A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 106

My jaw dropped as we approached the cliffs. This place was massive. The cliff formed a massive oval clearing and the edges almost met in one opening. I could barely see across the field, that was how big it was. A fairly small palisade would allow us to protect a huge area.

The sun was dipping closer to the horizon as the trucks stopped in the middle of the field. We set up our fence panels just in case a zombie showed up, although we hadn't seen one in over an hour. This area was so remote that zombies weren't drawn here. There were no human scents to lure them.

We let the larger animals roam loose in the fence even though it was a bit crowded. Tomorrow we could start working on another alternative if we had some spare time. Once the sun rose, we could tether them in the field to graze to their heart's content. We would just have to watch where we stepped for the next day.

We had a late supper, and those who had not been fired went to bed. I was quite restless and a flicker of uncomfortable heat lazily trailed up my spine. I knew that this was the warning heat that Diane had spoken of. I had been idle too long and this was my warning.

Anyone else with blue eyes was also restless. We weren't used to sitting for so long. Anyone with blue eyes grabbed tools, saws, and axes before heading towards the cliff opening. There was a forest just to the north, mostly large spruce trees that grew so well in the mountains.

The sun had set at this point, but Diane, Todd, and I could see well enough to pick out dead or dying trees for the others to chop or saw down. They could see shapes, but not any detail yet. It was enough for them to get by if they were careful.

The others quickly set to work, chopping them down and hauling them back to the narrowest part of the opening between the two cliffs. Even if they were left lying on the ground, it would slow most zombies. Each person worked until they tired and could sleep until morning.

People slowly wandered away by ones and twos until it was just Diane, Todd, and me. We had the Heartfire for longer and it took longer for us to tire. Todd wasn't going to last for much longer though. He yawned, "Okay, I will help drag this one back and I am done for the night."

We helped him drag it back, although I wasn't sure how much my assistance actually helped. Diane turned to me, "Are you ready for bed or feel like a run?"

I considered the heat in my blood. The work had probably been enough, but I really liked running in the dark and I would get to be one of the first to do so if I went tonight. I knew that Diane wasn't even tired yet. She would probably run for several hours after being cooped up on the trailer for so long. I still wasn't sure how she managed it considering how hard it had been for me.

"How about a short run with you and I will go to bed so you can run longer?"

She nodded, "Sounds good to me. Todd, can you make it back in one piece?"

He chuckled in good humor as he jogged back towards the camp. Diane took off towards the side of the cliff where it sloped steeply down to the grass near the meadow opening. I was confused since I thought we would have gone towards the forest, but I followed her.

There was a slight trail heading up the steep rocky slope. It took some effort and climbing, but we got up on top of the cliff. We continued up the slope to a higher vantage point. The top of the cliff was fairly flat, but the sides were nearly vertical. It would take an expert rock climber to get up these cliffs. No zombie would ever manage it.

The view was spectacular. The meadow was a huge oval that gently sloped towards the opening. The cliff rose on all three sides of the big grassy area. The opening was maybe three hundred meters wide and was located on the eastern side of the oval. I didn't see any rubble at the base of the cliff, so the rock was strong enough not to break up with the ice in the winter.