A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 94

I regarded Todd with my bright blue eyes, "It doesn't matter if it is raining or not. You still have to move."

"I am beginning to think that you two just like to torture me..."

I corrected him with a grin, "No, it will be torture if you don't start moving soon. Don't you remember what happened the last time you ignored me?"

Todd shuddered at the memory before putting on his raincoat and coming out from under the tarp. It had been six days since he had been bitten, and the pain and muscles had disappeared. Todd had decided to skip his evening run one night and had paid a heavy price for it the next day.

I still couldn't figure out why he had ignored Diane's warning. Watching him stagger around from the muscle pain all day after that made me very glad that I had never skimped on my exercise. Diane came back from luring off the zombies just as we got to the gate.

Todd wanted nothing to do with zombies, not that I could blame him after being attacked by one. Diane guided us on a trail that she had just ensured was clear. I could see a few fireflies here and there. I wasn't sure if any mosquitoes were around. Not a single bug had bit me since Diane had given me the Heartfire virus. A very nice perk in my mind. I disliked itchy mosquito bites.

Todd rubbed a raindrop off his nose, "I wish this rain would let up..."

Diane glanced up at the uniform grey clouds, "I doubt that it will happen anytime soon. This rain had socked in."

Todd groaned, but kept slowly jogging along while panting. He still wasn't showing any signs of the Heartfire energy or stamina yet. In fact, he didn't seem any different from before. That would be changing in a couple of weeks though.

The others in the group, with the exception of the newcomers, treated Todd the same as they had before, although they were avoiding direct contact until all seven days had passed. It was a precaution that neither Todd, nor they, minded.

They weren't bothered by Diane or me either, which was a relief. In fact, some seemed quite intrigued by the fact that there was a possible way to survive a zombie bite. A handful were even watching with a speculative look in their eyes. I kind of thought that they may ask Diane for the Heartfire virus just so that they were immune to a zombie bite. They would wait to ensure that Todd didn't turn into a zombie first though.

Todd was gasping for breath by the time Diane left us at the gate. She went off for a harder run. I had enough exercise to tide me over for the moment. I could drag Todd out in an hour or so. I had been very diligent in making sure that Todd kept moving, much to the amusement of those watching.

Diane returned a while later with a bag of roots for the soup. Todd and I started washing them while Diane chopped them up. Diane gave Todd a long measuring look. Todd raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What was that look for?"

Diane threw a handful of root pieces into the big pot, "Just making sure that I wasn't seeing things."

Her question had been deliberately worded to force him to ask a question. Sometimes her form of humor was simply to cause confusion. Such a tactic worked quite well with Todd. He blinked in confusion, "Huh? You have lost me. I have been sitting here for some time dicing up roots, I am obviously not a figment of your imagination."

I grinned as I realized what Diane had seen. Diane chuckled and elaborated, "Your eyes are getting lighter. Another week and they will be blue."

His brown eyes were a bit lighter and the faintest hints of blue were just starting to appear near his pupils. If I hadn't also looked closely after Diane's comment, I would have missed it.