A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 89

The fire would build and die down to cooking coals by the time we returned. Diane quietly opened the gate and we headed out into the forest for our morning run in the still dark night.

After an hour, Diane came to a creek and rubbed her hands together ambitiously as she surveyed it. She glanced down at me, "How about we collect a bunch of clams and make a clam chowder? I saw some herbs and onions along the way that would go well in it. If we drop a bit of smoked fish in, it will give it a light smoky flavor."

I grinned before taking off my shoes and rolling up my pants. Leave it to Diane to decide to try and feed 57 other people. She was doing it partly out of boredom, but also to prove that our presence was not going to be a burden.

Once more, I rummaged behind large boulders where clams liked to hide. I filled up my small bucket and looked over to see that Diane's larger bucket was much fuller than mine. We headed back to the camp to start the soup. I gathered edible plants in the immediate area while making sure I could see Diane, as well as watching for wild animals or zombies.

Diane wandered outside the fence to join me in collecting plants. It was still early for quite a few plants, so our choices were very limited. I furrowed my eyebrows when I noticed Diane collecting several extremely bitter plants. They weren't something I would ever put in a salad. They were so bitter that I wouldn't even nibble on them like I did so many plants.

She cut a thin strip of bark away from a tree to collect the soft inner layer. Now I knew what she was up to, she was making that high test coffee of hers. I had never liked coffee, but Diane had still told me to never try that evil brew that she occasionally made for the unsuspecting victims traveling with us.

As if I needed more energy...

Diane went back to prepare the regular dandelion root coffee that was so common now, as well as to make a small pot with that bitter smelling concoction. I came back and mixed up the ingredients for flatbread while Diane started roasting thin strips of leftover deer meat.

Diane checked her keychain clock. I could read it from here, it was 6:30am. We had spent two hours collecting and starting breakfast. I watched Diane carefully flip her flatbread as the smell of baking bread started to waft around us.

The smell of baking flatbread started waking the others up. In such cramped conditions if someone started to move, it wasn't long before others woke up too.

Amber rolled over to peer sleepily down at us, "You are up already? What is wrong with you?" Her voice was thick with disbelief as she teased us sleepily.

Another guy stood up, it was Roland. He stretched beside her before gently poking her in the side with his toe, "Rise and shine sleeping beauty. You can nap in the back of the truck later. Besides, I think I smell tea."

Roland looked much more awake than the others and was one of the first ones to come down. He banged loudly on the side of a trailer to wake everyone up, "Rise and shine, people."

I grinned as a number of moans and groans sounded from above at the loud wakeup call. Diane snorted at their unanimous reaction and chuckled lightly. If I didn't know better, I would have suspected we had zombies up there. Roland wandered over to sit on a stump. He regarded the various pots in curiosity, "What do we have here?"

"Clam chowder, flatbread, soup, dandelion root coffee mix, that one has that high test coffee I promised you. The herbs aren't that easy to find, so there isn't much. The big bowl has salad."

He eyed up the food in anticipation, "Well, I obviously have to grab my bowl and cup, and sample this."

He dug around in one of the trailers before loading his bowl with soup and balancing it on his plate that held some fish, venison, bread, and salad. I was wondering where he was planning on putting all of that food. His plate was heaped. He reached for the small pot, "Is the coffee that strong?"

Diane nibbled on some bread, "If you have more than half a cup, you will be able to keep up with Laura on foot for a good chunk of the day."

He shook his head, "After losing that bet with the deer, I am playing it safe."

He was smart, but if he had truly been wise, he would have avoided anything if Diane put consumption limits on it due to its potency. He poured about quarter of a cup and sipped the hot liquid. His eyes widened as he sputtered a bit at the taste.

I giggled as Diane grinned at his reaction, "Oh, by the way, it is a tad bit bitter."

He gave Diane a wide-eyed look, "Did you locate the most bitter herbs you could possibly find and base your recipe off of that?"

Actually, he wasn't that far from the truth... Diane chuckled, "Darn, you caught me. I bet you feel much more awake now though, don't you?"

He shook his head, "You are just evil."

Another guy came over, "What is evil?"

Roland glanced over his shoulder at him, "Take my advice Todd and avoid the high test coffee like the plague."

The young adult looked intrigued, "Okay, after that I simply have to try it."

Roland shook his head, "It's your funeral..."

He poured a full cup of that coffee. I didn't want to talk, but I really had to warn him since he hadn't heard Diane's warning. "It is bitter. It is also pretty stong, you shouldn't drink more than a quarter cup the first time."

The young man grinned at me, "Thank you for the warning, but I have always enjoyed strong coffee. The stronger, the better."

I blinked slowly, "Uh... Sir, that coffee will knock your socks off." Why didn't he take the hint?

Roland looked like he was trying not to laugh. The young man chuckled, "Good, my socks needed to be changed. It isn't sir, either. My name is Todd." He shoulders slumped theatrically, "Being called Sir reminds me of an old man with grey hair in a wheel chair... I am only twenty years old, not ninety. Once I get that old, then people can call me sir."

He struck me as one of those goofy people who was never serious. He yawned and took a big slurp of his coffee. His eyes bulged and his shoulders tensed at the taste, but he managed to swallow it.

"Whoa..."

Roland watched Todd with a mischevious glint in his eyes, "Laura warned you. I bet that you can't drink more than one cup of that stuff."

Todd sat up straighter with a grin, "I accept that challenge."

It was official. He was an idiot. I couldn't say it out loud either, it was a word I wasn't supposed to know, let alone think or say. My Mom washed my mouth out with soap the one time I called a kid that. I doubted that Diane would resort to that, but I didn't want to risk finding out the hard way. Her knowledge of herbs outstripped mine and she knew the worst tasting things out there.

Todd took another swig of his coffee and shuddered lightly at the taste. Roland looked on in amusement. Some others had come over and were pointedly steering clear of the brew that was so bitter that bets were being made about being able to drink it.

I nibbled on a piece of flatbread and some greens while I watched in disbelief as Todd managed to drink three full cups. This was the guy for whom common sense warning labels were invented for.

I helped wash dishes while others packed up the little they had taken out. It was mostly sleeping bags, cooking stuff, and the fence paneling. We were on the road the moment enough sun hit the solar panels to allow the trucks to move.