A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 57

The small group wasn't quite as bad this morning as they had been yesterday, but they still gave Diane more space than they had before. Diane headed over to Mike while he ate breakfast, "You are still planning on heading to the Wainwright Base?"

He nodded in surprise at the question, "Yes."

She held out a big fat envelope, "Can you please deliver this once you get there? That is all I ask in exchange for escorting you to the next village."

He nodded slowly as he took it, "Are you sure that is all you want? We did delay your own journey quite a few days and used your horse."

I peered at the envelope, it was addressed to 'Matthew, Forager Group Leader, Wainwright Base'. She was sending a letter back to the Fort. I hoped that he would actually deliver it and not use it for firestarter.

Diane nodded, "That is all I want. You might want to wait a few days before finding him. Some in the base were just as uneasy around me as your group seems to be now, so there is no need to mention me by name. He will know who it is from."

He looked a bit sheepish with his avoidance being so easily noticed, but nodded, "I will make sure he gets it. Thank you once again for all of your help."

She nodded, "I will stay with you until the town is in sight and then part ways."

People ate breakfast rapidly and we were packed up in record time. Diane once more managed a speed walk while occasionally jogging to lure zombies away. People watched her nervously. I sighed at their behavior.

At least we wouldn't be traveling with them for much longer. We had already covered half of the remaining distance since this morning. We were probably an hour away at this point.

One lady sat beside me, "What do you think the next settlement is like?"

I tried to recall what Diane had said about it, "If I remember correctly, there should be about 70 people there. They had a lot of cattle."

She tilted her head, "Would there be any kids there?"

I shrugged, "Probably." Most settlements had at least a handful of kids.

"Why don't you stay there with us then? You could have kids your own age to play with."

Alarm bells rang in my head once more and I shifted uneasily, "No, thank you. I am going with Diane."

She made a sad face, "Please? Will you come with us?"

I shook my head rapidly and sidled backwards a bit nervously. Another woman sat down on my other side, practically trapping me between them, "We can keep you safe from zombies. You won't have to sleep in a hammock again. Please come with us."

I didn't like the trapped feeling and it was making my heart start to race. I shook my head once more, "No, I want to go with Diane."

The second lady frowned at me, "Honest honey, you would be safer with us."

My heart hammered in my chest, I didn't want to go through this again. I scrambled to my feet and darted to the ladder before moving to walk beside the trailer. Diane came back from luring off a zombie. Diane glanced at my upset face and sent a sharp look up at those on top. The two women turned a bit red before facing the other way.

A few people riding the horses tried to ask me what was wrong, but I refused to answer them. They then tried to ask the two ladies on top what had upset me, but they simply turned red and didn't respond either. The people sent looks of confusion between the two women and me as we continued to travel.

Diane walked beside me, letting those who were mounted lure off the zombies like she had shown them. I was glad that she wasn't leaving me alone. Diane may have only been doing a very fast walk, but I had to lightly jog to keep up.

My legs started to burn as I struggled to keep up. Before long, Diane picked me up and put me on her shoulders. Thankfully we didn't have far to go now.

Eventually we rounded a bend and the palisade walls came into sight. I felt Diane sigh in relief as someone stopped the horses. Diane put me down and went to unharness Smokey and put his saddle back on him. I quickly climbed into his saddle.

Mike faced Diane, "Thanks for getting us this far. Travel safe."

Diane shook his hand and he seemed uneasy by the contact as she responded, "No worries. Safe travels and good speed to you as well. Perhaps we will meet again one day."

"Hopefully we will both live that long. Take care of that girl. See you another day."

Diane nodded before turning away. I touched my heels lightly to Smokey's side and he followed after her. I was glad to be getting away from them.

I kept an eye on Diane as she pulled out the compass to double check her heading. Once we were out of sight she picked up her speed. She was constantly glancing around, as if waiting for trouble to appear. It never did though.

Slowly, bit by bit she relaxed and dropped her guard as an hour passed by and no other humans appeared. Zombies didn't count. She noted their presence, but unless we had to detour around one, she paid them no mind.

Rick and Matthew would have flipped if they had seen her nonchalant attitude towards the visible zombies. But they didn't know her like I did. I knew for a fact that she was aware of the exact location of each zombie and its likelihood of catching us. Even if she didn't look in their direction.

I kept my surveillance up like I had been taught. It would be pretty stupid of me to not watch the zombies. I had no desire to get cornered or bitten due to my carelessness. Diane would rescue me if one ever did corner me, but she would have doubts about my safety on the road and either escort me back to Wainwright Fort or leave me with one of the settlements.

I didn't want to chance that happening.

Smokey seemed glad to be simply carrying me and not pulling a trailer. We stopped by a lake for a swim once, but otherwise we let Smokey set the pace. He seemed determined to make up for lost ground. Or perhaps he was seeing if he could tire out Diane.

We covered a lot more distance than Diane had anticipated by the time we made camp. Smokey snorted and shook himself as Diane went out for her evening run. Nick may have wished Smokey luck with getting the best of Diane, but apparently Smokey was going to need a lot more luck on his side to make that happen.

I remained in my hammock as Diane left. It was dark and also past my bedtime. I blinked sleepily while I waited for sleep to claim me. I caught glimpses of a swift blue light flickering as it passed behind the trees. I knew it was Diane's eyes as she ran the perimeter before moving further out. It was a reassurance that nothing harmful lurked out in the darkness.

I heard a faint thump and noticed that Smokey had knocked his saddle off of the post and onto the ground. I didn't even bother contemplating going down to pick it up. Rick had drilled one big rule into me before we left with the Traders. If I got separated from the Traders and Diane wasn't around, I was supposed to climb and wait for her to return.

Diane also really liked that tactic and got me to practice it frequently. She liked it even better if I climbed a tree and hid from view. Even if no one else could see me, Diane always spotted me within seconds of entering the clearing we were practicing in. I had gotten very good at climbing up trees and hiding among the branches and leaves.

I slowly drifted to sleep.