I yawned as Diane carried me in her arms through the trees through the pitch black night. She set me down and quickly set up a hammock for me high in a tree. I was too scared to sleep in the settlement when she left and Diane was very good at getting out undetected. They only had two sentries trying to watch over two dozen doors though, so that may have been part of it.
I had my backpack with me since Diane planned to be at the barn at the crack of dawn to ensure that Taver didn't just up and leave. He had told her to be ready at the barn at 6am. I climbed up the tree and quickly fell asleep.
I woke as my shoulder was shaken and blinked groggily. Diane's glowing blue eyes met my confused gaze, "Taver is already packing to leave. He left all of our trade supplies at our door and is trying to quietly back out of our deal. We can follow him undetected if we are careful."
I carefully sat up as Diane climbed back down. I unhooked my hammock and brought it down. Diane already had my pack was putting light supplies in it, they simply wouldn't all fit in her pack regardless of what magic she normally managed to pull off. Diane handed me some sort of wrap as breakfast.
It was still very dark. I peered at the small keychain watch clipped to her backpack. 4am. Taver was insane. That was the only possible explanation. Diane was the only person who dared travel after dark and that was only because she could see as well as if it were daylight.
It was too dark for me to walk safely through the untamed forest we were in, so Diane carried me close to the main gate. We sat behind the tree line where we could see the gate, but people would be unable to see us. I noticed that Diane's eyes were somewhat dimmed.
Before too long, Taver exited the gate mounted on his horse and leading a mule. He sent the animals into a canter. Perhaps he was hoping that speed would prevent zombies from catching him. Diane easily shadowed him in the forest. I was halfway waiting for him to catch a glimpse of Diane's slightly glowing blue eyes.
"Do we plan on revealing ourselves later? If it is a weeklong journey, he is likely going to spot us at some point since we are following him."
Diane considered it for a moment, "I am actually not sure. Even if we decided to show ourselves at this point, he is likely going to freak out. Those horses have been cantering for almost an hour now. We would have gotten away with it on the bike, but since we were unable to find any other believable method of transportation, it is only going to make him very suspicious."
I knew she was right, and suspicious people sometimes did weird things. I thought hard, "We can always just follow him until he gets to the settlement. If he is a trader then he will only stay a few days before leaving. Once he leaves, then we can approach the place with him none the wiser."
Diane nodded, "That is a good thought. Taver could start asking some rather unfortunate questions if we arrive while he is there."
I listened to the birds as the sky started to lighten. Taver slowed his horse now that he could see better. Diane moved deeper into the trees to avoid being spotted. The trip had been pretty zombie free so far. I guess with no towns or houses nearby, that there had not been many people to turn into zombies. I yawned, I was really tired since I had been awake early.
Diane paused, "Here, let me tie your backpack to the top of mine and I can carry you in my arms. That way you can sleep a bit."
She set me on the ground and I quickly passed her my backpack. Seconds later she scooped me up in her arms and continued trailing Taver. I curled up against her chest and relaxed. Her steady footsteps and fixed breathing rate were soothing. I nestled my head against her chest and I could hear her heart lazily beating. It was a relaxing sound and it wasn't long before I fell asleep.
I slowly woke up. Diane's steady fast walk hadn't changed, although she occasionally did a small bound as she jumped over something. I lifted my head to look around. We were walking beside a small creek in a rather deep stream bank. It was so deep that I couldn't see out of it, anyone above would have to come to the edge to spot us.
Diane skipped over a muddy section and then played hopscotch across some large rocks as she avoided a stretch of gravel. It would have been loud walking on the gravel. At least there was lots of room to maneuver around since the creek was so small
"Sit here, I am just going to peek above to see how the road runs in relation to this stream."
I nodded as she put me down on a big rock. I watched as she managed to climb silently up the steep embankment to peer through the tall weeds. It didn't take her long to return.
"It looks like this road runs along the creek as far as I can see. There are a few small puddles by the road where he is likely watering his horse and mule. As long as he doesn't come to the edge, we can stalk him without being noticed."
I giggled as I stood up, "I find it funny that we are simply walking beside a creek and you count it as stalking."
She also found it funny, "Well, we are following him without him knowing about it."
I still thought it was hilarious, "But we aren't exactly hiding that hard."
She grinned at me in amusement. He was going slow enough that I was able to walk a bit as we trailed behind.
It was starting to get late. Diane kept climbing up the bank to watch him since he had been looking around as if looking for something specific. I hoped we stopped for the night soon. I was starting to get hungry again despite snacking on lots of greens after lunch. Diane had managed to catch a fish in the creek and I was looking forward to roasted fish.
I stood and waited as Diane climbed up the embankment yet again. She spoke quietly, "Ah, there is a small treehouse ahead with a solid wood fence around it. No wonder he kept traveling so late."
Diane kept watching and I heard a horse scream in terror. Like a flash, Diane was standing on top of the bank with her bow in her hand with several arrows already fired. She moved so fast that I didn't actually see her aim each arrow, although I knew that each one would fly true.
Diane glanced back down at me, "Climb up the bank and get into a tree, there is a good one there."
She pointed to a large spruce and I took off at a run as I scrambled up the eroding bank to get to it. Diane was already racing towards whatever was wrong. I glanced over at Diane's sharp whistle as I started climbing.
A zombie with two arrows in it twisted around at the noise and headed towards her, allowing Taver to scramble backwards and get away from it. I saw his horse and mule running away, he must have fallen to the ground and the zombie had almost gotten him.
I paused as I was halfway up and well hidden. A small treehouse stood between several trees above the ground, it probably as large as a four person tent. A larger area around it had heavy logs being used as a solid fence to create a place to loose the horses and protect the base of the treehouse from zombies.
The zombie must have been inside the fence and Taver hadn't realized it. The zombie staggered towards Diane as she lured it towards the creek. Diane gracefully slid down the slippery slope. The zombie was far less coordinated and rolled down in an almost comical manner. By the time it stopped rolling, Diane had already managed to climb up another section of the bank.
The horse and mule had been tethered together and they had managed to wrap themselves around a tree in their attempt to escape. Taver had regained his feet and managed to grab the horse's reins. Diane took a good look around us before waving me back down.
I climbed down and rejoined her as we walked towards Taver. He looked really wary and somewhat nervous to see us. I didn't blame him, we had literally popped out of nowhere. Diane called out, "Are you okay?"
We were close enough for a conversation without shouting now. He relaxed a bit and gave a faint chuckle, probably from nerves, "I was not expecting that zombie or for you to pop out like that. I am not sure what scared me the most, the zombie or having arrows suddenly flying around me."
Diane shook her head in mild amusement, "I wouldn't have hit you. Glad you are all right. Want me to check out the area inside the fence, just in case?"
He nodded cautiously, "That would be great."
The zombie must have been inside the fence. Having been spooked once, he was reluctant to take a second chance. Diane glanced at me and flicked her hands into two hand signals. I climbed the tree beside me as requested. This was just a precaution, she didn't expect any real trouble.
Diane grabbed a large stick that was similar to a staff and cautiously approached the gate. She paused outside listening before entering the gate. The log wall was solid, I couldn't see her anymore.
"Hello to the treehouse! Anyone in there?"
Diane climbed the ladder to the treehouse. I blinked in confusion as I watched her lasso a branch on a nearby tree. What was she doing? She held the rope tightly in one hand before shoving her other hand up to open up the trapdoor. She immediately swung on the rope to the nearby tree before climbing up higher.
I stifled a gasp as a man fell out of the trapdoor. I hadn't seen much of his clothing, but it was a lot like Taver's. Heavy duty and meant for travel in all sorts of weather. Diane untied her rope and put it back in her backpack before climbing down.
Diane pushed the gate wide open and slowly walked out. The man half crawled and half lunged after her. His red eyes showed he was a zombie. I had no clue how he had gotten into the treehouse. Regular zombies couldn't climb and this one was clearly not a Swift.
Diane led him towards the creek bank. I finally spotted a livid red bite mark on his ankle, he must have been recently bitten and taken refuge in the treehouse before turning. Taver silently watched Diane disappear over the embankment with the zombie in slow pursuit. He looked mournful and sad.
Diane came back as Taver wiped at his eyes, "That was a friend of mine. I can't believe he is a zombie now. I stopped here a month ago and it was empty."
Diane lowered her head slightly in sympathy, "I am sorry for your loss. Does he have family anywhere?"
Taver shook his head, "No, they were bitten during the first days. We will have to let those at Bethany Fort know though, he often stayed there."
Diane nodded, "It is clear inside, shall we go in? It might be best if we bleached the inside of the treehouse and camped in the trees for the night though."
He hesitated for a moment before nodding and starting to lead his horse and mule forward. I climbed down and walked beside Diane as we followed Taver. Once inside I promptly started working on a fire while Diane and Taver unloaded the animals.
I put our salad in a bowl and unwrapped the fish that Diane had gutted. Diane stuffed the belly with herbs before setting it to cook. Taver came over holding a small jug of bleach and a spray bottle. Diane held out her hands for it, "I can do it, if you want."
He nodded mutely and passed it over. Diane put the bleach in the bottle and tied some birch bark to the bottom of her shoes before climbing the ladder. The bark would keep any blood off her shoes if she accidentally stepped in something. It was a safety precaution.
Diane was up there for a long time before coming back down. She put the birch bark off to the side, I knew she would burn it after we were done cooking. "Yeah, we don't want to go up there for a few days."
Taver nodded silently as he munched on some smoked meat. He sent the occasional longing glance at our cooking fish. Diane grabbed my backpack and started sifting through it, pulling out a bunch of supplies. I realized that they were all of the ones that Taver had originally chosen and then returned.
"I think we proved that we can keep up and are useful to have along. Good try at evading us though." Diane grinned at him with that last sentence.
He blushed a bit and looked chagrined, "I only did it because I didn't think you would be able to keep up. I had a few ladies before who tried to beg me to slow down. I felt bad for telling them to turn back like they promised. I didn't want to go through that again, especially with the girl."
Diane chuckled, "No worries. As you can see, we kept up and remained hidden at the same time. Although I will admit that I was quite surprised to see you leave quite so early. Not many travel in the dark."
He turned even redder and ducked his head, "I only do it when trying to leave others behind who would be unable to keep up, otherwise I wait 'til it is light out."
Diane shrugged, "You pick the time and give us 20 minutes warning to get ready if there is a change in the plans. Why don't you pass me your plate and I can throw a bit of fish on it?"
His eyes lit up as he passed his plate over readily. I grinned at how easily Diane had won the reluctant man over with food. Although saving his life might have had a hand in it as well. I was just glad that he was letting us travel openly with him.
I was surprised to see that Taver also had a hammock. We set ours up on different sides of the small encampment. Diane once more left in the middle of the night for her run. She always seemed to run in the middle of the night if she wanted to escape notice. Otherwise she ran just before bed and first thing in the morning.