Diane sighed as she crossed another name off her list of leads of accepting locations. The sun was just barely peeking above the horizon. We always left the settlements before the sun rose. I was getting more and more confused with each place we stopped.

We had been to 14 settlements so far, most of which had a reputation for being fair and accommodating. All of them had turned us away the instant Diane told them about our glowing eyes. Often the leader refused even before Diane let her eyes glow. Some places we had stopped at during the day and simply kept going instead of spending the night.

I didn't understand why they were so scared of glowing eyes. Was it because in this new zombie infested world that the unknown was often dangerous? Okay, Diane was a fierce fighter, but they didn't know that. She hadn't so much as rested her hand on her dagger hilt. Perhaps it was our slight differences that set us apart.

I skipped along beside her. Being on the road didn't put a damper on my cheerfulness. To the contrary, I preferred to be traveling with Diane. We often decided what to do together. Even just the small things such as where we wanted to eat lunch or when.

It was much better than sitting with a bunch of strangers in a big dining hall and following the schedule that they dictated. It was still late spring, and winter was a long ways away, so it didn't even concern me yet. I looked up at Diane, "What is our next stop?"

"Out of all of the names we were given, there is only one place left. To be honest, it was the most recommended place. It is called Mountain Fort and it is supposedly north of the Rocky Mountains on the border of the Alberta and BC border, near a town called Grande Cache."

I tilted my head, "Why was it the most recommended?"

Diane's eyes glanced around in an unconscious surveillance check before answering, "This place has strict rules and everyone had to pull their own weight, but one thing stands out. The man in charge does not care about your past or what you may have done wrong previously. You are given six months to prove yourself and then you are in, unless you break the rules too badly."

I perked up, that did sound promising. "How far away is this place?"

"Quite far. We are just south of Edmonton right now, so we will have to travel west and north. It may take us a month, perhaps two. It is quite a remote place. There are a few settlements between here and there, but none were noted for being overly welcoming. What do you say we skip those ones and head to Mountain Fort?"

I nodded eagerly. Being turned away constantly both irritated and saddened Diane, although she tried not to let it show. She was so kind and caring, it wasn't fair for her to have to go through that time and time again.

She grinned, "Now all we have to do is find this place. That is easier said than done considering that one patch of highway looks a lot like another patch without signs. People know its general location, but no one had exact directions."

I giggled, "So we jog!" As if either of us was scared of exercise...

Diane started laughing, "Indeed, so we will jog!"

It had been two months since I was bitten. The past few weeks had seen my abilities improve by leaps and bounds. I rarely ever felt tired, even though I moved almost all day long. My eyes truly glowed at night now, a weak glow that was much dimmer than Diane's, but it was still a glow and not a glimmer. The blue-tinted view of the night forest fascinated me whenever we went out at night. I could feel the heat with strong emotion or if I pushed myself too hard, but I still couldn't control it yet.

I bolted off in one direction, "Last one to that apple tree is a rotten egg!"

I moved my feet as fast as possible and felt the heat in my blood shift as it helped me run even faster. It didn't burn at this low level anymore. Diane passed me and I could see her eyes shimmering faintly as she used the heat in her own blood to beat me.

She slapped the tree's bark as she turned back with a grin, "So you were saying?"

I spun in a circle and giggled, "I was saying that this is a good place to stop for lunch!"

Her teeth flashed in a wide smile as she laughed and pulled off her backpack to dig out the food. After a quick lunch of flatbread and smoked fish we continued down the road. This one should lead to the main highway we would have to follow for most of our journey.

We found a large highway, but we wouldn't know for sure if it was the right one until we found a sign, if there were any even left standing. I often went into the ditch to look at some flower or admire a butterfly. Diane kept an eye on me, but didn't venture off of the shoulder of the road as we continued west.

Closer to the evening I peered ahead, "Is that a sign up ahead?"

Diane nodded, "Yes, it is."

That was the first sign I had ever seen that hadn't been cut down. The big green highway sign stood out, even in the distance. I started running down the road, eager to see what it said. Diane matched her pace to mine.

I came to a stop in front of the sign. I read the names of the towns ahead. And read them again. I burst out laughing, I couldn't help it. The names of the towns were just too funny. Carrot Creek, Entrance, Foothills, Shining Bank, Mountain Park, Blue River...

I glanced back to see Diane scratching her head with a disbelieving expression on her face. That was too much for me. I dropped to ground and rolled around while laughing. It was just too hilarious. Those were actually the names of towns from before the Collapse.

Diane shook her head, "Well, I am not sure what they were smoking when they named those towns, but you are certainly not getting any of it."

That set me off again. Diane joined in my laughter, accepting the hilarity of it. At this point, there was no way I could possibly stand. I even had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. I wasn't sure I had ever laughed this hard in my life.

Diane eventually pulled me to my feet once I caught my breath. We grinned at each other before we continued jogging down the road, although I kept snickering at the memory of the sign.

   I woke as Diane descended from the tree. Heartfire hearing meant that I heard almost everything nearby. I stretched in my hammock. Now that I was awake, I was full of energy. There was no warning heat yet, but I preferred to prevent it from ever appearing. I had no desire to go through the pain I had seen Diane go through twice.

I glanced at the tiny keychain clock that swung on my backpack. It was 4am, about our usual time to wake up on the road. Our usual routine was to wake up at 4am, start the fire and go for a good run. Diane would leave me at the campsite while she went for a hard run at speeds I still couldn't hit.

Come nighttime, we usually ran from 9 until 10 before going to bed. Well, I went to bed while Diane ran for longer. Neither of us needed a midnight run with this schedule, which was nice. It suited both of us, and I really enjoyed our carefree travels. Even dodging the occasional zombie was easy since we could jog most of the day.

We came back from our run and had a nice breakfast of greens and fish. Once we had cleaned the dishes, I put out the fire and stirred it up to ensure it was properly out. We resumed our jog along the highway. We ran on the soft grass on the shoulder of the highway since it was easier on our legs than running on the cement.

I pointed to a pile of boulders by the treeline, "How about we have lunch over there?"

Diane glanced over and altered her path to head towards the rocks, "It looks like a good spot. There is enough rock to ensure that our fire doesn't get loose."

With so many spruce and pine trees around, we had to be really careful with our cooking fires. Diane went to pick out a spot for a quick campfire while I went to investigate a nearby creek. I pulled my long shorts above my knees to keep from getting them wet.

My scar had never faded and the silvery mark was still on the back of my leg. The bumps had smoothed out and disappeared, but the color remained. It wasn't that noticeable, but if someone thought hard they may realize it was actually a bite mark.

I dug around a large rock and my hand encountered a smooth surface. I pulled it out with a grin and inspected the large clam. It had been a really long time since I had clams... I pulled out my small collapsible bucket out of my backpack and put it inside.

By the time Diane had a fire going, I had collected a dozen big clams. I skipped over to her, "Look what I found!"

I tilted the bucket so she could see it from where she was sitting on a rock. I made my eyes really big as I pleaded, "Can we have them for lunch? Please?"

She gazed at me for a moment, "Do you want them steamed, baked, or roasted?"

"Roasted in the coals please!" They were the best that way, cooked, but still nice and juicy. They didn't get that bad aftertaste or go slimy when done that way.

Diane tilted her head, "You realize that they will take about an hour to cook properly, right?

I nodded enthusiastically, "I will collect all the firewood we need."

Diane chuckled in good spirits, "Sure. Go grab some more firewood while I enlarge the firepit."

I darted off towards the trees. She only had a tiny fire the size of her hand at the moment to roast the flatbread she had made this morning, but she expanded the pit in the patch of the gravel she had found. The fire would have to burn for a while and then die down to coals for roasting.

I quickly brought back an armload of wood before going back for more. Diane wasn't overly concerned about time, she had just been teasing me and we both knew it. We were about a week away from that settlement and we had made good time so far.

Once I had a nice pile of wood for Diane, I went back to the creek to find more clams while the fire burnt down. Diane kept an eye on the fire, our surroundings, and me. I also kept an eye open, but the Heartfire made it easy. I spotted anything that moved, if I was looking in the right direction.

I took another dozen clams back to Diane and went back to play in the creek. Two dozen clams were more than enough for both of us. Diane would probably dry some for soup later. Some little fish darted around, and just for fun, I decided to see if I could catch them in my hands.

My increased speed let me catch a few gently in my hands before releasing them. They were quick and could turn on a dime though. The water made it hard as well, the fish wasn't exactly where it appeared to be. The fish were actually deeper than they looked.

A low whistle of warning made my head shoot up. Diane was staring at the highway where it disappeared around a bend. I tilted my head, but I didn't hear or see anything so I wasn't sure what Diane might want me to do. Did I run to her side or go hide in the trees?

Diane noticed my hesitation and motioned me to come to her. I quickly ran over, constantly peering in the direction her eyes had returned to. I even jumped up on a rock so my head was at her height. "I don't see anything..."

Diane nodded without looking away from the bend in the road, "I know I heard someone laughing, so there is likely a group coming up the highway. They may have come from that last crossroads and caught up since we have been here for a while now."

I didn't doubt her hearing. It was still better than mine. We had been here for well over an hour as the clams roasted and I goofed around in the creek. It had never occurred to me that someone would catch up from behind.

I jumped down from the rock and looked up at Diane, "What are we going to do?"

Diane tilted her head in consideration, "Well, we could hide in the trees until they passed us or outrun them. Or we could wait to see who it is, if it is a group of travelers or traders, they may know exactly where they are going, and since I only know that Mountain Fort is somewhere in this direction, we might have guides. Who knows, it might even be one of the Trader Groups from Wainwright Fort. Although if it is Dave, we might give him a heart attack."

The thought of surprising Dave put a huge grin on my face. He would probably fall off of his mount if he saw us in the middle of nowhere on foot. I really hoped it was Dave's Trading Group, "Then let's see who it is. We can always run into the forest and get away. They won't be able to keep up on foot and the terrain in the forest isn't good for horses."

Diane chuckled at my excitement, "We will likely be able to see them long before they spot us if we don't move much. They will be looking for others on the road, not people cooking lunch by the tree line."

I nodded enthusiastically before sitting on a low rock by the fire to watch the highway. Diane bent down to pull the clams away from the coals before sitting on a rock to watch as well. Last year's tall dry grass was mostly still standing and that would make it difficult to spot us unless they were really observant. The fire was just coals so there was no smoke, and the fire pit was so deep that even with no grass they wouldn't spot it.

I waited, hoping for a glimpse of the people I could now faintly hear. I really hoped it was Dave's group, it would be good to see them again. Hopefully they didn't have anyone else tagging along with them...