The sun had cleared the horizon by the time I headed back to the fence, which meant I was far later than usual. Most people were getting up, and the early ones were already heading for breakfast.

I tossed the radio to the guards above and gave them directions to where I'd left an elk carcass several miles north of the border. I continued to the secondary building, and Luke and John came out as I approached the door.

"Good morning, Trinity," Luke greeted me. "I assume nothing exciting happened last night?"

"It was pretty quiet. One less elk though."

I kept a subtle watch on John and was entertained by the range of emotions that crossed his face as my words and their meaning sunk in. Sometimes messing with the minds of humans was endlessly amusing when they were reminded someone was a zombie, even if they looked and mostly acted like a human.

Luke didn't see his brother's face. "Oh, good. I heard the cooks were hoping to make more elk jerky."

"I put it by the road and flagged it," I replied with a shrug. "The gate sentries are already sending someone to collect it."

John stared at us, confused and somewhat disturbed by what he was hearing. I was positive he was going to be asking his brother to explain a few things as soon as I left. Like why someone would eat meat from a zombie kill.

Luke was just about to reply when a shout from above interrupted him.

"We're going to have a party today!"

Luke paled slightly. "Was that Nicky?"

My eyes narrowed as I glanced up at the open window the wild voice had come out of. "Unfortunately. I think the chains on her mood swing just broke. Run."

I made good on my own advice and darted across the street into an open garage. The back wall was heavily cloaked in shadows and was the perfect place to wait out the coming storm. I peered out of my hiding place, noting the lights in Nicky's room were off, although Jess's were still on, so her usual tardiness was actually working in her favor for once.

John blinked in confusion and turned to his brother for an explanation, still standing at the bottom of the stairs. Luke gazed in my direction with a faintly worried expression, possibly wondering why I would pull such a disappearing act, although he hadn't connected the dots yet.

That's right. He's never seen Nicky take a trip to the wildside before. The handful of people who had been on the street needed no additional explanation. Most had heard Nicky's announcement and were already making themselves scarce.

They knew what was coming.

How the hell can she manage an insanity blitz the first morning after we return? Is she trying to remind everyone that she's back? If Hank put her up to this, we're going to have a very lengthy discussion. I growled faintly in growing irritation. My morning had been going so well until now.

The front door flew open to reveal a wild-eyed Nicky. Her untamed hair clearly hadn't been brushed yet, and she still wore her faded pajamas. Her crazy grin focused on the two unfortunate men who hadn't been fast enough to move away from where they had been standing in front of the building.

Luke took one look at the big bottle of dish soap in her hands. "Shit. Run!"

I'd never heard Luke swear before. Apparently, it was a rare event since John gaped at his brother's language. Luke's words and urgent tone sunk in just before Luke grabbed his brother's hand and started running. Nicky wasted no time darting after them, only slightly slowed by the pair of oversized bunny slippers on her feet.

As they ran past the garage, I heard Luke tell John, "The second we get around the building, immediately go around the next corner where she can't see you. I'll lure her away."

"But what about you?"

"I can run for longer than she can."

Their footsteps split up, and Nicky's muffled ones followed Luke's farther away. Before long, I wasn't able to hear them, so I emerged from my hiding place. I went around the corner to where John had stopped. He jumped when he saw movement, but relaxed when he recognized me.

"What just happened?"

I snorted, then replied, "Nicky just jumped off the deep end. Currently, I'm counting my blessings she managed to hold off this long. I'm not sure what I would have done if she attempted this on our road trip."

"So, what do we do now?"

"First, we have to ensure the area is safe." I looked around, although no one was in sight. It would have been easy to assume the Stronghold was deserted if I hadn't known several hundred people were within the fence. Still, it was best if we got Nicky away from the general population until she settled down.

I pulled my communication radio out of my backpack and set the dial to Luke's radio frequency, which I had seen on his belt.

I pressed the button on the radio. "Lead her outside the fence and head toward the rabbit forest. Let her tire herself out in there."

Luke's growl came back over the radio. "You owe me big time." He wasn't impressed he was currently the target, especially when I had been the one to tell her about soap. His instincts also wouldn't appreciate my order or the fact that he was running from something they'd rather eat.

"I gave sufficient warning, but you didn't take heed," I replied unsympathetically. "Be glad you have Runner stamina. From what I overheard yesterday, she had a different target in mind, so there's a chance she just lost her focus. Try telling her that you're not a mechanic and didn't leave any tools lying around."

"What?" He growled, then said, "I'll give it a shot." The radio went silent for some time, and I began to wonder if Nicky had caught up to the Runner. Finally, his voice came back. "Didn't work. She's yelling something about socket wrenches, crowbar boomerangs, and clover flowers."

In the background, I could hear her carrying on about those exact things while also telling Luke to slow down so she could catch up. I highly doubted he was going to heed her request.

"In that case, she's completely lost her mind. Once she's tired, you can bring her back. Have fun!"

Luke didn't even need his radio on for me to know he would have snarled at that parting comment. As a Runner, he could run full tilt for hours, and that didn't take their dogged persistence into account when they had enough incentive.

Turning to John, I said, "Welcome to Ironwind Stronghold. Home to zombies and maniacs."

He just stared at me.

"I think I'll take some food out to Nicky," I mused. "Once she runs out of steam, of course."

John stood there, speechless, as I headed to the breakfast hall. People were peering outside to check if the zombie invasion drill had ended or if the silence was a trap. Jess was leaning out her window to see what was going on, and I waved at her as I went to collect some food for Nicky.

I grabbed one of the plastic lunch containers and examined the food laid out for breakfast. I picked out Nicky's favorites, guessed on a few items, and packed about twice as much as she usually ate, just to make certain she'd mellow out by the time she finished.

One of the men from the archery group was in the lineup behind me and asked, "Did someone give Nicky coffee this morning?"

"I don't know. Although I don't think she left her room before this started, so I have no idea what prompted this."

"Hmmm... We even made sure to tell the newcomers not to offer coffee to the woman with the curly red hair."

"Well, something happened," I growled in faint annoyance. The man seemed to realize it wasn't directed at him and wasn't bothered by the sound. I shook myself lightly. "I'll have to ask Nicky once she returns."

"Please let us know what you find out. As an occasional event, it's easy enough to avoid her, but there are certain mornings where we'd want to prevent such an occurrence."

I nodded and headed for the door now that I was sufficiently armed. Jess found me as I was leaving.

"What happened?"

"Nicky went off the deep end. Be glad you were in your room."

"Huh? Where is she?"

"Keeping Luke entertained. Speaking of that, I better check on him." I held up my radio. "No one knows what triggered this morning's episode, although we don't think it was coffee." If that didn't get Luke going, not much would.

His dry voice came over the radio. "That doesn't change my situation." The wind whistled in the background, so he was still moving at a decent speed.

"Is she tired yet?"

"I don't know how she hasn't collapsed. She's been running the entire time."

"Kudos for keeping out of her reach. Once she starts to slow down, she should crash pretty quickly. You can bring her back at that point, but radio me first so I can meet you at the gate and take her off your hands."

To my disappointment, Luke didn't reply.

"Well, you can either eat in the main dining area, or you might have enough time to grab a plate before our two wanderers return," I told Jess. "I think it's best if I take Nicky up to the roof while she eats."

She hesitated, then said, "I'll go grab a plate and come back."

"I'll wait by the north gate since that's the one they left through."

I wandered over to the gate and waited.

Eventually, my radio finally came to life. "We're on our way back."

"The North gate?"

"Yes."

Their timing was good since Jess was just coming down the street to find me. By the time she reached me, I could see Luke and Nicky.

Nicky was plodding back like we'd hooked her to the plow for two days straight. Her apparent tiredness didn't keep Luke from carefully remaining out of her reach as he guided her back. As Luke approached, he bared his teeth at my betrayal of tossing him to the wolves, or in this case, Nicky on some sort of unidentified high. I flashed a canine at him before grinning.

He snorted and shook his head. "She's yours to deal with now."

"Fair enough. You did all the hard work. I think John is at the table with Nina and Daniel."

He started jogging to put as much distance between himself and Nicky as possible. I scrutinized the infamous redhead, but she had thoroughly exhausted her energy in that long-distance, high-speed chase. Somehow, her big bunny slippers were still on her feet, although they'd never be the same again.

Now that I was closer, I could smell coffee on her breath, although it was a sharper scent than what a mere cup of coffee usually caused.

"And just what did I tell you about coffee?" I growled.

"But I didn't have any!" she protested.

No trace of a lie was present in her coffee-laden scent.

I paused, then asked, "Then what did you get into?"

"Nothing! I just ate some chocolates while trying to figure out what I wanted to wear."

I narrowed my eyes, but she spoke the truth once more. "I think I have to find these chocolates while Jess escorts you to the roof. Is your room unlocked?"

"I never lock it. If people can find anything in there, then they're talented enough that a lock isn't going to stop them. The box is in the top drawer of my nightstand." She took the container of food as she trudged beside me. "I didn't realize how fast Luke could run. I couldn't even get close enough to use the soap."

The sentries above pretended to ignore us, perhaps hoping to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Nicky always seemed to forget about the people up there in her rampages, which was probably a good thing. Jess came with us, looking more perplexed than before.

We rounded the bend, and Nicky frowned at the secondary building, where a group of people were already on the roof.

"Hey. That guy is sitting in my seat!" Nicky glared at them with more energy than she had possessed mere moments ago.

"Suck it up, princess," I retorted lightly, trying to think of where else I could take her. "Or do you want me to fetch Daniel to save you?" Daniel's reaction to such a request after this morning could very well be worth me relaying the message.

His version of "saving her" would probably involve tying her up and locking her in a room to protect everyone else in this place. Nor would Nicky ever consider asking Daniel for help, unless it came to nominating him to move some heavy object or undertake an unpleasant task.

Nicky stuck her chin in the air. "I'm not a princess, and I don't need saving. I've got this shit handled. By the way, you're my backup in case he doesn't agree to my first attempt at persuasion." She began stomping toward the building, ready to fling the guy out of her seat by force if she deemed it necessary.

Where had this burst of energy come from? Luke clearly did not do a thorough job of tiring her out. He apparently needed more practice...

I growled faintly and snagged the sleeve of her pajama top. "No. Change of plans. We'll go to the bench by the archery lane to eat. No one is ever over there in the morning, so it'll be nice and quiet."

Nicky grumbled but quit trying to pull away from me. "Since when is peace and quiet a good thing? This is the first time I've heard that statement."

"Then you haven't been listening hard enough. I enjoy peace and quiet."

A grin appeared on her face. "Then having me around must make you think you're at a summer carnival."

"More like an out-of-control rave party..." I muttered under my breath. "You two head to the archery area while I go find these chocolates."

Nicky somehow heard my first comment. "Rave parties are overrated," she informed me as I walked away. "And the drugs are pretty freaky. Even I wouldn't try them again."

I kept walking without looking back. I had never fooled around with such parties or drugs, and if Nicky refused to touch them again, I was doubly glad I never dabbled in such antics. Although such drugs might explain a lot when it comes to Nicky...

I climbed the stairs and found her door still halfway open. A light push opened it farther, and I stared long and hard at the utter destruction contained inside. If I had thought it was messy before, I now had an entirely new definition for the word.

Clothing and objects intermingled in piles with no organization that I could see. In fact, I couldn't even see the floor. Simply crossing the room without stepping on anything hidden under the clothing was going to be a challenge. If any of these piles start moving, I'm leaving, and they can have the chocolates.

With a sigh, I began cautiously crossing the room. The nightstand by her bed was open, and the bottom half of a candy box was sitting on top of all the junk inside. It held a handful of small, round chocolates in various colors. I bent over to pick the lid off the floor, but the fancy Christmas-style lid had no label.

The size and shape of the chocolates reminded me of chocolate-covered peanuts, but the smell wafting up told of a very different seed contained within. I picked one up and broke it in half just to confirm what was inside.

Chocolate-covered espresso beans.

Not just coffee beans, but espresso beans, which explained the sharper scent. And Nicky ate half a box. Today could be a not-so-fun day, and once that high wears off, she's going to be a complete grouch.

I shook my head and put the lid on the box, taking it with me. As I left her room, I checked over my shoulder to make sure none of the piles were following me, then closed the door.