A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 76

I rode on a pale grey horse. Ninette had a dapple mare that didn't seem to care that Diane and Don were keeping up with her light trot. I would have much preferred sitting on Diane's shoulder since her run was smooth, but I didn't even bother asking this time. I knew she would say no in this situation, and I completely agreed with her.

I looked up as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud. Taver had left for his next trading run already. He took our new letters with him. I had really enjoyed reading the letters we had received. My friends told me of things they had been learning in class. That reminded me that I hadn't really touched my textbooks lately, I was going to have to correct that before Diane said something.

Diane had been telling Ace and Matthew everything we had learned about the Heartfire virus. She had also mentioned Don's survival. In her letter to Ace, I had told Diane to let Ace know that she was getting slack without her usual practice. No one else here came close to the average Guard back at the Fort knew, so no one was even close to Diane's skill level.

Diane had found it humorous that Ace had run from Nancine twice more when she tried to flirt with him. He was now just trying to avoid her entirely. I seemed to recall that Ace had a severe aversion to dancing or with any type of flirting. I had hugged him once during training as a thank you and I had noticed that he had been uneasy with it. He had been one of the very few to avoid all of the parties after the ceremonies or speeches.

Ace also mentioned that without Diane's scouting, the amount of greens were actually being rationed. No one could scout like she did, and they were just trying to remember which areas had been best last year. It seemed like poetic justice to me, although I knew that it wasn't something I should mention to Diane. She never held grudges.

Don cleared his throat nervously, "So... What if that thing got loose and we stumble across it on the way there?"

Diane seemed amused, although she was alert, "That is why I am packing my bow and several coils of thick snare wire."

If Diane hadn't been here, I would have turned my horse and urged it to run back to the palisade walls. But she was here and that was the only reason I felt safe. Don may have the beginnings of the Heartfire speed, but he was still the same impulsive young adult that he had been before. I would not have trusted him to protect me.

Diane tilted her head, "It is just around that bend, we should slow down."

I immediately slowed my horse down. Diane took the lead as she carefully rounded the bend. Don was nervous, but slowly followed her while Ninette urged her mount forward. Her horse snorted and balked, it obviously had more sense than we did. Don returned and grabbed the reins of her horse before tying it to a tree, "The snare wire is still holding that thing, so it should be safe enough to go on foot. We won't get the horses much closer without risk of them bolting."

I found it humorous that Don kept referring to the zombie as 'the thing'. Wasn't that the name of the weird decapitated hand on the Adam's Family? I somehow doubted that this zombie was as harmless as what I had seen on the tv. Besides, if you cut off a zombie's hand, it is just a motionless body part. It does not get up and run around on its own accord.

I dismounted and tied my own horse up using a knot that Diane had showed me. Diane was at the bend, keeping half an eye on me while also watching the other two gape at whatever was just out of my sight. I walked towards her while trying to peer around the corner.

My steps hesitated as I caught sight of the blonde haired man. His bright red eyes and quick movements told me exactly what he was. A Swift. I was very grateful that he had a noose of both thick wire and rope around his neck. I didn't want to get any closer.