A mere hour before sunset, we finally made it to the next Stronghold. After several minutes of talking, we were let in by people who kept casting nervous glances at Daniel's red eyes. A few gazes lingered on our front bumper. At this point, I'm almost hoping someone tries to steal a gun out of the gun cabinet.

"One person is still sneezing," a man told Nina as he walked beside the slowly moving truck, "and the person who started sneezing a few hours before her has already turned. You can stay in the house over there if you want, but the people who lived in it had been sneezing..."

"That will be fine," Nina reassured him as Daniel stopped in front of the indicated dwelling. She got out of the truck with her supply bag in her hand. "The virus dies within a few hours, and we do have the cure with us. But speaking of the cure, I'd like to see the person who's sneezing."

"She's this way." He guided Nina and Daniel down the road. Since this person was likely close to turning, I tagged along as well. My decision seemed to convince the others to come with us.

"When did she start sneezing?" Nina asked.

"A couple of days ago. We're hoping she'll turn into one of the other ranks." Although judging by the uneasy way he kept sneaking peeks at Daniel, I wasn't sure how welcoming they'd be if their friend suddenly had red eyes. And they had no idea Daniel was actually a Terror and not a mere Runner.

"She's in the trailer." The man pointed as we left the gate. "We're just waiting for her, then we'll open the rest of the places up and have someone guide the zombies away."

Ropes already hung down from the roofs of the trailers and were tied around door handles, which would be the easiest way to release the zombies inside without putting anyone at risk. Masks were put on as we drew closer.

"She's not far from turning," I murmured to Daniel as the leader knocked on the door.

He nodded as the door opened and a sneezing woman came out. Her eyes were red from weeping, and she wiped away the moisture as she listened to Nina and hastily agreed to both injections.

As Nina readied her syringes, Daniel quietly told her, "The sanity serum should prevent you from turning into a normal zombie, but with the cure requiring six hours, I'm fairly certain you'll turn before then. You'll probably end up as a Runner. The cure will reverse that, but it'll take time. The biggest thing to remember is to stay in here until morning. The bloodlust will try to force you to leave and hunt, but don't give in. If you can hold out for six hours, you'll be free."

Tears poured down the woman's face, but she nodded with determination, her head jerking with another sneeze.

As she readied the second syringe, Nina asked, "Is there a clock in there?"

"Y-yes."

"When you go back inside, write down the time, then also list the six-hour mark. That will be your goal."

She nodded again, then asked the leader, "Can you bar the door on the way out? Just in case..." She made a face, knowing what kind of blood the bloodlust would be after.

"Of course," he quickly agreed. "And I'll come out first thing in the morning to check on you."

"Thank you," she quietly told him. Then she shook Nina's gloved hand. "And thank you very much."

"I'm glad I was able to help," Nina replied sincerely.

The woman slowly retreated inside and closed the door. As per his promise, the man picked up a plank and put it in the rungs outside the door, trapping her in the trailer.

We went back inside the fence as the guards in their towers continued to keep watch, rifles in hand.

"Do you need anything to eat?" the man asked. "We have food, although there isn't much besides bread and soup at this time of the night."

"Thanks for the offer," Nina replied, "but we ate a few hours ago."

"The showers are in that building. Cold water only, sorry. There are several bathrooms, and they have blue roofs like that one. There's a water pump behind the house and a couple more scattered around."

"Thank you very much for your hospitality," Nina said as we reached the guest house. "We should be fine."

"Let us know if you need anything," the man said as he slowed down and let us continue without him. After reassuring himself that we really didn't need anything, he departed.

I took a deep breath before we reached the truck. "No rain tonight." The smell of bruised mint plants was strong enough that I had a hard time smelling the zombie laying on them.

"Less to pack in then," Nicky said with relief.

I grabbed my sleeping bag and went inside, once more dumping it beside the couch I wouldn't use. With her arms full of blankets, Nicky waddled through the door and navigated her way into one of the bedrooms. The first bed her shins hit would be the one where her load would likely stay.

The living room window gave a great view of the northern sky and part of the fence. I stood in front of the window and regarded the six rows of white tubes above the chain-link fencing. I recognized them as PVC pipes, and I knew they sat on a cable or another pipe and spun like a roller bar to keep an invading zombie from getting a good enough grip to climb over. I'd just never seen six rows before.

"I can't imagine a Runner getting over that, regardless of how hard they tried," Daniel commented, following my gaze as he sat in the reclining chair in the corner.

"Not likely," I agreed idly. "But they really need to put sheets of metal or plastic in front of the posts that hold them up."

"Enough of a handhold for a Nightstalker, huh?" He looked amused at how easily I could climb over the fences and past their protections.

"Even with six rungs," I agreed smugly.

"Ironwind might have to look at putting something like that on top of our fence, although the last time we tried, the PVC was too heavy to span the gap between the posts."

"Chimney piping," I replied. "It's lighter than PVC pipe, and strong enough that it won't bend if it's put on top of a sturdier pipe."

"I'll have to remember that."

Nina came down the hallway. "There are four rooms and six beds in this house, so we can spread out however we like."

"I think Liz gets to sleep in her own bed," Nicky proclaimed as she came out of the bedroom. "I lost count of how many times I almost kicked her off the bed last night. Where is she, anyway?"

"She's helping John spread the tarp over the back of the truck so the dew doesn't get the mattress damp," Daniel said.

"I'll go refill her water bottle before bed and stick the flashlight on the nightstand." Nicky grabbed Liz's water bottle as well as her own as she headed outside and went around the corner to where the pump was supposed to be.

Outside the window, John and Logan continued tying the tarp so securely I wondered if a hurricane was en route. Liz followed them around the truck and passed them the tie-down straps she was carrying.

John stretched and asked Logan, "Feel like taking a stroll around the Stronghold? The evening is too nice to sit indoors."

"Sure. I've had enough sitting for one day."

"Liz, can you please go inside?" John asked the child.

"Sure," she agreed cheerfully. Turning around, she promptly headed for the door.

Light, pattering footsteps came inside, paused, then came in my direction as the child decided I was the most interesting person to hang out with. And I still had no idea why she found me so fascinating. I never encouraged her or even smiled at her. I was a pessimistic lump on a log and just about as exciting. Apparently, Liz thought differently.

"What are you looking at?" Her voice was soft and curious, and she craned her neck as she peered out the window even though she had just come from outside.

I made a bit of a face when she took and held my hand, but I managed a bored tone as I replied, "Nothing really. Just watching."

My instincts detested the contact, and I tried to subtly free my hand from hers without her noticing but had no success. I pushed my instincts aside and reluctantly let her hold my hand.

Nicky returned and set the water bottles on the counter before sprawling out on the threadbare couch. "How long did that woman in the trailer have?"

"A couple of hours," I replied, finally managing to wriggle my fingers free from Liz, who continued gazing out the window.

Nina frowned at that and pulled out her notebook, flipping through the pages. "I find that troubling."

"Which part?" Nicky asked, lazily gazing at the scientist who was sitting in a kitchen chair. "That she was the only person sneezing here, or that she'll probably turn before midnight?"

"Both of those, and more. I've been analyzing all my records, although I really wish I had the larger binders from Ironwind." She paused and made a face, then continued, "But it looks like there isn't as much time between the waves. And not only that, but the waves themselves are truly getting shorter, and the people who start sneezing don't have as long before they turn."

Nicky sat up in realization. "Does that mean we likely won't find anyone else?"

Nina slowly nodded, and when she spoke, her voice was soft with sadness. "We can try visiting another Stronghold or two, but I think we're too late to help anyone else in this wave." She took a deep breath. "When we get back, I'll have to radio the other research centers and check what time frames they're seeing, but if this trend continues, the waves might become so short the airborne strain could very well disappear in a couple of years."

"So, we'd just be left with the direct contamination stuff like bites and blood?" Nicky asked.

Nina nodded.

"But all it takes is one sneeze," Nicky said as she furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard, "and if the time between the waves gets shorter, won't they happen more often?"

"I need to get back to the lab in order to check some things, but we noticed before that there seems to be some sort of internal clock in the airborne strain. When people donated blood or had bedroom play, any resulting infections had both people turning at roughly the same time, even if the secondary infection had occurred only weeks prior."

"Wait. Are you telling me this virus is keeping track of time?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Nina replied. "But it reminds me of the seven-year cicada cycle, or how a grove of oak trees – even if they're different ages – all produce that bumper mast crop in sync every few years. For all I know, it could even be controlled by pheromones, which would explain why people all tend to start sneezing at roughly the same time even though the flu shots were administered over several months. That would also explain why this wave only lasted five days instead of getting longer with each wave, because the first person to start sneezing triggers the others."

Nicky shuddered. "I can believe the pheromone timing part. I spent a few months in a girl's dormitory, and even the guys knew which few days of the month they were supposed to send chocolates and keep their distance."

"It's still a theory, but I'll dig into it more when we get back. Even if there's less time between waves, it would take at least several days for the infection to spread enough to turn, which would leave us with the usual bite-case time frame. And we do have the cure now, as well as the serum and controlex, so we're better prepared than we were before. We can probably prevent the fourth wave if we send the drugs to every Stronghold we know of and advise them to use a cat to check everyone."

"Wow," Nicky finally said, blinking at the scientist.

Wow, indeed. The sneezing phase was the reason the virus had hit humans so hard, although most of the survivors were already learning how to avoid it during those critical few days. And with the cure and serum now being produced by at least a dozen places, it was only a matter of time until the waves became a nightmare restricted to the history books.

Nina gazed back at her notebook, although no one else said anything. Daniel watched her with a thoughtful expression, and even Nicky seemed preoccupied by what she had just learned. Liz stared out the window, apparently oblivious to the conversation since it wasn't directed at her.

The waves might eventually disappear... That thought hadn't occurred to me. I had just assumed they'd happen more frequently. The new drugs might have only been around for a month or so, but they had put a dent in this wave. The next wave was going to be met with a lot of vials and a clowder of involuntary feline infection detectors.

The world was changing before my very eyes.

I began to wonder about my place in it. What would this planet be like in five years? Ten years? I wasn't sure. Heck, I wasn't even sure if zombies aged. I was pretty sure we did, but I had no hard evidence.

My thoughts were interrupted by Nicky standing up and saying, "This is too much like thinking for me. I think those guys had the right idea when they went for a walk. Hey, Liz, do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure! Can Trinity come too?"

I think Nina needs to make a drug that makes me invisible. That would help very nicely. Why couldn't that have been a Nightstalker trait?

"Of course, she can! Come on, Trinity. The air in here is stuffy, and if it's stuffy for me, then it has to be bothering you."

The door probably hadn't been opened since its previous occupants went to the trailers, so the air was stale and musty. The lack of bloodlust was a definite perk in these places. I wasn't sure how Daniel never seemed bothered by his bloodlust, regardless of how small of a cabin or house we stayed in. No wonder he never considered the controlex. He didn't need it.

I could either stay inside with Nina and Daniel, or go outside and keep an eye on Nicky and Liz. The fresh air beckoned, and after spending most of the day within ten feet of Daniel, my instincts needed a break from the Terror in the corner.

"Fine with me. There's only half an hour until sunset anyway." I headed for the door as Liz and Nicky followed.

"Yeah, yeah. Then you're going to turn into a bat and fly away until dawn. In the meantime, we can walk to the playground we saw earlier," Nicky said as she closed the door behind her.

I snorted and shook my head as the redhead caught up. "A bat... Really?"

"I have no proof that says otherwise. And it would completely explain the lack of pictures and your love of the darkness. My other guess is an owl, so take your pick."

"None of the above."

"You really need a better cover story, you know that, right?"

I leveled a mild glare at her.

"Hey, Liz. Look. There's the playground." Nicky pointed, changing the topic.

I wasn't sure how Nicky considered a slide and set of monkey bars to be a playground, but Liz ran ahead in excitement. I leaned against the slide and watched the other two play on the monkey bars.

Liz was only able to manage two or three rungs before falling to the grass below. Nicky's feet hadn't touched the ground since she started. She went back and forth along the metal frame, managing agile turns and side kicks.

"Come play with us, Trinity!"

I should have known these two simply wouldn't let me watch from the sidelines. Did Liz have any idea how many years it'd been since I had been on a set of monkey bars? It was probably back in middle school. I didn't even remember how to play games on monkey bars. I was twenty-eight, not eight.

I snorted faintly, still not moving. "And just what do you want me to do?" I didn't see how three people could play any sort of game on a simple set of monkey bars.

Liz was actually ahead of me in the idea's department. "Chase Nicky up the slide!"

Now that is something I can manage. I turned my gaze to Nicky, whose jaw had already dropped at Liz's betrayal.

"Traitor!" she exclaimed, still hanging from the monkey bars.

With a quick glance around to ensure none of the locals were in sight at this late hour, I slowly eased into a crouch. I silently and gradually stalked forward, keeping between her and the slide.

Nicky was still mock glaring at the giggling child and hadn't noticed how close I'd gotten. I growled lowly as I came up behind her.

She lost her grip and landed on the grass as she glanced over her shoulder. "Oh shit!"

She bolted.

I didn't know Nicky could run that fast. Unfortunately for her, I was faster. Still in my slight hunting crouch, I darted ahead and cut her off. I kept my gaze directly on her face; if we hadn't been playing around, such a direct gaze would mean the person was in a world of trouble.

"Uh oh." Nicky started backing away from me. She tripped over a clump of grass and fell on her rump. "Liz, a little help over here!"

"Grrr!" Liz's small growl was remarkably close to one a zombie could produce. I kept careful control of my instincts as her footsteps ran up behind me. As I half expected, she attempted to jump onto my back. I was short, but not quite short enough for her to manage that.

I swiftly dropped to my knees and twisted to the side. Liz – who had been trying to pull herself up – fell forward, right over my shoulder. I stood up with my new captive, deliberately making her slip forward. Reaching back, I snagged both of her ankles and dangled her upside down in front of me.

"So, now what are you going to do?"

She giggled and reached out with her hands, but couldn't quite reach my legs. "Tickle you!"

I snorted. "Unlikely. Although I'm pretty sure Nicky is ticklish."

The easily distracted child tried to twist around and spot her new target. Reassured that she was properly diverted, I slowly lowered her to the ground. Liz put her hands down, and once her shoulders were on the ground, I simply let go. The slight drop didn't faze her, and she swiftly scrambled to her feet and ran after Nicky with a grin.

I knew Nicky was ticklish, so the redhead had plenty of incentive to keep out of reach of the energetic child. The two darted around the monkey bars and up and down the slide as Liz tried to catch Nicky.

The footsteps separated, with the lighter set coming directly toward me. With a sigh, I jumped up, grabbed the monkey bars, and flipped myself up so I was on top of them, foiling Liz's ambush.

"Nicky's an easier target," I informed her from my perch.

She once more went in pursuit of Nicky, and I dropped back down to the ground.

I took a deep breath when the sun touched the horizon. My instincts rippled as they slowly awakened from their daytime torpor. My instincts didn't disappear during the day, but they were far more alert and active at night. And far touchier and prideful.

"Grrr!" Liz's small weight hit the back of my legs.

She was getting better with her growls, although it might distress other people if she kept it up. I glanced down before giving a bored growl in return. She looked up at me and tried to modulate her growl closer to mine.

Nicky started laughing. "I don't know what conversation you two are having, but can you switch to English so I can participate?"

I snorted and tilted my head as I appraised the two. Nicky was rapidly tiring, but we needed to burn a bit more energy out of Liz.

I tapped Liz's shoulder to catch her attention. "Why don't you go steal the flower out of Nicky's hair?"

Liz was as suggestible as ever and took off again, forcing the redhead to her feet. For as much energy as the child displayed during times like these, it