This group was fun to travel with. They were full of jokes and laughter, including us in the discussions. Some seemed to be around Diane's age, although most were in the 21 to 25 range. Diane was back to holding the reins of my horse, it realized that I wasn't strong enough to hold it back if it wanted to use its strength.
Zombies weren't as common out here as they had been in our travels. It was more remote. We did see some tracks, so we knew a few were around. One lady walked her horse beside Diane, "I don't mean any offense, but do you mind talking about whatever virus you have? Are you really immune to the zombie virus?"
Diane smiled politely, "Sure, I have no problems talking about it. According to all of Ninette's tests I am immune to the virus, but I hope that I do not have to put that to the test."
Most were under the impression that the virus was something that Diane had likely had for years, if not most of her life. None were aware that she had been bitten.
She nodded, "I have heard others saying that you run so much due to the virus somehow? I am not sure I understand that part."
Diane replied, "Yes, I have to stay pretty active or else it gets uncomfortable or even painful. Ummm... I suppose it is kind of like sickle cell anemia in a fashion, a slight stinging or burning sensation, but I get it if I don't move enough instead of doing too much."
She nodded in understanding, "Ah, I can see that. One of my cousins had sickle cell anemia. It caused him some problems that I hope you don't experience."
Diane shook her head, "Mostly just the restlessness and the occasional sleepless night."
One of the guys spoke up, "Being immune to zombies would make a huge difference. Has there been any progress in that area?"
Ninette pulled herself out of her thoughts and she shook her head, "Unfortunately not. The virus seems to have adapted to her immune system, but it doesn't seem to adapt to any blood or skin sample from anyone else. Usually it is easy to transmit viruses. That is why they are so successful, but apparently someone forgot to give this one that memo."
The guy was still quite interested, "So what is happening when you put the virus into a new sample?"
Ninette thought for a moment before responding, "In every test so far, it turns destructive as soon as it enters a new sample from someone else. This virus is not doing that with Diane for some reason."
Another guy with brown hair spoke up, "Are we talking about something like a cold virus that our body can beat off after a while or are talking about something that would kill us after a few months?"
Ninette shrugged, "It is really hard to say, the tests I run are small and limited to a small slide that I can observe. It is even harder to predict the outcome especially when you compare what I have done to how complex the human body is. Everyone is different as well. My rough guess is that the body would eventually fight it off, especially if it was just in a shallow wound. I am not sure what would happen with a direct injection to the bloodstream, it may kill the person. Either way it would be very painful since this virus seems to like targeting the nerve endings."
One of the ladies tilted her head, "Do you have any plans to try an injection with a volunteer?" She spoke like she was trying to hint something to Ninette.
Ninette's voice was cool and slightly reprimanding, "I have no desire to see anyone rolling around on the floor in agony, volunteer or not. Even just a drop of blood on undamaged skin can cause enough pain that you want to wipe it off after a while."
Ninette may have no problem taking blood or skin samples from Diane, but apparently she drew a firm line to causing pain that didn't serve a purpose or help with research. That was a good thing since Diane's blood would cause pain. Ninette had touched her silver blood once and had immediately regretted it. I didn't want to imagine how badly it would hurt if it got into a paper cut or someplace where you couldn't wipe it off.
The lady blushed at the reprimand, "Sorry, I didn't quite mean it like that. I was just curious as to what the outcome might be."
Ninette gazed at her and deemed her apology as sincere and nodded, "Try rewording such suggestions to make them theoretical in the future. I have a dozen zombies in the lab as it is, I don't need to add a body of a volunteer to my collection."
Diane started chuckling, "Leave it to Ninette to consider a bunch of caged zombies as a collection..."
I giggled as the others broke out in laughter. It was true though, Ninette had a dozen zombies still caged up in the lab.
We decided to stop in a large clearing for lunch before going up to the highway. It didn't take Diane long to start a fire. I collected some more wood for it from nearby. The guys went in one direction to use the washroom, while the women went in the other direction. I had gone earlier so I remained by the fire with Diane and Ninette.
I looked around, if I was correct, we were almost at the highway. Diane put a small pot of water on the fire to boil for tea, "How far do we plan to go today?"
She glanced at the trail we were going to climbing shortly, "Not too far, perhaps to that nice view point along-"
A terrified scream interrupted Ninette. Diane spun on her heels to grab her glaive as she literally blurred in her haste to help whoever was in trouble. I had barely taken a breath before she had disappeared into the trees. My training had my body moving before my head was conscious of my actions.
I was already in the branches of the spruce tree before I realized that I was even moving. I kept climbing. I could faintly hear others shouting, apparently Don was the guy who had originally screamed.
This forest was dense spruce and pine trees, so I couldn't see anything. Apparently Ninette couldn't see me either. "Laura? Where are you?" She sounded pretty worried.
I was supposed to stay silent in most situations like these, but at this rate she was going to attract even more attention. I softly called down, "I am up here."
She sounded shocked, "Why are you up there?"
"Because Diane left and I am supposed to climb up when she leaves."
Ninette started muttering and pacing as a few people regrouped by the campfire. Diane, Don, and a few others were still absent.
A while later we heard crashing through the bush. I peered out of the branches and saw Diane carrying Don in a piggy back fashion. His one ankle was bandaged up and someone else carried his snowboot. Another woman carried Diane's glaive for her, and set the end of it into the fire. She must be sterilizing it, and the only reason she would need fire to sterilize it would be because zombie blood got on it.
Diane glanced around as she entered the clearing. She spotted me almost instantly and nodded. I started climbing down out of the tree. Diane helped Don to sit on the large rock as Ninette approached, "What happened?"
Don replied with his voice cracking, "I was just bitten by a zombie."
I blinked at the broken sound of his voice. I also made a mental note to keep Diane between him and me. He could turn in as little as 15 minutes, although several days was a much more common timeframe with minor injuries. Diane was also keeping a close eye on him, she was the only one who could touch him without fear of infection.
Don looked at Ninette in desperation, "Please tell me you have something I can try! Anything!"
Ninette put on a pair of rubber gloves, "Relax, let me have a look. Are you sure it broke skin?"
Don nodded while shivering from reaction, "Yeah, there was a fair bit of blood."
Ninette gently unwrapped it and gave a small gasp as she saw the deep bite mark. Don pulled his hands away from his face to look down at her with a rather hopeless expression, "I'm infected, aren't I?"
Ninette sat back on her heels with a sad face, "Yes."
Don gave out a strangled cry, holding his head in his hands and started sobbing. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Everyone in the clearing looked sad, but Don looked positively devastated. Diane had closed her eyes, as if reliving those same emotions from when she had been bitten.
How could you possibly tell someone that he or she could turn into a flesh eating monster within seven days at most? Don turned to Ninette desperately, "There has to be something we can try! I can't just go down without trying!"
Ninette lowered her face slowly, "I am sorry, but there isn't anything I can try. I have not found any new leads."
Don shook his head, refusing to accept his death so easily. He glanced at Diane and back at Ninette, "Is there any possibility of getting the virus from Diane? Any way at all?! I am already as good as dead!" His voice cracked and broke on the last sentence. It was terrible to watch. No one should ever have to go through this, searching desperately for a cure.
Ninette shook her head, still not meeting his eyes, "No, the virus she has seems to kill other cells almost as fast as the zombie virus. You would die in pain if we tried to inject you with a shot of her blood."
Don shook his head harder, "Please let me at least try! I am already dead."
Ninette replied, "I am sorry, but I can't be responsible for that much pain. It would be like pouring battery acid into your body."
Don started sobbing slightly, "No, no... This can't be it... My life can't be over already..."
It looked like this was hitting Diane harder than anyone else. She had been in his position, she just hadn't known what had awakened in her blood at that point. I saw a slight tremor run through her muscles and focused my gaze more on her. That had been quite odd...
Don turned to Diane, "Diane! Please! Can't you do anything?!"
Diane clenched her jaw in frustration, but her voice was soft and sad, "Even if I tried anything, it would likely kill you even faster than the zombie virus. Even the mere touch of it burns the skin, I don't want to imagine what it would do if I dripped some into that bite mark."
He shook his head, "I don't care! I need to try something! Please! Please! All I am asking for is a chance!"
Diane took a deep breath. I knew that last sentence would have hit her harder than Don could have known. She had looked for a chance to prove herself at Wainwright for months. Ultimately, in the end, she had been denied and forced to flee. She had only ever asked for a chance.
Diane closed her eyes again, as if the pain of watching Don was too much for her. Don kept pleading with her, but I tuned out his words. Diane's muscles were slowly tensing, but it wasn't in an offensive or defensive fashion. I had never seen this before, something wasn't right.
No one else seemed to notice though, probably because they weren't used to watching Diane as closely as I was. They were also saddened by Don's situation and that distracted them. Diane shook her head, as if she had a headache. I was growing worried, was something wrong with Diane? Could she have possibly been infected?
Don put his face in his hands as he kept mindlessly pleading with Ninette and Diane. Ninette had her eyes closed in sadness, she didn't notice Diane's actions. Diane raised a hand to rub her face as she took a deep breath. Something was clearly wrong at this point. I wasn't sure what to do.
Diane took a second deep breath as shudder ran through her body. I could see goosebumps cover every part of her arms that I could see. Diane never got cold and I had never seen her with goosebumps. I was practically beside myself with worry. I turned towards Ninette and caught her attention with my hands before pointing to Diane.
Ninette glanced towards Diane with worry at the same time that Diane looked up and opened her eyes. Her eyes were glowing silver. Ninette jerked back a bit and even Don stopped babbling. Ninette a step forward as she pulled out a needle and a vial, "Uh, Diane, your eyes are glowing silver..."
Diane blinked in slow confusion. She drew her belt knife and made a shallow cut on her palm. I blinked and took a step closer in a bizarre fascination. Her blood was solid silver, but it was truly glowing. The surface shimmered with a light reflection of numerous colors, kind of like an oil sheen on water, you couldn't quite make out all of the colors.
Diane dipped one finger into the glowing blood and rubbed it between her fingers. She looked at Don with her silver glowing eyes, "I have never had this happen to me before. If this does not burn your skin, do you want to try? I am not sure what will happen."
Don's wide eyes and shout showed his desperation, "Yes!"
Ninette looked torn, but didn't comment. In truth, he really didn't have any other option. If he did nothing, he was dead. If this failed, he was still dead. Diane walked over and crouched down to gently dab a drop of the glowing blood on the undamaged skin a few inches above his bite.
Don looked at it and turned his eyes to Diane, "I don't feel anything, the bite hurts worse."
Ninette gasped in shock and Diane looked surprised. That shouldn't have been possible. Diane's blood burned when it turned silver. Only, this time it wasn't. Then again, we had not known it could glow either.
I noticed that Diane seemed kind of out of it though, like she couldn't really concentrate. She moved her hand over Don's bite and bent her hand back to stretch the cut on her palm further open. Blood seeped out of the wound and dripped rapidly into his bite mark.
Ninette quickly came up with her needle. Diane glanced back and held out her other arm for her. I noticed that Diane was starting to breath hard, which was unusual for her. She was taking quite a few deep breaths as well. Diane started to sway slightly. Suddenly her eyes lost their glow, she pulled her hand away from Don.
Ninette kept snapping tiny vials in and out of the needle to catch another timelapse. Seconds after Diane's eyes returned to normal, her blood lost its glow and regained its red tint. Once the blood was half red, Ninette gave up and removed the needle.
Diane was breathing deep and hard, as if she had just run a marathon, she moved to sit on another rock. She looked at Ninette in confusion, but her voice sounded exhausted, "Okay, what just happened?"
Ninette looked between Diane and Don, "That is a very good question. I think we all better make haste back to the lab to run more tests."
She grabbed a blood sample from Don as everyone else readied their horses. I quickly grabbed my mare, but kept an eye on Diane. She was still resting on the rock. I blinked as I noticed that her eyes were dimmer than usual. I was pretty sure that she wasn't dimming them on purpose either.
I managed to climb into the saddle by myself. To my immense shock, Diane stood up and swung into the saddle behind me. Ninette looked surprised, but I doubted that she realized just how out of character this was for Diane. I was extremely worried.
Diane must have noticed as she spoke softly, "I am fine Laura, just tired."
I simply looked up at her in concern. I didn't think I could handle it if something happened to Diane. We pushed the horses hard towards the base. Good thing they had been so full of energy earlier. We made excellent use of it.