I kept ferrying wood until we had enough to last us all night. In the corner, Marissa tended the campfire and the pot of soup.

Ben walked to the edge of the roof and looked down as the sky started to darken. He looked back over his shoulder, "That fire and the smell of cooking isn't going to lure in too many zombies, right?"

I walked over to look around. No zombies were in sight. I took a deep breath to test the air, "There aren't any zombies upwind, but a few downwind may come. There shouldn't be too many in this area since it is pretty remote. Zombies prefer to congregate in larger towns and cities. You have to pull the main doors of this hotel to open them and they are made of wood, so the average zombie or Runner can't get in."

Hank came up behind us, "And if a Nightstalker comes?"

I chuckled darkly, "Nightstalkers don't appreciate company and I have one trick that should make any Nightstalker in the area keep their distance. It might scare the crap out of everyone here though."

Nicky came up as well, "Well, whatever it is, you better do it. I don't want a feral one to come to visit." She was a bit grouchy. The day's heat must have really taken a toll on her.

I grinned showing my teeth in a predatory grin, "You were warned. The noise you'll hear is me, so don't freak out. I will be back shortly."

I jumped off the roof again and headed for the trees in my smooth, running crouch. I paused in a clearing some distance away and looked up at the darkening sky. Most Nightstalkers gave their territorial scream as soon as they came out. The sun had halfway set, but it would be a couple of hours before any ferals came out.

The first Nightstalker to come out and scream generally claimed that hunting range. It was similar to the First Strike rule in a way. Although if one came close enough to scent the humans, the scream wouldn't stop it from hunting them. If they hadn't come close enough to smell the humans, then they would move further away.

I let my instincts come to the front of my mind and filled my lungs before loosing the signature cry of a Nightstalker. I had more or less claimed the town as mine for any Nightstalkers within hearing range. Hopefully none would come close enough to scent the humans. I headed back to the others and went through the front door before heading to the roof.

Nicky huffed as I took a chair, "What exactly did that accomplish?"

Yep. She wasn't in a good mood. Hopefully a good night's sleep would help her. Otherwise I might end up strangling her. I growled a light reprimand for her tone of voice, "That was a Nightstalker territorial scream. First one to scream generally gets their pick of a hunting range for that night. Any that heard it will avoid this area. I will probably repeat it again in the middle of the night for any that are wandering through."

My growl didn't faze her. She glowered at me, "That seems stupid."

Ben rolled his eyes at her, "If it works, that is all that matters. You are just crabby because it scared you so badly."

She turned her head to face him. I bet she was glaring at him from behind her sunglasses, "It did not scare me."

Ben chuckled, "Right, you jumped just as much as everyone else did." He turned to me, "I don't think any warning could have prepared us for that. Most of us jumped so high that we ended up standing instead of sitting."

I didn't bother replying. The last thing I needed was for Ben to get going on a roll. The sun had halfway set and the sunset seemed rather spectacular although I wasn't able to really look at it. "Soup's ready." Marissa handed everyone a bowl and there was more than enough for seconds. I didn't manage to finish the bowl I was handed and let Chloe finish it off. Animals were not affected by the virus.

Liz once more managed to escape Marissa and climbed into my lap. Marissa seemed to have given up trying to keep the child away from me. Liz was quite persistent when she wanted to be. Before long she dozed off on my lap.

"Hello to the camp!" I raised my head with a light growl of surprise at the unknown lady's voice. Hank and Nicky went over to the edge to see who was below. Ben raised his eyebrow at me and I shrugged as I quietly replied, "They came from downwind. Not much I can do."

The lady's voice called again, "We are unarmed. Our car broke down and we are looking for shelter."

Ben got up as well and went over to see. He called down, "If you mean us no harm, you are welcome to spend the night with us."

Nicky groaned and left the railing to flop on the chair beside me. I tilted my head at her, "How are you holding up?"

Her grouchy voice replied, "Just peachy." I rolled my eyes at her, but didn't comment.

Moments later two sets of shoes came up the stairs. A slender lady with long brown hair came through first. A well-built man followed her. I was lucky if I came up to his collarbone. He had short brown hair and while he wasn't overly muscled, he wasn't a lightweight either. The way he moved put me on edge.

The lady took a seat on the far side of the fire and the man sat beside her. She smiled, "I'm Nina and this is Daniel."

I stilled as I finally picked up the man's scent. It worried me. He had the same underlying scent that all zombies had. There was a crisp undertone to it though, so he wasn't a regular zombie, a Runner, or a Nightstalker. That left only one option. A Terror. Bloody hell... Can my luck possibly get any worse?

Ben once more did the talking for our group and introduced all of us. Nina's scent was clean with some sort of rather flowery perfume that almost completely obscured her scent. She was obviously a human, unlike her companion.

The Terror was keeping a close eye on Nicky and me. He had undoubtedly caught my scent and knew a female Nightstalker was present, but he didn't know if it was Nicky or me. Marissa's blue eyes immediately ruled her out while Nicky and I were still wearing our sunglasses.

He was mostly focused on Nicky, who was oblivious to his scrutiny. Her foul mood was more in keeping with a Nightstalker and I had an obviously human child on my lap. I hoped that she didn't get too mouthy, I wasn't a match for a Terror if she provoked him.

He was obviously in control though. He had enough control that his eyes were brown with a light orange tinge. In the low light, no one else would notice. Oddly enough, Chloe seemed oblivious to his presence from her napping spot in the far corner. Some guard dog she is.

Ben sharpened his knife, "What are you two doing out here?"

Nina seemed to be the talker with this pair, "We were heading to another Stronghold and our car broke down this morning. We smelled the smoke from your campfire and found you. Whatever you are cooking smells pretty good by the way."

Marissa filled two bowls and passed them to the newcomers who took them with thanks. Tom spoke up, "We are looking for a Stronghold, could you possibly give us directions or let us accompany you?"

Daniel didn't seem overly bothered by the thought of traveling with a group of strange humans. I had a suspicion that he was used to human company. Nina nodded, "Sure, we can guide you. Is there enough room in your vehicles for us?"

Ben sighed, "Our truck ran out of gas just up the road. We are stuck on foot too. We were hoping to find a working vehicle in this town come morning."

Nicky snorted, "We have had two trucks break down on us in two days. I tried to hotwire the three on the main street and all of them are out of gas. Luck isn't exactly on our side at this point."

The Terror had his eyes focused on Nicky with a calculating gaze. Ben sighed, "We haven't checked the garages yet, so there is hope. If we find something, or even if we don't, you are more than welcome to travel with us. There are six rooms downstairs, please help yourself to one."

Nina nodded, "Thank you."

I listened to Ben, Marissa, and Nina talk. The rest of us watched silently. Nicky occasionally grumbled to herself. Her mood was slowly worsening and she started glancing at the door to go back inside. I nudged her foot and very carefully controlled my voice lest it give me away, "You wanted that big room on the end, right? We can share it if you want. It is starting to cool off. Could you give me a hand getting a bed put together for Liz?"

She nodded and stood up. I followed her with Liz in my arms as we headed for the door. My instincts were starting to awaken as the last traces of light were fading. I felt both Nina and Daniel watching us. He must have scented me quite some distance away and had alerted Nina that a Nightstalker was present.

We entered the room Nicky had been eyeing up. She unrolled her sleeping bag with a kick. I closed the door behind us, "Keep your voice down, that guy is actually a zombie so he has excellent hearing."

She spun around with wide eyes, "Are you serious?!" Her hushed voice was startled and somewhat alarmed.

I nodded. She pulled her sunglasses off, "I thought that your cry would keep Nightstalkers at a distance, not call them in."

I growled lightly at her accusing tone, "That cry would only work on ferals, and only as long as they didn't smell a human. Besides, unless I am severely mistaken, he is a Terror."

She sat down hard on her sleeping bag, "Shit. I didn't even notice. How do you zombies blend in so easily?"

I shrugged, "We were human not that terribly long ago. On a side note, what is bothering you? You were grouchy enough that I think the Terror might have thought that you were actually the Nightstalker present. He would have known one of us was a Nightstalker simply by scent."

She sighed as she flopped on her back, "I think I got a bit of heat stroke today. How dangerous is that guy?"

I covered up Liz and sat on my own sleeping bag, "I am not entirely sure. He is in control, but I have never met a Terror before, so I am not sure what to expect. He will figure out that I am actually the Nightstalker as we travel tomorrow. Try not to antagonize him though."

She closed her eyes, "I'll keep that in mind."

She must have been more tired than she realized as her breathing leveled out in sleep. I chuckled as I stretched out on my own sleeping bag. I wasn't sure what to expect tomorrow. My instincts were rattled by the presence of a stronger zombie. I had never been outclassed before, and it made me unusually cautious.