A rumbling noise made me run to the gas station door and push it open. It only took me a second to spot the source of the racket.

"Grab your gear," I told the watching humans, unable to believe my fortune in having a truck show up the very next day. I hadn't been this lucky since I turned.

They scrambled to gather the bags they had packed this morning and quickly followed me outside. The pickup truck was forced to drive around abandoned vehicles, tree branches, potholes, and other obstacles on the road, so it wasn't going very fast.

We made it to the edge of the highway long before the truck got close. It sounded like it had seen better days. I was positive the squealing belt was having a war with the radiator fan while the engine pistons rocked to a Nickelback song. It was a terrible combination.

I wasn't about to complain though; it was a running vehicle. I had half expected to be here several days, so having someone drive by so soon was a lucky break, although, judging by the noises from the engine, it might be more of a fleeting glimpse.

Marissa and Tom started waving while I examined the lone truck from behind my sunglasses. This was the first time I had ever seen a group of humans with just one vehicle – there were usually at least three in a convoy. The tinted windows were also suspicious, but the vehicle was on the fancier side, so it might have come from the factory like that.

The pickup truck came to a stop beside us, and the window rolled down to reveal two men in the front seats. The smell of a woman indicated that there was a third person in the back as well.

The leaner guy in a camo shirt asked, "What are you doing out here?"

Tom replied, "Our car broke down. Can you possibly give us a lift?"

"Please?" Marissa asked in a hopeful and slightly pleading tone.

The two men in the truck looked at each other before Mr. Camo shrugged. "Fine by us, but you'll have to ride in the box."

Marissa smiled in relief. "Thank you so much!"

Marissa and Tom began piling their gear and food in the back.

While waiting for them to finish putting everything in, I asked the man in the passenger seat, "Have you ever met someone called Jess Kessler?"

"No. What Stronghold is she in?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Sorry. On a side note, do you happen to know where the nearest Stronghold is?"

That was not the question I wanted to hear.

I pointed back the way the truck had come. "There's one down a side road by a lake. It's a couple hours away."

The guy made a face. "Yeah, we found that one, but it must have been overrun. Nothing but zombies inside the fence."

And that wasn't the answer I wanted to hear.

"I've only been down this road once before, but I don't remember finding any other Strongholds in this area." I crossed my arms, somehow suspecting that my plans to abandon Tom, Marissa, and Liz with this group of rescuers had just been put on hold.

"Then we'll just have to keep driving and hope that someone put up signs pointing toward their Stronghold."

I sighed. In other words, these were not the rescuers I was looking for. In fact, they'd likely need rescuing by nightfall. So much for my good luck at having a vehicle show up so soon.

I glanced at the hood of the truck. "That thing isn't going to explode, is it?"

Both men chuckled, and a female's voice answered me. "I keep asking them the exact same question! We're simply hoping that it holds together long enough for us to get to a Stronghold."

I shook my head in disbelief. As if I needed any more proof that I was going to have to tag along to make sure they got to safety. If this thing made it to any Stronghold, I would be amazed.

If nothing else, catching a ride with this group would speed up my own journey to the next Stronghold. At that point, I could go my own way once I made sure my sister wasn't there.

Resigning myself to having human company for a while longer, I vaulted into the back of the pickup truck. There was a mattress back here, which momentarily surprised me before I realized it would have made the ride more comfortable for passengers.

I turned so I could sit with my back against the cab, which gave me an excellent view of everything beside or behind us. It also gave those inside a nice view of the back of my head.

"Come on, Chloe. Car ride." I slapped the side of the truck with my hand.

With a big leap, she managed to jump high enough to get her feet on the edge and then drop down into the truck box. She chose to sit beside Tom, who sat against the tailgate so he could see where we were driving. It also happened to be the farthest spot from me.

The truck picked up speed again, and the noise from the engine got worse. The racket was enough to catch the attention of any zombie within earshot. Did that count as waking the dead or just luring them in?

At least the wind diffused the scent of the humans and whipped it away from me. Riding in the back of a truck was tolerable – I wouldn't have even attempted getting into a car or a van. Such a small enclosed space wouldn't have even been a remote possibility.

The truck swerved to avoid something, and shortly after, I gazed back at a piece of board laying on the highway. Three nails pointed skyward, just waiting for their next victim. Like all drivers nowadays, our chauffeur wasn't doing anything remotely related to highway speed. It just wasn't possible when hitting a big pothole or one small piece of metal could potentially turn you into zombie bait.

Liz crawled across the mattress to sit beside me. Seconds later, she leaned against my side to watch the scenery go by. I raised an eyebrow at Marissa, who was watching us intently, hoping she would call the child back to her.

Marissa shrugged. "Liz hasn't met anyone new since the zombies arrived, so I'm glad she isn't scared of strangers."

Lucky me... I examined Marissa with my red-hued vision, surprised that she had no problem with Liz clinging to someone who was basically a complete stranger.

Marissa took my silent stare as an unbidden request to continue speaking. "Tom and I worked at an orphanage, which is why she doesn't look like us. When the zombies appeared, everyone scattered and took a couple of children with them. We took Liz because she's always been one of the quietest kids. She rarely speaks unless you ask her something."

My nose had already informed me that they weren't related, so I nodded and turned my head to watch a normal zombie we were passing. Marissa glanced over her shoulder and paled when she spotted the zombie, even though there was no chance of it catching us as long as the truck didn't stop.

I tried to ignore the small, warm child leaning against me while wondering if we would find a Stronghold before this truck broke down or ran out of gas. I found it a bit odd that the trio inside had accepted us so easily. Then again, if we had been infected and turned while we traveled, we were in the truck box and the three of them would be fairly safe in the cab.

Chloe huffed as we hit another pothole in the road. She was a silent vote for our humanity since most dogs would avoid someone if they were close to turning. The husky was running freely with us, and that had probably scored us some brownie points. At least we were covering plenty of distance with no effort on our part.

~

       The engine adopted a new ominous whine, and the smell of something burning wafted on the wind.

I gently knocked on the tinted window, pointed forward, and then pointed to my nose. This truck had a small sliding window on the back glass, and it opened slightly.

The woman inside said, "I don't speak sign language. Try that again in English."

"I can smell something in the engine burning. It's making more noise too."

The man we had talked to earlier groaned and called back, "Doesn't surprise us, but we can't exactly fix it, so we're just going to drive until it breaks down."

The window slid shut with a click. I grumbled slightly and glared at the dust swirling behind the road. There weren't any zombies in sight at the moment, so they could have stopped and let it cool down for half an hour. The truck would probably make more distance in the long run that way, as long as the engine started once we turned it off.

But it was their truck, so who was I to argue? Unfortunately, logical thought had no impact on the slowly festering rage that resulted from being brushed off like that. My Nightstalker instincts were insulted and detested their offhand dismissal. I hoped this truck kept its shit together until we found a Stronghold.

The burning smell became stronger, showing that my luck was once more taking a vacation. The whine got louder until it was squealing like a banshee, forcing me to plug my ears against the noise. The others also covered their ears.

I had no clue what those inside were doing since the tinted windows provided me with an excellent reflection of my face and sunglasses when I glanced over my shoulder. My expression was distant and somewhat suspicious, which was normal for me ever since I turned.

Nightstalkers were a top predator, and top predators were usually cautious and didn't trust easily. In fact, I didn't even trust this truck to get us another ten feet. As if it had heard my thoughts and had been insulted, the engine added a new deep hum to the orchestra under the hood.

A resounding boom rocked the truck, and I quickly wrapped an arm around Liz to hold her in place as the truck skidded to a stop.

Only a faint hissing came from the motor – the orchestra had fallen silent.

Liz shook silently in fear as I began to look around. Movement above made me jerk my head skyward in time to watch the truck's hood fall out of the sky and land in the ditch with an inelegant thud.

Leaving Liz at my feet, I cautiously stood up so I could see over the top of the truck cab. I looked at the engine, or rather, what was left of it. It hadn't quite exploded, but it was close enough in my books. This truck wasn't going any farther unless we pushed it, and I had no intention of doing that.

Both doors opened, and the two men got out shakily. A red-haired woman jumped out of the passenger side after the guy got out. She peered at the smoking engine from where she stood and groaned.

"Well, I guess we're walking after all." She didn't seem overly happy about that detail.

"It was almost out of gas anyway," Mr. Camo said, seemingly unbothered by the woman's foul mood.

I jumped out of the back of the truck and was surprised to realize that the slender lady was actually shorter than me. Considering I barely stood five feet tall, that was quite unusual.

It didn't escape my attention that she was also the only one with a decent weapon. The sword sheath looked worn and battered, but the leather wrapped around the hilt was well-maintained.

Chloe launched over the edge of the truck, more than ready to get out at this point. Tom and Marissa slowly got over their shock and started gathering their bags of blankets and supplies. When Liz stood up, I picked her up by the waist and set her on my shoulders.

Our three newfound traveling companions watched us with sharp eyes, obviously checking for any noticeable injuries or bite marks.

The guy with the camouflage shirt walked forward. "I'm Ben, this is Hank, and that's Nicky."

Tom jumped down from the truck. "I'm Tom."

Marissa took over the introductions. "And I'm Marissa. This is Trinity, and the girl on her shoulders is Liz."

"Nice to meet you. None of you were bitten, right?" Ben asked.

We all shook our heads. It wasn't even a lie for me. No zombie had ever managed to sink its teeth into me. I had also never bitten anyone, although I had no plans on mentioning that at this point in time.

The other man, Hank, pulled two backpacks and a sleeping bag out of the back seat. He passed the smaller backpack to Ben while Nicky took the sleeping bag and looped the strap over her shoulder. Hank reached back into the truck and tossed a baseball bat to Ben before grabbing a walking stick for himself. They wedged a couple of water bottles into whatever they were carrying.

Ben sighed and looked down the road. "Well, we better start walking before it gets dark out. I don't fancy spending a night under the stars."

He took the lead, and the rest of us followed him. No zombies were in sight, and I was glad I still had the crowbar. As I pretended to scan the tree line, I carefully inspected our three new companions. Thanks to my sunglasses, they wouldn't be able to tell if I was looking at them, and I took care to never face them directly.

I didn't see or scent any guns, which was a relief. Hank was one of those big, heavily-built guys who practically doubled as a mule. Ben was leaner, and I caught a few glimpses of at least one knife under the edge of his shirt. Nicky's sword would have fit into a pirate movie perfectly, although I didn't see any other weapons on her.

The truck was almost out of sight when Liz asked, "Why aren't we walking in the trees to avoid the zombies?"

I remained silent, not quite sure I wanted to hear their response to Liz's question.

Nicky glanced back at us. "What is she talking about?"

I turned my head so I was clearly looking at Nicky. "Normally, those who travel on foot will walk just inside the tree line. Zombies can't see you, and if you walk downwind, they won't smell you either. That allows you to pass by the majority of them without them noticing you."

Ben stopped and turned around to face us. "And this works?"

It was just as I feared. I had somehow managed to get stuck with yet another group with no real zombie evasion experience outside of the classic hit-the-gas-and-drive strategy. They didn't stand a chance of making it to a Stronghold without a substantial amount of help. I groaned internally. There simply aren't enough words for how badly I want to shake some sense into them right about now.

With some effort, I reined in my exasperation. "We walked for an entire day and saw dozens of zombies, but none of them noticed us."

Nicky scratched her head and huffed, "Well, if you know what you're doing, lead the way. If it keeps zombies away, I'm willing to try it."

Even in the short time we had been walking, her mood had gotten noticeably grumpier. I had a feeling that her temper might be a match for mine if she got angry, and that was saying something. Their scents were human and untainted, so she couldn't even blame her mood on the virus. This could be an interesting trip.

I headed for the dense trees as the others followed; Tom and Marissa with familiarity, and the other three with reluctance and suspicion.

~

       I pulled out my map and gazed at it as if it actually showed the place I knew was somewhere ahead. "I'm not too sure where we are, but there should be a town just up the road. With luck, we'll reach it before it gets dark."

Ben grunted tiredly. "Good. We can hole up in a building for the night."

I didn't bother mentioning that I could smell some zombies as well as the buildings ahead. The zombies we had walked past so far had them rattled enough. I could only imagine how they'd react if they discovered that they had been walking with one for most of the day.

Less than an hour later, we finally spotted the town. Well, if you could call thirty small buildings a town. Perhaps the word hamlet or village would have fit better.

I slowed down as we neared the edge of the trees. One zombie meandered between two houses, although I could smell a few more in the area. Thankfully, none of them were Runners or anything more dangerous. My eyes zeroed in on the grocery store, which still had food on the shelves. Movement inside explained why it had been left untouched – there were at least three zombies in there.

Tom and Marissa stood nervously near the back of the group while Ben and Nicky came forward.

"I see at least one zombie," Ben said, craning his neck. "Any idea which building we are going to target?"

Nicky eyed up the town. "We have no supplies, so something with food. Any good guesses on which places might have anything left?"

I kept my voice low. "I have some experience in clearing buildings. I can check the store if you want."

Ben glanced at me in surprise, and I could feel Hank's suspicious stare.

Nicky looked at me with speculation in her eyes. "Well, if you're up for it, then go for it."

I nodded and put Liz down. I headed farther along the tree line and softly whistled. "Chloe, come."

Chloe joined me with a reluctant glance back. I was somewhat surprised she had come with me when she had seen the zombies. I normally left her in the trees during times like this, but her presence would help catch their attention.

Once I was closer to the store, I exited the trees and jogged across the parking lot. I started banging on the windows and doors of the grocery store, watching as two zombies came down the streets, lured in by the noise. It wasn't long before the three inside were pounding on the glass doors, convinced by my stance that I was a tasty human treat.

My nose told me that there were only three zombies inside, but as part of my act, I kept banging for a while longer, as if I was making sure there were no others hidden in the back.

Bracing myself, I yanked the door open and ran while Chloe barked her dislike of the approaching zombies. I started jogging at a good clip down the street, away from the hidden humans.

My five new followers were hot on my trail as I led them away. They could smell Liz's afterscent on me and were dim enough to think I was human. I headed to a basketball court since the twelve-foot-tall chain-link fence around it would be sufficient to contain normal zombies.

After propping the door open, I ran across the court. All the zombies followed me inside, which was a small fluke since I half expected one or two of them to run into the chain-link fencing and then go around.

I quickly exited through a second door, and after Chloe was out, I shut it. Once they got closer to this side, I ran around to the first entrance and latched it as well.

I jogged halfway back to the grocery store before stopping to look back and double-check that the zombies were successfully contained. Well aware of my audience and the need to keep up appearances, I stopped and watched the zombies for a few seconds.

Regular zombies rarely climbed up fences if they could see through them, and these ones just kept trying to push through the chain-link. Although, with how my luck usually runs, one of them would have thought it was a squirrel in disguise, and it wouldn't have been content with just acorns or peanuts.

I headed back to the grocery store and banged on the door again while watching my surroundings. No zombies appeared on the streets. The humans hiding in the trees looked shocked or surprised, while Hank watched me with a closed expression. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't heard him say anything despite walking near him for over four hours.

Once I figured I'd been cautious enough, I slowly crept through the open door, taking care to make it look like the human version of creeping. My Nightstalker instincts stirred as I tiptoed inside, insulted by my actions since my skills were miles higher. I ignored them since this was just for show. My nose had already told me that only three zombies had been in here and I had removed three. Nonetheless, I checked every aisle and the rear storage area.

There weren't even any mice around. An unforeseen perk of having zombies guard a store.