A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 27

What had I been thinking?

Regular zombies didn't worry me as long as they didn't get too close. Too bad I couldn't say the same thing about the Swift. It completely creeped me out. If Diane hadn't been there with me, I would have run from the barn as fast as my legs could carry me.

I watched with wide eyes as the red eyed zombie snarled and pounded on the bars holding it back. Other zombies usually seemed halfway drugged, but this creature was alert. Far too alert and it didn't seem nearly as uncoordinated as his bumbling brethren. I had no idea how Diane seemed so relaxed in here.

Diane leaned against the one wall while watching the demonic creature, "Why don't you run from side to side so you can see how it moves? That way you can see if you can outrun it."

The cage was large and took up a good part of the barn. I nervously turned and ran to the far wall while leaving lots of room between me and the cage. The Swift ran alongside me while occasionally growling or snarling.

I reached the far wall and chewed on my lip a bit. I turned and ran full tilt back to Diane. The Swift matched my speed easily. I held Diane's hand as I looked at the Swift nervously, "It is faster than me."

That fact scared me. Diane nodded slowly, "Yes. Swifts are faster than most people and they never tire."

"They can climb too, can't they?"

"Yes. They can climb most things given enough time. Chain link fences, trees with branches, and most kinds of ladders. They can't climb up a rope or pole though."

I tilted my head, "What kind of ladder can't they climb?"

She glanced at me, "Rope ladders, or ladders that are on top of a high obstacle, such as those small ladders on RVs. They would have to climb onto the bumper to get to that small ladder and they just aren't quite that coordinated."

That was good to know. Hopefully I could get to such an object before it got close to me. I would have to keep my eyes open since I would have to spot it a long ways in advance. I blinked as Diane got up and walked towards it. I remained where I was and watched her.

She paused just out of its reach. The hair on my neck and arms lifted in fear just watching her, I had no idea how she was standing so closely to that zombie. It was hard to call it a zombie, it was so different from zombies I had practiced with.

Diane turned and ran along the cage to the wall. I knew she wasn't running as fast as she could, but she was fast enough that the Swift lagged behind slightly. She went to the back wall as far from the cage as she could go before turning and running along that wall.

The Swift still tried to keep up. Suddenly, Diane turned and ran towards it. The Swift slowed and actually stopped. I had never seen it stop moving yet. It looked as if it couldn't figure out why Diane was approaching. Diane slowed to a stop in front of it and as she slowed, it started moving again.

I was confused, "What did you just do?"

Diane turned and walked back to me, "If you run towards a Swift they actually stop. Although it doesn't really help since you don't want to get closer to one of these things. It is more of a backup plan if a fighter actually has to attack one in a bad situation. It only works with swifts, regular zombies aren't fazed by that tactic."

I examined Diane as she kept half an eye on the Swift. She wasn't bothered by its presence any more than she was bothered by a regular zombie. She was just a bit more watchful. I tilted my head, "Why don't you seem scared of the Swift? When others in the Fort talked about them, I could tell they were scared of such zombies."