This routine is going to get real old really fast... I helped to pack up in the dim predawn light. My instincts were only just starting to think about fading. That meant it was far too bloody early to be preparing for another long boring ride.

Day four had begun and we were all up early to leave with minimal fanfare. Our planned route was slowly circling out from Ironwind. The places along main routes knew we were coming and happily accepted us. Other places had no such head's up and were understandably suspicious. Most loosened up as they spoke with us.

All had heard the rumors of Ironwind and of the sane zombie there which helped our case immensely. Most places had at least one infected person, although a couple had been clean. We had still left the cure in each location with instructions on its use as well as precautions to take during the wave.

I thought that they would have been more suspicious about letting Nina inject them with a mystery drug, but most of the infected admitted that they had noticed that some animals, particularly cats, had started to avoid their close presence.

Only a handful of people were up at this time and we ate leftovers from supper as breakfast. Well, I simply watched them eat.

The old man watched us getting ready to leave with a mournful expression, "Are you sure you don't want to stay a few days?"

Nina smiled gently at him, "Your hospitality has been excellent, but we have to visit more Strongholds to spread out the cure."

He nodded reluctantly, "Always feel free to return."

"Thank you."

Daniel started the truck and the man took that as his cue to stand back so we could leave. I leaned against the tailgate and watched the stars slowly disappear.

Nina groaned from the front seat and looked over her large notepad, "Why isn't this making sense? I know that there is no way that this final number is correct..."

I could see about half of the long column of numbers she had jotted down on the graph paper from my seat. I tilted my head, "Can you hold that up a bit higher?"

Nina glanced out the back window at me in surprise, but raised it up so I could see the bottom half of the page. The mistakes were easy for me to spot. My eyes had been trained for this sort of proofing.

"Whatever FT1397 and DG0121 are, they are listed twice. EN0032 has the numbers in the wrong column since it only has one number after the decimal, not two after the decimal like the rest do."

That comment earned me three startled looks. Nina swiftly scanned the page and exclaimed, "You're right. No wonder my numbers weren't even semi-possible." She lifted her head to look at me in burning curiosity, "How did you spot that so fast?"

"I used to be the assistant to an accountant. He was well known for his refusal to do anything shady. Most businesses wanted him to do their taxes to look more reputable to the small community and to the government. To enforce that image, he always had me check the numbers to ensure that companies didn't try to claim more than what they had actually spent. He even won some sort of big accountant award for his thoroughness. He helped everyone claim as much as they could, but sent cheaters packing."

Nina's eyes took on that familiar light as the interrogator in her woke to life once more, "Really? That is quite fascinating."

I decided to get the spotlight off of me as swiftly as possible, "Hey Nicky, what did you do before the zombies appeared?"

She was laying on her back watching the clouds. She turned to me with a grin, "I didn't need a job. I had my hands full just trying to keep all of my counselors and psychiatrists on their toes."

Why did I even bother asking... Nina gazed down at Nicky through the open window, "If you don't mind me asking, you never made it sound as if you were strapped for cash."

Nicky snorted, "Money was never an issue. My Mother ensured that my bank account was always packed full of that electronic green stuff, but she was too stuck up on her high horse to ever be seen in public with me. I only ever got to see her a couple of times a year. She was a model and an actor, but I think only a few people knew that she even had a daughter."

I felt bad for Nicky. My parents had been taken from me, but hers had clearly not wanted her. Nina looked sympathetic and even Daniel was quiet. Nicky turned to look at the back of Daniel's head, "And what did you do Daniel? If you say that you were a janitor, then I am going to laugh."

He moved the rearview mirror so he could see her prone form in the truck box, "I was actually a security guard for a small company. Worked there for years, but I only escorted two people out of the place during all of that time. The insurance company wanted a security guard around due to some safety deposit boxes on site."

I raised an eyebrow, "You were a security guard and you didn't know how to use a knife?"

His eyes met mine in the mirror, "I had a baton, mace, and a small handgun. I only ever used them in practice. It was a very small company with elderly clients."

Nicky mused, "I guess that explains the guard dog act. Security guards do have some bodyguard training too, right?"

Daniel nodded in surprise at her knowledge, "Some, but I had just started classes to upgrade to an escort or a lower end bodyguard."

That explained a lot about Daniel's behavior with Nina. I inquired, "So you decided to become Nina's bodyguard?"

Daniel looked startled, "How did you figure that out?"

I continued to examine him, "I connected a few dots along the way." I was not about the mention the guard dog act while I might be able to get more information out of him. He usually didn't talk much about himself and anything that resembled an insult would end this information session.

He shook his head, "Well, you are correct. I made a deal with Nina shortly after I turned that I would be her bodyguard as long as she didn't stop her research for a cure or vaccine."

Nina nodded, "I readily agreed since there are always people who would rather force scientists to focus on weapons of war instead of looking for things that benefit society. Most people wouldn't consider trying to fight a Terror."

I thought for a while longer and my own instincts pointed out a few things that stood out, "Daniel, how much of your bodyguard act is from your training and how much of it is influenced by your instincts?"

Daniel remained silent although he now wore an astonished look. Nina was looking back at me in curiosity, "What do you mean?"

I ignored her question as I continued to watch Daniel. Nina glanced between Daniel and me, "Daniel, do you know what she is talking about?"

Daniel glanced at me in the mirror and I was surprised to see that he looked somewhat shocked. He responded slowly and almost reluctantly to Nina's question, "I am very surprised that she noticed it. I wasn't even entirely sure if it was just a figment of my imagination."

Nina gently prodded, "I don't understand..."

Daniel exhaled gustily as he reluctantly continued, "When we first started traveling together my role as a bodyguard was just that, a bodyguard concerned mostly with physical well-being. As the weeks went by, it slowly changed as our friendship built. At one point I even wondered if it was love, but zombies really don't feel that sort of attraction, so that wasn't it. It had me confused, but it didn't affect anything."

He shook his head as he got back on track, "Months later if anyone threatened you, I would get angry and I put the reaction down as our strong friendship. It wasn't until quite recently that I thought it might be connected to my instincts." His eyes traveled to mine, "But how did you make that connection?"

I took my time wording my response, "It didn't really cross my mind until now when I put your comments and past behavior together with something that Luke had said. As zombies, our emotions and our instincts are often quite closely linked. If Nina was threatened, you got mad and your instincts rose which caused you some control issues."

I took a deep breath, "But if I think about it, it was more that your instincts were also reacting to the threat toward Nina and not just toward your emotions. When it comes to just your emotions, you generally have no issues with control. Nightstalkers and Runner have their own quirks and we know that Terrors must have their own as well."

I shrugged as I tried to sum it up, "Your reactions were more instinctive and didn't seem to originate entirely from your humanity. Nightstalkers are well-known to be loners, but every sane one I met was loyal once we trusted one another. So, I assume that Terrors are also quite protective of those they trust completely and your instincts may be able to focus on the safety of a human instead of just yourself. It is as if your instincts handle a threat toward Nina about as well as they would to a threat toward you and your mind is already protective of her since she can't take the kind of hits or damage that you can."

The silence was only broken by the sound of the truck motor and tires hitting gravel and the occasional twig. Nina was rapidly scribbling this down. Daniel stared at the road as he compared my words to what he felt.

Sometime later Daniel looked in the mirror at me, "I think you may be right. But why would it be so much more pronounced the last few weeks?"

I considered it for a moment, but the answer was quite obvious to me, "I am pretty sure it is because you are more in tune with your instincts lately. Sure, you can override them easily, but if they take the side that your human mind is, you tend to let your instincts bolster your own reaction which causes your reaction to be stronger than usual. If your mind is at odds with your instincts, you tend to suppress them very well. You can understand your instincts more easily now, so you are noticing it more.

"Those pyromaniacs in the shed caught you off balance since you weren't expecting it and you weren't in tune enough with your instincts at that point to realize that half of your problem actually was your instincts and not just your own reaction. I also think that you didn't know how to redirect your anger at that point. When you found out Nina had been threatened the other day, you were a bit more in tune with your instincts and were expecting to have to work for control so you probably overrode your instincts and only had to deal with your own reaction."

I tilted my head and added thoughtfully, "I honestly think Luke is right. Terrors have a much easier time with control because they aren't quite as in tune with their instincts. It would explain why you have so few problems with control. It is just when your control is strained that you aren't accustomed to fighting for control and things get risky."

Daniel had a faraway look in his eyes and Nina was still furiously trying to get this onto paper before she forgot any of the details. I turned my gaze to contemplate the scenery as well as our latest discovery of a quirk that Terrors apparently had.