A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 79

Diane left me in another tree not far from the ridge we had been on earlier. I was too tired to remain on her shoulders, so Diane set up the hammock in a tree for me. The sun hadn't even risen yet. I fell asleep as Diane started a fire below for cooking.

I woke as the hammock rocked roughly. I shook my head as I tried blink against the morning light, "What-"

Pain ripped across the back of my one leg. I gasped as I yanked my leg free. I almost fell out of the hammock with the action. A snarl caused me to look down. The red eyes of a zombie met mine as it struggled to reach me through the tree branches and hammock webbing.

This zombie had climbed up a tree.

I scrambled away from it and quickly climbed higher. I looked around desperately, but Diane was not in sight. A glance back down showed that my walkie talkie was on my backpack right beside the zombie that was trying to climb up after me.

A Swift had me trapped in a tree. I took a deep breath before screaming with everything I had. I rarely raised my voice, so the clear high pitched scream shocked me. The branches were getting thinner, but I kept climbing. I could barely put any weight on my one leg from where the zombie had grabbed me. It throbbed painfully as I sobbed quietly in pain and fear.

Where was Diane? She had never failed to appear when I needed her before. I took another breath before another loud frightened scream ripped out of my throat to call her back. The Swift was still climbing. It wasn't fast or very coordinated, but it was still getting higher.

A loud piercing whistle echoed across the clearing. Relief flooded through me, "Diane!"

I caught a glimpse of her eyes, I had never seen them glowing so strongly before, even at night. She looked furious and her speed made it hard to keep track of her through the branches that blocked my view as she closed the distance at breakneck speed.

The Swift had been distracted by the loud noise and fell out of the tree in its distraction. I couldn't see it through all of the branches, but it must have hit quite a few branches on its way down, if the thumps and thuds were anything to go by.

Seconds later Diane's voice called up, "Laura, it is dead now. Please come down. Are you all right?"

I was too scared and shaken to answer, so I started to carefully climb back down. My movements were shaky from the adrenaline. The branches this high were so thin that they barely held my weight. My leg hurt fiercely from where the zombie had grabbed me. Once I was near the ground, Diane gently lifted me out of the tree and carried me over to the campfire.

I could see some sort of meat slowly smoking over the tiny fire. A glance back showed that the Swift was headless. It had numerous recent wounds, so that person had likely turned into a zombie very recently. I didn't recognize the man, so he wasn't someone from Bethany Fort.

Diane knelt down in front of me and started rolling up my pant leg. I could now see that there was blood on my pants. I winced, but remained silent as the fabric brushed against the injury on the back of my calf.

I inhaled and tears started silently flowing as I saw that the injury was actually a bite mark. The blood was mine as it seeped out of the wound. Diane frowned and checked the fabric of my pants. I saw her finger pass through several rips and tears that had occurred when I tried to get away.

I had taken zombie training and I knew what this meant. I was infected. I had fifteen minutes to seven days before I turned into a bloodthirsty killer. Just like my parents. My mind felt numb, and I was pretty sure I was going into shock.