Hank drove down the highway with Tom and Liz sitting in the front seat. The rest of the humans were in the truck box with me. Once again, I had my back against the cab as I watched the dust swirl behind the pickup truck.

Nicky had no problems sitting in the other corner behind the cab even though mere feet separated us. Ben was still leery and gave me my space. Marissa seemed to have gotten over the worst of her fears, but she still didn't come close. Both of them sat with Chloe against the tailgate with our supplies piled in the middle.

Hank honked the horn as he called out the driver's window, "We have a Runner ahead, and I won't be able to dodge him. Do you have any suggestions?"

I rose into a crouch and peered over the cab. "Keep driving. I'll keep him out of the back."

Hank swerved so the Runner would be on my side. Ben scrambled the other way, not taking any chances. It would be far too easy for a Runner to pull itself over the side or drag someone out.

As we passed the Runner, it ran at the truck with outstretched arms, barely missing the side mirror. I lunged forward with a ferocious snarl as I swiped out with my nails. My sudden presence startled it, and it balked with a snarl of its own.

Within seconds, the truck had passed the Runner, and even as slow as we were going, its speed wasn't sufficient to catch up. As I sat back down, Chloe whined faintly from where she was huddled by Ben, who was holding her collar.

I had told them earlier this morning that I could keep one or two zombies at bay as long as we kept moving, although judging by how pale Ben's and Marissa's faces were, I doubted they realized exactly what that entailed at the time.

Nicky grinned widely at my method of keeping the Runner away while sporting her new sunglasses. She leaned to the side and elbowed my arm lightly. I raised an eyebrow at her and growled lightly at the invasion of my personal space.

She wasn't fazed and continued to grin at me. "I love having a zombie as a friend. You make things interesting."

Yep. She had definitely been dropped on her head as a child. I shook my head at her unique outlook on life. Of all the people to not be bothered by the fact that I was a zombie...

To my surprise, she slid a bit closer and patted my shoulder even though I bristled at the touch.

"You may be growly, but we'll love you anyway," she told me cheerfully. "Besides, we know you like us. Why else would you be hanging out with humans?"

I didn't appreciate the contact or her revelations. Since growling wasn't working, I'd have to try a different tactic to teach her to give me my space. My sister had also been a huggy type of person, but I clearly recalled a certain maneuver that always made her stay out of arm's reach for a while.

With a faint snort, I grabbed Nicky's arm and tugged her closer. I swiftly wrapped my arm around her neck and gave her a noogie. She flailed her arms at the unexpected retaliation.

Seconds later, I released her, and she sat back up, still grinning. She lightly punched my arm in mockery, and as I had hoped, slid back to where she had been sitting before.

"So, you proved you can put the run on the Runners. What about other Nightstalkers or Terrors?" she asked.

"They would have to be feral to come after us. I have the upper hand over a feral Nightstalker since I can use weapons. I've never encountered a Terror, but from what I've heard, they are stronger and faster than Nightstalkers."

Nicky frowned at that news. "So, we're screwed if we come across a Terror?"

"Pretty much. I wouldn't be able to hold one off for more than a minute or so, and you wouldn't be able to get away in that much time. I might be able to grab Liz and run, but if it gave chase, we'd be done for."

She made a face. "Let's avoid Terrors then."

"I don't think that's something you can plan for," Ben muttered. "Our original plan had been to avoid all zombies, and now I'm sitting in the back of a pickup truck with one."

I snorted. "If you had let me out of that store earlier, you'd still be oblivious."

He made a face as Nicky cackled at his expression. Her laughter was interrupted as the truck suddenly slowed down and came to a stop. I leaned over the side of the truck to peer ahead and growled at the problem we now faced.

The bridge had washed out, and from how some of the concrete was still crumbling, it had happened within the last week or so. The deep water wasn't something even this jacked-up truck could cross.

Hank opened the driver's door and came out so he could talk with us more easily. "I guess we'll have to backtrack and try one of the other roads. But I have more bad news."

"What is it?" Ben asked with misgivings.

"Even at this speed, this truck is terribly hard on gas. We are under a quarter tank."

Ben shrugged helplessly. "All we can do is keep going for as long as we can. Try turning off on that last side road. When the tank runs dry, we can take shelter in a house or store if we can find one."

Hank nodded and got back inside. I sat down and sniffed the air; other than the far-too-tempting scent of my current companions, I wasn't picking up any other human scents. Nor had I picked up the scent of a Stronghold during the three hours we'd been driving.

As the truck turned around, I pulled out my map again. Unfortunately, it only showed the major highways and largest cities, so it was useless in helping us find a small town on this remote highway.

Nicky snagged the map and looked it over. "Ugh. This map is terrible. Where are we?"

"Somewhere on this highway," I said, leaning over to point at a red line.

She grumbled for a while and turned the map a few times before leaning against the truck cab with a groan. "I've been to five Strongholds so far, and not one of them was anywhere near here. What barren wasteland are we stranded in?"

Considering both sides of the highway were flanked by thick forest, I wasn't sure how she classified this as a wasteland.

"Well," Ben began, "it still beats ending up close to a city. Those places are swarming with thousands of zombies."

"True," she grudgingly conceded. "I was in a city when the zombies appeared, and I barely got out in time."

Ben glanced at her in surprise. "I heard it was chaos in the cities within hours of the first zombie sightings. Highways were solidly blocked with abandoned cars and everything. How did you get out?"

"I stole a small boat and drove it down the river."

The casual way she said it made me wonder what kind of a past this lady had. On one hand, she was an eccentric lunatic, who apparently wasn't averse to hanging out with zombies or stealing a boat; and on the other hand, she was a fierce spitfire with a touchy temper that matched her curly red hair.

I had noticed that her scent shifted the tiniest bit during her mood swings, which was possibly an indication of some sort of mental disorder. I knew next to nothing about such things. If nothing else, her crazy side seemed to like me, and her grouchy fighter personality gave me the same grudging respect that she gave Hank.

I watched the river grow more distant and hoped that the truck wouldn't give out on us too soon.

~

       Nicky groaned. "We have to walk again?"

In response to her question, the engine finally finished sputtering through the last fumes of gasoline and died. Hank steered the truck to the side of the road and let it coast as far as it would go.

The truck rolled to a halt, joining the other abandoned vehicles as a roadside monument showing that we didn't make it to our destination.

Ben sighed as he grabbed a backpack, a couple bags of food, and some water bottles. "We aren't on foot by choice. Besides, we knew this was going to happen when we saw the bridge was washed out."

"And we picked a road where almost all of the branches and leaves are untouched." Nicky scoffed as she glared at the undamaged twigs on the road.

Ben shrugged. "We're in a national park – there aren't exactly many roads to choose from. The signs we saw earlier said there's a rest stop ahead with beds and food."

"I thought Strongholds were usually within a day's drive of each other?" Nicky finally got up and grabbed a couple of bags.

"That's what I was told, but we don't even know which roads they might be on. The people who drive know where they're going, and they probably don't risk a long drive in case they don't make it by nightfall. Not only can they not see any approaching zombies, but Nightstalkers come out to play. No offense, Trinity..."

"None taken," I murmured as I picked up two duffle bags that had been packed full of almost any container or bottles capable of holding water. My Nightstalker strength barely noticed it, and with my hunting skills, water was more important than food.

Nicky jumped out of the truck. "So, what are we going to do if there aren't any Strongholds in this area? I can't see them being scattered around evenly."

"Then we either have to walk or take shelter in a sturdy building until someone drives by."

I scanned the horizon and tested the air. Six nervous humans, smelly dog breath, various animals in the forest, and a very faint hint of sun-warmed concrete. The concrete was actual concrete, not just the hot tarmac we were standing on.

"I can smell some sort of building upwind. As faint as it is, it'll probably take us several hours to reach it."

Nicky headed for the trees. "Then let's get this show on the road. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can rest."

Everyone grabbed some supplies before following her, and even Liz carried a small bag. Chloe was the only one who trotted ahead unencumbered.

As we walked, Hank murmured, "Don't hurt yourself trying to carry too much."

A corner of my lip quirked up in amusement. "You'll tire before I will."

His backpack probably weighed as much as I did, filled with as many of the supplies as he thought he could carry. The blankets and sleeping bags may have been bulky, but things like food, the hatchet, frying pan, cooking pot, and other bare essentials added to the weight quickly.

I had a sinking feeling that the uneven forest terrain was going to slow and exhaust the humans more than I was predicting.