A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 59

Diane sat behind me as we rode Smokey towards the tall wooden palisade wall. It was bigger than the other three settlements I had seen. I shifted uneasily in the saddle, "How many people are supposed to be here?"

Diane's watchful and cautious eyes never left the gate that was opening up, "Dave figured roughly a hundred, give or take." Her eyes no longer shimmered and looked almost normal, just a brighter shade of blue than one would expect.

We were still quite a ways from the walls, but they had obviously spotted us and were coming out to greet us. Four men rode towards us and I once more tried to just blend into the background. Which was nearly impossible considering I was in the saddle with Diane behind me. Once Diane started talking, they would likely focus on her and somewhat forget about me.

They slowed their pace as they approached us and Diane slowed Smokey to a slow walk. The guy spoke again once we were nearer, "Hello, I'm Raphael."

Diane nodded politely, "I am Diane and this is Laura." I held still and I knew I looked somewhat shy. Hopefully they would overlook me.

He grinned, "Nice to meet you. Can we offer you some hospitality for the night?"

Diane nodded slowly with a polite smile, "Thank you for the offer, we will accept your hospitality for tonight. Our information is a bit old and from further east, but we can offer it if someone is curious."

Diane had said that settlements loved news since they got it so infrequently. Basic hospitality was to offer a guest a room and a meal free of charge, the guest often provided news and information in return.

He nodded, "Of course, please come with us." He turned his horse around and waited until we were alongside before matching our pace. All four men looked a bit older than my father. Diane chatted idly about the weather as we approached and entered the gates.

We put Smokey in a pen inside with a couple of other horses and unsaddled him as the gate was once more closed to keep zombies out. A couple of zombies had been slowly following us, so they closed the gates pretty quickly. I helped groom the parts of Smokey that I could reach. Two of the men brushed down their own horses despite the short ride.

Diane glanced over her shoulder. I turned and saw a big man approaching. He was built like a blacksmith, but was wearing very fancy clothing that was spotless. If he got any closer to the horses, he was going to get horsehair on that clean shirt of his.

He entered the corral and held out his hand to Diane, "Hello, pleased to see you here. I am Jason."

Diane kept a polite expression on her face, but I knew her well enough to know that she didn't really trust this man, "Diane."

He nodded politely, "Welcome to Eagle Holding. It is time for supper. Would you care to join us?"

This must be the man in charge, or the assistant to that man. Given his fancy clothing, I went with the former thought.

Diane nodded in acceptance, "Thank you."

We quickly washed up before following Jason inside. He led us up the stairs to a small dining room. Five people were already here and the three empty seats showed that they had been waiting for us. The one lady must have been quite warm as she was wearing something that resembled a black lacy bikini with a lace overshirt. It wasn't something I would have worn around hot soup.

I shifted my seat closer to Diane, nervous of the other men present. In a big mess hall, people often ignored those not at their table, so despite the crush of people, no one really paid attention to you. We were the focus of their attention here. I didn't like it.