I froze, barely even breathing as the zombie turned his head side to side in the same fashion as someone with poor eyesight searching for their glasses. He took a few steps back the way he came, trying to find where all these things were coming from.

Instead of chasing one or two, he wanted to locate the rock herd before they raced past him. I mentally berated myself for not keeping to the trees, although I was to the side and not close to where he was currently headed.

It hadn't occurred to me that this zombie would get tired of chasing something that moved. Feral Runners never did, although Runners wouldn't chase rocks. I didn't like this thing's ability to learn.

"I have an idea," Daniel called down.

Now I wasn't sure whether to be worried or curious. Nor did I dare turn my head to see what he was doing since our motion-detector friend would spot me.

The sound of clothing hitting leaves matched Daniel's suddenly rapid footsteps, along with the crackling and clunking of loose rocks rolling down the side of the ravine.

Our cloudy-eyed friend had been facing that direction, and of course, immediately noticed Daniel. With an ear-piercing shriek, the zombie gave chase. I rubbed one of my ears and stared after it, taken aback by the completely foreign sound that was clearly some sort of hunting cry.

With a quick shake of my head, I ran after the two. Now that I didn't have to worry about our quarry turning around or slowing down, I could tell he wasn't quite as fast as me. Daniel slowly pulled ahead, although the soft dirt and loose rocks kept giving way under his feet and sliding down the embankment.

Suddenly, a large section of dirt gave way in a miniature landslide. Instead of sliding with it or grabbing onto a tree, Daniel jumped farther out, landing near the creek. Rocks rolled under his shoes, although he kept his balance with no apparent effort.

The zombie ahead tried to run faster as his target suffered a setback. Daniel spared him a glance, flashed his eyes a bright, glowing red – which had no effect – and then continued leading him down the ravine.

In the distance, I could now see the regular zombie we wanted to introduce our friend to. I slowed down and slipped into the trees growing on the side of the ravine. The regular zombie began its shuffling jog toward us, not sure what was going on, but eager for a meal since some sort of hunt was underway.

Daniel put on an impressive burst of speed, passed the regular zombie, then ducked behind a tree and stopped. The regular zombie was now the only thing moving.

The cloudy-eyed zombie crashed into it with an aggressive tackle, sending both of them to the ground. The regular zombie's growls immediately morphed into snarls as his attacker bit into his arms and shoulders, tearing away chunks of flesh that it chewed once, then spit out, before going for another bite.

I stared in disbelief at the gruesome – and very, very wrong – scene unfolding in front of me. Zombies didn't attack other zombies like this. Not only did the rules prevent it, but even if a zombie bit another, which was very rare, the attack always stopped since the taste of zombie blood was off-putting, being neither animal nor human.

This thing was practically rabid.

"Is there a chance this thing has some sort of disease?" I asked Daniel, who was looking out from behind the tree with an appalled expression.

"I didn't smell any sort of illness or disease."

"I can't pick anything up either. Just that it's not a normal rank. And I've never seen a feral do this before."

"In that case, I think it's time we put this guy to sleep. I feel bad for the zombie he's attacking."

I stepped out of the trees and threw my crowbar with a decent amount of force. With a sharp crack, it slammed into the insane zombie's head, and he collapsed on top of the other zombie. I walked over and rolled him off, allowing the normal zombie to free himself.

He growled at me, and I returned the favor. Now aware of my rank, he lost interest in me and shook himself before wandering away, apparently oblivious to the dozen heavily-bleeding wounds he now sported.

Daniel returned and joined me, frowning at the unconscious zombie as he pulled out Nina's vials. "I didn't expect him to keep attacking like that. I thought he would have stopped after the first bite. Now I'm very glad we lured him over here instead of seeing how he reacted to you."

"I've never seen another zombie act like that," I repeated, still disturbed by its behavior.

Daniel knelt down beside the zombie and took a blood sample. It took him a couple of tries to find a vein, which was probably why he usually pinned zombies and let Nina do it. "The earlier scream was something else. It wasn't close to a Nightstalker's, but I've never heard another zombie rank make such loud noises."

"It was new to me too. Once you're done, I think we should try to tie him to something so he isn't a hazard. Not a tree though. That won't hold him for long."

"I agree, although I don't see any rocks big enough." Daniel stood up. "In fact, I don't trust leaving this thing out here when we're only a few hours away from a Stronghold. This is going to sound insane, but how hard would it be to take it with us and lock it in the barn at Ironwind?"

I stared at him incredulously. He was right – it was insane. And so was he. "There is no way that thing is riding in the back with us."

But as much as I hated to admit it, he was also right. If we left this thing here, it'd eventually get loose and attack someone. It'd be a serious foe for any Stronghold, particularly if it showed up at night.

He scratched his head. "What if we tie him to the front bumper? With the dent in his head, he won't wake up for a couple of weeks."

"I'm sure having a blood-covered guy strapped to the bumper just screams how trustworthy we are."

"Hmmm... What if we stop at a gas station, farm, or something, and find or build a bin like we have on the tailgate? Something that people can't see into. Everyone we're finding is in the sneezing stage, so it's only a few more days before we drive straight back to Ironwind. It's either that, or we have to cut off his head."

I gave Daniel a long, hard look and sighed heavily. "Only if it's on the front bumper, and you toss something in there to cut down on his scent."

"That'll work." He made a face as he regarded the zombie. "Do you mind bringing the truck closer while I make sure this guy is restrained? Just in case he wakes up early."

"Are you sure you don't want to carry him for a few miles first?" I smirked slightly.

"I'm so sure I'll trade you tasks and let you pack him out."

I turned away. "You win. I'll go fetch the truck and see if I can get it closer."

I quickly headed to the truck, making mental notes on how far away Daniel was. None of the paths or trails I found on my way back were wide enough for the truck. The group spotted me as soon as I exited the forest. Noticing my speed, Nina started the truck. Then she realized I was alone.

"Where's Daniel?" she asked, her voice laced with concern as her eyes lingered on the trees as if he was going to appear any second.

"Entertaining a new friend," I told her briskly as I vaulted into the back of the truck. "He's asked us to bring the truck as close as possible. Where's that map?"

"Oh, umm... Here." She held the map through the back window. "I assume the zombie was sane?"

"Try the polar opposite," I muttered as I unfolded the map and quickly followed the lines with my eyes. "Drive ahead. I want to see if there's a field past the next turnoff, or if the terrain is something the truck can handle."

"Hang on."

Nina sped up to a faster than normal speed since this part of the road didn't have many potholes. I held onto the top edge of the window and decided this truck really needed a handle or two up here. I might have to add that to Daniel's list of chores after he turns our friend into a new bumper bar.

"Normally, I love thick forests," I said, still frowning at the map, "but not when I want to go off-roading in a truck. I thought Oregon was supposed to have a bunch of farmland?"

"Farther south, it's mostly open fields," Nina replied from inside. "Kind of like that area we drove through two days ago."

I thought back to how the zombie had chased anything that moved, and decided a ravine was probably the safest place to discover it. I could only imagine what kind of chaos it would have caused if it decided it was easier to walk on highways.

The trees that lined the road dashed my hopes of simply driving across a field. "Well, let's turn back and go down that side road. I'm hoping it goes farther than what the map says."

Nina complied, and we began bouncing down the rutted dirt road. Some of the tracks in the dried-out mud were so deep Nina had to pull to the side, steer one wheel down the middle, and let the bushes scrape against the sides of the truck. I kept an eye on the ropes holding the bins on top of the cab in case something snagged well enough to cause problems.

The rutted road turned into an even rougher track meant for off-road vehicles. But we were getting closer, even if we were off to the side of where I'd left Daniel.

"That's the end of the road," Nina said.

Considering it ended in a small roundabout with dense trees and shrubs on all sides, this was the literal definition of a dead-end road.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and hollered, "This is as close as we can get. Do you need me to guide you over?"

In the distance, so faint it was even hard for me to hear it, Daniel's voice called back, "I'll follow your voice. Stay with them in case a zombie shows up."

"Okay," I called back. At regular volume, I told Nina, "You might as well turn the truck around while we wait."

Once the truck faced the dirt track, she shut it off, and we waited.

Minutes later, Daniel's voice was closer, "Where are you?"

"Over here!" Nina called back.

Before too long, the crackling of dry branches and leaves heralded his arrival.

Nicky scratched her head. "Okay, I may have done some crazy shit over the years, but I've never tied someone to a tree and dragged them through the forest." She tilted her head, then looked at me. "What exactly is your definition of a friend again?"

I ignored the redhead as Daniel dragged the sapling over to the front of the truck. "I guess that's one way to avoid carrying him."

"It was the easiest thing I could think of." He untied the ropes securing the zombie to the tree, letting the wire-bound zombie slump to the ground.

Nina got out of the truck with a completely bewildered expression. "What happened?"

"We figured he was too aggressive to leave out here," Daniel replied, "so we knocked him out. It's probably best if we take him back to Ironwind."

John and Logan exchanged a look, both of them now questioning the wisdom of joining us for the joyride.

"What rank is he?" Nina inquired.

"We're not sure. His eyes are hazy, and he can only see movement. He's almost as fast as Trinity, but he didn't observe the zombie rules."

"Whose blood is that?" She quickly glanced at the two of us, but it was obvious we weren't injured.

"We lured him over to a regular zombie, and he attacked it in a fashion that reminded me of a rabid fox," Daniel said.

Nina continued pelting him with questions as he used several sections of rope to tie the unconscious zombie to the bumper.

Liz asked Nicky, "Is that man coming with us?"

"Yep. And he gets a front-row seat while he continues his nap."

I murmured, "She's going to have an odd outlook on life when she gets older." Especially if she kept hanging around Nicky or sane zombies.

"You have to be odd to be number one!" Nicky told me cheerfully.

There's more than one odd thing around here, and it has nothing to do with the fact that we're tying a zombie to the bumper of our truck.

       "If you want to check those sheds, I'll see if there's anything in the garage," Daniel offered.

"Fine." I wasn't expecting to have any more success here than we had at the last two places we found, but it was a chance to get away from the scent of the zombie on the bumper.

I jumped to the ground and headed over to the sheds while the others got out of the truck and stretched their legs, lingering around the truck.

The first shed held pop cans, rakes, a lawnmower, and other yard stuff, but nothing capable of holding a body. The tarp was out of the question, at least in my mind. Now if we found a coffin, that would be ironic. No one would believe we actually had a body in there, but they wouldn't take the chance of opening it to find out.

The other shed wasn't any more prosperous. Since Daniel was still checking the garage, I meandered into the house. This place had seen a few visitors, so I wasn't expecting to find anything, although adding another blanket to the back for Liz wouldn't go amiss since Nicky tended to be a blanket hog during their naps.

After checking a few rooms, I found a couple of small blankets. They were the type I usually saw on people's couches to curl up under, too small for most adults, but they'd work for a child.

As I passed by another room, I paused, then went inside. The room was in shambles, with every dresser drawer pulled out, and the contents scattered everywhere, but it was the open gun cabinet that had my interest.

It had been completely emptied of every gun and bullet it might have ever contained, but the cabinet itself was as tall as I was. Sturdy metal wall, check. People unable to see inside, check. Big enough for our guest, check.

It would draw attention like no other container possibly could, but even if someone took the chance to break past whatever locks or ties Daniel put on it, they would abort their mission the second they saw what was inside.

I opened the window. "Hey, Daniel. I might have found something."

It didn't take long for his footsteps to come down the hallway. "What did you find?"

I grabbed the gun cabinet and slid it across the floor as I pulled it out of the closet. "Do you think this'll work?"

He appraised it and nodded. "Yes, and I saw some stuff in the garage we can use to secure it to the front of the truck."

He closed the slightly damaged door and picked it up like an oversized sofa cushion. I followed him out of the house and tossed the blankets on the deck railing before detouring to the garage. If he was going to be making alterations to the truck, so was I. The only difference was that I was going to be done before he was.

It wasn't hard to find what I was after. Two drawers lost their handles and the screws that held them in place. A screwdriver accompanied me, along with a tube of quick curing, two-part epoxy.

Daniel already had the zombie on the ground. "Logan, do you mind grabbing me those cinder blocks? Once we stack them, they should hold the gun cabinet high enough for me to secure it. I'll go fetch some stuff from the garage."

I jumped into the back of the truck as Logan and John went to grab the indicated objects. After mixing the epoxy and slathering it where the handles would sit, I pushed the handle base into the gel. It took a bit of effort to get the wood screws to pierce the metal on the cab roof, but zombie strength was a handy sidekick during renovations like these.

My task was done, and Daniel still hadn't returned from the garage. The fumes from the curing epoxy encouraged me to leave the truck. Nicky and Liz were already wearing the fuzzy blankets like capes and running around like grounded kamikaze pilots. The goal of their game seemed to be to collect as much mint and lavender as they could, run around the outside of the garden three times, then drop their bundle beside the truck.

Nina was at the front of the truck with John and Logan, peering underneath with flashlights as they determined which places were capable of holding substantial weight without breaking. I scanned the area, but no feral zombies were in sight.

I gazed at the garage, and with a gusty sigh, I went to see if I could help Daniel.