The snow was coming down quite heavily now. Diane's voice rang out from behind me, "We are almost there. Keep going."
The group of people in front of me picked up their pace a bit with that news. Ninette didn't need Diane or Don for most of the lab work, so we had been making ourselves useful. We had been helping people find edible greens outside the fence.
Don tagged along since it meant he was constantly on the move. He was somewhere in the lead, guiding us back to the palisade in the blinding snow. The storm had come up quickly and we had started heading back, but it had caught us just before we reached the walls.
We had discovered that the Heartfire virus apparently gave people a perfect sense of direction. Don may not be able to see far, but he knew the exact direction to go. Diane took up the rear to prevent someone from falling behind. I was just in front of her.
The wind was whipping and the snow made it nearly impossible to see things more than a few feet away. Diane seemed on edge, constantly looking around. I slowed down a bit to walk beside her. "Is something wrong?" I spoke at a normal volume, I wasn't sure she would hear a whisper with this wind.
Diane's faintly glowing eyes surprised me. Normally she took care to avoid letting them glow around others. "The snow is thick, and the wind is covering up every sound with its howling. It feels very odd for me to not know what was in the immediate vicinity. I feel almost blind and deaf. I do not like this feeling, and I will be glad once we get this group inside the fence where no zombie can sneak up on us unseen."
I felt bad for her. There were about 25 people ahead of us somewhere, but I could only see glimpses of a few that were just ahead of us. The snow was really coming down, and the wind wasn't letting it settle. Diane would feel responsible for those she was with, it was just her nature.
I sighed in relief as I saw the wooden walls suddenly loom up in the snow. People scattered to head towards different destinations. Don waited for us and we all walked back to the lab together.
I was glad that Diane had given me a protective cloak to go over my jacket. The cloak was caked with thick snow, but my jacket was still dry and warm. I was glad for the scarf wrapped around my neck, it kept my neck warm, although my cheeks were cold.
We hung our cloaks by a wood stove to drip into a tray and dry out.
Ninette glanced up as we came in. She seemed sad for some reason. Don tilted his head, "Is something wrong?"
Ninette made a face, "Remember that zombie we were testing on?"
Don nodded, "The one we injected the Heartfire virus into two weeks ago?"
Ninette had injected some of the glowing blood from Diane into a zombie to see if it would reverse the effects. It had started acting odd the last week.
Ninette sighed as she nodded, "Yes. Well, as far as I can tell, without entering the cage, it is dead."
What? Zombies were nearly impossible to kill, how had it died? Don looked confused, "What happened?"
Ninette shrugged, "That is what I need blood and skin samples for, but when I get that close to it, I want Diane present in case it isn't really dead."
Diane nodded and exited the room with Ninette. Don and I followed.
It really was dead. It may have just died today, but it already stunk badly. Ninette carefully obtained her samples before passing Diane and Don protective plastic gear and a body bag, "Please put him in the bag. The rate of decomposition is through the roof and that bag will contain anything until we can burn it."
Diane glanced at me, "Laura, can you please go with Ninette and keep her company?"
I didn't want to leave Diane, but I knew she really didn't want me around a dead zombie that she was going to have to somehow get into a body bag. I reluctantly nodded and followed Ninette. Ninette dug up a coloring book and package of pencil crayons. I set about coloring a picture for Diane.
Diane and Don returned with snow melting on their hair. They must have decided to haul the zombie all the way out to the pit outside the fence despite the snow. They really were the only two who could undertake such a task without risk.
Ninette sighed as she looked up from her microscope, "Once a person turns into a zombie, most cells in the body carry the virus and it looks like the Heartfire virus attacked every one of those cells."
Don shook his head as he took a seat, "So is there any chance of getting rid of the virus without killing the zombie?"
Ninette slowly shook her head, "Unfortunately no. In the past, I spent weeks trying to get the virus out of cells with no luck. I didn't realize that the Heartfire would do so much damage though."
Don ran his hands through his hair, "Exactly what kind of damage did it do?"
Ninette glanced in the microscope again, "The Heartfire virus attacked almost everything since they all had the zombie virus, and it particularly targeted the muscles, organs, and nerves... That is why it had motor control problems the last few days. The virus was attacking the nerves and brain, as well as the muscles."
I hoped that Ninette could figure something out. To be able to turn a zombie back into a human would be a huge achievement. I could probably even convince Diane to take the cure back to the Fort. My mother was probably still stuck in that dog fence...
That thought made me pause though. I had already mourned my parents' death, and at this point I didn't really see them in my future at all. Even if they became human again. Diane had stolen my heart. She spent far more time with me than both of my parents had combined.
I stopped coloring as I realized that even if my parents showed up as humans again, I would still prefer to accompany Diane. The attention and time she constantly gave me easily beat any item my parents had ever bought for me.
I still felt love for my departed parents, but Diane had surpassed their loss with her love. I swiftly started coloring again before Diane noticed my odd pause. The Heartfire virus had practically given her a second sense when it came to keeping tabs on me. Her watchfulness didn't bother me, in fact, it relaxed me knowing she was watching out for me, but I didn't want to worry her.
I crawled in the snow behind a built up snow bank as I listened to the chaos around me. Thuds, shouts, and the occasional scream or lunatic laughter filled the air. A lady beside me yelped in surprise as she dropped down, she hadn't been quick enough to dodge the airborne missile.
I poked my nose around a corner and pulled back with a squeak as a snowball thudded against the compacted snowbank I was hiding behind. A flash of blue out of the corner of my eye made me look over, Diane had glanced towards me when she heard my squeak. Assured that I was not injured, she returned to the snowball fight.
She swiftly hurled several snowballs in the direction of the person who had narrowly missed me. A snowball flew past her as she dropped down. Her reflexes had no comparison and she had not been hit yet. Don had certainly attempted numerous times though.
The last few months had improved Don's coordination and reflexes. It was now the beginning of April and his aim was just as good as Diane's was. The Heartfire virus also made him much more alert, he immediately noticed anything that moved. Including incoming snowballs. But he still wasn't as fast as Diane, and she saw no point in holding back if she was targeting him.
Diane had practiced dodging padded arrows back at the base and snowballs didn't have a chance of hitting her. Don had no such practice, and if he didn't see a snowball, there was a good chance it could hit him as easily as anyone else.
That didn't happen often though, but Diane took great delight in trying to keep him pinned down since he was the best on the opposing team. Don knew it too, he always hid the moment Diane's head appeared. It was hilarious.
I didn't bother throwing snowballs, I was too slow compared to the adults and teenagers. I did enjoy creeping around hidden from sight. It was good practice and reminded me of my training with Rick and Donovan.
Diane glanced towards the fence behind us, and grinned before resuming her assault on Don. I peeked backwards to see that Taver had returned. He had just entered the gate and was watching the snowball fight with an incredulous and horrified expression. He kept against the palisade as he led his animals towards the stable, wary of a stray snowball.
The snowball fight eventually wrapped up. Everyone was soaked and a bit cold from the snowmelt on this warm spring day. The snow would probably all melt in a few days at this rate. One perk of staying at the lab was that a hot shower was always available.
Taver sipped his tea as we entered the lab room where Taver and Ninette were visiting. Taver smiled as he looked at me, "I hope you two had a good time."
Considering the look he had been wearing when he saw the snowball fight, I knew there was not enough money in this world to get him to join in. I smiled as I teased him, "You could have joined us if you wanted."
Taver shook his head, "No, unfortunately these old bones are already objecting to sitting in a saddle in the cool air and sleeping in the cold. I don't want to see how they would react if I crouched down for a long time and got wet during a snowball fight."
He wasn't that old, even if most of his hair was grey. Ninette nodded in sympathy, "How was your trip?"
Taver propped his feet up on a small box, "About usual. I must say that I prefer this warmer weather to the colder weather. I am glad that winter is almost over. I headed up north a ways and did some nice trading. On the way back there was quite a large group of traders at Toga Place. I was quite surprised to see them. Oh, here is another letter for you."
He tossed Diane a fat envelope. She easily caught it, "Thanks! There were traders at that last big town? I thought that town was kind of isolated and not many traders went through there?"
Taver shrugged, "They are beside a junction of two major highways so a lot of people trip across Toga Place by accident. They had just been traveling randomly and had stumbled across it. I spent a few nights telling them of places they could trade with. I did a bit of trading with them. They were heading south next as there is a larger settlement down there."
Diane nodded thoughtfully, "How long are you staying with us this time? Where is your next destination?" She must be trying to figure out how much time we had to write our replies and get them back to him.
Taver sipped his tea before replying, "I am sticking around for a week before heading west. I didn't trust those mountains in the winter, so quite a few places will be more than willing to trade with the first trader who comes their way."
Diane raised an eyebrow in amusement, "And I suspect that you conveniently forgot to mention them to the other group of traders, right?"
Taver just grinned at her, causing me to giggle at his intentional oversight. Diane shook her head, "Oh, Taver, did Ninette tell you she now has a pet Swift?"
Taver almost lost his balance in his chair as he looked at Ninette with wide eyes, "Please tell me that it is not in this place somewhere."
Ninette shook her head in amusement, "No, even I am not that far off my rocker. It is a long ways out in the forest."
Taver shook his head, "I think you are crazy for having one of those things around. What have you done with it so far?"
Ninette sighed, "Nothing yet. I can't figure out a way to get an uncontaminated blood sample from it. Diane and Don both refuse to try and pin it down for me."
Taver chuckled, "Gee, I wonder why..."
We all grinned in response. I dug out some board games and the others joined while catching up on gossip from various towns.