I glanced up from my book as Nicky walked into the room. I sniffed the air in suspicion as I narrowed my eyes at her. Nicky scowled at me, "Yeah, yeah. Drop your bloodhound act. I know."

I sighed, "Who in their right mind gave you coffee?"

Nicky dropped into a chair, "I grabbed a cup at breakfast. What did you expect? I was up half the night, woke up in a dark and empty lab, which is super creepy by the way. This morning came far too early. I needed something to wake me up."

I sniffed the air again, "Just one cup?" I highly doubted her claim...

Nicky grumbled, "I lost count after the third."

I shook my head and turned my attention back to my book. I had forgotten just how much coffee affected this lady. Nicky sat in her chair grumbling to herself quietly. I gritted my teeth as a tremor ran through my body. Before they had been painless, but they were slowly getting more severe and were slightly painful now.

An hour later Nina came back into the room. I waited for her update. She saw me watching her and sighed, "The drug is still present and doing something. I have no clue what though. How did last night go?"

I shrugged, "The restlessness didn't fade until dawn. My instincts were oddly strong as well. We stopped to hunt and when I started slipping through the trees like Nightstalkers normally do, the restlessness mostly subsided. If it is that bad tonight, I think I will run by myself and just record the times."

Daniel blinked slowly, "You didn't mention that to me. We could have left the main trails if it helped."

I shook my head, "I rarely let my instincts influence my actions that much around you and I doubt that your instincts would have handled it well if I acted like a Nightstalker."

Nina sighed, "I think we had better pack for several days."

Nicky gave her a blank look, "Huh? Whatever for?"

Nina made a face, "The drug is still doing something. Chances are that tonight will be worse for Trinity since the changes are manifesting themselves at night. I think we need to try to find a feral Nightstalker for some blood tests to see if it does the same thing. The real reason is that it is safer for those here if we leave for a few days. At least until we know exactly how this drug is going to affect Trinity."

I examined Nina, "You sound as if you are quite sure that tonight will be different from last night."

Nina's shoulder drooped a bit, "The drug isn't weakening yet and I don't have much of an idea what to expect. I will bring the big microscope, a battery and solar panels along to keep track of the changes. This is more of a safety precaution than anything in case your control slips."

I tilted my head, "Another road trip? That is fine by me. Just promise me that you won't pick up every stray human we come across."

Nina chuckled, "It can count as a road trip, but I am hoping you will keep your nose open in case you pick up the scent of a Nightstalker. No, it probably isn't wise for us to pick up people until we start to head back. I don't recall ever seeing people on foot before, so that last time was a real surprise."

That just went to show how bad my luck was. Nina in all of her traveling had never seen people stuck on foot. My entire trip had been littered with strays. I nudged my backpack with my foot, "I am packed, although we had better pack food since we can't always count on looting stores."

Nicky yawned, "You are leaving me in this place without supervision? This could be fun."

Nina shook her head, "No, you are coming with us."

Nicky looked surprised, "Huh? Why?" She was clearly not awake and her language skills were reflecting it. Or it might have been the coffee.

Nina shrugged as she pulled out a bag and started stuffing science supplies and a huge package of notebooks into it. "Several reasons. If we leave you here unattended, you might not be alive by the time we get back. I saw your first attempt at archery and was surprised that you didn't shoot your own foot. You are also the person who Trinity trusts the most, if she starts having problems you might be the only person who can get close to her."

Nicky rolled her eyes, "I guess this means I better go pack before you drag me out of the gate by my ankles." She tromped out of the room and up the stairs.

Nina blinked in confusion as she watched her go. I sighed, "She got into the coffee. Don't expect to get much out of her."

Nina shook her head as she continued packing.

~

I watched the trees go by as I sat in the back of the truck and leaned against the tailgate so I could see where we were going. Nicky was laying down on the mattress and watching the clouds. Daniel was driving as Nina sat in the passenger seat. This arrangement was much better than the previous road trip.

We also had several jerrycans of fuel and quite a few bags of supplies to make this trip easy. Those in the Stronghold were under the impression that we were going to look for a feral Nightstalker. They were not aware of the fact that I had become an unwitting experiment with an untried drug.

We were heading down a remote road far from other Strongholds. If a Nightstalker was around a Stronghold, it would have attacked them. No such incidents had been reported, so it was pretty safe to say that no feral Nightstalkers were around those areas.

I kept testing the air, but no scent of a Nightstalker reached my nose. We had only been driving half a day, so it wasn't a surprise that we hadn't stumbled across one of the rare creatures. A tremor ran through my muscles and I wrote down the time. They were letting me track the symptoms so I got used to it before heading out tonight.

Several hours later we pulled up next to a small roadside motel. I glanced around while testing the air as I got out of the truck. No humans were around, which was a relief. I grabbed the extendable ladder that hung on the outside of the truck before leaning it against the side of the building so we could climb up to the flat roof. It was the safest way to camp when outside of a Stronghold.

Nicky grumbled as she started scaling the ladder. I shook my head before following her up. Daniel was already standing in the back of the truck waiting for me to get onto the roof. He started tossing up bags for me to catch. It sure beat carrying them up the ladder, although Daniel was going to carry the microscope. It was too fragile to toss regardless of how carefully we packed it.

We set about making camp and putting up a tent for the humans. Daniel would remain on the roof by the campfire all night as a guard while I roamed the surrounding area. I started the fire, refusing to let Nicky play with fire in her current mood.

Nina came over, "Let me check your vitals and grab another blood sample."

I sat back and watched her as she noted things down. She left a blank notebook for me as she picked up my notes. She paused as she skimmed the numbers, "Are you sure these durations are correct?"

"Yes." I was still losing my vision roughly every fifteen minutes. Until about an hour ago, the haze lasted for twelve seconds, but now it was back to eleven seconds. It was the first sign that the worst was finally over.

She quickly took her blood sample and headed straight for the microscope. Daniel dug through the supplies before picking out a loaf of bread and a carefully packaged container with eggs. I tested the air while he attempted to toast bread and make scrambled eggs. "There is a Runner somewhere upwind, although it is quite some distance away. I am not sure if it will show up here or not."

Daniel took a deep breath, "I can't smell it. If it shows up, then we can deal with it. I doubt it is smart enough to climb the ladder the way we have it set up."

I nodded as I watched him cook. Nicky was still Miss Grumpypants. We hadn't even packed any coffee. Nina preferred tea and neither Daniel nor me wanted coffee. It made things easier.

Daniel called Nina over, "Supper is ready."

He passed Nina a plate and made one up for Nicky. He glanced at me, "How much do you want?"

I shook my head, "I'll pass, I'm not hungry."

He nodded and put some on a plate for himself. I usually never ate supper. Nicky gave me an odd look, "I know you didn't eat breakfast or lunch. When was the last time you ate?"

I paused to consider her question, "I hunted the last two nights in a row, but I haven't touched anything other than water since that cookie."

I hadn't really thought about it and the realization struck me as strange. I had always loved my food and rarely went a day without eating. It had been almost 48 hours since I had eaten that cookie. I glanced over at Nina and Daniel who looked quite surprised.

Nicky shook her head and dug into her backpack to pull out a container. She opened it up to reveal a bunch of apple slices that she must have taken from the mess hall this morning. She held it over to me, but I shook my head, "Thanks, but I really am not hungry at all."

Nicky turned toward Nina, "She is definitely sick. I have never seen her turn down fruit if she skipped a meal."

Nina frowned in concern, "Trinity, can you please try to eat a few slices? I know you don't feel like it, but people who aren't feeling the best often lose their appetites and they still need to eat."

I narrowed my eyes, but sighed and took two apple slices. They were crisp, which is how I liked them, but the flavor seemed off. Their scent was fine, although it didn't tempt my appetite like it usually did. I had never had such a difficult time eating fruit. My stomach turned and gurgled unhappily.

They finished their supper, although Nina and Nicky kept glancing at me in concern. Nicky held out the container again, but I shook my head. My stomach had never been upset or bothered by anything since I had turned, but it did not appreciate the apple slices.

Nina washed her plate and dried it, "How is your headache?"

I tilted my head as I considered the constant ache, "I think it might have actually faded a bit, or else I am just getting used to it."

My stomach gurgled again and Nina raised her eyebrow. I exhaled gustily, "My stomach isn't impressed with the apple slices." In actuality, it didn't want any kind of food and I also had no interest in hunting either.

She nodded slowly before heading back to her microscope. I glanced at Daniel, "Do you need to hunt before the sun sets? I can keep an eye on things for a bit."

He evaluated me for a second before nodding, "I will be back shortly." He jumped off the roof and disappeared into the trees.

I remained in my seat. It would be a couple of hours before the sun set. I was practically dreading it since I wasn't sure how bad it was going to be. I put more wood on the fire. The night was going to stay clear and cloudless. The morning air would feel cool to our human companions when they woke up.

Daniel returned before too long and sat back in his seat. I glanced at him, "Keep the fire stoked up once the sun sets. If I somehow lose control and my sunglasses come off, I won't be able to approach the fire or any bright light."

Daniel turned to inspect my face, "Do you think you will have any problems with control?"

I shook my head, "No, thankfully that area has not been affected as far as I can tell. That little trick will also keep any other feral Nightstalkers at bay."

Nicky yawned and dug through her bag and put two cans of tomato juice by her seat along with a bottle of liquid dish soap. Daniel raised his eyebrow at her, "And what is that stuff for?"

Nicky shrugged nonchalantly, "Backup. Just in case a feral zombie gets on this roof. I heard rumors in the Stronghold that you don't see well in the dark and I like to be prepared."

I smirked at Daniel's frustrated expression. Nicky sure knew how to drive someone crazy without them realizing it. My smirk dropped as I glanced in the general direction of the sun without looking at the painfully bright light. A tremor passed through my body. I glanced at my pocket watch and dutifully noted down the time.

I considered the sun once more. I had felt the sun touch the horizon. I had never felt that before. My senses had always known when the sun completely dropped below the horizon or when it just started to peek above it. This time was different. The sun was still above the horizon and the barest edge had just started to sink out of sight.

My instincts stirred slightly, although it was far earlier than they normally started to wake. I turned to Daniel, "When exactly do your instincts fade and strengthen according to the sun?"

He regarded me and spoke reluctantly, "They strengthen as soon as the sun appears above the horizon and they subside as the sun touches the horizon and starts to set. Why?"

I frowned as I glanced toward the sun, "Normally my instincts start to stir the second the sun completely leaves the horizon and they fade even as the sky lightens before the first sliver peeks above the horizon. My instincts just started to stir as soon as the sun touched the horizon, which has never happened before. Even last night they didn't start to strengthen until the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon."

He frowned at that news. Nina looked up and came over, "I want to get a blood sample once the sun is completely down and your instincts have strengthened. Hopefully it will show me something. On a side note, the drug is starting to break down, so that is a good thing."

I considered it for a moment, "What are the odds of my body healing back to normal once the drug is out of my system?"

Nina shrugged, "There is no way to tell. My guess is that the changes won't reverse themselves, but I could be wrong."

I nodded with a heavy sigh. There wasn't anything we could do other than to watch and wait.