I watched the gate sentry open up the gate for me.

"Just call out as you approach so we know it is you. Are you sure you don't want to wait until morning?"

I chuckled dryly, "There is a reason kind are called Nightstalkers."

My comment did not do anything for the smell of unease and fear coming off of him and his companion. I walked out the gate and easily disappeared into the darkness since the light above the gate was rather pitiful. I had seen better porch lights.

For the lack of anything better to do, I circled the compound to learn the lay of the land as well as to ensure that nothing sinister lurked out here. The tension faded away as I wandered aimlessly through the dark forest. It had been a long day and the fact that it was just the first was not comforting.

I shook myself lightly before turning my nose to the wind. Too bad Luke hadn't been here. I guess he would have to wait to collect his mountain lion. I went in search of the big cat to claim it for myself.

It was drinking from a puddle and unaware of my presence. I left the trees and silently crept up behind it. It paused as it sniffed the air. I was close enough that it could pick up my scent even though there was no wind. Considering I was already standing beside its tail, it was far too unobservant to survive the night.

It started to turn its head and I launched myself at it. A loud crack marked the moment it instantly died. The blood was hot and welcoming after a vexing day. The heavier predator taste combined with the sweetness that the controlex had caused was an odd combination.

One perk of traveling was that I could kill larger or more uncommon animals each night without worrying about the local population since I would be in an entirely different area the next day. People rarely realized just how many animals were actually around.

I finished and was in a much better mood. I dragged the carcass to a nearby road and hung it from a tree. The locals would find it tomorrow morning since this was a main route for them. The marks on the neck showed that it was a sane zombie kill, so if they were brave enough to turn it into soup or jerky, then they had extra meat with no work. Or they could just take the hide. The choice was theirs.

I passed by the fence for a lack of anything better to do. This place didn't have much in the way of nighttime lighting and people clearly hid inside once the sun went down. There were two gates with a dim light each and that was it.

I paused and narrowed my eyes as my instincts roused even more, which was quite an impressive feat considering how high they already were since it was nighttime. Nina was walking toward a bathroom and three people were following at a distance. None of them were Daniel.

The chain link fence was more than twice my height, but my Nightstalker abilities allow me to get over the fence without a sound. I bared my teeth in silent anger as I picked up their scents. These were the same three who had tried to kill me when I first arrived at Ironwind. The very ones who had shot me almost half a year ago.

There was one gun present as well. I didn't see it, but I could smell it. I had thought that I had picked up their scent on our tour, but when I hadn't spotted them, I had assumed it was someone else with a similar scent.

I was an invisible shadow as I slipped around them. It didn't surprise me that the same trigger-happy idiot was the one with the gun. They spread out around the washroom in the darkness, clearly waiting in ambush for Nina. Too bad for them that the hunters so often become the hunted.

I carefully crept up behind the one with the gun. He had undone the safety strap so he could easily grab it if he needed to. He slowly crept up behind the washroom and I slinked in closer to him. My instincts wanted me to kill them all in silence. The controlex had no curbing effect on my instincts since it was a self-defense and vengeance reaction and had nothing to do with bloodlust.

I ignored the urge to kill them all. Killing them would lead to questions that I would rather not answer. As hard as it was, I resolved to be patient and see what was about to occur. I had to negate one danger though... I slowly and smoothly removed the gun from its holster with the man unaware. Nightstalker stealth made these three men look like bumbling idiots. They didn't even know that I was here.

I silently backed away before removing the magazine from the gun while also ensuring that there wasn't a bullet in the chamber. Good thing I checked, because there was one there. I pocketed the bullets and turned toward the oblivious man. This part was going to be harder.

The new moon barely shed any light as I crept back up beside the man and slipped the gun back into its proper place. The toilet within flushed with the dull glug of a toilet that used gravity to add and flush water. I disappeared once more into the shadows as I watched. Where the hell is Daniel? Since when does he let Nina wander around in the dark alone?

Daniel's absence bothered me, especially considering these three goons had somehow been ready to take advantage of this situation. There were bathrooms in the main hallway of the building, so why did she come to use this one? My instincts kept lining these details up and simply shrieking at them in suspicion like a paranoid dog.

My speed would be sufficient to take on these three humans since they had no working gun and I was not seriously injured. They weren't holding any weapons in their hands, although a few knives were visible. Immediate injury and death was not their goal, so I was willing to wait and see what was going on. Perhaps a few bruises will teach Nina to not wander around alone in the dark...

The door opened and Nina came out, clearly unaware that the shadows had eyes. Two men darted forward and pushed her against the wall while covering her mouth with their hands. My muscles tensed with the desire to attack, but I remained motionless. It was a good thing that my sunglasses prevented them from seeing my eyes since I was too worked up to control their color or their glow.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Not so tough without your guard dog to protect you, huh?"

Well, at least I wasn't the only one to compare Daniel to a guard dog. Nina tried to struggle, but they clearly had her pinned. She would likely have a few bruises, but I really needed to know why they were after her.

A second man gloated, "Did you think you could kick us out of Ironwind Stronghold without consequences? And you dared to use that zombie to back up your decree? You crossed a few lines by associating with the living dead. Your time has run out girly."

I moved in closer as their motive of revenge became clear. The one man drew his knife and held it up so the starlight dimly glinted along its length. I loosed a deep growl of warning while remaining motionless and invisible. They all jumped and glanced around wildly. Nina looked relieved, yet still frightened.

The man holding Nina held his knife tighter and turned back to her in a panic. I darted in as he tried to bring his knife up to her throat to use her as a hostage. None of them had brought flashlights and my body was a formless shape that darted in front of them and disappeared with the man wielding the knife. The snap of his neck in the darkness was the only sound heard apart from their frightened gasps.

I dropped his lifeless body on the ground with a thump and swiftly circled around to the other side since they were focused on where I had disappeared to. The second man managed to hang onto Nina and keep her mouth covered so she couldn't sound the alarm. I didn't bother considering raising an alarm. I didn't need backup or interference as I evened up the old grudges with this latest vexation.

The man with the gun pulled it and popped the safety as he kept his back to his friend and pointed the weapon toward the darkness. His wide eyes and fear-laden scent proclaimed that he now realized just how precarious his situation was. He gritted his teeth and pointed the gun toward Nina, "Show yourself zombie, or else I blow her brains out. Even your blood can't turn someone that fast to try and save them."

Nina had stilled with wide eyes. I decided to play along. I took off my sunglasses and slowly stalked out of the shadows where they had a better chance of seeing me. My instincts knew that I was setting up my own ambush and didn't protest that they could see my shadowy form.

The man saw my eyes and focused on me, "What do you want? Trying to save her?" He snorted in contempt, "Foolish. We could easily just kill her and frame you. Then that other zombie can kill you as he tries to get revenge."

I remained silent and let the man's own nerves rattle him. A gunshot would be loud and if both Nina and I were shot, the entire place would wake. Their belt knives were not adequate to quickly behead me, so it would only be a matter of time until I was back on my feet and hot on their trail. This tiny gang had not gotten this far alive by not realizing such details.

He pretended to be tough, "Don't tell me we are trying to negotiate with a mute. How pathetic."

My voice was low with a dangerous edge to it, "Don't mistake silence for weakness. Smart people don't make murder plans out loud." Unlike a certain recently deceased idiot about thirty feet off to the side...

They recognized my voice and inhaled in shock as their fear increased. How did they not know that I was the Nightstalker who had come with Nina? I thought that it would have been kind of obvious.

The one man murmured, "Shit, Caroline was right. There were two zombies."

Ah. They must have kept out of sight in case Daniel recognized them and ratted them out. They wouldn't have seen me then.

Too bad for them.