The man pointed his gun toward me as I remained motionless. I could faintly hear Nina's muffled scream of protest and the grunts of the guy trying to restrain her desperate thrashing.

Click.

There is a certain look of complete disbelief when a person is so far gone up shit creek that they know they are about to go backward over a waterfall. This man was wearing that expression. I smirked and pulled the gun magazine out of my pocket and displayed it in my one hand, "Is this what you were looking for?"

The man froze. My instincts were raging behind my attempt at a cool and collected façade. This was the third time he had tried to kill me. I slowly dropped into a crouch with a low growl, "Three strikes and you are out."

I knew they were mostly watching my eyes since it was so dark out. I closed them as I launched forward. My eyes opened at the last second to ensure that my strike didn't miss. A shocked gasp was choked off into a gurgle as a sickening crack told the other two of the failed assassin's fate.

I slipped my sunglasses on once more so the last man couldn't see me as I backed up into the shadowy night once more. He didn't have a knife, but he was big enough that he didn't need a weapon to inflict serious harm. He had his back against the wall and retained his grip on Nina, knowing that she was his only chance of getting out of this alive.

I glanced over my shoulder and faintly growled as I noticed another person approaching. Company was the last thing I wanted at this precise moment. I began to wonder if one of the voices in Nicky's head had a magnetic attraction to any dangerous situation. It was bad enough to have Nina wandering around unsupervised and if Nicky was sleep walking, then I was going to tie her to the bed in the future.

The man also noticed her approach, "Hey, can you give me a hand over here?"

I suspected that he hoped that I would back off and leave if more people showed up. Nicky kept walking in this direction. She paused some distance from the guy and scratched her head with a sleepy and bemused expression, "Can I give you some tips on women?"

Her question was not what the man had expected, "Uh... Okay...."

He was stalling for time as he tried to figure who the lady was by her voice since he couldn't see her face clearly in the dark. I slunk into a low crouch as I carefully worked my way in closer as Nicky distracted the man.

Nicky yawned lazily, "For starters, women don't like to be silenced with a hand over their mouth like that. But we don't really need to speak to get our point across. You can tell a lot from a woman's hands. For example, if she is pointing a weapon at you, then she is probably angry."

The man was more confused now than before. My problem was getting Nina out of his hands without him harming her. The way he had his hand over her mouth, he could twist her head and damage the muscles in her neck or possibly even damage the spine. The last thing I wanted was for him to snap her neck.

The man glanced between the dark surroundings and the strange philosophical lady who seemed bored, "Huh? What weapon?"

Nicky dropped her face into her hand as if exasperated at the man's stupidity, "Oh boy. I was hoping for a battle of wits, but you, sir, appear to be completely unarmed."

I actually had to restrain a chuckle as the man just continued to stare at the redhead in complete disbelief. The fact that she had not run off screaming for help the moment she saw the situation was completely baffling the man. Her bizarre comments were not exactly helping him process anything either.

Nicky yawned again before shaking her head, "Okay, I would really rather be in bed since you are clearly no fun, so let's get to the point. What the hell are you doing with Nina and why is Trinity stalking you like that? You must have really pissed her off for her to do that."

The man gritted his teeth as he realized Nicky must know me to use my name so casually, "This woman got us kicked out of a Stronghold and that zombie will attack if I let her go."

Nicky snorted in disdain, "Woo hoo. You got kicked out of a Stronghold. I have been to quite a few on my own power. Get a frequent flyer's card and quit complaining. Besides, you did that to yourself. Even a simpleton would know better than to attack a guest."

"And how is that going to get me out of here alive?" His snarky tone made me curl my lip up, although he didn't know where I was. It did give me an idea though.

I silently backed up to a safer distance and lowered my glasses so he could tell where I was, "Considering you have not attacked me this time, I will give you a chance. Let Nina go unharmed and I will not retaliate or raise the alarm this time. I advise you to make miles though, Daniel is not going to be so forgiving."

He huffed, "You expect me to believe that?"

I snorted, "Use your head. You kill her, I kill you. You somehow manage to kill all three of us and Daniel will kill you. I am giving you the only chance at survival. Consider your options quickly because your time is rapidly running out. Daniel will come looking for Nina before too much longer."

The man hesitated before looking at me, "Swear upon your honor and your life." Really? A guy with no apparent honor demanding me to swear upon my own?

I didn't snort as I wanted to, but instead replied seriously as I stared him in the eyes, "Since you have not tried to actually harm me tonight, I will let you escape from this place as long as Nina is released unharmed. I will not raise an alarm and will only answer questions if someone comes to find me. Considering I am still sane, that shows that my humanity has triumphed where most have failed once infected. My honor is my own and can never be judged by another. My word is my word and I always keep my promises."

The man hesitated before slowly removing his hands from Nina and backing up. Nina ran toward us as soon as he let her go. I remained where I was as he kept backing away. Nina partially hid behind me as she rubbed her neck, "Thanks. That was a close one."

I glanced back at her, "And exactly what were you doing out here?" I wasn't impressed that I had to rescue her without prior notice. It would show in my tone.

She made a face, "All three bathrooms on the main floor were full and the people inside didn't sound as if they would be coming out anytime soon. Nor did I want to go inside after hearing some of those sounds. One person suggested the washroom out here. Those men must have set that up to try and get revenge."

I exhaled gustily, "Fine. Let's get you back before Daniel does come looking for you."

Nina glanced back, "What about the other two..." She trailed off knowing that they were dead.

I shrugged, "I will take care of them later." I turned to look at Nicky, "And just why are you out here?"

Nicky yawned again, "I saw a glimpse of your eyes glaring at something and knew that someone was in deep doo-doo. I figured that I had better come rescue whatever poor sap had pissed you off. I didn't know what was going on until I got closer."

I sighed and caught Nina's elbow as she tripped and started to fall. She automatically grabbed my arm to avoid falling. I disliked the contact, but allowed it since the smell of her blood would stand out if she skinned her knees. It was a small miracle that she hadn't managed to get a single scratch in that struggle.

"Thanks..." Nina wasn't sure how far she could go with me at night and she was off balance after her encounter with those men. Being unable to see me or the ground was not helping her either.

I used my other hand to pull a tiny penlight out of my backpack pocket and put my sunglasses on before turning the tiny light on. "Here. Keep it on you for the future."

Nicky looked sad, "Don't I get a present too?"

I was saved from responding as the main door to the building opened and light from Daniel's flashlight spilled across the yard. He blinked as he saw me and dimmed the light a bit as he also pointed it more toward the ground, "What are all of you doing out here?"

Nicky yawned again, "Women go to the bathroom in flocks. You really don't want to know."

He snorted in disbelief, "Nina left to use the washroom and I find you all outside. So, yes, I do want to know."

"Here is a clue then, the fact that there is a highway to hell and only a staircase to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic levels."

Nicky watched Daniel expectantly. He looked just as clueless as any rational person would be at this time of night when faced with such a bizarre comment and no background knowledge.

Sometimes her logic left a lot to the imagination, although I recognized the reference to the two dead people and where they had likely ended up. Daniel shook his head before focusing on Nina, "What is she rambling on about?"

Nina hesitated and glanced at me, recalling my promise that he would have a chance to escape. If she said anything, Daniel would have his hide within two minutes. Nicky rolled her eyes, "We went to play a game of whack the piñata and the guy in charge forgot to bring the stick. He went to get it, but we decided to skip the game. He was clearly several coins short of a change purse."

Nicky must be tired because her excuse was plainly a lie. Daniel looked at Nicky in disbelief and confusion. His eyes moved to glance between Nina and me as he waited for the proper translation.

Nicky sighed and walked forward to link her arm with Nina's, "Come on, let's go to bed. We can have a girl's slumber party. You can have Trinity's bed since she isn't about to use it and I am tired of sleeping where no one else can hear me snore."

Daniel watched with a rather baffled expression as Nina let Nicky drag her off without a complaint. He turned to me looking for answers. I shrugged, "Women. Nicky was giving advice to that poor guy on how to treat women and how to tell when they are upset. Little wonder he ran off. I am leaving before she returns to drag me back with her to continue that particular lecture."

I turned and walked off with silent footsteps. I glanced back when I was sure he could no longer see me. Daniel stood there wearing the puzzled look that many men have when women completely baffle them and they know that they will never understand what the hell just went down.

He glanced between the dark where I was hidden and toward the building a few times before shaking his head and heading over to Nicky's room. He opened the door and Nicky's peeved voice told the world that interrupting her sleep was not a smart move.

"What part of this is a girl's slumber party do you simply not understand?! Get your ass out of my room!"

Daniel ducked and a pillow sailed through the doorway. He snagged a second one out of the air as he went inside and closed the door behind him. If Nicky continued her verbal assault, I was too far away to hear it. I knew that Daniel would not listen to her, and if Nicky wasn't so dog tired, she would have known that attempting to order a zombie around was not going to get the intended results. Perhaps I should have put thumbtacks on that chair in the corner...