Kelly gazed up at the sky thoughtfully. She didn't bother to camouflage her glowing red eyes, but none of us were hiding our eyes either. There was no need. Travis was silent as he also contemplated what I had told him.

About the only thing I hadn't told them was Daniel's inability to see at night. I counted that as his secret. I didn't spill my secrets to him about how I masked my scent trail or otherwise tricked him when he tried to track me. I classified that as a Nightstalker secret.

Kelly spoke slowly as she examined the small stars that twinkled through gaps in the tree canopy, "I honestly don't think I would want to be human again."

I shrugged, "That is why I am still a Nightstalker. I really like having the extra strength and speed, not to mention how fast I heal."

I had spoken at length about the cure and the controlex, so they knew all of the details. Travis watched his sister, "I agree with you Kelly. I know I wouldn't want to be human again, although I think things might be easier if I could get near humans without having to run away in fear of losing control."

His control around humans had always caused him a lot of difficulty. For some reason it affected him more than other Nightstalkers and caused him no end of grief. Kelly didn't seem overly surprised, "You are thinking of getting the controlex?"

"I think so. What are your thoughts?"

I was silent as I listened to them. Kelly considered it for some time, "Considering it didn't really have any negative effects, it does seem to be more beneficial than harmful. We won't have to worry about food at any rate."

Like most sane Nightstalkers, these two traveled with the bare minimum of supplies such as cooking implements and relied on raiding stores that were getting emptier and emptier. Not having to worry about your next meal would be a relief for them. Hunting was pretty easy and normally quite reliable.

We had also discussed Luke's rabbit shed as well as other domestic animals that a Nightstalker could get fairly close to. These two really weren't the farming type though. Luke loved it, but it wasn't for everyone.

Kelly looked at me, "It seems as if you have no real plans to leave this place even though they now have a cure and a decent vaccine."

I sighed heavily at her question, "I really have no idea about what I plan to do, but I don't see any real reason to leave. I never was one for traveling, which is why I settled down in that cabin in the first place. I just don't see any real point in returning there now."

In truth, I was completely undecided and was just going along for the ride at this point. Kelly nodded in understanding, "I can see that. At least you have people to talk to here. I would probably be quite lonely if Travis wasn't around. We never could figure out how you lived in that remote place by yourself even if you are a Nightstalker."

I really didn't have an answer to that. Travis shrugged as he dismissed the matter, "We have plenty of time to think about it. But I smell quite a few rabbits in the area and I doubt anyone would miss several of them."

I chuckled darkly, "Help yourself to as many rabbits as you want."

He grinned as he ducked under a tree branch and darted out of sight. Kelly perked up, "Hunting sounds good to me. Regroup in a bit?"

"Sure." I let Kelly get a head start before disappearing into the shadows myself. It didn't take me long to track down my rabbit and make my kill. The other two were probably either done or just finishing up.

I moved silently through the undergrowth as I circled the area to determine where they were. I knew they were likewise attempting to track each other as well as me. It was a game, of sorts. Like cat and mouse, only you could be either depending on your level of skill.

The controlex had boosted my nighttime instincts, so I had the edge over their instincts. That brought the field down to our personal skills. I wasn't too worried about Kelly, but Travis was a wicked tracker. So as long as I could keep him from getting behind me, I should do fairly well.

Right. As if I ever managed to lose Travis once he became determined to track me and located my trail... Nonetheless, I still tried to use plants and other tricks to break my trail, even as I had with Daniel. I kept my ears and eyes peeled for company. Both of them were in the immediate area after all. I was trying to evade them even as I tried to sneak up behind them to ambush them.

I found Kelly's trail once more and went to the side before following it from a distance. She would notice if I followed her trail while staying right on top of it. My instincts were high since they knew I was attempting to set up an ambush while trying to avoid two who were trying to hunt me down.

I finally spotted Kelly moving slowly ahead of me. She was well hidden, but not hidden well enough to avoid my keen senses. I carefully scanned the area around her. It was not unusual for Travis to wait nearby to see if I would go after Kelly since it would also give him a perfect opening to take me by surprise.

I bared my teeth as I spotted the nearly motionless man. Even with my nightsight, he was almost impossible to spot in the dense undergrowth. I slowly began to make my way around so I could sneak up behind him.

I had to keep an eye on both Kelly and Travis in case they decided to separate in their pursuit of me. Just a bit closer... I moved each foot carefully, watching for anything that might possibly give me away.

I snarled playfully as I lunged at Travis' back. He jumped in surprise and started to whirl around, but I hit his side before he could face me. His instinctive snarl also split the night as it became our turn to end up in the leaf litter in a wrestling match.

Travis wasn't much bigger than the average man, but he was marginally stronger than me. I just had the element of surprise on my side. I tried to pin him several times, but he managed to break free using various tricks. He attempted to pin me, but I blocked him as well.

A second snarl informed me that Kelly had no qualms about making this a two on one match. I am so screwed... My reflexes were no match against two Nightstalkers and I had known that they would join forces during this round.

It took mere seconds for both of them to manage to pin me. I growled faintly as I stilled. They let me up with victorious grins plastered across their faces. I shook myself off and narrowed my eyes at them, "That was cheating."

Kelly smirked at me, "No, that is survival of the fittest."

"You wouldn't fare so well one on one." If I caught her by surprise, I could usually win such matches against her. Occasionally she got lucky though. Kelly snorted and took a deep breath before releasing a true Nightstalker cry into the night to proclaim her victory.

Travis wasn't about to let her be the only to brag and he let out his own call ring out. The loud shrill noises hurt my ears, but I pushed that discomfort aside. My already-elevated instincts surged at their cries, this was my territory and they had cheated. My own cry pierced the night as I refused to admit defeat. It is a good thing that I warned the Stronghold that there would be some noise... The sentries certainly won't doze off at any rate.

Travis gave me an odd look, "You said your call had changed, but I kind of forgot about that detail until now."

Kelly took a step closer and peered at me, "That was kind of creepy. My instincts were all triumphant and the instant you screamed they suddenly backed off. It was almost as if they recognized that this was your turf. I have never felt them do that before."

I shrugged, "The controlex caused it. All I can think of is that my call changed because my instincts are much higher than they used to be."

I rarely called much. It just never really interested me and I didn't like giving away my location in such a fashion. Kelly tilted her head as she examined her instincts, "That might be it."

Travis commented, "I was pretty sure that no feral Nightstalkers were around and this also proves it since none answered."

I raised an eyebrow in amusement, "You think a feral Nightstalker would come this far into a Terror's territory? That isn't counting the fact that my scent is scattered all over as well."

"If the wind was right and they scented the humans, nothing would stop a feral except for a direct attack."

I conceded that point to him, "True enough."

Travis shook himself off lightly to dismiss the matter. "Will the locals have any issues with us sticking around for a bit? We won't go near the Stronghold. I am interested in the controlex, but I want some time to think about it. I can't see us staying more than a week or so since both of us like traveling, but we will definitely stop by whenever we pass through the area if no one minds."

"They won't mind. They seem to like having sane zombies around. Planning on staying in that cave to the north?"

He shook his head, "I think I want to try that really small one near the border. I don't feel comfortable trying to sleep with that Terror around unless I know he can't get in easily. That narrow entrance won't be quick to crawl through."

I chuckled, "He won't even attempt it since he doesn't like tight spaces or small caves."

"That reassures me even more."

I tilted my head as I examined Travis, "Will you even fit into that tunnel?"

The tunnel had looked pretty narrow the one time I had glanced into the entrance. I had no idea how big it might be further inside. Travis bared his teeth at my slight challenge, "If you traveled more often, then you would know that Nightstalkers can get into some very tight spots."

I snorted in amusement, "I will take your word for it."

I had never needed to take shelter in a cave since I had mostly remained at my cabin. Rain storms may not bother me, but attempting to sleep outside under the stars was likely not going to happen and even if it did, the exposed location would not allow a decent sleep.

Kelly started jogging, "Let's go check it out!"

Travis and I followed her as we moved through the forest like the deadly predators that we were.

It took us about half an hour to get over there. Kelly crouched down to peer into the tunnel before crawling inside. She was smaller than her brother so she was first to check it out. I glanced at the shadowy forest while waiting for Kelly to reappear.

She looked far too comfortable squirming out of that small entrance. She brushed herself off as she stood up, "Once you go around that bend, it gets much bigger. There are three larger caves further in. One is so big that I can't touch the ceiling."

Travis nodded, "That is good." He glanced to the east, "We still have half the night to do as we please. What do you usually do at night?"

"I normally help patrol and keep an eye out for feral ranked zombies, but considering that you probably don't want Daniel to know where you are staying, we should probably leave a few false scent trails near the other cave as well."

Travis narrowed his eyes, "I would rather that he has no clue where we may be sleeping."

I bared my teeth as something occurred to me, "In that case, I have a few ideas. Let's go."

I turned to head back into the forest as the other two swiftly followed me.

~

Daniel sat down with his plate of food as he looked across the table at me, "What on earth did you do out there last night?"

Nicky yawned and seemed disinterested, although Nina's intrigued look showed that Daniel's question had caught her attention.

I shrugged as I pretended to not know the real reason behind his question, "We wrestled a bit, then we had a screaming contest, although you probably heard most of that one. After that, we hunted a bit before having a few games of hide and go seek."

Daniel made a face, "From the trails you left, I think you three ran down every road and along every major trail. And what on earth did you do along the border line? The smell of Nightstalker was so strong that I had to breathe through my mouth."

I chuckled darkly, "They wanted to make sure that anyone passing through knew that they had stopped by."

There were ways to weaken one's scent, but there other ways to make that same scent far more potent. The three of us had decided that he wouldn't be able to figure out which scent was more recent since he would have no idea which trails had the amplified scent, which ones were unaltered, and which trails had been somewhat masked.

Luke inquired, "Are they still around or did they keep on traveling after your visit?"

I transferred my gaze to Luke, "They are around and will probably remain in the area for a few more days." I gave Daniel a pointed look, "They did ask that you two not try to discover where they are staying. If you want to talk with them, we plan to meet again this evening."

Nina looked quite excited, "I would love to meet them."

Logan looked faintly worried. I could understand his concern, Daniel could possibly be outmatched by two Nightstalkers, especially if they were heavily armed. I had expected Nina's reaction though.

I gave her a level look, "They are willing to talk with you, but the one has problems with bloodlust. Any humans that tag along are going to have to cloak their scent as best they can. That means a shower with scented soaps and shampoos, clean clothes, and you will have to rub on that herb mixture that I gave Nicky when we were traveling with Luke. You should also share that perfume with anyone who comes."

Nina eagerly nodded in acceptance of my terms, "Of course."

This lady was far too enthusiastic about getting to go and see zombies. I snorted, "Don't look so excited. These two have never been close to humans and they aren't exactly thrilled about testing their control. You can bring two vials of controlex since they may take those with them, but don't bother packing the cure."

Nina schooled her features so she didn't look like a kid before Halloween and nodded in a more diplomatic fashion, "Duly noted. Do we know what time they will be ready?"

I shrugged, "Probably just after supper."

Nina's eyes still betrayed her excitement. I refrained from sighing with effort. This could get very interesting...