A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 70

I woke up and the first thing I realized was that I was not cuddled up with Diane. I sat up in a partial panic. Was she okay? Where was she?

Ninette spoke from behind me, "Diane left to run a while ago. I told her that I would watch you until she returned."

I jumped at her voice, I hadn't realized that she had been sitting there. Ninette had just let Diane wander off in that condition while she sat here? I turned to face her, "She can barely move when the pain gets that bad. Why did you let her go alone?"

Ninette smiled kindly, "I escorted her outside the palisade and stayed with her until the actual pain had subsided. By the time she left me, she was only feeling the afterburn and was moving faster than I could. She does have her walkie talkie if you want to check on her."

I breathed a sigh of relief, Ninette hadn't left her until she was back on her feet. I knew that Diane's muscles would ache a bit today, so I would have to keep an eye on her once she came back. I shook my head, "No, if she was moving that well, then she will be fine. She will come back when she is feeling better."

I could barely believe that Diane had left me in the settlement, but deep down I knew that she couldn't have carried me when she left. It was another strike against Ninette's experiments – but this one affected both Diane and me. It had left Diane in pain. I was beginning to dislike this scientist.

Ninette shrugged, "It might be best if we stay here. Diane will probably check here first when she returns and I can't see her being too much longer. She started moving around 1am and it is almost 6am now."

I knew from Diane's stories and past experiences that the pain disappeared within minutes and she really only needed an hour or so of running to get everything back under control. I bet that she was trying to avoid Ninette.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. I tensed up in case it was a stranger, but jumped off the bed once I saw that it was Diane. I gave her a big hug, which she returned. Her voice held no traces of pain or discomfort, "I am fine Laura. I am sorry that I had to leave you. I did run close to the walls so that I could hear you if you called."

That was a relief. I looked up, her eyes had a faint shimmer, but that was simply because she wasn't hiding it. "I know you had no choice, but you came back and that is all that counts."

Ninette stretched as she got to her feet, "Let's head back to the lab. I am out of vials and I want to grab another blood sample to see if anything changed."

This lady was worse than a vampire. At this rate, Diane wasn't going to have any blood left. Diane nodded, "Sure, let's go. It will be a few hours before breakfast is ready."

I grabbed Diane's hand and walked with her. I had no idea how she was handling this considering that she didn't like needles. We entered the main lab room and Ninette pulled a drawer open to bring out more of those tiny little vials. Diane made a face but held out her arm for Ninette to get her blood sample. I seriously hoped that it was the last one for several days.

Ninette put the vial on a test tube rack, "Are you currently feeling that afterburn you mentioned previously?"

Diane nodded, "Yes, although it should fade by noon."

Ninette held up that evil metal skin sampler again, "Mind if I get another sample? I was to see what is happening in the skin and muscle to cause that effect."

With the amount of skin samples she was taking, I was being to wonder if Ninette was actually a zombie who was stealing flesh in the name of science. Diane was silent for a few seconds before sighing and holding out her other arm. Ninette went to put the evil contraption against the side of her arm.