than me. Even though I knew a lot of moves, he clearly had some sort of training or experience in fights. He was holding back, but that wasn't giving me much leeway, even with the amount of practice I had in zombie wrestling matches.

Our teeth were bared, and our fingernails glinted in the light, but no injuries were dealt and no blood flowed. It looked vicious and dangerous, but it was just a way to blow off some steam and stress without actually harming one another. I didn't use all my tricks, although Daniel was keeping up fairly well in this new "game".

It wasn't long before Daniel managed to wrap his arms around me and pin me. I stilled for a couple of seconds and growled faintly. He understood the signal and released me, having won this wrestling match. He stood up and held out a hand with a faintly feral-looking grin.

I bared my teeth at him in a silent grin before taking his hand and letting him pull me to my feet. The cut on my arm throbbed, but it hadn't bled through the bandage. My temper was back on par after that little workout, although I was still irritated with whoever had put that pail there.

I shook myself off, sending clouds of dust into the air, and chuckled darkly. "There might be hope for you yet."

Daniel smirked and brushed dirt and grass off his clothing. No trace of his earlier foul mood was to be seen, which was usually the outcome of a wrestling match. They tended to be a silver bullet for settling a sane zombie's instincts and temper.

A wrestling match used different parts of our instincts, and the no-killing rule kept things fairly risk free. In an odd and unique fashion, it let our humanity show through and overcome our testy instincts. It allowed the game to remain just that, a game.

Dirt was caked onto the wet parts of my clothing, and even the dry sections were filthy after rolling around on the ground. I'd have to change into clean clothing before I sat on anything that even remotely resembled furniture. The dust hadn't been kind to my sunglasses either, but I knew if I rubbed them, the dirt and water droplets would turn into a smeary mess.

Nina slowly got up from where Nicky had dumped her in the dirt, looking between us with a bewildered and confused expression. Nicky wandered over to the open door and peered into the gas station.

She kicked the bucket farther inside. "I hereby nominate Daniel to check this place out before I so much as stick my toe in there."

As I dug through my backpack for a cloth to clean my glasses, I glanced at Daniel through the dirty lenses and said, "I already had my fun. Besides, your reflexes are better than mine are. Although with my luck, that was the only trap."

Daniel exhaled gustily as he gave in and approached the door. He peered inside for quite some time before cautiously entering the building. While he scoped out the place for any hidden danger, I stuck a cloth and a tiny spray bottle of water in my pocket.

Nina came over, still looking perplexed. "What just happened?"

Nicky snorted. "Someone put a pail of water above the door, and Trinity was the unlucky person to win the lottery. Obviously."

"I meant afterward."

"Consider it a mostly friendly wrestling match between sane zombies," I reluctantly replied. "You saw me tackle Kelly like that too."

Her expression wasn't any less confused than before. "It looked like you two were about to get into a serious fight. How did it end up as a wrestling match?"

Since Daniel was listening, I decided to give a more detailed explanation. "With our instincts that high, the zombie rules come more into play, and a serious injury is actually less likely. Even though the wrestling matches are partially rooted in our instincts, it's one of the very few situations where our zombie and human sides can coexist in unity."

Nina pulled out her notebook and started writing my words down, although she still looked confused. It wasn't an expression I was used to seeing on her face.

"I don't think I've seen Daniel do anything like that before..." she murmured.

I shrugged and grabbed a couple of sleeping bags. "That's a question for him, although I somehow doubt he's tried it before. This isn't something ferals will do."

Considering he hadn't even understood the body language this morning, I could safely bet he'd never had a friendly wrestling match with another sane zombie. He might have only clued in because his instincts had surged so high after I provoked him with a full-on challenge.

As I approached the building, Daniel came back outside and said, "I can't find anything else, but I might have missed something. Can you take a quick look before we let these two in?"

I made a face as I dropped the sleeping bags by the door, but agreed with a sigh. "Fine."

As I passed Daniel, I noticed the usual faint tension between us had waned somewhat. It might have been due to the recent wrestling match bringing him slightly closer to his instincts, or perhaps, because he was more relaxed now that he knew I wouldn't inflict a serious injury on him even if I was furious. Either way, I hoped it would make coexisting in the same area easier on a long-term basis.

I gazed through the doorway for a while before slowly stepping inside the rundown place. Leaning on my instincts, I examined the room with intentional suspicion. If there was anything out of place, I wanted to know about it. I took a slow breath and tested the air, narrowing my eyes as I was bombarded by information and details from both inside and outside the store.

When my keen instincts failed to find anything amiss, I went farther inside the gas station. There had likely been standing shelves in this open area at one point in time, but they were gone now. I slowly scanned the mostly-empty room while testing my instincts in case they spotted something I hadn't.

Mindful of the last place we had stayed, I also kept an eye on the floor in case someone had installed a pitfall trap instead of a trapdoor. The way my luck had been running lately, it was a realistic possibility.

I circled the room twice before accepting that there was nothing in this section of the gas station. That left two closed doors along the back wall. One had a bathroom sign, and the other had a "staff only" sticker that had been liberally graffitied with sayings like "trespassers will be sent to Azkaban", "Intruders may be eaten and turned into zombies", and "Violators will be forced to work here".

As I turned the doorknob to the bathroom, I stood back, wary of another overhead trap, although Daniel should have tripped anything present when he checked it. The door swung open, letting the outhouse smell waft into the room.

Just inside the window, someone had bolted a small hand pump to the wall. One end of the hose was in the rain barrel outside, and the other went into the back of the lone toilet, allowing people to easily fill the tank and flush it. It was an ingenious innovation I had only seen a few times, and it was probably the only reason this entire building didn't reek to high heaven.

With no visible hazards present, I went to the Staff Only door. Once more ready to avoid a trap, I eased it open. My eyes