I wrinkled my nose. Even if we hadn't been told that this group was here, we would have known well before we reached the town. I hadn't realized how well the smell of the zombie infection carried if a larger group of infected people congregated together.

Movement drew my eyes up to the top of a three story apartment building. A man sat up there watching us. Glimpses here and there showed that others were also present and had seen or heard us coming. It looked like none of them even bothered to think that we would stop here.

I was kind of surprised that there were no zombies here despite the lack of a fence. The smell of their infection was not enough to stop a zombie from trying to turn them into lunch. They must have been luring them away somehow.

Daniel rolled to a stop near the middle of the small town. He had probably seen more people than I had. He got out of the truck before calling out in a loud voice, "We heard that there were infected people here. We are from Ironwind Stronghold and we have a cure with us."

Daniel's eyes were once more red to let others see what he truly was. I planned to just sit here like a lump on a log for as long as possible to avoid all of the upcoming drama. A few people cautiously emerged from the surrounding buildings. I could see others peeking out of windows in case it was a trap.

Nina got out of the truck and lowered the truck tailgate to form an impromptu table. I had been leaning on it so I shifted sideways so I could lean against the side of the truck instead.

"How do we know you can be trusted?"

Daniel looked at the man who had spoken, "I can't offer much hard evidence, but we have been to several places distributing the drugs as we prepare for the third wave. You can see by my eyes what I am. We have two different drugs here. One is a true cure and the other is a serum that will allow you to turn into a sane zombie."

One woman approached hesitantly, "I do recall hearing about a zombie in Ironwind and those eyes can't be faked. I would like the cure, but I have nothing to pay with."

Nina shook her head, "There is no cost. We are doing this to simply help people."

The infected woman nodded and came closer to Nina. Daniel remained near the front of the truck. Mere feet separated the human from me and I began to wonder if Nina's choice of table was deliberate. Against unarmed or poorly armed humans, my strength and speed were sufficient to stop any trouble before it got too carried away. They would also be watching Daniel or the men beside me instead of considering me as a larger threat.

Nina injected the cure, "This will take about six hours to fully work and after that you should be fine. You can try approaching a cat later on. Just wash up and change your clothing beforehand."

"Thank you." The woman backed away, but didn't go far as she watched others coming for the cure.

This group was more willing to allow the injection than many others had been. They knew that they were infected and had nothing to lose. One man with a face mask was sneezing while waiting in the growing line. I pretended to yawn to hide my mouth as I spoke quietly to Daniel, "That man just has the cold. Is there any point in wasting the cure?"

Daniel came closer to the man before taking a sniff, "Did you know that you actually aren't infected? You just have that cold that is going around."

The man had grown nervous with Daniel's approach, but just stared at him in disbelief now. He snapped out of his daze as he shook his head, "Are you sure?"

Daniel nodded, "Quite sure. You can get the cure if you want, but it won't stop your current sneezing since that is from the cold."

"I would still like to get it if possible..."

Daniel nodded and went to lean against the truck while watching as more and more people came out of buildings and down the street. The stream of people coming eventually stopped increasing as all were present. The last Stronghold had told us that there were about forty, but they had clearly miscounted. There were at least 80 people here as they counted down the last days of their lives.

One cured man sat on the steps of a nearby building, "I have no idea where to go now. My old home will not accept me back just in case I am still infected."

Nina looked up as she readied another needle, "If you have vehicles, you can head to Ironwind Stronghold. Tell them that we sent you. There is another sane zombie there that will probably double check to ensure that the cure worked. Once he clears you, they will accept you."

The man looked surprised and then hopeful, "I have a car, how can I get there?"

Daniel pulled out a map and went over to him. The man was uneasy, but didn't object as Daniel neared him to point out landmarks on the map. The two discussed the best route to get there as others hovered nearby eavesdropping.

It took Nina just over an hour to give each person their dose. John wiped the sweat off his forehead, "It is warm in the sun with no breeze."

Logan was seated where the cab mostly shielded him from the sun. Nicky had gotten out of the truck and was sitting on the ground in the shade that the truck cast. John looked at me in confusion as he realized that I wasn't sweating despite sitting in the full sun. I pretended that I didn't notice that he was looking at me.

Nina finished tidying up and looked around, "Is there anyone else? I will leave a couple of vials of cure just in case, but that is all I can spare at this location."

The man Daniel had been talking to came forward, "I can take those. I think I have talked with most of the people here. A few are going to head back to their original Stronghold, but most of us are going to travel together to Ironwind Stronghold. Can you possibly write a letter so they don't think we are bandits?"

Nina nodded and pulled out her notebook, "That is a good idea. Give me one minute."

Nina scribbled down a bunch of writing before tearing off the page and passing it to him, "Here. Also ask for Nic. You can also tell him that my favorite salad is strawberry salad, that way he will know that I was the one who sent you."

The man took it and carefully folded it before putting it in his front shirt pocket, "Thank you very much."

I raised an eyebrow at John and Logan, "They are going straight to Ironwind Stronghold if you want to skip five more days of traveling."

Logan shook his head, "I'll pass. We have a better chance of surviving a zombie attack than they do."

John looked at him in realization, "You're right. I never thought of that. I am sure that Luke can wait a few more days if it means my chances of getting there are increased."

So much for trying to give Logan that subtle nudge. John was Luke's brother and I was willing to tolerate him more due to that fact, but Logan still raised my suspicions. He had managed just fine by himself for weeks and he was worried about traveling two days with a larger group? Right.

Nina looked at the grateful crowd who had loosely circled our truck, "Unless someone needs something else, then we are continuing on to the next Stronghold to find and help more who are infected."

The man shook his head, "You have already helped us. Safe travels and we will see you at Ironwind Stronghold."

Nina nodded, "We will see you there."

She got into the truck, and I reached over to pull the tailgate up. I didn't move to sit against it yet, just in case someone tried to shoot us from behind. I wanted to be able to keep an eye on this oddball crowd until they were out of sight. Nicky climbed in the back as Daniel started the truck.

The crowd parted for us and silently watched us drive out of sight. They were an odd sight. Most were in dirty clothing and had come here to find others in the same situation. The company had given them some meager comfort as they waited for the third wave to strike. It had also forged bonds of friendship that ran as deep as their desperation and upcoming defeat.

A defeat and desperation that they had unexpectedly been freed from.

~

Nicky sat beside me as she spun her rubik's cube around and completed it once more. She passed it to me, "Jumble this up for me. I can solve it too easily when I do it."

With a sigh, I twisted the colorful little toy into a confusion of colored squares. I passed it back to her. She turned it around as she inspected the newly reset puzzle, "Hey Daniel, are we going to reach that next Stronghold before or after lunch?"

He replied, "We won't get to the next place until late afternoon. Are you getting hungry?"

After yesterday, his precaution was warranted. Nicky thought about it, "Not yet, but probably in another hour."

John was reading a book as Logan watched the scenery. Nina and Daniel occasionally spoke quietly to one another. It was a boring and quiet trip. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Daniel eventually pulled over so we could cook a warm meal for lunch. I leaned against the truck as I watched Nina build the fire. Nicky was preparing the soup as the men gathered firewood. Daniel disappeared for a while and I knew he was out hunting.

When he returned I could smell the faint traces of blood and could also see that he had doctored the wound on his arm again. Nina passed out the bowls of soup once it was ready. John watched her and seemed confused when she didn't even ask if I wanted any. He kept watching me as he ate, clearly mulling over what he had seen so far.

He finally spoke up, "You are a zombie, aren't you?"

I snorted lightly in amusement, "What gave me away?"

He considered it before replying, "The fact that you skipped all meals stood out the most, but part of it was your standoffish behavior. You act different than Daniel though, so I know you aren't a Terror. May I ask which rank you are?"

John was just as observant as his brother, although he had come to this conclusion more slowly than I would have expected. He had still beat Ben, Hank, Marissa, and the others though. "Nightstalker."

He nodded slowly, "That was why you were out most of the night."

"Correct."

John didn't ask any more questions and didn't seem confused now that he knew I was a zombie. He would probably attribute any odd behavior to me just being a zombie. I was kind of surprised how easily he accepted it without becoming nervous in my presence.

It didn't take long for them to finish and for us to hit the road once more.

~

"Heads up. Something isn't right at the Stronghold."

My head came up with Daniel's warning, but I couldn't even see the buildings yet. The others turned so they could see ahead, but they also craned their heads to no avail.

I took a deep breath before growling faintly in frustration, "We must be upwind since I am not even picking up the scent of the buildings. I can't see anything from here, what doesn't look right?"

"There are zombies staggering around inside the fence."

Logan narrowed his eyes, "That isn't good. They must have been overrun. The third wave isn't supposed to hit for another couple of days, right?"

Nina's eyes were fixed ahead, but she still responded, "In theory, the way the sneezing only lasts three days, after only two waves, it gives a six day window for the start of this wave. According to my calculations, we have at least 24 hours before the first possible cases show up."

I thought for a moment, "That doesn't take into consideration the fact that someone in the original wave might have received that flu vaccine earlier than it was supposed to be officially released."

Nina sighed, "True."

Daniel swerved to avoid several regular zombies as he continued to approach the fallen Stronghold. I could just see it in the distance now. The lights in the sentry posts were still on, so whatever had occurred had happened at night and not long enough ago for the batteries to run out of power.

I took a deep breath before a growl rattled my chest, "There is a feral Nightstalker somewhere around. Don't enter any dark places."

Nina glanced back in surprise, "Could it have attacked the Stronghold?"

"Probably. It was either an existing feral that showed up or someone infected with the sneezing strain had terrible luck at both turning early and losing control. I doubt he turned from a bite mark since he would have to have been bitten by a Nightstalker or Terror in order to turn into a Nightstalker."

Daniel commented, "Not enough damage for a Terror."

I nodded in agreement, "Very true. There may be survivors depending how long ago this happened. The other Strongholds hadn't known about this or they would have mentioned it."

Daniel kept driving closer. I kept a close watch out since I could now also smell a Runner. Daniel drove alongside the fence before stopping. He cupped his hands around his mouth before shouting, "Are there any survivors?"

He tilted his head as he listened hard. The rest of us were quiet. I gazed at the Stronghold. The fence was intact and it looked like all the zombies were trapped inside. The couple we had passed on the road had likely not originated from this place.

Zombies started to gather beside the fence while rattling the chain-link fencing. Daniel shook his head in frustration, "I can't hear anything, but these zombies are making a fair bit of noise."

I examined what I could see from my seat, "You could let Nina drive and go check it out for yourself. You are a zombie and should be able to pass through that crowd easily enough."

Nina looked back, "Why don't both of you go in?"

"Because there is a Runner around somewhere and considering I haven't chased one away from the truck so far this trip, we are about due for such an event. A chain-link fence will only slow a Runner down."

Logan joined the discussion, "My aim with my bow is decent. I can probably stop or at least slow a Runner as long as the truck doesn't completely stop."

Nina nodded in agreement, "That sounds like a plan. If we do run into trouble, we can call Daniel. He will hear us and he is fast enough to return. If there is anyone alive, then we have the best chance of finding them if both of you go in."

I huffed, but had no argument. The smell of humans was still strong enough that Daniel may not notice a fresher scent. Daniel looked at me, "Ready to go?"

"Fine." I was not looking forward to this. My sunglasses would confuse the zombies and I didn't feel like getting into a First Strike match.

I stood up and jumped out of the truck. Nina slid over into the driver seat and began slowly driving to circle the place before I could change my mind and climb back into the truck.

I shook my head, "Let's get this over with."

He nodded and turned to face the Stronghold that looked to be inhabited solely by zombies.