The staff in the kitchen had grown accustomed to my presence in the far corner. The odd breaks in conversation had almost entirely disappeared as they got better at avoiding anything leading to the subject of zombies.

I joined Nicky at the corner table for lunch. I didn't bother grabbing a plate since I wasn't hungry. The sight of Nina and Daniel entering the room had me restraining a growl. I should have known that avoiding them in this small place would be next to impossible. Nina grabbed a plate while Daniel skipped this meal and simply walked beside her.

The crowd gave him about as much room as they gave me. The general unwritten rule for the humans here seemed to be to allow at least an arm's length of room between themselves and zombies. I still couldn't figure out why he followed her like a close friend or a bodyguard.

Nicky had no luck in discovering anything about what these two did or even where they were during the day. The secrecy did not alleviate my suspicious nature any.

Predictably, Nina and Daniel sat at our table. I tried to shove my instincts lower to appear normal. Nina glanced at the empty table in front of me, "Not hungry?"

I shrugged, "I had a large breakfast and I tend to snack on berries when Nicky takes me out in the afternoon."

Her eyes moved to my head, "I see the scab on your head fell off."

I exhaled slowly, "My hairbrush caught it the other morning. Thankfully it didn't bleed."

She nodded, "That is good. I think I should check the others after lunch."

I wasn't sure whether to compare Nina to a mother hen or a nurse at this point in time. I shook my head, "No need. They are healing normally. Nothing looks out of place and this isn't the first time I have been shot."

Like any experienced nurse, she wanted to see the injury with her own eyes. Nina's voice was still kind, "There is no harm in me checking. Particularly that one on your back since you can't see it."

I was already known to be a stubborn patient, so they wouldn't think anything of my aversion of having people examine my wounds. My irritation was becoming more noticeable. "Thanks, but I will pass."

Daniel focused his eyes on me as they took on a redder hue. His warning growl rumbled loudly enough that I saw Nicky glance at him. My muscles tensed automatically as I focused on the Terror.

This was reminding me of our trip in the truck far too much for my liking. Only this time my escape wasn't as simple as jumping out of the back of a moving truck. His voice had a growl in the undertone, "She is only trying to help. She pulled the bullets out in the first place. The only other doctor in this place is a man, and I know you wouldn't even consider letting him check your injuries."

I growled faintly in frustration, but looked away as I conceded defeat. I was no match for a Terror even before I had been injured. Once more, I didn't have a choice. I could either give in gracefully or be forced into it. If I resisted too much, they would get suspicious. I had always tried to get out of letting anyone near my injuries in the past, so right now they were just blaming my reactions on my usual stubborn Nightstalker nature.

I reluctantly followed Nina to the small room. Daniel remained in the waiting room once more, possibly in case I gave Nina more difficulty. Nina raised her eyebrow and with a huff of irritation I slowly removed my shirt. There were no bandages on my chest, just the square ones on my leg and back.

Her eyes widened the second she got a look at my chest. The small injury by my collar bone was a pink scar and the skin around my other two scabs wasn't even red. She had obviously not expected this rate of healing. Truth be told, I hadn't healed this fast last time either.

Nina spoke in a soft shocked tone, "I can't believe how much these have closed up..." She came forward and gently touched the scar on my shoulder. She moved her hand to the apricot-sized scar over my heart. The corner on that one was slightly lifted. She carefully tried to push the raised edge down. With a barely audible crackling noise the scab came completely free and lay in her gloved hand.

She inhaled in surprise. The skin beneath was bright red and irritated, but it had completely closed over. She put the scab on the counter with slightly shaking hands. She turned to the remaining scab from the bullet that hit my lung. It wasn't as large as the one that had pierced my heart. Nina gently pushed on the scab and I growled lightly at her, "That one is still sore. It won't come loose for at least four or five days yet."

She nodded and left it alone. She moved to my leg and lifted up the leg on my shorts. Nina blinked as she noticed that this one still had an adhesive bandage over it. She carefully peeled it back. The wound on my leg may have healed a lot, but it still had quite a ways to go. The skin around the scab was irritated and red from how the scab pulled as I walked despite the fact that there was salve on it to keep it soft. In truth, it looked worse than it actually was.

Nina looked oddly reassured at the sight of the painful wound. She is probably relieved that my mobility is still hampered... I had done a lot of damage to it when I had run from this place on that first day. If it hadn't been for that incident, it would probably be at the same point as the other injuries. I gritted my teeth as she poked at it a bit before I moved my leg away from her. She glanced at me, but took the hint. The scab was quite clearly a long way away from falling off.

She put more salve on it and put a new bandage on it. I stilled as she moved behind my back. My instincts were screaming at me and the hair on the back of my neck rose as my fighting reactions were being triggered. Nina peeled the bandage off and paused for a moment. It had probably surprised her. I knew that that wound had healed by leaps and bounds with Nicky's help. It was even in better shape than my leg was.

"That flap of skin is lifting once more. I am afraid that I need to remove this scab again so it remains in contact with the rest of your skin."

That was not what I wanted to hear, even though it was probably the best course of action. I growled my distaste of that idea, "That hurt like hell last time. I don't care if it scars, just leave it. No one is going to see it."

Daniel growled from the other room, I was guessing that he didn't like how much I had been growling in here. Nina sighed, "Sorry, but it really has to be done. I didn't mean to hurt you last time. I think I see a bit of dirt or something as well, so I need to make sure that there isn't any more in the wound."

I shook my head fiercely, "My body will push any dirt or even bullets out as it heals. If you see it, it is because my body is rejecting it. It will continue to push it out."

My argument didn't deter her focus. "I know it won't get infected, but a clean wound still heals faster. The flap needs to be put back down. You know it needs to be done."

My muscles tensed as she started pulling up bits of the soft scab and trimming it. Nina sighed, "This piece of the scab is anchored right to the skin. It is going to hurt regardless of what I do. Do you want me to keep trying to slowly cut it free, or just yank it off? There is only a pea-sized section that I can't easily get free."

I did not want to sit here for another five minutes while she slowly tried to work it free. Each of those little tugs were slowly making the wound painful. I just wanted it over and done with. I growled faintly, "Just yank it off."

I didn't have to wait more than a few seconds for the hot fire of pain. I clenched my jaws with a deep growl that echoed throughout the room. It took all of my control not to turn and strike the one causing the pain.

I seriously debated about not allowing her to clean the wound again, but that would likely destroy any possibility of an escape. It was better if they thought I was still naïve. I could handle having a bit of the scab pulled off if it meant that my chances of successfully escaping were better. It wasn't as if this would be the first time she had collected my blood without me knowing. Besides, she had given me the option and the first one wouldn't have let any blood flow.

The immediate pain dulled to a throbbing as I took several deep breaths. I felt Nina moving something slightly cold against my back and I guessed that it was a vial to collect blood that flowed out from where that part of the scab had been.

Nina apologized, "Sorry, that was the worst of it. Just hang on a bit more so I clean it and get the bleeding stopped."

I gritted my teeth as I suppressed a low growl as she once more gently washed the wound. The injury was once more sore and my instincts were raging behind my control as they were fully aware that she had once more collected my blood.

My control was strained and my temper was unpredictable due to my enraged instincts. My anger built and my temper kindled as I waited for her to finish. A long minute later she had finished whatever she was doing and put a new bandage on. I swiftly put my shirt on and stormed to the door, throwing it open hard enough for it to bang against the wall. Just because I let her do it, didn't mean that it hadn't rubbed me completely the wrong way.

I didn't look back although I could smell Nina's sudden surprise and worry. I went the other way down the hallway to exit out the back door just to avoid passing by Daniel. I wouldn't be able to tolerate him in my current foul mood.

I headed straight for the gate, not willing to spend the time to track down Nicky. I doubted that I could bear her presence at the moment. My instincts were up and my walk was closer to a stalk. My posture clearly proclaimed me as a Nightstalker.