Both Nina and Nicky were up by the time I walked through the door. I dropped my bundles of traps on the floor with a clatter and dryly commented, "I highly advise against anyone going more than a hundred meters from this building."

Daniel growled lowly at the sight of them, "Where did you find those? I didn't come across anything and I went further than that last night."

I took a seat in a chair while watching the humans eat breakfast. "They were mostly toward the east, but I don't feel like lingering in this place. How soon can we head out?"

Nina shrugged, "If you feel like packing, we can leave as soon as we finish eating. We already washed the pot. The plates are paper, so we just have the cutlery to wash." She just seemed to think that there were just traps out there and was evidently not aware of the stranger.

If she thought the idea of a bit of work was going to dissuade me, then she was wrong. The last thing I wanted was for that guy to show up with a rifle. I wasn't entirely too sure how far off his rocker he was, but he had hung around for a couple of weeks waiting for deadly zombies to return for revenge.

I got up and started hauling bags out to the truck. Nicky watched me in slight surprise, "What's got you up in an antsy? I have never seen you volunteer to do all of the packing before."

I glanced back at the far too perceptive woman, "Let's just say that I met the man who laid far more traps than what I packed back. I prefer to be gone before he decides to show up here."

Nina looked surprised, "I wasn't aware there was someone around here. Does he need a ride to a Stronghold?"

What was it with people offering complete strangers a ride without even meeting them?! Did I just not finish saying that he had laid traps in the area? I shook my head, "He has his own car."

Daniel tilted his head in slight suspicion, "And you didn't mention him earlier why..."

I made a face, "He would not be someone that any of us would feel comfortable traveling with. I would prefer to avoid him if possible. I am not entirely sure that he fits into the sane category."

Nicky chuckled, "That is what people say about me."

I snorted, "Compared to him, you are normal."

Nicky blinked in surprise and finished her last mouthful of food before standing up, "Okay, now you made me nervous. I will help you pack. Normal people scare me and there is no way anyone ever calls me normal."

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Normal people scare you, so you hang out with zombies?"

She grinned at me, "Yep. Pissing off Daniel is an entertaining game with unlimited potential. It should be made an Olympic sport the way you and I compete to win the gold medal. You are just plain fun to hang out with."

Oh boy... There is no intervention in the world strong enough to help her at this point. I could not come up with any response to that comment. I hadn't realized just how far gone Nicky was. She considered annoying a Terror a sport and found an irritable Nightstalker fun to be around.

Nina looked surprised and alarmed while Daniel was clearly doubting Nicky's sanity. I shook my head and I glanced toward the open door. I went to the door and took a deep breath to confirm that the smell of smoke was not from our fire, "The sooner we get moving, the better."

Nina swiftly finished off the last of her bread with that warning before tossing the paper plate in the fire. Nicky grabbed her sleeping bag and backpack. I jumped in the back of the truck to secure a bag of groceries. I was too short to do it easily from the ground in such a large truck. Nicky passed me her load and I swiftly secured it.

She turned around and whistled in amazement as she finally noticed the sight on the horizon, "Wow. You didn't say he was a pyromaniac. That must be quite the fire. I wonder what he is burning?"

I glanced at the dark smoke in the distance, "He probably set fire to a pit with regular zombies in it." And his deceased brother's remains...

Daniel narrowed his eyes at the thought of someone killing zombies. Zombie killing was rarely attempted nowadays. Zombie hunters often wound up as zombies, especially now that ammo was scarce.

No archer or gunman in the world could take on dozens of zombies without one hell of a good escape plan and lots of ammo or arrows. Even then, they still had to cut off the head to truly kill the zombie or it would be back on its feet within a couple of weeks. Then they had to deal with the blood on the blade they had used to behead it...

Blood splatter or unnoticed zombies were deadly dangers to such people and there was never a shortage of zombies, especially near any city. The last few people who were still determined to kill zombies were a rather demented and fanatic bunch. This one might not be as bad as some I had heard of since he was just after revenge against three particular ones who killed his brother, but I wasn't about to take any chances since a three minute conversation was not a true judge of someone's mental state.

It took only minutes for us to pack up and start driving. Thankfully we were not driving on any road that went close to the source of that black smoke.

~

Daniel didn't stop driving until lunchtime. We were heading back north toward the distant place we called home. Oddly enough, even I was beginning to refer to it as home instead of Ironwind Stronghold. That place must have rubbed off on me far more than I had realized.

Nina and Daniel also agreed that those three Nightstalkers had caused the rumors that we had heard. Nina already had the blood samples that Daniel had collected, so there was nothing further for us to check. They decided that they didn't feel like taking Nicky into another Stronghold, so we would be camping in buildings or on roofs while relying on Daniel and myself for protection.

Nina started a fire while Nicky dug out some cans of soup. It was an easy and quick lunch for the two of them. I tested the air, "Couple of regular zombies close by, so don't wander too far."

Nina nodded at the warning as she glanced at the nearby trees. Daniel went to collect firewood and ensure that the humans didn't have to risk themselves by entering the forest. I leaned against the truck as I watched the humans while keeping an eye on our surroundings.

Daniel came back and stood beside Nina while she watched the soup cooking. He scanned the area slowly with a bored surveillance check. He blinked in confusion before focusing on me. I watched him from the corner of my eye, my dark glasses hiding the fact that I was watching him.

He walked closer to me as he focused on my arms. Nina and Nicky both looked up as he approached me since something had obviously caught his attention. His approach was out of character since we tended to leave a fair amount of space between ourselves just out of habit. I turned my head so I was looking at him. I tilted my head in a silent inquiry as I pretended to be naïve as to what had caught his attention.

Daniel glanced at his own arms before looking at mine again. He moved his gaze to stare at my sunglasses in confusion, "Half of your scabs already fell off. Your injuries are healing much faster than mine are. The feral Nightstalker in the barn didn't heal that fast either."

Nina got to her feet and came over in curiosity and excitement. I played stupid and tilted my head as I looked at his arms, "Huh. You are right. Your scratches don't seem to be healing as fast as mine. This is about normal for me. I also healed swiftly from those bullets."

Could I possibly convince him that he was the anomaly? It could be highly entertaining to watch Nina pester him for a change. Nina regarded me with bright eyes and glanced between Daniel and me. The difference was quite noticeable after about 40 hours. Nicky didn't look surprised and took the first bowl of soup while the other two were distracted.

Nina sounded excited, "Look at the difference in the rate of healing. I thought you had healed unusually fast from those bullet wounds. Let me check your arm."

I growled faintly in irritation at the overly inquisitive scientist. Daniel narrowed his eyes, but surprisingly didn't growl at my half-hearted protest. Nina also ignored it as I let her pick up my arm and gently peel back the bandage.

She blinked in surprise at the wound, it had clearly been healing at an accelerated rate. Even the enhanced healing rate of a zombie wound shouldn't have done quite this much.

"This is definitely healing faster than that feral Nightstalker's scratches had healed." Nina moved her inquisitive gaze from my arm to my slightly irritated expression, "You said this was normal, do you have any idea why you are healing so much faster than other zombies?"

How could I use this opportunity to drag Daniel through the mud on another self-learning trip with his instincts? I shrugged, "The other two sane Nightstalkers I met healed just as swiftly."

Nicky had a perfect poker face and simply looked curious. Daniel furrowed his eyebrows in thought, he didn't seem quite convinced though. He was inspecting the deep cut on my arm, "You removed the salve. Why?"

He was more observant than I thought. I shrugged again, thankful he was upwind and couldn't smell my lie. "There was no real need for it and there was so much on the wound and skin that the bandage fell off. I removed the excess and used a spare one from my backpack."

He nodded slowly, accepting my logic, although I had a feeling that he didn't quite buy my story. That was good. He would think about it and perhaps discover the secret on his own. Nina shook her head and pulled out the tube of salve, "Well, you didn't have to remove so much of it. Some will help."

I exhaled gustily at her persistence as she put a small gob on the injury and put the bandaid back on. Nina went to grab a bowl of soup, but also pulled out her notebook and started writing in it. Daniel went back to the campfire and sat by Nina, occasionally glancing at me.

I suppressed a grin; he was definitely thinking. He didn't say anything though. That in itself was unusual. He didn't even start a conversation with Nina and those two often spoke about various things, although they may have spoken about every possible topic during our long trip. I would have expected him to talk with Nina about the possibilities.

The two women quickly finished their soup and we started driving again. I leaned my back against the tailgate so I could see the scenery ahead of us. Nicky sprawled out on the mattress and gazed at the clouds overhead as she attempted a nap. I pretended to ignore Daniel's more frequent than average glances at me in the mirror as I examined the various scents that flowed past me.

I remembered things much better if I associated it with something I had smelled. The same went for locations and roads. My mind was building a mental map that used scents as the main landmarks. My instincts also assisted with this task. If I ever passed this way again, it was almost certain that I would know where I was.

Scent made up such a large part of my world that I trusted my nose above my eyes or ears. Sure, there were seasonal changes to scents, but the very odor of the dirt and the specific mix of tree to grass to water ratio was fairly unique.

I didn't have to see the deep cave with thousands of bats by the river, I could smell it. I would also be able to smell it from quite some distance away, as opposed to having to follow the river to see if I could stumble across the unique landmark in the future.

The enhanced sense of smell was one big perk of being a zombie. I hadn't realized just how nose dead humans were until I turned. Sure, I knew that my dog could smell his ball in the long grass and my horse could smell if a bear had passed by, but it was one thing to know it in abstract and quite another to have a keen sense of smell just dumped on you.

Like a blind man suddenly seeing, it had taken me weeks after I turned to get accustomed to the sense that had suddenly strengthened beyond belief. I had accepted it and used it to my advantage, willingly learning everything I could about it. And my diligence had paid off. Now I didn't have to think about it. I knew the identity or source of almost every scent around me. I could even tell the different types of grasses apart by their scent.

Examining the world around me by smell was more entertaining than simply watching the scenery. I could smell the animals just beyond the trees. The sharp smells of various flowers were present. I leaned back and continued to ignore Daniel's thoughtful glances in the rearview mirror as I investigated the world around me by smell.