A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 147

I scrambled to my feet and started running. I was on the cliff that had the narrow path that came out right behind the wall. I pulled the heat in my veins and it gave me speed that made me feel like I was flying. Both fired and non-fired people were running through the gate and I slipped into the crowd.

"Hey! Laura, get back inside!"

I quickly dodged the fired man who managed to spot me. He had been recently fired and didn't have the speed or agility that I did. I darted between others as I evaded him. Most had their eyes locked onto the bandits and didn't notice my short body weaving around them.

They were heading to the battle, but I left the group to go towards Diane. I could see Ace was standing beside her as they watched the out of control fighters further down the field. I counted about 35 of them out there now. Most of the bandits were dead. Some of our people moved through the battlefield to kill the seriously wounded bandits that still lived.

I ran towards Diane, but she was still watching the carnage and didn't notice my distant approach. I saw a few of the out of control men run out of targets in their immediate vicinity. They paused and looked around alertly. Their eyes locked on a person along the treeline that I assumed they were protecting. They raced over like a flash to stand beside that person.

Those people looked slightly nervous at first until they realized that the glowing eyed fighter that they loved so dearly meant them no harm. With lack of an immediate threat them, those who were out of control went back to more closely guard the person that they had lost control over.

Ace was still closely watching the bandits. Diane stood a bit behind him and was talking to him. I couldn't see his face, so I wasn't sure if he was talking or just silently watching as he tended to do. Diane glanced over to see me approaching and looked shocked.

She went down to one knee with open arms as I ran forward. Ace turned as he heard my approach, but I knew that he would recognize my footsteps easily. I ran up to Diane and gave her a big hug. I was so glad to see that she was okay. I made sure to not touch her bandage. Hopefully she wasn't too badly injured.

Diane returned my hug, but she seemed a bit tense for some reason. I glanced up at her at the same moment that she glanced over at Ace. He was watching us and I stiffened as I noticed his eyes were glowing turquoise. Diane subtly gave me the hand signal for 'look calm and relax'.

That was easier said than done. One misstep and Ace might attack me since he was out of control. I took a deep breath and forced my muscles to relax. It took everything Rick had taught me, but I managed it.

Ace suddenly turned his head to the side and snarled. I stopped breathing at the terrifying noise. I had never heard anything like it before, even when that feral dog had snarled at me. Roland froze in his approach as he realized that Ace was out of control. He took several slow steps backwards and Ace seemed to lose his focus on Roland now that he had backed up.

I exhaled and took a slow breath. That had been close. Had Roland come much closer, Ace probably would have attacked him. Ace would have felt terrible once he regained control, but it was something that was better avoided. Roland went to warn others to keep their distance for the time being.

I looked around, but about a quarter of the other out of control fighters had regained control. Diane examined Ace as he once more watched the last few bandits being killed on the field to the north. She took several slow steps towards him and that worried me. Why was she approaching him when he was like this?

Ace's body was facing mostly in our direction, but his head was turned towards the battlefield. There was no way he could be unaware of Diane's approach. She hadn't been standing that far from him to start with and now she was within arm's reach.