The room was dark.

Must have taken out the lights. What's that?

A large shadow crouched in the darkness. Will almost choked, but bit back the rush and took a deep, slow breath. Not this time, adrenaline.

What?

Nothing.

Davey was in there. Most likely dead by now, but he hoped to find more than a couple of dark bodies cut down by the old man's pistols before they overwhelmed him. The room was quiet, but he gripped the shaft of his knife all the same, knuckles still burning from the last fight. He opened his mind to the Shadow.

That's right. Let it in, the box said approvingly. Will barely heard it.

When he entered the bedroom, there were no bright auras to guide him. No pink lights or orange-red motions. As if the room had stepped out of time even before he did.

His foot caught on something on the floor. It felt soft and heavy. A body. He looked down, and nearly threw up. A flash of untidy red hair lying in a pool of deep crimson, almost black in the darkness of the room. While he stared in shock at the pool of blood, the air changed around him. The hunched, shadowy figure was on the move.

'Huunnnterrrr,' rasped a dry, whispering voice. The word slow and drawn out, like a record played at half speed.

Shit! the box said. This one can shift too?

Not very well, it seems, thought Will, stepping almost casually out of the way while the intruder lunged. He brought his fist down on the man's neck, hard. The blow would have seemed impossibly quick. He winced as pain shot through his bruised hand. The intruder grunted. A low, drawn-out sound, followed by the slow splintering of wood as his face hit the wall.

Yet he managed to grab Will's arm as he fell.

Shit! Will echoed, trying to stay upright, but the brute was huge. I can't get him off - he thought, struggling desperately against the dead weight. The grip on his arm was like iron, squeezing tight. The man's other hand, big enough to encompass Will's entire head, was making for his throat. He was getting quicker. White teeth shone in the darkness.

Still there were no colours. There should at least have been a flash of bright crimson when he hit the wall, but there was nothing. And the bastard was still moving, more quickly now.

So it takes him slightly longer to get up to speed? the box commented helpfully. But he's getting there. Better be quick.

You think? The hand touched Will's chin. 'No you don't!' he said aloud and twisted as he fell, so that when they hit the floor he was on top. He made sure his knee hit something soft. Another grunt. His arm was released and he rolled back, away from the slow-moving attacker, away from the body on the floor. He kicked at the man's head, twice. Something crunched under his heel.

That should do it, he thought for the box's benefit, while he caught his breath back. He looked reluctantly down at the other body. She looked so still, so peaceful… but he had to stop the thought before the fear overcame him. Now was not the time. First, he had to get back to reality. The man was still moving weakly, but Will's concern was for Alex. He imagined himself at her side, giving her CPR, stroking her hair. And then the room came back in a rush, colours returning, dull in the half-light with the blinds down.

'Alex!' he cried, on his knees beside her. He held his ear close to her open, blood-stained mouth.

Still breathing.

'Barely,' he said out loud. He threw open the blinds and leaned out of the window.

'Nari get your arse in here!' he shouted. The Big Indian was busy by a pile of dead Seekers. The few live ones were trussed up in a row in front of the house, some groaning, some staring blankly around themselves, still stunned. Nari looked up, surprised, grinned and waved, then frowned at Will's expression. Ran towards the house. Will turned, hoping to get a good look at the stranger he had fought, this other man who could shift. This dark, brutal reflection of himself. He looked forward to finding out where he had come from.

The man was gone.

'What the hell?'

Clever, the box said. He's shifted away.

'Great. That means he will come back.' Will reluctantly looked towards the bed, his back prickling, afraid the intruder would attack him again at any moment. He hoped the man was too hurt to try.

Davey's body was a barely noticeable ripple in the dirty reddening sheets. The pistols they had left him lying blackened and spent on the floor. The intruder had been up to something there. He stroked Alex's sticky hair absently, thinking about the stranger, feeling like he should be doing something more worthwhile.

'Out of the way!' shouted Nari, rushing into the room and shoving him aside. 'She's okay, she's okay,' he said, a little desperately, catching her up in his arms. 'C'mon sweetheart, you need fresh air.' He stumbled towards the door. 'Grab the First Aid box will you?' he shot at Will as they passed.

'Sure,' Will said, his mind on the crumpled bedclothes, the dark, spreading stain.

Okay then, so what was our mysterious stranger after? said the box, completely oblivious to the high emotion of the moment.

'I thought you were supposed to be sensitive to my feelings?' Will grumbled. The last place he wanted to be was here. They should be running now, taking the children to safety, rallying the villagers, looking after his best friend.

I sense your 'feelings' alright, kid. But you aren't as upset as you think. The Indian knows a hell of a lot more about medicine than you. But you're not thinking about that are you? You're wondering what that monster was after. What else the old man was hiding? And how we should be leaving about now?

'We should be leaving now. Just let me -' Will pulled back the sheets and tried not to look too hard at Davey's mutilated face. The Seekers were not much ones for delicacy when they had the thirst for blood in them. The old man's hand was twisted, his bony fingers broken. There was an imprint on his palm. A circle, with a triangle inside it. The red tattoo of a fine chain.

A locket? the box said, echoing Will's own miserable surprise. Why the hell did the old man have so many secrets?

'There's always something you don't know,' Will said. 'That's what he used to say. No matter how much you think you know, there's always something you're missing. And it's always that which will get you.'

A key, maybe? A map? Password? Photo of your mum?

'Who knows?' Will said, collecting the antique pistols and heading for the door. 'We need to look after the children now. This we'll deal with later.'

Outside, he found Nari and Alex by the well, the girl looking bleary and weak, but awake. He handed over the first aid box and the Indian set to work about her with bandages and ointments. For once she did not argue, but merely watched Will with tears in her eyes. He looked away. He knew how she felt. Without Davey, they truly were on their own. He had to work out what they were missing.

'Time to move on,' he said pointlessly.

'Aye,' muttered Nari through a mouthful of safety pins.

'I'll take Alex ahead with the children, you follow with the prisoners. This time I'm going to make them talk.'

'Hmpf.' Nari did not sound convinced.

I'm with him on that one. You'll get nothing out of those zombies. May as well talk to rocks, if you ask me. At least they have more variety in conversation. Just kill them and be done.

We have to try, Will thought. They came in numbers today. With support. That man I fought - who the hell was he? One of them must have noticed him. One of them must know.

'It was too close today,' he insisted to Nari. 'The game has changed. We have to stop hiding. Now they have someone who can shift too -'

'What?' The Indian looked up sharply.

And well he might wonder, the box said. Not as special as we thought, hey, Hunter?

'Not now,' Will said, 'You can have stories later, when we're safe in the bunker.'

'But-' Alex was struggling up onto her elbows. Nari gently pushed her back. She struggled weakly and then gave in, looking at him strangely. 'Your nose is bleeding,' she said.

Will touched his top lip. Wet. Tasted the bittersweet copper.

'It's nothing,' he said. 'Just took a bit of a beating.' Odd though. He did not remember taking a fist in the face. His nose did not feel tender. He wiped the blood on his sleeve and shrugged. I'll tell you about it later,' he added. 'First, we regroup. Then we interrogate. Then we move. And we have to move fast.'

Nari finished fussing over Alex and kissed her gently on the cheek. 'Okay, love,' he whispered. 'How fast?' he asked Will, eyes fierce with thoughts of vengeance.

'We only have a few weeks,' Will said. 'I'm not waiting another twenty years.'