A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 133

Diane nodded slowly and seemed relieved that most hadn't seen her. I dried the plate and added, "Everyone was taking bets on when you would wake up this morning. Kerry wants to see you soon as well."

Diane glanced at me in surprise, "Why does Kerry want to see me?"

I looked up at her, "To make sure that you are okay. She said she didn't realize you were in such bad shape until you had already left."

Diane pursed her lips, "I was pretty tired. Did others think I was in bad shape?" She didn't like admitting it, but she was skirting around the subject while acknowledging the truth.

I grinned at Diane, "As Kerry pointed out, it is not a good thing when anyone with established Heartfire can barely travel 400 feet in an half an hour and doesn't wake up when someone drops a heavy blanket on them."

Diane winced and changed the subject, "So who won the bet?"

I giggled loudly at the best part, "No one! Everyone thought that you would be up by 7:30 at the latest."

Diane shook her head and dried her hands, "Well, let's go find Kerry before she comes looking for us."

I followed Diane as she headed down the meadow. Ace glanced at us, but kept training. He knew where were we going and probably didn't feel like antagonizing Kerry again.

Kerry was predictably in her office and looked up as we entered, "Please take a seat."

I took a seat beside Diane to act as moral support. Kerry was in no better of a mood now than she had been in earlier. She was still a bit grumpy. Kerry reached into a drawer placed an altered epipen on the desk. Diane blinked in surprise before taking it and stowing it in her beltpouch that she carried instead of her backpack when inside the meadow.

Kerry cleared her throat, her voice was calm and serious, "Why didn't you tell me how bad you were last night?"

Diane sighed, "I didn't think it was quite that bad until I started moving."

She was not mollified, "And when you realized that you were mistaken? When you had started joking around, I figured that the worst was over. I did not anticipate that it would take you over half an hour to make a journey that took you five minutes the night before."

Diane grinned slightly, "I wasn't ready to admit defeat. Besides, even if I had said something, what would you have done? It isn't exactly possible to carry me up a ladder. Roland really needs to install an elevator you know. Someone is bound to break an arm or collarbone one day and be unable to manage that ladder."

Kerry made a face, "I am oddly grateful to those people who set up those loungers and put that one on such an angle. You were nearly impossible to see. Most originally thought that you were inside resting. I had more than a handful come to see me to find out if you were injured somehow after they spotted you. Unfortunately, rumors are spreading fast about Ace putting that heavy quilt on you and you not waking up. Luckily most immediately dismissed them, but the fact that you slept so late is making some reconsider."

Diane shrugged, there wasn't much she could really say. She fell asleep on a deck and a few people saw her. It wasn't as if she had laid down for a nap outside of the protected meadow.

Kerry continued, "The other symptoms you had worry me though. I have never seen a fired person's eyes unable to brighten in the dark once their eyes gained the ability to glow. I have also never seen anyone who was fired shiver before, this is more concerning considering the fact that most were not even wearing jackets with the warm spring weather. I can barely sleep for six hours and I simply cannot wrap my head around how you managed to sleep for at least twelve."