Daniel stopped the truck in front of the path that led to Luke's cave. Nina grabbed a backpack while Nicky and Jess were unencumbered. They had already eaten breakfast, so we didn't have to drag food out here.
Nina was still thrilled with Luke's invitation. I knew she wanted to take a peek at Luke's chart of symptoms and hoped for a blood sample. I was surprised she'd managed to rein in her scientific curiosity this long without asking.
The clearing was empty, although as per usual, the sound of hammering gave away Luke's location. Was he building a castle in there or something?
I called out, "Hey, Luke. We're here."
The hammering stopped. "Please make yourselves comfortable. I'll be right out."
We sat at the picnic table and waited. A few minutes later, Luke came out with a clean shirt and pair of shorts.
As he took a seat on a stump, he took a deep breath and examined us thoughtfully. "Interesting. The bloodlust is greatly reduced. I thought it was a bit less apparent last night, but this is much more noticeable."
Nina's eyes lit up. "Really? Mind if I see your notes?"
He pulled out the notebook and gently tossed it to her. Nina started leafing through the pages before pulling out another notebook. She started cross-comparing them, and I realized the second notebook held records from my experience.
"The trend is nearly identical." Nina nodded thoughtfully. "The symptoms should completely clear up by this evening. Have you noticed any other changes?"
"Not really. I can see slightly better at night, as well as during the day, but nothing like when Trinity lost the tint in her vision. Then again, I've only seen that tint a few times when I was quite angry. There's still no desire for human food, although I'm hunting more. The haziness in my mind is much less noticeable – better than it's ever been. Now it looks like the bloodlust is disappearing."
Nina hesitated before tentatively asking, "Would it be possible to get a blood sample?"
Luke stilled at the question, as did I. His bloodlust might be reduced, but could we trust it to not flare up while it was still settling? Closing his eyes, Luke took another deep breath as he tested his control.
His eyes opened and moved to me. "I think I can let her get that close, but would you mind standing near? My instincts are still as aware of you as ever."
I nodded and got up to stand near him. Jess and Nicky watched me cross the grass, although they remained silent spectators.
"I'm willing to try," Luke told Nina, "but if I give a warning, please drop everything and back up."
Nina nodded and dug through her backpack for the supplies she needed. It didn't escape my notice that Daniel stilled as his eyes locked onto us. This was the first time Nina was going to approach a sane Runner while a mostly untested drug was messing around with the bloodlust.
I recalled how the original ferals had reached for humans, even after the controlex ran its course, so the bloodlust was still there to some degree, but they had been easily distracted by a rabbit.
Luke had hunted last night, so even though he would feel the temptation, his humanity should be able to override it much like I had been able to in the past. I suspected Luke was being overly cautious, but considering his previous struggles, I couldn't exactly blame him.
Nina slowly walked over to Luke, who watched her approach while he remained sitting on the stump. He held out his arm and turned his head away from her, facing me. My stance was relaxed but watchful. I was close enough and fast enough to intervene if something happened.
Luke exhaled slowly when the needle bit into his skin, but otherwise gave no reaction. He didn't even tense up, although he breathed through his mouth as a precaution. Nina kept half an eye on him as she took three vials of blood.
Once she finished, she backed up. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome." Luke turned to face the scientist again. "If you find anything interesting, I'd love to hear about it." Luke seemed more relaxed now that he had managed with fewer problems than he'd anticipated.
"Certainly. If you ever want to visit the lab and see the equipment, feel free to swing by."
Luke tilted his head thoughtfully. "I actually worked in the science field before the first wave, so I know how to use most of the common lab equipment."
Nina perked up. "Really? Can I ask what you did?"
"I worked in my family's veterinarian office and checked most of the blood samples."
That prompted a discussion between the two about different types of lab equipment and procedures as they tried to figure out how similar their backgrounds and knowledge were. The fact that they both understood that gibberish was unnerving.
I hadn't realized Luke knew so much about science, nor that his knowledge of the machines was very similar to Nina's. The only consolation was that Daniel looked just as lost as I felt. Jess didn't look quite as confused, but some things had her furrowing her eyebrows. Nicky completely tuned them out and busily braided a handful of grass around Jess's wrist.
They chattered for so long that I was once more reminded zombies couldn't yawn from boredom. My wandering mind started analyzing the leaf litter and debating which path Luke had walked on the most.
Eventually, the conversation circled back to the here and now.
"If you need any help in the lab, I can probably do most of that. Nothing analytical though, since I never really studied viruses. The only problem is that I need a fair bit of personal space, and I know most labs are often crowded." The faint longing in his voice made me think this wasn't just an idle offer – he truly wanted to volunteer his skills.
"The lab is quite spacious, and Jess and I are normally the only ones in there. Daniel often stops by, and Trinity and Nicky pop in occasionally, but otherwise, no one else has gone down there since Louise left."
Luke hesitated, clearly tempted, but refusing to rush into something. "Enclosed spaces trap scent, so I think we should be very cautious if we attempt this. Especially since we don't know the controlex's limits with Runners."
"That's a very good point," Nina agreed. "If you feel like trying, let me know and we can come up with a plan. The lab has some fans we can turn on. They can push air outside, although we usually just rely on the wind blowing across specially designed ventilation shafts."
It was an interesting idea, but they really needed to take things one step at a time. I broke my silence to subtly remind them of that detail. "If the controlex is supposed to settle down tonight, then I suggest we test your control tomorrow so we aren't caught off guard. Then, if you're up for it, we can give you a tour of the Stronghold."
Luke's relaxed stance became uneasy as he looked at me with worry in his eyes. I knew he didn't like testing where the edge of his control lay because he was scared of harming someone, but he needed to know exactly how much his control had changed.
The offer of going into a Stronghold should be tempting enough for him to agree to such a test. He hadn't dared go into one since he turned, and the self-exclusion he imposed upon himself was a heavy burden.
I hadn't been overly bothered by loneliness, but that was mostly because Nightstalkers preferred to be loners, and I had talked with people on the road occasionally. Runners were more social, especially if they remained sane. Both their instincts and their human mind craved being in groups.
Luke nodded reluctantly. "As much as I don't want to risk losing control, you have a valid point. I assume you're taking it upon yourself to act as a referee?"
"I can do that," I agreed easily. "Considering how well you did when Nina took your blood, I don't think you'll have any problems tomorrow. Unless someone actually touches you, which I can't see happening. I advise avoiding the dining hall at dinner."
"If I'm not eating, then I'm not sure why I would go in there, but I'll keep your warning in mind."
Jess fiddled with a leaf in one hand while the other was still kidnapped by Nicky. "The people in Ironwind won't crowd you."
"They got used to Trinity's preferences," Nicky remarked, looking up from her grass creation, "which should be plenty of room."
"Are you trying to imply something?" I asked her dryly.
"Are you trying to imply that you don't like a solid five feet of space?" she countered, a twinkle in her eyes at holding such a question over my head.
"You certainly don't give me five feet of space."
"Ah, but that's me. Not the average person in Ironwind. I'm special, and you know the others give you more room than that unless you pass them in a hallway or stairwell, which has happened – what? – twice?"
Oh, she was special all right... "You might as well give up counting since you aren't around me all the time." Now that I think about it, I can only recall two instances when I met someone in the stairwell. Where is she pulling these numbers from?
"Other than the hallways or stairwells," Luke said, delicately shifting the conversation, "what other narrow locations should I be aware of?"
"If you're like Trinity," Nina said, "you'll probably be outside most of the day, so there's not many places where you'll be in tight quarters. The lab has a narrow stairwell, but there's just a few of us using it and you can see the bottom from the top. Other than that..." Nina furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of something she missed.
"You won't be in the barns or the chicken coop," Nicky pointed out. "There's no real reason to go into the main building, and every other place has several doors or an open layout." She shrugged. "You were fine with me in the truck before, and after the controlex, I think you'll be fine unless someone chops off their foot with an axe."
"Are accidents like that common?" Luke asked in concern.
"Nah. They're pretty careful," Nicky replied, more focused on adding grass stems to Jess's bracelet than on the conversation at hand. "The kitchen staff occasionally cut themselves, but just minor things that barely need a Band-Aid. Although I suspect if Daniel had been aware of how often they do nick themselves, he'd never have suggested Trinity could peel vegetables in there."
Daniel frowned at that bit of news.
"They probably won't want my cooking skills in the kitchen," Luke admitted sheepishly.
"Be careful, or we could have you picking weeds or helping with all sorts of other fun chores," Nicky said cheerfully. She tied a knot with the grasses and grinned at the thumb-wide intricate braid of greenery that Jess would have to break whenever she needed to remove it.
"Thanks! This is so cool." Jess told her, twisting her arm around to see the bracelet that apparently had no start and no end in the seamless strands of grass.
"I do the best I can with what I have," Nicky replied, looking pleased at the praise. "I'll show you how to do it one day."
Jess nodded, still examining her new accessory. I planned to avoid that session in case they tried something similar on my wrists.