I watched as Ironwind Stronghold slowly came into view. For two weeks I had been impatient to get here so I could complete my promise and make myself scarce. Now I kind of wished that our road trip would have taken another two weeks just so I wouldn't have to go inside of that place.

The high chain link fence was at least four times my height as it surrounded the complex of buildings. It looked like they used telephone posts when they built the fence. Despite my protests, I was going to be going inside that place with this group.

I had been trying all morning to get out of it, but not a single person would take my side. They all agreed with Nina that I should recover before heading out on my own. Tom and Marissa had been silent, but after glancing at Daniel they didn't object to Nina's claims either.

I eyed up the tree line at the side of the road. Nina noticed my preoccupation and shook her head, "I don't care if you are a zombie, no one recovers from being shot five times in just four days. Honest, spending a couple of weeks here isn't going to kill you. You might even like it and decide to stay."

I had my doubts about that one. Several hundred humans and two zombies all crammed inside one fence? That is just asking for trouble. Hank slowed down as we approached the gate.

Several guards had noticed our approach and were waiting for us. I saw several guns and other weapons present. The men looked surprised and grinned when they spotted Daniel and Nina. "You made it back. We were starting to wonder if you got lost. Who are your friends?"

Nina smiled, "We had more than our fair share of vehicle problems. We came across some people on our way back."

He chuckled and waved the truck in, "Welcome to Ironwind Stronghold. Go on in, take your second left and then the first right."

Hank drove the truck slowly ahead as I watched the gate closing behind us. I didn't like how they clanged closed so ominously. Both Daniel and Nina were watching me. I didn't bother to remove my slightly irritable expression as I watched dozens of people going about various tasks.

Hank pulled up in front of the building that Nina directed him to. A big man who resembled a drill sergeant came out, "Hello Nina, so who did you bring us this time?"

Nina began introducing everyone, leaving me for last, "This is Trinity, she is just staying until she has healed. She is a Nightstalker, so don't be surprised if you see her going outside of the fence on a regular basis."

The man looked at me in surprise, but he wasn't scared. He shrugged, "As long as she doesn't come after me I ain't going to complain. I will get the others to help unpack and then show them the ropes. I assume you will give her the tour?"

Nina nodded, "Yes, she will be staying in the secondary building since it is smaller and has fewer people in it."

He didn't seem surprised as he nodded and turned to the rest of the group who were climbing off the truck. Nina waved me forward, "Come on Trinity, I will give you a slightly different tour. The secondary has private showers and a different setup, so most of the stuff he is going to show them won't interest you."

I carefully jumped off the opened truck tailgate. My leg twinged when I landed, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been the other day. The special attention I had been giving my leg meant that although it ached and hurt, it no longer felt like someone was twisting a nail in the wound.

Nina walked beside me as Daniel walked on her other side. She pointed to one building, "That is the secondary building. It has its own bathrooms and showers, courtesy of a cistern on top that we fill with a hand pump. You won't have to use the large communal facilities that most have to use."

That was good. I would refuse to use large communal shower rooms while getting gawked at by dozens of humans. I had bathed in a creek and occasionally warmed up water over the fire for months already. I didn't feel the cold as badly as humans so cold water in a river wasn't exactly a hardship. Nina pointed to the building beside it, "That is the main building. The mess hall is to the left and the rest is mostly offices and bedrooms."

She pointed out various garages and buildings as we walked down the paved street. Two men approached and waited politely for a break in the conversation. Once Nina looked at them the one spoke up, "Good afternoon Nina, can we borrow Daniel? We need help replacing the east gate and we can't lift it."

Nina glanced at Daniel as a silent question; he nodded and went with the two men. Nina continued our tour. I was surprised to see how much land was inside this fence. They had obviously expanded it several times to make room for new buildings and barns.

We walked past quite a few people and I got many curious looks. Word apparently spread faster in this place than wildfire. Less than ten minutes into the tour I heard whispering.

"She is actually a Nightstalker. I wouldn't have guessed from how she looks."

"I thought they couldn't come out during the daytime?"

"If it is just because they are light sensitive, then that could be why she is wearing sunglasses. I heard she is injured and she is just staying here until she heals enough to travel. I wonder how she got injured..."

I pretended that I didn't hear their soft whispering. I didn't appreciate being gawked at like a new animal in the menagerie. The tour wrapped up once we reached the fence. We turned to head back as three men came out of a nearby garage.

"Hey Nina, how is it going? This is the new Nightstalker, huh?"

Nina didn't seem overly surprised at how fast the news had traveled, "Things are going pretty well. Yes, this is Trinity."

My muscles tensed slightly as the heat rolled through my blood as I picked up their scent. I had met these men before. The man wasn't fazed by my presence as he stepped closer and clapped me companionably on the shoulder, "Nice to meet you. I am sure that we will get to know one another real well later on."

I picked up the meaning behind his words. They were the same words he had used last time. I backed up a step as I snarled viciously at him. It was a true warning snarl, not one of the halfhearted sound effects that reflected my state of mind.

Nina raised an eyebrow in a reprimand, "Don't you think that that snarl was a bit much for someone who was only trying to be friendly?"

My eyes never left the man as my vision took on a redder hue and my instincts raged behind my control. My voice was a growl, "This isn't the first time we have met and I know his exact opinion about zombies from the last time he tried to kill me."

The man's eyes widened in surprise as he took a step back and grabbed his knife handle. He gritted his teeth as he realized that I already knew his game. Nina's eyes narrowed as her eyes darted between the two of us rapidly.

The man drew his knife as he dropped into a crouch with an almost gleeful smile, "I heard that you are injured and I can see it in your movements. I also know that you are unarmed. You have no defenses at the moment. This will be a short fight."

I dropped into a crouch and pulled back my lips to show my teeth as a threat. It was all I could do to not attack this man. My instincts knew that he was threatening me and he had seriously injured me in the distant past. At least he didn't have any guns this time. I growled again at him, "You won't win against a Nightstalker with just a knife. My fingernails count as weapons in a fight."

I spotted his two friends pulling out their weapons. One had a baseball bat, I didn't dare get close to him. It wouldn't take much of a blow to my head to knock me out with my still healing head injury. As much as I hated to admit it, three armed men against one injured Nightstalker was a fight that I was not going to win. Anyone who passed by would automatically assume that the zombie was the bad guy and attack me as well.

He grinned savagely at me, "Well, I guess I get a second shot at killing you then. I won't mess up this time."

My control was at its limit. If I tried to fight there was a good chance I would lose control and an even greater chance that I would lose this battle with my current injuries. The man took a step forward as he brought his knife into a fighting position. His friends started coming forward to join the fight.

With another snarl of thwarted rage, I turned and bolted. With a powerful jump I managed to get most of the way up the chain link fence. I felt a searing pain as the scab on my leg ripped open from the force of my jump. I heard the men running after me as Nina swore, "Shit!" before shouting in an urgent tone, "Daniel!"

I glanced back, but the men were chasing me and not going after her. Had they been, I would have returned to try and protect her. Not that I would have been much help. I managed to scale the fence and dropped to the ground on the other side with a grunt as pain lanced through my injuries. I took off at a run.