My radio woke me up. "Laura, could you please come up here and take over for a bit? I need a run."

I quickly got out of my hammock and climbed up the scaffolding. Diane's brilliantly glowing blue eyes watched me. She had been up all night watching those walking. Her glowing eyes had reassured those who couldn't really see where they were going in the dark. They knew that nothing dangerous was nearby.

She had only come down for bathroom breaks since lunchtime and the sun was getting ready to rise. The warning pain was probably getting pretty bad for her. I had never seen her this stationary since we met. She had been stretching and occasionally jogging on the spot up here, but that would only do so much for so long.

She nodded her thanks before climbing down. I peered into the darkness, I wasn't used to trying to see far away in the dark. The heat in my blood shifted and rose as the world suddenly appeared brighter. I was grateful for the Heartfire's aid. It was making my stint as a sentry much easier.

I watched the people below. Most looked more stiff than in pain. By the time the sun rose in a few hours, they should only have aches and no actual pain. Diane did a quick lap inside the palisade before climbing a ladder over the wall.

I couldn't see her for a bit as the logs blocked my view, then she appeared as she circled away from the palisade walls, slowly luring zombies away that had been attracted by our scent. Todd was starting breakfast below and about half of the fired people were awake as they slowly walked around.

They were exhausted, but still trying. We weren't going anywhere for a few days, so they could nap intermittently all day long. By the time noon rolled around, they would be able to sleep for 3 or 4 hours without having to get up. They would be stiff, but they shouldn't feel any actual pain.

I carefully turned as I inspected all directions. Other than a few crickets and fireflies, the last of the night was silent.

       I rode on top of the trailer. Everyone was riding at the moment. The sun was shining brightly and we were making excellent time. We were going too fast for anyone to attempt to run. Roland slowed down about every hour to let people jog or run. All of the bicycles had people pedalling just for exercise.

The six horses that Roland had kept were riding in a trailer since we were nearly traveling at legal highway speeds with the steam engines and solar. This speed burned through a ton of wood very inefficiently though, so we would be chopping lots of wood tonight.

Many eyes were showing glimpses of blue. It had been seven days and their eyes were beginning to change. A few who had worn glasses no longer wore them as their eyesight improved. Within days they would all be sporting the same bright blue eyes that Diane, Todd, and I did.

We no longer camped inside the settlements we visited. It was easier to remain outside, especially since everyone needed exercise before bed as a precaution. I looked ahead as I saw walls in the distance. That would be our next stop.

A couple of the larger men put on some arm guards and chest armour that a blacksmith had made them. It helped to discourage any theft. They had progressed past the basics with their weapons after all of Diane's training sessions. Most were now carrying daggers or swords.

We pulled up beside a side gate and the adults started hauling out the fences. I was too small to really help with that, so I went to hook the small chicken run up to the door on the chicken coop. No sense in letting the chickens get underfoot while we were trading.

It didn't take long for tables to be set up and filled with all manner of items and trade goods. They had lots of practice. Five trailers could hold a lot of stuff. Larger items like plows or wheelbarrows sat on the grass. People would talk to Roland about larger or unusual items that may still be in the trailers.

Diane nudged me and I followed her as she climbed to the top of a trailer. We sat and watched the trading below, primarily to keep an eye out for any theft in the first big rush. The bartering fascinated me. Money didn't really exist anymore, so they traded items. I had no idea how someone determined the worth of a beautifully tanned hide or a box of beef jerky.

I was surprised to see people happily trading their pork and beef for our smoked or salted deer and elk. We were getting about a quarter more meat than what we gave them. It took me a bit to realize that most people here likely had pigs and cows, but the locals were likely not that good with archery and without guns they were unable to take down the larger game animals. They welcomed the variety as much as we did.

I giggled as two women almost break into a fight over a small basket of fresh clams I had collected from a creek an hour ago. Brad broke it up by putting another basket on the table so they could each barter for one.

About half an hour later, someone else came up to take over our surveillance position. We went to explore the town. Diane spotted the playground and headed over so I could play with the three kids present. She sat on the sidelines and simply watched.

These kids knew how to play hopscotch. My coordination made it far too easy, but I was already making plans to torture Todd with a game like this once I altered it to something more challenging. Some locals came to invite us for lunch, so we joined them. They were eager for gossip and news from the places we had passed through.

Diane had left letters at the last town we had passed through. We had mentioned the letter chain to that location in our letters, so there was a good chance that a reply would be waiting there when we returned in a month. I was really looking forward to seeing if there were letters for us when we returned there.

Once lunch was over we explored the small town a bit more. This palisade wall had platforms on it and we went up to overlook the trader camp. The camp was right against the palisade wall and our added height let us see almost everything below.

Someone was trading a couple of goats for a plow. I was confused when the person accepted the trade. We never accepted live animals as trades. Our chickens were a recent addition and they didn't care if their coop was moving most of the day.

I pointed and spoke quietly, "Look at the rabbits."

Diane followed my gaze and looked equally as confused as I was. A lady was trying to trade ten half-grown meat rabbits. It looked like Amber was trying to trade to get more rabbits from what I could see. I could see chickens for eggs and goats for milk, but we often hunted rabbits in the forests without issue. Why would Amber want to haul rabbits around when there were so many wild ones running around?

My thoughts were interrupted by shouting in the distance. I craned my head, but was unable to see the commotion since it was around the corner of the palisade. People from both our group and the local town were jogging over to what all of the fuss was about. Diane remained leaning on the railing, so my curiosity would have to go unsatisfied for now.

The noise got closer and louder. A group of people rounded the corner. I stoop on my tiptoes to see better. I now saw that a small group of locals was actually following one of the traders in a semi-circle behind him. Diane narrowed her eyes and I took a closer look to see what had caught her attention.

I inhaled as I now saw blood on the trader's hands. It took me a few seconds to recall his name. Kyle was one of the men who had really wanted to learn knife fighting. If he started a fight, Diane was going to have his hide. That is if Roland left him standing after he was done with him. Roland did not tolerate troublemakers.

I could hear the locals making a fuss and shouting.

The locals had been the ones shouting.

"Don't let him in the fence!"

"Keep away from him!"

Roland approached the gate in the chain link and walked out of it before shouting, "What happened?"

The people were approaching the fence and didn't even have to shout to be heard now.

"Don't let him in! He got bit by a zombie!"

Huh? Diane had spent hours on zombie evasion on three different nights already. None of the traders should have had any trouble evading a zombie. Even worse, Kyle was not fired, so he wasn't immune to the zombie virus like so many in the trader group now were.

Roland was not fazed, "How was Kyle bitten? I thought you were showing him a canoe." He looked over his shoulder, "Kerry, the syringe please."

I saw Kerry run into the one trailer where we kept the cooler. She had elected to get fired the day after the others had so she was not at risk of turning into a zombie if she got some blood on her while tending a patient. She had nothing to fear from his blood since she couldn't get infected.

The group came to a stop in front of Roland. Kyle stood in front of Roland, although Kyle didn't look too worried, knowing that Kerry was bringing the syringe of Diane's glowing blood. The others formed a loose circle around him at a distance.

One younger guy who had been silent until now looked embarrassed, "A zombie somehow got into the shed it was stored in. I didn't see it and Kyle pushed me out of the way. He saved me, but the zombie managed to bite him."

Well, at least he didn't start a fistfight and get ambushed by a zombie. Diane had warned all of them that if they used what she taught them to pick fights, then she would be coming after them. I was glad that I had never picked fights with other kids. Diane was fair, but some lines were meant to never be crossed and this was clearly one of them.

Roland glanced at Kerry as she brushed by him to get to Kyle. People stared at the needle with its glowing silver contents as she injected it into his arm. She examined his hand, I could just barely see that he a small cut on his pinkie, probably from a zombie's teeth. If not for the zombie's saliva, it would have been a small injury. It hadn't even bled that much.

Kerry sprayed rubbing alcohol on it as Kyle winced and then wiped the injury clean before putting a large adhesive bandage over the small wound. Kerry patted him on the shoulder, "Go grab some water and get on one of those bikes until I come for you." She turned to Roland who was watching passively. She nodded professionally to him, "He will be right as rain in two days."

It was a good thing we had kept some of Diane's blood on hand. The vials held enough for three good sized doses, so I knew that there was more left if we needed it. Kerry turned and went back into the fence to dispose of the syringe. Kerry looked and acted like a professional nurse that was never fazed by anything. Her manner was intimidating some of the locals.

Other locals were still in shock that we had just allowed Kyle inside our fence. The one guy took an angry step forward, "He was bitten and you let him into the fence?! Are you mad?"

Roland frowned at him, "He may have been bitten, but he has a very low chance of turning since he got that injection right away. Even if he did turn, there are enough weapons and nets present to ensure that he would never get off of the ground."

The man looked at the traders and noticed their weapon. He hesitated, obviously realizing that weapons that could stop zombies could also harm him. He was starting to look confused as he also started processing Roland's words.

The young guy that Kyle had saved took a curious step forward, "What do you mean a low chance of turning? What was in that needle?" He had obviously been listening instead of flipping out like so many had been.

Roland looked at him, "A different virus. One that can usually destroy the zombie virus. He will be left to live the rest of his life with its somewhat inconvenient symptoms, but he will be alive. Are you still willing to trade for that canoe?"

The young guy looked stunned at what he had just heard and the lightning swift change of topics, "Uh, yeah. But the zombie is still in the shed."

Some days I realized just how much training I had. A couple dozen adults had no idea how to handle a zombie that was in a shed when it was quite clear that they had to lure it away. Roland scanned the camp while looking around.

I had a feeling I knew who he was looking for. A zombie had injured one of our group and a bunch of untrained people were in the area. It didn't take him long to spot us up on the palisade lookout.

"Diane, can you please accompany this gentleman to the shed? If the canoe is in good condition and watertight, please bring it back."

Diane nodded before descending the ladder. I followed her. We exited the side gate as we entered the trader camp. Diane grabbed her glaive from its hiding spot under a trailer before heading over to Roland. The locals looks startled as they saw all of her weapons.

Roland gestured for us to follow the young man, "Please go with him, I have more trades to oversee." Roland turned and went back into the fence. Others were left standing with confused looks on their faces.

Someone had been bitten, allowed inside the fence, received a needle with glowing stuff while being told he wasn't about to turn into a zombie. Now a woman bristling with weapons was going to chase a zombie and check out a canoe. And Roland was calm and unconcerned by all of this.

The locals had no idea how to react anymore.