A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 61

The cawing of crows woke me. I blinked sleepily at the pale green cloth in front of me. It took a few seconds for my mind to connect the dots. It was Diane's nightshirt, I stirred a bit and noticed that I was still in Diane's arms. I raised my head to look at her in worry. Last time I had woken like this, she had been in pain.

Her eyes were open and their normal shimmer was present as she watched me calmly. Her face was also relaxed with no pain lines. I sighed in relief, she wasn't in pain because she stayed with me. I relaxed again and lowered my head onto her arm.

Despite the noisy crows, it was oddly relaxing as we watched the sky change color with the sunrise. I knew that the numerous reds and oranges meant there would likely be a huge storm later tonight. Small songbirds sang in the background. There weren't even any mosquitoes up here.

It was rare that I got to cuddle with Diane in a sleeping bag or bed. She didn't want to wake me as she came and went in the night. Although, I did get to lean against her a lot if we were sitting. I wished we could do this more often, without me having to cry myself to sleep in her arms.

That thought and the crows reminded me of the events last night. I was scared to look on that side of the trailer. Watching the sunrise was a much better alternative. I was nice and warm, it was more of a natural heat instead of that intense heat when she had been in pain.

I rested my head above her heart, listening to its slow and steady rhythm. I idly traced random patterns on Diane's arms as I enjoyed the sunrise. I really didn't want to move.

My traitorous stomach growled, it was used to eating breakfast by now. Diane glanced down in amusement as I blushed. She chuckled lightly, "Come on, let's get you some breakfast."

I climbed out of the sleeping bag and went to grab a clean change of clothes as Diane stood up to stretch. Out of the corner of my eye I saw several black objects drop out of the sky. I glanced over at the diving crows and froze when I saw what they were after.

It looked like the corner of the baseball diamond had been washed in blood. It was splattered everywhere. My throat tightened as I took in the sight of Smokey on the ground as a dozen crows were picking at his wounds. A mound of brown fur off to the side must be the cougar. More crows were squabbling over it.

I jumped a bit as Diane rested her hand on my shoulder comfortingly, I hadn't even heard her walk up. "I was with him as he passed away, he did not die with the cougar near him. He did not die in fear."

I slowly nodded, that was a relief. He hadn't died with the cougar digging its claws into him. Even from here I could see the wounds in Smokey's neck, I knew from Diane's first aid classes that such a wound could easily bleed out.

I got changed, and by the time I got to the fire, Diane already had some of yesterday's flatbread grilling with some smoked meat and greens inside. I went behind the trailer to use the washroom. I came back and kept glancing at the field, "Can we go over there? I want to say goodbye to Smokey."

She pulled the rock with the flatbread away from the fire and stood up, "Let's go."

We walked silently to the gate. She paused to grab a handful of the blooming clover at the side of the fence and passed half of it to me. We passed the cougar, but I only had eyes for Smokey. The crows all scattered and flew some distance away as they complained about our interruption.

I looked at him. He must have put up a good fight, he had tons of injuries from the big cat's claws all over his body. It looked like almost every inch of his hide had blood on it. The upper section of his neck and mane were still blood free.