A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 7

I woke up to morning sun shining on my face. I must have forgotten to close the blinds last night. I yawned and sat bolt upright as I remembered what happened last night. Was it a dream? It had seemed so real... I scrambled out of my bed and paused by the locked door. I called down, "Mom, are you there?"

Normally she would growl or make some noise. Only silence answered me. I unlocked the door and slowly peeked out. I could see the food on the counter from here. It did happen! It was real, and Diane would be coming back this morning. I ran down and grabbed some food and carried it upstairs to the stool so I could watch for Diane.

I finished eating and kept watching both the direction she had come from and the direction in which she had gone. Movement made me turn my head, there she was! She had come from a slightly different direction. She was almost at the house already and was watching me. She waved to me once she saw me look at her, I waved back excitedly and raced for the front door.

I recalled her instructions about not opening the front door, but it was so hard to just stand there waiting. I bounced on my feet impatiently. I heard a gentle knock right before the doorknob turned. As soon as it was opened I ran out to give her a hug, "I missed you!"

She knelt down and I wrapped my arms around her neck. I was so happy to see her again. I heard her chuckle as she picked me up in a hug and carried me inside. I heard the door close and she sat me down on the edge of the table.

I was glad that Mom was not here or she would have thrown a fit since no one was allowed to sit on the table or counter. I could smell the leathery odor of her jacket, that forest smell wasn't as strong today, but I could still detect that sharp undertone. Her jacket, shirt, and pants were all a golden brown leather.

I didn't want to let go, but I knew that I should at this point. "I brought you breakfast and it isn't something from a can or box." Her voice was amused. I slowly unwrapped my arms from her neck and she straightened up with an amused smile. I was surprised to see that her eyes weren't glowing at all. They were still a very bright shade of blue though.

I couldn't remember the last time I had something that didn't come from a box or a can. I watched her intently as she reached into a pocket and pulled out a sandwich bag with something green and white inside. She handed it to me, "Some dandelions and clover as well as a bit of flat bread."

She had brought this for me to eat? I had really missed green things, but the neighbor had said that dandelions were weeds... I opened it and pulled a few pieces out and looked at her in curiosity, "Aren't dandelions weeds? Can we eat them?"

She chuckled, "Yes, they are safe to eat. There are many plants that are safe to eat. I can show you more once the snow melts."

I had never tried to eat a dandelion before, but if she said they were good to eat I would take her word for it. The clover was a bit sweet and the dandelion had a slightly bitter taste, but I hadn't tasted anything so good in a long time. They were fresh.

I made a bit of a face as I chewed on a thick dandelion stem. She was watching me and tilted her head. Her voice was thoughtful, "That must be bitter. Most people don't eat the thicker stems. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

I shook my head, "No thanks, it tastes better than the stale crackers in the boxes upstairs." A bitter piece of freshly picked dandelion versus stale crackers that I could barely even look at? This dandelion was going down.

Diane blinked and chuckled, "Well, when you put it that way I can see your point." She looked amused and I grinned at her.

I kept eating the greens in the bag. I wasn't sure what some of them were. I turned as I heard her rummaging around in the cupboard. I hadn't even heard her walk away. Her footsteps were almost silent. She found a bowl and dumped some water from her water bottle into it. I finished the funny thin bread, what had she called it? Oh, yes, flatbread. It was very different from the crackers upstairs, it was good, but the plants had still been better.

She set the bowl of water on the table in front of me and I looked at her in curiosity. What was she going to do with that? I was still sitting on top of the table as I watched her dip a clean dishcloth in the water and wring it out. She turned to me and started wiping my face off. I jumped in surprise, but let her wash my face. Judging from how black the cloth was getting, I must have been pretty dirty.

She started cleaning my neck and I started squirming and giggling. It tickled. She kept cleaning with a growing grin as I squirmed and giggled. I had forgotten what it was like to be tickled. I wanted to sit still and be good, but it simply wasn't possible. She didn't seem to mind though.

She grinned at me as she dropped the cloth in the water. Her eyes seemed to brighten a bit in amusement. "Well, I am about ready to call my friends and have them head over. I do want to discuss one thing first though."

If she wanted to talk, I was more than ready to listen to whatever she wanted to say. "Okay."

She smiled at my willingness to listen, "Technically I was not supposed to be out of the fort last night - or any night for that matter. But I can't sit still for a long time without my muscles starting to hurt so I have been sneaking out. So everything you saw last night happened this morning, okay?"

That was a weird request. Her muscles hurt if she sat too long? I wasn't really sure I believed it, but she had probably been doing other angel work when she found me and wanted to keep it a secret. If she wanted me to keep a secret, I would keep it. "So you appeared this morning and put mommy in the dog's fence next door?"

Diane smiled in approval, "Exactly. And I didn't have anything in my arms when you saw me."

I nodded excitedly. Her approval meant a lot to me, it made me feel really good. I wondered what that odd black box was. She didn't want me to mention that thing at all.

Diane grinned at me, "So, how did you meet me?"

I smiled, "I saw you jogging down the street this morning. You looked at me and waved. I waved back and you led Mom to the neighbor's backyard. Then you came into the house and gave me some food from the cans."

She nodded and she asked more specific questions, and we hammered out our story in a fun little game. It was fun, almost like I was an undercover agent with a cover story. She seemed to be having fun as we made up our story.

After a bit she stretched, "Do you have any winter clothing?"

I shook my head, "No, I outgrew it last winter and it was donated. I think I still have my winter hat and mittens somewhere."

She nodded, "Can you show me?"

I led her to the storage closest and dug around in the big container. I found my gloves and winter hat while she grabbed my autumn coat. It was a tight fit, but I could do it up.

We walked to the main room and she looked at me, "Okay, I am going to go outside so my radio will work to call my friends. I will be right back. If you like, you can look out of the windows since I am here."

I hoped that she wouldn't go too far. "Okay." I remembered that she checked out the window yesterday before leaving. I quickly skipped to the window and peeked past the curtains, "There is a zombie down the street, but nothing closer that I can see."

She nodded, "Thanks." I was glad that I could help her, I felt like I had to try and make myself useful. She walked out the door and I looked out the window. She was carefully looking around and wandered around the corner of the house. There was no window on that side so I couldn't see her. I was glad that she said she would come back, otherwise I would be worried.

I wondered what it was like where we were going. I was getting excited, I would be leaving this house before too long. I was looking forward to it.