Daniel stopped in front of the gate. For the first time in our journey, I didn't see a single person watching us. Strongholds always had sentries. This truck wasn't exactly quiet, so they knew we were here.

I sniffed the air as Daniel tapped the horn to announce our presence. If there were even a hundred people inside, I'd be surprised. I'd never come across such a small Stronghold before.

When no one appeared in the guard towers or came outside, Daniel frowned and honked the horn again. Perhaps they planned to ignore us until we left, which wasn't the worst way of being told to go away.

This time, a man appeared in one of the guard towers and scowled down at us. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

His disrespectful tone had me glaring up at him.

Somehow keeping his cool, Daniel leaned out of the driver's window and called back, "We're travelers from Ironwind Stronghold. As you know, the third wave is almost upon us, and people have started sneezing. We have a few ways to detect who is infected before they sneeze, and we also have a cure with us."

"And what proof do you have that you aren't lying bandits?"

My glare deepened as I wondered if the man's tone could possibly get any more condescending. I'm beginning to think those two people had different reasons for going to another Stronghold...

It didn't escape my attention that Daniel took a slow breath to control his temper. The insults wouldn't be doing his instincts any favors. In fact, as a Terror, it'd be hitting him harder than me.

"Feel free to search us, but other than a few knives and a sword, we have no weapons," Daniel finally replied. I did my best to keep a straight face since I already had a crowbar in my hand. Did it count as a dangerous tool or a weapon? Daniel continued, "Even if I'm a zombie, four mostly unarmed people shouldn't pose a risk to a Stronghold if you want me to help sniff out the infected who haven't started sneezing. If you don't wish us to enter, we can leave the cure and continue on."

As Daniel spoke, several people poked their heads above the fence and gawked at the red-eyed zombie driving the truck. They talked among themselves and with the first man, debating if the cure was real or not, as well as if it was worth having a zombie searching through the place. I could pick out some of the louder voices, although Daniel could probably hear all of it.

A voice from the other guard post called out, "I'm not sure about the other three, but I'll vouch for the woman with the sunglasses."

That was the absolute last thing I expected to hear, especially when I didn't recognize the voice. I examined the man everyone was now looking at. You have got to be kidding me...

In theory, I knew I should have expected it, but it hadn't crossed my mind I'd meet the man who had been lurking by the zombie pit during our last trip, even though we were only a day's drive away from where I had encountered him.

The first man didn't seem happy, but replied, "If you're willing to take responsibility for them, we can let them in. Three are women, so I can't see them getting into much trouble, regardless of how hard they try. I don't trust that zombie though."

This guy is so wrong he could build a bridge to the moon with his assumptions. Not to mention Nicky would probably chase him across the entire thing if she got into the coffee.

The man who had originally planned to kill three Nightstalkers to avenge his brother shrugged. "Fine. Let them in."

In response to Daniel, Nina, and Nicky's questioning expressions, I murmured, "Keep your eyes open."

I was seriously confused and just as suspicious. I had met this man once, and it had only been for a few minutes. And that was after I had scared the crap out of him by sneaking up behind him and practically interrogating him. Yet, he had just vouched for me. Needless to say, my hackles were rising in distrust and suspicion.

This was the same man who had lain in ambush for weeks on end as he waited for three murderous Nightstalkers to return. If this was another trap, I didn't want to blunder into it blindfolded.

I took a deep breath of the air. It wasn't surprising to smell guns in a Stronghold, although there were only a few, and the ammo was almost certainly being carefully rationed.

The gates slowly opened with a groan, as if even the fence itself didn't want us to enter. Daniel drove through the now-open gate while three of us put on masks. My eyes scanned and appraised everything as fast as possible. Several people held bows, but only one or two even had their arrows nocked onto the strings.

Now that we were inside, I could see four guards in the sentry posts, each with a rifle, as they carefully remained out of sight of anyone outside the fence.

The man who had vouched for me was already climbing down the ladder. Others watched, but he was the only person to approach the truck. As soon as he was close enough for me to pick his scent apart from the others, I took a deep breath and swiftly dug through the layers as best I could at this range.

It was mostly caution and curiosity. Some distrust. And, bizarrely enough, an undertone of hope. None of the scents were those of someone on a hunt or contemplating aggressive actions. It gave him some leeway, but it wasn't going to get him far until I knew what he was up to.

The first man, who I suspected was the local leader, watched him stop some distance from me. His eyes narrowed when it became apparent we weren't long-lost friends like he had assumed.

With an edge to his voice, he asked, "Logan, who is this?"

"She never did tell me her name," Logan replied calmly, still observing me with wary curiosity.

"You mean you don't know who she is?" the leader demanded.

Logan finally looked at the leader of the Stronghold he had chosen to stay at. "I said I'd vouch for her, not that I knew her."

"You imbecile! Why did you vouch for someone you don't know?"

Logan shrugged dismissively. "I met her once. If she wanted me dead, she had a golden opportunity then."

The leader grabbed his hair with both hands and tugged the short strands in frustration. "I'm surrounded by idiots! How this place is still standing, I will never know!"

My opinion of this leader dropped a few more bars. Logan shook his head at the display but didn't seem surprised by the rant.

"You mentioned there were several ways to locate those who were infected?" Logan prompted.

The question had been directed at me, so I replied, "Yes. Daniel can sniff them out. If you don't trust him, simply hand someone a cat. If they're infected, you'll see what I mean."

Logan knew I was a zombie since he'd seen my eyes glowing that night, but I preferred to remain under the radar. The last thing I needed was insane vigilantes coming to kill me just because I was a zombie.

He nodded thoughtfully and looked around. "Ah, Trent, please go locate a cat and put it in an animal carrier. We'll see how it reacts once Daniel finds someone who's infected."

Most people rarely used a zombie's name so casually when they didn't know them, so his easy words had me questioning some other details about this man's past.

I jumped out of the truck and landed lightly on my feet. As the others got out, Daniel came over to our side of the truck and appraised Logan. Logan blinked when he realized Daniel was actually taller than he was.

Logan's focus moved back to me, although he kept an eye on Daniel, more uneasy now than before. "There are some people in the holding cells who are waiting to see if they have a cold, the zombie virus, or just allergies, but three didn't want to be locked up and opted to leave last night. I don't suppose you happened to see them on the road?"

"We found two of them and gave them the cure," Nina replied. "They were heading to a closer Stronghold until the wave was over. We might find the third one when we leave."

"It's too late for her," someone to the side said. Dark rings stood under the man's red, puffy eyes. "I went out this morning to try and convince her to come back, but I was too late. The zombies had caught her."

Ferals weren't smart enough to behead their prey to prevent the turning seizures, so if the infection had progressed far enough, she would have turned into a zombie upon death. It would have been very difficult for a friend or relative to see such gruesome injuries.

"Sorry," Logan told the man. "I hadn't heard that."

"I'm relieved they found Mark and Dianna," he replied, before blowing his nose into a handkerchief.

"Shall we go see those who are sneezing?" Nina asked kindly.

Logan nodded. "That's probably for the best. Trent will catch up once he corners a cat."

Without even glancing at the overly-esteemed leader, whose face was a purplish color from all his frustrations, Logan led us down the path. The smell of infection grew stronger as we approached a rickety barn that stood against the fence.

Logan opened the wooden door and took two steps inside to unbar a second gate. Past him, I could see the horse stalls on both sides of the barn had been turned into chain-link cages.

About a dozen masked occupants watched us enter, most of whom sneezed at least once during the short time it took Logan to open the gate and let us in.

"Can you please stack a couple of these straw bales for me?" Nina asked Daniel, who promptly turned four of the square bales into a makeshift table.

"Thanks," she murmured absently, already arranging her supplies. "If you can explain things to them, I should be ready by the time you finish."

Daniel nodded, and in a loud voice, began reciting Nina's usual speech practically word-for-word, which was kind of impressive since it was quite detailed. Aside from the inevitable sneezes, no one interrupted him. When Daniel finished and asked if there were any questions, only Logan broke the sneeze-riddled silence.

"I'm not sure it's wise for them to leave the barn until they've stopped sneezing," he said, with a faint frown of worry. "The guards are a bit antsy, and their guns are actually loaded."

"I can wait in here a few days," one woman said, glancing at the door nervously, which made me suspect there were some major trust issues in this Stronghold.

Logan began opening the doors, which had been braced in such a way the occupants couldn't do it themselves. Daniel helped, freeing the voluntary captives on the other side of the barn so they could go over to Nina. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall as one person after another opted for the cure.

"-and I think that's everyone," Nina said, looking around for anyone she might have missed.

"There are bound to be others who'll start sneezing shortly," Logan said. He inclined his head at Daniel. "Would you be willing to help us locate them?"

"Let's go," Daniel replied.

The still-sneezing – but much more optimistic – group watched us leave the barn. My eyes trailed over to Logan as he walked beside Daniel. So far, Logan seemed like a quiet and easygoing person, but I wasn't about to jump to any conclusions until I figured out a few riddles. Like why he was so relaxed around two sane zombies when his brother had been killed by three others.

"There are eight or nine others who are infected," Daniel said as he sniffed the air.

When his eyes flickered to me, I rolled my eyes and murmured, "Keep going straight."

Daniel took the lead as our group and quite a few spectators followed. Logan walked beside me, leaving a generous amount of space between us.

Daniel kept a subtle eye on our surroundings, although I was doing the same thing. As we went farther, it became clearer there were only about eighty people here. No wonder they were uneasy about letting four strangers inside.

It didn't take long to locate the man using a grinder to turn grain into flour. Nina began telling him about the details and options. From the nervous glances he sent in the direction of the guards, he clearly didn't want anyone thinking he was infected.

"Trent's coming," Logan said, interrupting Nina's explanation of the sanity serum. "He must have found a cat."

Sure enough, the man was jogging this way with a plastic pet carrier while the cat inside loudly protested its unwanted taxi ride.

"You're not going to want to bring that thing near Daniel," I warned him as he got closer.

He slowed to a stop, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

"What now?" Logan asked, looking between the cat and me.

Why did he keep wanting me to talk? I crossed my arms with a faint huff and jerked my chin at Logan. "You walk over to the cat and wave your hand in front of it. Then the infected guy can try it."

With a curious expression, Logan did as I said. As his hand passed in front of it, the cat continued meowing plaintively, clearly unhappy with its confinement. Logan furrowed his eyebrows and stepped back as the infected man approached.

The man was still five feet away when the cat let out a shrieking battle cry and practically lost its mind inside the pet carrier. Trent needed both hands to hang onto the container.

The observers behind us began murmuring amongst themselves as Trent was forced to back up with the ballistic feline. With slumped shoulders, the man turned around with an almost despairing expression.

"You have a cure?" he asked, even though Nina had just finished offering it to him.

Nina quickly reassured him and pulled out the proper supplies. Much to my annoyance, our audience blatantly stared, pointed, and whispered during the entire process.

Thankfully, it didn't take Nina long to finish. "There you go. By tomorrow, you should be able to take a shower and try approaching a cat. I'll leave a few vials of the cure here just in case, but it has been a hundred percent effective every time so far."

The man thanked her profusely, somewhat to Nina's embarrassment. Daniel sniffed the air and glanced at me once again. I wondered if my hearing and sight were as inferior to his as his sense of smell was to mine. Probably.

I murmured, "To the left."

My mask hid my lips, and even though they barely moved, Logan seemed to have noticed something since he focused on me before his gaze flickered to Daniel. Considering my words had been far too quiet for any human to pick up, he must have seen my mask shift as I spoke, which only proved how sharp he was. I was definitely going to have to keep an eye on him.

I kept giving Daniel directions, which led us to the sentry posts, each of which held two armed guards. As we walked below, I determined which one held our wanted man.

"The one on the left, without the beard."

Daniel gazed upward, looking more certain than the doubt in his scent portrayed. "Could you please come down? Yes, you."

The man left his gun with his friend and descended the ladder. Daniel took a cursory sniff and nodded at Nina, who began explaining his options.

In a nearly silent murmur, Daniel asked, "How were you able to tell from down here?"

"The zombie scent belongs to the same person who used shaving cream recently, and the other person obviously hasn't shaved for days."

He nodded slowly, not looking at me lest he give away our conversation, although I was pretty sure Logan knew we were talking with each other.

"Several in the crowd are infected," Daniel said for my ears alone.

"I know. I was planning to leave them for last. They'll probably continue to follow us around, so they'll be easy to find."

"There's seven or eight more I don't think we've found yet."

"We have to hunt for two more, then you can sift through the crowd for the five following us."

Then we could leave. My suspicious nature was getting a workout as I tried to keep tabs on everyone of interest. And there were more of those than I liked.

Logan alternated his keen focus between us and what Nina was doing. He had a dagger and belt knife, although he wasn't close enough to any of our party to be an immediate concern.

Off to the side, the leader of this place glowered at us, clearly wishing we'd take our leave. Nicky had been so quiet and reserved I knew she was a ticking time bomb just waiting for a time and a place to detonate.

I couldn't wait for Nina to help the last person so we could put this Stronghold behind us.