Nicky was going to bring a plate to me on the rooftop. I had not expected her to show up with Liz in tow. Liz ran over to give me a hug. I awkwardly returned it, I still failed to see why this child was always overjoyed to see me.

Nicky chuckled as she took a seat, "She really wanted to see you again and I knew you didn't mind her hanging around."

Liz looked up at me in excitement, "Nicky said that you helped her shoot her bow. Can you help me after supper?"

I sighed, but gave in, "Sure." It wasn't as if I had anything else to do and people would come up here once they had finished their supper. I wondered how many people here were going to have a heart attack when they saw a child walking with me.

We finished our supper before people started leaving the mess hall, so no one even saw us walk over to the archery area. There were actually bows for children here, which surprised me. Nicky grabbed a bow similar to what she had last time as she faced the target. I had Liz practicing a few lanes away, just in case Nicky's aim was worse than what I thought was possible.

It was almost peacefully quiet out here. Everyone was eating, so there weren't any people wandering around and talking, no one was banging around while working or anything. Just the twang of the bows and the three of us. The feeling surprised me and I examined it carefully as I helped Liz stand properly to fire the bow.

My instincts had retreated temporarily. This reminded me a tiny bit of when I had been traveling with just Marissa, Tom and the two kids. It reminded me more of my friendship with Kelly and Travis, although it was different than that as well since Kelly and Travis were Nightstalkers.

None of the humans I originally rescued had been a potential threat or suspicious of me. Some general irritation was still present and always would be since I was a Nightstalker, but I knew Nicky wouldn't harm me and Liz simply wasn't capable of it even if she tried – and I doubted she ever would considering how happy she was whenever she saw me.

Both accepted me for what I was and were also perfectly at ease with me. At the moment, I was about as relaxed as I could get in the presence of humans. It had been a long time since I had felt anything like companionship around humans. I didn't mind the feeling. Too bad it wouldn't last very long, I knew it would disappear the instant another human came into sight or hearing range.

I went down on one knee as I helped Liz aim her bow. Her close proximity burned my throat, but Daniel had been right, I was getting acclimatized to the constant smell of humans. I barely noticed it unless I thought about it. Even the usual bloodlust was barely bothering me, but that may be due to me hunting so much more than normal.

Nicky kept muttering as she shot arrow after arrow. She was at least hitting the target now. Liz was shooting at a much closer target. She wasn't bad, although she missed the target more often than not. She was only about seven years old, so it was to be expected. I remained on one knee beside her as I kept helping her nock the arrow before letting her fire it.

I glanced up as I heard footsteps approaching. Marissa was approaching and it was clear from her uneasy expression that she didn't like how close I was to Liz. She had done a very good job at avoiding me once we got to the Stronghold. I slowly got to my feet as she approached, the relaxed feeling gone.

Marissa called to Liz as she approached, "Liz, time for your bath."

Liz pouted, "But I don't usually have a bath until later."

She still obediently put her bow back in the shed and went to where Marissa was waiting. Marissa wasted no time in taking her hand and leading her away. My instincts stirred slightly and I looked around subtly while going to collect Liz's arrows.

The archery range was somewhat segregated from the other buildings, so someone would have to enter the archery field to be easily noticed. I spotted about thirty or so people lounging on a deck just past the side barriers. Judging from the disapproving expressions that they were watching Marissa with, they didn't appreciate Marissa collecting Liz.

I also recognized that particular bunch as the ones who spent every evening on the archery field. They had forfeited their normal evening entertainment to give me some space while I spent time with two of my previous travel companions. Considering we had been undisturbed for almost an hour, it gave me a glimpse at how far out of their way they were willing to go to convince me to stay here.

I put the arrows back in the proper holder in the shed while that creepy thought rolled through my mind. Under very different circumstances, I would have appreciated the gesture, but with this conspiracy afoot, it only served to put me on edge.

I left the shed while giving myself a mental shake and trying to settle my instincts. I watched Nicky take a few shots, "Well, at least you are hitting the target every time."

She glanced over with a chuckle, "Why don't you grab a bow? I am curious to see how many times you can hit the center of this obstinate target."

I stuck my hands in my pockets nonchalantly, "I'll pass. I haven't fired a bow since I was twelve. I probably wouldn't even hit the target."

Nicky fumbled her shot in her surprise. I watched as her arrow ended up much closer to the target in the second lane than the one she was supposed to be using. She blinked owlishly at me as she recovered, "What? But how did you know how to correct us?"

I smirked at her, "I watched someone teaching a class once. What I have shown you is about all I know."

"Here I thought you knew what you were doing!"

I bared my teeth in a grin as I turned to leave, "Nope. I am taking my leave, don't stay out too late in case you get rained on."

She sent me a thoroughly confused look, "There isn't a single cloud in the sky. How will I get rained on?"

I paused before I left the field, "Honest, it will rain before the sun sets. I can smell the thunderstorm on the wind."

I continued on my way. The group on the deck was glancing at the horizon, having overheard the last bit of our conversation. I headed for the secondary building. I glanced back before I went inside and noticed that the group on the deck was already on the archery field.

I headed for the showers on the main floor of the secondary building, it had been far too long since I had a proper bath or shower. I hadn't done more than just sponge myself down in case I opened up the scabs. They should have healed up enough to handle it by now.

It felt good to be clean. The long wraps of bandages resided in a plastic bag. They weren't needed any more. The scabs had set enough. The soap, shampoo and conditioner had burned if they touched the injury on my back. I carefully dried off and started brushing out my waist long hair.

It was easy enough to hold my hair near my neck and brush it out without bothering the scab above my ear. I carefully braided it back up before leaving the shower. The moment I opened the door to the hallway I was hit with Nina's scent. The door just down the hallway was open and Nina's head popped out.

I was beginning to feel like a celebrity with far too many stalkers.

Nina smiled, "There you are. I see that you got cleaned up. Let's go downstairs and I will put more salve on the scabs."

I tried to think of a way to gracefully back out of it without raising suspicion. Before I had the chance to even take a breath, the door beside Nina's room opened and Daniel leaned against the doorframe. He had the room right beside hers?

I wasn't aware that his room was also on the main floor, although it didn't overly surprise me since I rarely saw them apart. I should have guessed his room was on this floor from how strong his scent was in this hallway. I made a mental note to use the shower on the second floor next time. There wasn't any way to decline Nina's request with her guard dog present.

I exhaled slowly in resignation, "Sure."

Nina ignored my lack of enthusiasm as she led the way. Daniel went back into his room, which surprised me.

Nina once more examined and put salve on my scabs. Thankfully she didn't bother the one on my back. "They look like they are healing well. I will just keep checking them every few days to keep an eye on them and put on more salve." Check on them. Right... More like you are keeping tabs on how quickly they are healing so you know when I may make a break for it.

She grabbed a handful of square adhesive bandages and put them over the scabs instead of attempting to wrap me up like a mummy. She turned to put her gloves and stuff in the garbage. I swiftly grabbed a handful of the bandages with her unaware and stuffed them in my backpack before putting on my shirt.

I retreated to my room and locked the door before opening the window halfway. I sat on my bed and gazed out the window. I could see the thunderclouds building on the horizon. I smirked, I had known the storm was coming simply from the smell on the wind.

I took out a jar of rabbit blood and the syringe before carefully peeling back the square bandages on my chest and leg. I put most of it on my leg, but spread the rest between the other three injuries. I didn't touch the scab on my head. It was visible and the day that particular scab sloughed off, it would catch the attention of far too many people.

I watched people come and go as the evening progressed. The sky darkened both from the setting sun and from the rumbling thunderstorm. People were rapidly heading to whatever building their room was in, unwilling to be caught out in the storm. I didn't hear any interesting gossip as they headed for shelter.

I massaged my leg, it was still warm from the blood. It was a bit sore, although it was no longer truly painful. That was good. That meant that it was healing rapidly. I watched the storm roll in until the lightning started. Lightning was far too bright even with my sunglasses. I closed my eyes and listened to the rumbling tumult of thunder.