I yawned as the morning bell sounded and wrinkled my nose. There was a terrible smell in the air. I got dressed and went out to see Diane lounging on a cushion as she gazed out the window. The smell was even worse in here. I wrinkled my nose, "What is that smell?"
"I painted some fire retardant on the house posts and bottom in case a grass fire occurs this fall. The smell should mostly fade today and completely disappear in a few days. I will be applying a few more coats later on."
I hadn't heard anyone mention a grassfire before. But if she had proofed the house against fire, then there must have been a reason for it. The grass was quite dry in the field between the fence and the forest, we hadn't had any rain for almost two weeks now. It would burn really well.
I shook my head, "It stinks."
Diane grinned at me, "Oh, I know. I was the one putting it on."
I grinned at her, acknowledging her point. We headed to the Fort for breakfast. I climbed down the ladder and did a double take at the posts supporting the treehouse. No wonder it had smelled. She had slathered on huge amounts of the black stuff. She had even painted the bottom of the treehouse. I couldn't see one hint of untouched wood.
I blinked as I noticed three fire detectors carefully camouflaged and hidden on the treehouse. One at the bottom of a post, one on the bottom of the treehouse hidden behind a post, and one on the side of the treehouse.
The ground all around the treehouse had been cleared of shrubs and bushes. I noticed a fire extinguisher attached to the post of the treehouse. That was odd, because I had also seen that Diane had put a second one inside this morning not far from the trapdoor. She must have really been worried about a grassfire.
I grabbed the zipline and let it carry me. I laughed as Diane ran below me, easily keeping up. I landed on the platform and exited the gate to grin at Diane. She smiled down at me and we started walking towards the fence.
I groaned a bit as I realized what day it was, "I have class today, don't I?"
"Yes."
We entered the fence and went for breakfast. I grinned at Trish, who was still on a high from her wedding last week. She wasn't even letting my teasing get to her. She was just too happy and Nathan seemed to be the same way.
I was reluctant to go to class, but that was simply because I was away from Diane. The teacher and I got along well enough after her first encounter with Diane.
We had a guest speaker today. It was a Mechanic Group Leader. We learned an important piece of information. They had been unable to get any vehicle to start for a week now. Many of the Mechanic groups were dispersing since every vehicle was now just a decorative lawn ornament.
Some of the more talented or ingenious members were banding together in new groups. They were changing existing farm machinery so it could be pulled by horses. Some were even working on more solar vehicles. I hadn't even been aware that we even had any solar vehicles, but apparently we did.
This news mostly crushed Mark's dreams of being a mechanic since he had been intrigued by the motors. Mark raised his hand. The Mechanic nodded, "Yes?"
Mark lifted his head, "What about steam? I know they used it in trains and stuff before. Would it work in trucks or buses?"
The Mechanic shook his head, "We did try that once or twice, but steam creates a lot of pressure and it tends to break most seals on the pressure chambers. The fuel and boiler also take up too much room for an average truck. It takes a long time to warm up and a long time to cool down, so it isn't particularly useful unless used for pulling farm equipment. Even then each tractor would take several people to work it."
Mark's head drooped as he slowly nodded. The Mechanic continued with a short lesson how solar power worked.
The day went by pretty quickly and I was glad when Diane appeared in the doorway. She had a thoughtful expression on as we went to the playground. No one was here since Diane had come back before most parents finished their tasks.
We started to build sand castles. "Mind if I bounce some thoughts off of you?"
Why would she want my thoughts? I nodded in curiosity, "Sure, go ahead."
She started speaking slowly, "I was thinking of joining one of the Trader groups to see how they do things. It can take a month or so to complete a circuit depending where they are going. I don't have any problem with you tagging along, but it doesn't seem very fair for you as there won't be any other kids with the group and we will be moving almost nonstop."
I had stopped playing with sand and watched her expression closely. She was worried that life on the road wouldn't be fair to me because there were no other kids. That was the least of my worries. My biggest worry was being separated from her.
How could I word this to sway her into letting me come? "I want to go with you. I can understand why you would be worried about there being no other kids, but we should see some in the places we visit. Other than in class, or at this playground, I really don't see any kids during the day. I can study my school work as we travel to ensure that I don't fall behind, but I really want to go with you."
She nodded without surprise, "One of the Trader groups is due back later this week so we might stop in to talk with them once they return."
I was relieved that she wasn't going to try and talk me out of coming with her. I could only think of one reason why Diane would leave Matthew's Foraging though, "Is this because of the people trying to shoot you?"
The Base Commander had made it known that anyone who attacked or attempted to kill another person would be exiled outside of the fence, but it hadn't deterred the last attempt. She nodded slowly, "Yes, hopefully if I go away for a bit the people will stop trying to shoot me."
She was obviously picking her words with care and I knew that something must be going on that I didn't know about. Just like with the previous murders. If that were the case, then I was not about to let myself be left behind.
Donovan and Rick had actually mentioned a few things in passing in our training recently. Apparently people liked to worry about something. Just like the old news channels, they always needed something new. The zombies were old news and people wanted something new and big to worry and fret over. Without an obvious enemy, they would create one. Apparently some people were trying to make Diane their new obsession and they wanted her gone.
Rick had made one thing clear though, fear could blow a small detail completely out of proportion in any situation. I doubted that anyone would forget their fear just because we went away for a few days. Their stubbornness and refusal to see the good in her frustrated me. She had done nothing but help people and work hard despite all of their grudges and insults.
It also worried me, "But what if they don't? Donovan said that they were probably just trying to drive you away because they were scared. What if they started doing it again once we return?"
Her eyes were soft as if she had mulled over this detail for far too long, "Donovan is probably right. Hopefully they will forget their fear while we are gone. If not, I guess we will have to think of what to do when we hit that point."
The people in this base just didn't seem happy unless they were trying to kill someone. "What they are doing is not right."
Diane suddenly looked tired and I could see faint worry lines around her eyes. She nodded slowly, "I know Laura, I know."
She said nothing more, but she didn't have to.
Several days later we were called into Matthew's office. Matthew was visiting with a man around his age and gestured for us to grab a chair. "Thanks for coming. Please have a seat. Diane, Laura, I would like you to meet Dave. He is the Group Leader for one of the Trader groups. Dave, this is Diane and Laura."
I examined his bronze colored badge in curiosity as I shook his hand.
Dave nodded at us, "Matthew informed me of your desire to come with us for a trading run. We are planning on going to a small holding and it will be about two weeks before we make it back. It happens to be one of the closest locations, but it should give you a solid basis to make a future decision. I have no problem with Laura tagging along as long as she behaves, and from what Matthew has told me, she has never been anything but an asset in the field."
That made me somewhat proud to be considered an asset. I was also determined to be on my best behavior.
Diane leaned back and glanced at Matthew before refocusing on Dave, "Did Matthew also discuss my... inability to sit still? No one really notices in the base, but on the road it would be quite noticeable."
That was a good point, even when picking greens Diane would occasionally run a perimeter sweep. I knew it was to keep her muscles from hurting, but apparently very few people knew the fine details. They just knew that she couldn't sit still for long. After that night with me, I tried to ensure that she kept moving. If we were traveling with a small group, they would swiftly notice her nightly excursions.
Dave nodded, "Since it is classified as a medical condition I did have inquire about it. He mentioned that you have to stay pretty active during the day and that he knew that you also run part of the night, but wasn't too sure of the exact details. He told me that he is confident that you will easily keep up on foot with the horses, we will bring one for you just in case, but it will be up to you if you choose to ride or run with us."
I knew she would choose to run. Diane slowly blinked in thought, "I tend to run a lot during the day with an hour of hard running from 10 until 11 and then I sleep until around 4 in the morning when I go for another hard run. As long as I don't sit for more than half the day it is pretty manageable."
Dave nodded again, unfazed by her comment, "Matthew said you see really well at night, so as long as you don't get bitten or injured, I have no issue with it since you have obviously been doing this for a long time."
Diane chuckled, "If I get that close to a zombie, it is the one in trouble."
I grinned silently, the only way a zombie could possibly get that close to Diane is if she let it or if she approached it. Dave chuckled and Matthew shook his head in amusement, "Dave is a more serious fellow than me, so don't go about playing your typical pranks or he might make you walk home."
We all grinned at Matthew's ironic statement. She wouldn't walk back to the Fort, she would probably jog or run. Which was even funnier since she probably planned on jogging beside the walking horses.
Dave seemed pretty easy going. "Well, we are pulling out in three days, so be ready by then. We have all of the basics, so just bring the personal essentials like sleeping bags, hygiene stuff, clothing, and the like."
Diane and I nodded. We talked a bit more, Dave was quite eager to have an experienced Forager along, his group knew the basics of edible plants, but nothing really advanced or complicated. And they knew almost nothing about the medicinal uses of them.
I grinned silently and noticed Matthew's amused expression as well. Just like with Brett's group, Dave was unaware that he was getting two experts when he thought he was only getting one.
I was a hidden asset and he wouldn't even realize it until we were on the road.