I found the two at the bench by the archery lanes.

"So, what'd you find?" Nicky asked me, her container of food already half-gone. "I'm assuming it's bad since you brought it with you."

"Espresso beans covered in chocolate."

She sighed. "That'd explain it. Remind me never to eat those things again. That was one hell of a mood swing."

Oh, you don't have to tell us. We saw it firsthand. Although it must have been pretty bad if she's asking us to keep them away from her. "Where'd you get them?" If there were more around, I wanted to know where they were.

"One of the guys from that group we helped on the road gave them to me. He said they were chocolates. He gave Nina, Daniel, and John a box too."

"I'll have to warn them," I muttered.

"Probably a wise idea," Nicky agreed, far more mellow now. "They were all different types of boxes, so they might not be the same thing. On a side note, how bad is the collateral damage?"

I glanced at her, wondering if I had missed something. "What collateral damage?"

"Did I scare John, Luke, or Logan out of the Stronghold?"

"Not that I know of. You severely confused them though."

"I tend to be really good at doing that for some reason..."

I didn't bother responding to that comment, and Nicky kept eating. She eventually managed to wolf down everything I had packed in the container.

"That was good," she said, sighing in satiation. "I feel much better now. What's on our agenda for the rest of the day?"

"First, I think you should get properly dressed and brush your hair so people don't think you slept in a cave. Then those bunny slippers either need a trip to the garbage can or the laundry basket. Considering the bottoms are in tatters, I vote for the garbage can."

Nicky lifted a foot and stared at her slippers as if only just noticing them. "Sheesh. How did I run through the forest in these?" She shook her head. "The next time I think I'm losing my mind, I'm not even going to go looking for it."

"After that," I continued resolutely, ignoring her comments, "you can think of what tasks you feel like attempting. I already spent all night patrolling, so I did my due diligence."

She put her foot back down. "Braggart. Just because you finished working, that doesn't mean you can rub it in."

I snorted. "After what you just put me through, why not?"

"Because it reminds me that I haven't even started my chores yet. Besides, I think Luke got the short end of the stick this morning, so I'm not sure what you think I put you through."

"You can help me collect some herbs," Jess offered. "I know roughly where they are, but it's always nice to have a helping hand and someone to talk to."

"If we're driving the side-by-side, then fine. But I'm not walking. That takes way too much energy, and I already used up my daily supply."

"Jess drives," I added sternly.

Nicky rolled her eyes at me. "Even I refuse to drive impaired."

"Make sure she doesn't drive," I told Jess. "And in case you weren't aware, her mood is going to be all over the place today after those espresso beans. She doesn't do well with caffeine."

Jess shrugged. "It doesn't matter how many times you fall; it's about how many times you get back up."

"That's not how sobriety tests work," Nicky informed her.

I sighed and turned around. "I'm going to deliver these to Nina. She's probably in the lab by now." I left Nicky and Jess to discuss the fine differences between roadside alcohol tests and support bandwagons.

As far as I could tell, the Stronghold had returned to normal. People were going about their daily tasks or heading for a late breakfast. Nina's scent trail confirmed my guess about her location, although Daniel hadn't gone down the lab stairs this morning. As I walked down the hallway, I glanced into various rooms before locating the scientist, who was staring at several computer screens.

"Not sure if your box of chocolates had espresso beans," I said as I entered the room, "but Nicky's did."

She spun her chair around to face me. "Is that what caused this morning's excitement?"

"Indeed. Someone else can enjoy the remaining ones." I dropped the box on an empty spot on the counter.

"I'm not sure I want to try them after seeing what they did to Nicky, but while you're here, do you mind if I get a small blood sample? I'm seeing some strange things in the samples I took from the zombie in the barn."

Perhaps I should have stayed in my room this morning. "Fine," I reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks," Nina said gratefully, although she didn't move. "Most of the samples you gave before we left have degraded too far for me to check the triggers."

I gave her a look. "Why are you checking the triggers again? I thought you knew which ones made someone a Nightstalker?"

"I do, but I want to see how the triggers are situated. The ones from the guy in the barn..." she frowned, "it's almost like they're being forced or locked into position. They don't look stable, and I don't recall yours looking like that, even with the controlex, but I wasn't really checking those particular details at the time."

"Are his triggers closer to a Runner or a Nightstalker?"

"That's the other weird thing. About half are ones only seen in Runners, half are from the Nightstalker genome, a couple are from a Terror, but some are triggers I've never seen activated before. And some that should be active, aren't."

I regarded the scientist. "And that means...?"

She waved at the machines lining the wall beside her. "That's what I'm trying to find out. Over half of these are analyzing the zombie's blood samples. Luckily, I asked some of the infected people for blood donations before we gave them the cure, so I have several other tests running to try and determine what the waves think they're doing."

A slight smirk touched my lips. "You mean you haven't unlocked the secrets of the universe yet? What's the holdup?"

She chuckled and got to her feet. "Even I can't work that fast. The lab is only allowed to use so much electricity, and I'm at my limit. The blood collection vials are in the next room."

I followed her down the hallway and into another room, not even bothering to make a face or grumble as she took two vials of blood.

"And a vial of saliva, if you don't mind?"

I obliged, albeit unenthusiastically.

"Thanks," she said. "I assume I don't have to worry about Nicky for a while?"

"Unless she follows Jess in here, I doubt it."

"I hope not," Nina murmured. "Although the men who cleaned out our truck assumed she was responsible for the eighteen crowbars, fourteen socket wrenches, five hammers, and I forget what other items they found under the mattress."

"They counted?" For some reason, I found that hilarious and openly grinned.

"Indeed," Nina replied in good humor. "They even wrote it down."

"Did you tell them that I put them there?"

"No, I just said I'd ask about them."

My teeth pulled back in a predatory fashion. "When they ask, you should tell them that Nicky needed replacements for the tool she was going to borrow from the mechanics in the future. I heard there were lots lying around and free for the taking." If that didn't have those poor guys putting away their tools, then they were beyond help and verified as Nicky bait.

"I shall do that." Nina seemed just as amused as I was, and just as ready to encourage people to pick up after themselves.

"In that case, I'll leave you to your fun."

"Have a good morning."

It was a bit late for the well-wishing, but if my morning got any crazier, I was sending Nicky after the person responsible. I headed up to my room and decided I needed a nap in order to handle the rest of the day.

After sleeping so much yesterday afternoon, I only managed a fitful doze. A couple of hours later, I gave up. It was about time for my customary ten o'clock patrol anyway.

I would have a peaceful patrol all to myself as long as I avoided being spotted by Nicky or Jess.

~

There was no rush for me to return, so I lingered in the forest much longer than usual. The singing birds and chirping crickets created a far more relaxing ambiance than anything I'd ever heard in the Stronghold. It was mid-afternoon by the time I finally made my way back to Ironwind.

I passed the radio back to the guards and decided to go chop wood for a while. As per usual, the area was deserted. Wood chopping must not have been a popular chore because not much had been done since I left. Logs had been hauled here and cut into sections by chainsaws, but no one had taken the axe to them yet.

I grabbed an axe and began tackling the huge stack of wood. Splitting wood wasn't the hardest chore around. In fact, I even found it somewhat relaxing.

A couple of hours later, Luke found me. "Well, you certainly put a dent in that pile."

"Someone else gets to stack it," I said as I tossed another chunk of split wood into a rather large pile. "That's an easy enough job."

"I doubt they will argue. Feel like a break? I was sent to fetch you while the others went to get their dinner."

"Is Nicky back on this side of the sanity fence?"

"As far as I can tell, although she spent almost the entire day with Jess collecting and preparing plants."

"Give me a second to put this axe away."

Luke and I walked back to the secondary building and reached the top just in time to see the others come out of the dining hall. Jess was carrying two plates; one for her and one for Liz, who was walking beside her. It would take them a while to climb the three flights of stairs, so I sat down.

While waiting, I asked Luke, "What have you been up to all day?"

"I worked in the lab. John and Nina spent a good portion of the day down there. Daniel stopped in a few times, and Logan came back just before lunch with some unusual plants Nina found interesting."

I rolled my eyes. "If it involves science and discoveries, it's pretty easy to get her excited."

He was silent for a moment. "Is Logan hoping Nina will teach him to be a scientist or something? He was unusually focused on her and asked a lot of questions. He seemed to be knowledgeable, but it was an... unusual conversation to listen to."

Luke was much more observant after the controlex removed the haze from his mind. He was also protective of those he counted as friends, and this was possibly his way of asking if he had to dissuade the intrigued newcomer.

With a smirk, I told him, "He has a crush on her, but don't tell her that. I'm waiting to see how long it takes her to notice."

He bared his teeth in amusement, then changed the topic. "What do you plan to do the rest of the evening?"

I shrugged. "Probably go to the archery lanes. That's usually what Nicky and I did in the past after dinner. Closer to sunset, I'll head out for the night."

"After how she acted this morning, you're letting her shoot a bow?" Luke gave me an odd look, as if checking my sanity.

"As long as it isn't pointed at me and the arrows don't fly past me, I don't care. She hasn't killed anyone yet."

"That isn't particularly reassuring. I don't believe I'll be going anywhere near the archery lanes while she has a bow in her hands."

"Her aim is getting better. Just make sure you never stand anywhere in front of her." I heard footsteps and nodded at the door to let Luke know the others had arrived.

Daniel was the first through the door, and he held it open for the others. He was the only one who wasn't breathing hard from the climb. Liz was panting but eagerly trotted along to keep up.

The child ran to the side to grab a much smaller chair. It took her some effort, but she dragged it between Nicky's chair and mine. Once she was sitting, Jess passed her the plate she was carrying.

John sat beside his brother, leaving the chair between him and Daniel open for Logan. I took a long drink from my water bottle as I listened to the various conversations. Luke and John were debating about what to do after dinner, but seemed to be leaning toward a game of chess with some people Luke had been hanging out with.

Jess was talking with Liz and showing her how to cut her chicken while the plate was on her knees. Logan and Nina were still talking about plants, their discussion not at all hindered by the bored-looking zombie between them.

"Cynthia asked if we could watch Liz for the evening," Nicky said, nibbling on a carrot slice. "I agreed since it wouldn't be the first time we took her to the archery lanes."

Daniel said, "I'm surprised her foster parents didn't want to spend the evening with her."

"There are three couples who are interested, but she's staying with Cynthia until they figure out which pair will get along with Liz the best. Cynthia needed to talk to them privately, and since Liz kept going on and on about wanting to do archery with us, she asked if we could entertain her tonight."

Liz smiled at me. "Can we play pin the tail on the donkey again? That was fun last time!"

I was surprised she remembered that. "I don't think it's set up at the moment." I didn't recall seeing it this morning, at any rate.

"Can we set it up? I'll help," Liz begged with a hopeful look on her face.

I shrugged. "I don't see why not." It was just a bunch of straw bales covered with a tablecloth, which wasn't exactly a problem with my Nightstalker strength. The bigger problem was that Liz needed a lot of help to get her arrow to go that far with a ribbon on it...

"I'm sure we can set it up," Jess added confidently, more than eager for another game of pin the tail on the donkey.

Nicky chuckled and gave me a sidelong glance while asking Liz, "I bet you want ribbons on your arrows too. Don't you?"

"Yes, please! It was really fun when Trinity let me aim her bow."

"You think Trinity is fun?" Luke asked her with an amused expression. He found it ironic she considered a Nightstalker fun. He knew I was a party pooper.

"Yep! She's really fun, even if she never smiles." Liz turned back to me with a beaming smile. "I really like spending time with you! Can we be friends?"

I regarded the child steadily for several moments. Somewhat reluctantly, I said, "That might be possible."

It wasn't a yes, and it wasn't a no. This wasn't exactly a topic I wanted to discuss, but I also didn't want to hurt her feelings. She was just a child, after all. I turned my gaze across the Stronghold to avoid looking at the girl who was far too happy with my response.

Daniel regarded me with curiosity, as did Nina and several others, although they didn't say anything. I probably would have growled at them if they had inquired about my unusual reply, which would likely lead to Daniel reciprocating the gesture. It was as predictable as the sun rising. Even I growled at Luke whenever he growled or snarled at me in surprise. Any higher-ranking zombie would respond the same way to a lower rank. It was a small miracle Daniel managed to ignore me as often as he did.

Liz kicked her feet happily and tried to balance some peas on her fork. In the resulting silence, Nicky picked through her salad and flicked a piece of onion at Daniel's feet. It bounced across the roof and stopped in front of his shoes.

He lifted his head and eyed up the annoying redhead. "What are you doing?" He didn't sound overly impressed with her throwing food around, particularly in his direction.

Nicky shrugged. "Some crazy person put onion in the salad. You should really have a talk with them about that."

"If you don't want to eat it, then put it on the side of your plate. You ate it yesterday without any problems."

"Yeah, but I saw them dump cow poop on the onions in the garden today. They said it was organic, but I just call that gross."

"It already touched the rest of your salad," Daniel retorted, glaring at her as she flicked another piece of onion by his shoes. "Besides, they would have washed and peeled the first layer of the onions off."

Nicky gave him a look of disbelief. "It was cow poop. And they dropped shovelfuls of it on the onions! How can you not care about this?"

"Fertilizer is fertilizer. If I can't smell it, then they were cleaned thoroughly. Besides, the workers don't fertilize anything we're about to eat. Just the smaller plants."

Stabbing a large curl of onion on her fork, Nicky held it in my direction. "Does this smell clean to you?"

I ignored the vegetable in her hand. Raw onion had been pretty strong when I'd been human, and it was even more potent for a Nightstalker's nose. "Perhaps a better question would be how many squirrels and rabbits peed on the berries you picked in the forest."

It was a lie, plain and simple, but I wasn't able to resist taunting her. I kept a straight face, although Jess's eyes grew wide as her vivid imagination painted that scene in her head.

Nicky's jaw dropped. "And you didn't warn me?"

I shrugged with my usual indifference. "Surely you noticed I was fussy about which patch I would eat berries from whenever we went berry picking."

"Traitor! And to think I trusted you!" Her voice climbed an octave or two, reminding us of her caffeine rush this morning. She flicked her fork at me, sending the onion flying in my direction.

She missed, but I still snarled lightly at her. "Cut it out. I was joking." I didn't have the patience to tolerate someone throwing food at me simply because they finally realized how people fertilized crops. To ensure she behaved, I added, "If you throw any more pieces, you're picking them up when you're done eating."

Nicky blinked and took it all in stride. "Oh, that's fine then. Did you smell any cow poop on that thing though?"

"No." Nor was I about to sniff a piece of raw onion to check.

She relaxed. "Oh, good. Then it's edible."

Just like that, she started eating her salad without picking out the onion.

"Did Nina tell you about the blood test?" Jess asked me, poking at her salad as if it were suddenly unappealing.

"No. Our paths haven't crossed since this morning. What did she find?" I cast the scientist a curious look.

"We did some tests with the strange zombie's blood and a small tissue sample," Nina clarified. "The cure worked without any problems, but when we re-infected the sample with a drop of regular zombie blood, the triggers perfectly matched that of a regular Nightstalker. The previous triggers didn't hold, and the markers would have turned him into a Nightstalker, so he should have been one to begin with."

"So what caused his current condition?"

"I'm not sure. I have a few tests running that should shed some light on it. My first thoughts had been a rare blood type, sickle cell anemia, or some other genetic condition that might have affected the virus's ability to infect properly, but I've already ruled most of those out."

"Could it just be a random mutation?" Nicky asked.

"Mutations aren't as random as most people would think." Nina fiddled with her fork in thought. "Even though people often give mutation a bad rap, it's actually a key player in evolution, which we haven't seen in the zombie virus yet. The markers in his body are clearly that of a Nightstalker, so something else intervened when he turned. It wasn't just a mutation, nor was the virus changing."

"Even stranger," Luke added quietly, "when I added a drop of his blood to a vial with human blood, it wasn't very effective at infecting the cells. And not only that, but a