A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 33

Trish exhaled in surprise. I frowned, "And?"

She glanced at me in surprise. I wasn't sure why, something else was obviously bothering her. They had expected for those two to attack her. The fact that one more had appeared wasn't that surprising.

I noticed that Ace seemed to tense up slightly. That was odd. Ace was rarely tense unless Diane was coming at him with a practice weapon. Diane reached over to pull her archery guard off of her wrist and she held out her wrist so we could see it.

I blinked at the silvery scar on her wrist. It looked like a bite mark. Trish sucked in a shocked breath as Nathan tensed up. Diane had been watching their reactions.

"I was bitten when the zombies got loose inside back in early summer. That was the main reason I had left for a month. I didn't turn into a zombie, but I did experience some changes. You have probably noticed some of them."

She slowly took a deep breath, as if uncomfortable with telling this, "My eyes went from dark brown to bright blue. They glow in the dark and occasionally in the day. My blood changed color somewhat as well, as the Nursing Group Leader just found out. The change made me faster, stronger, with far more endurance. Apparently, if my blood changes color enough, it can also burn other people. I managed to burn Desmond's skin when I elbowed him."

I had noticed most of those changes, and more besides the ones she had listed. It made sense for an angel. I wasn't sure what a zombie bite had to do with it though. Trish seemed shocked, "I am having a hard time believing this... You got bitten almost a year ago and you are just telling us now? Why?"

Diane sighed, "I had planned on keeping it a secret as long as possible. The only reason it came out was because Carrie was cleaning my wound and the cleaning solution washed off the makeup I used to hide it."

Ace murmured, "If it had just been the Nurses, we could have kept it under wraps. Unfortunately, someone overheard the nurses discussing it with the Commanders and it is spreading like wildfire. Quite a few also saw her blood burn Desmond. Far too many saw it and there is no way for us to request that they remain silent."

Nathan inhaled in surprise, his eyes wide, "If she was bitten, even so long ago, they likely won't let her sleep in the Fort. Especially not if she changed from the bite."

Ace nodded, "Yes, we suspect that she will have to move out to the treehouses until things settle and people calm down."

I blinked in surprise. The treehouses were like big tree forts built on tall posts outside the fence. People who were bitten, or likely infected, were allowed to live in them while waiting out the ten day term. People always turned within seven days if they were infected. No one who had been bitten had ever made it past that point.

Trish turned to me, "I can look after you until Diane is cleared to come back in."

I blinked in utter confusion at her comment. Then it dawned on me. They were planning on separating me from Diane.

My eyes widened, "No!" My old fears were coming back, that Diane would disappear. My voice kept on rising, "No! I won't be separated from her! You can't do that! No! I won't stay here. I will follow her wherever she goes. You can't take me from her! That isn't fair!"

I lost track of what I was yelling out as I hit my fists on the arm of the chair. Ace winced at my temper tantrum while Trish and Nathan seemed completely shocked by my outburst. I had never raised my voice in their presence before, let alone shouted or screamed.

It was no fair! She had been bitten long before she had met me and if she was about to turn into a zombie she would have done so by now. It hadn't happened yet and it wouldn't at this point. My mind started whirling as it thought of dozens of ways to sneak out of the Fort to the treehouses.

After all of my training, it would be pretty easy. Wait, this was just like in my training. Distraction. This was a distraction. I continued my loud rant as my mind now clearly saw the deception at play. Diane was lying. They would have noticed her speed and burning blood during the fight. The nurses would have spotted her healing abilities when cleaning her wound.

There was no reasonable explanation for it. I had already guessed that angels weren't allowed to say what they were, and a zombie bite might be possibly accepted as an explanation. She wasn't able to tell them what she was, so she had to face living outside of the fence to keep her secret.

I wasn't about to let them part us for her cover story. My throat felt raw from my shouting. I was running out of things to say and my temper had been spent. I took a deep breath and stopped yelling. I slumped against Diane tiredly.

I nervously glanced up at her, worried about her reaction. I had never thrown a tantrum like that – ever, even with my own parents. I wasn't sure how she would react. To my relief, she didn't appear upset. She took it all in stride, as if she had halfway expected it.

Unlike Trish, Nathan, and Ace. They still seemed to be recovering from my very uncharacteristic outburst and loud opinions. My silence seemed to disturb them almost as much as my screaming had. For once, the ever collected and calm Ace seemed completely out of his depth.

A knock on the door made us jump. Diane didn't, so she had likely heard the person walk up, even over my screams. I wasn't sure how she wasn't deaf after my not-so-little episode. Ace moved to the door and opened it, before letting Matthew walk in. He closed the door and resumed his post leaning against the wall.

Matthew stuck his hands in his pockets as he stood and regarded us somewhat uncomfortably. He sighed, "Well, considering what I heard from the floor below, I think we had better discuss any possible problems that may arise if the Commanders allow Laura to accompany Diane."

I winced. Now that I thought about it, my voice would have carried a long ways. Trish took a deep breath and looked at me, but I refused to meet her eyes. I didn't want her to think that I would let her be my guardian. Diane's name was on my name tag, and it would stay there if I had any say in the matter.

They carefully explained the situation to me, mostly trying to convince me to remain in the Fort. To my surprise, Diane would only be sleeping in the treehouse. We would still be foraging and come inside the fence for meals since her bite was so old. Other than a new bed, everything would remain the same.

It actually sounded kind of exciting. They kept trying to tell me that people may shun me when I came inside the Fort since they may be scared that I might also be infected. As it was, Trish and Nathan had no problems with Diane's bite mark, so I doubt they would act that way.

I didn't really care about how others regarded me when I had likely never met them. I did care about what Diane thought, and somewhat cared about what Trish, Nathan, Ace, and Matthew thought since they were close friends with Diane. None of them would shun either of us, so that argument held no value for me.

As I plainly told Diane, I planned on following her until the day she turned into a red eyed zombie and I had to run from her. She seemed to find that somewhat funny.

It was getting late and all of the men left for their own rooms. Trish headed to bed while Diane and I went into our room and closed the door. As we got ready for bed Diane took off her bandage. I walked over to look, but didn't see anything other than an angry red mark on her skin.

Diane spoke quietly, "I heal much faster than should be possible. The cut I got in the fight has almost completely healed already."

I remembered how fast her bruises had healed, so it made sense that other injuries healed just as fast. I nodded without surprise, "I know. I have seen some other injuries disappear overnight before."

A look of surprise crossed her face before she grinned and chuckled at my observation skills. We climbed into bed for our long delayed sleep. It was possibly the last time we would sleep in these beds for several weeks.