Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies (12 page)

Chapter 21

“
T
his is going to give me blisters, I just know it,” Sam said as she used her foot to press the nose of the shovel deeper into the dirt.

“Why didn’t you grab the gloves from the truck?” Amanda asked.

“Forgot them,” Sam said, shrugging.

“Well, I have an idea,” Amanda said, feeling sarcastic. “Why don’t you go get them instead of complaining about blisters that you don’t have yet?”

“Will you come with me?” Sam asked.

“No, and look at it this way, if I stay here digging, then when you get back, there’s less for you to do.”

“Oh, yeah, makes sense,” Sam said, setting her shovel down. “I’ll be back.”

“Grab a pair for me too,” Amanda said, calling after her. “And don’t take forever to get back here, or I’ll have blisters.”

“Sure thing,” Sam said, skipping away.

“Do you really think that she’ll be ready for the trip?” Roy asked of Amanda, coming up to bring her a glass of water.

“I’m like you, Roy, I have my doubts too, but in the end, I don’t think we’re doing her any favors by cajoling her here at camp. I do think that she’s ready for some responsibility, and the prospect of going on the run seems to be helping to teach that to her,” Amanda said, having to stop working because with the heat and the exertion. She was getting winded, trying to speak.

Roy nodded.

“I’m back,” Sam said, extending a pair of gloves toward Amanda. “I thought you’d be farther along,” the girl said, looking disappointedly to the small hole that they had dug.

“No such luck, kid,” Amanda said. “Now, get to work. You’ll want to be in shape if you want to survive the runs, and this will help.”

Amanda seemed to have said the magic words because Sam eagerly began to make headway on the dig until what had just been a small hole became a two-feet deep by five-feet wide basin.

“How’s that?” Sam asked, wiping sweat from her brow, as Amanda did the same.

“I don’t know if this will work like we want it to,” Amanda said. “Let’s stop for now, and when the next rains come, we’ll see if we need to go deeper.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sam said, dropping the shovel. “Roy, I’m ready?”

“You’re not finished until you put one of these shovels back in the truck. After the snake incident, I’d like to leave one up at camp, just in case,” Amanda said, propping her shovel against the boulder.

“How come my shovel is the one that has to go down there?” Sam asked with a whine.

“Because you’re the one going on a driving lesson and already headed to the truck,” Amanda answered, sounding exasperated.

“Oh, makes sense,” Sam said, already looking to see if Roy knew that she was ready.

“Why don’t you spend more time listening and following instruction and less time arguing? You might find that you actually learn something,” Amanda said.

“Right, gotcha,” Sam said, already leaving, shovel in hand to meet up with Roy.

O

“Hey,” Sam said to Amanda, skipping up beside her.

Amanda had spent an hour and a half preparing a patch of ground for their garden, turning up the hard soil and tossing out the rocks. She was planning on adding potting soil to it as well, and with any luck, they would be able to produce some of their own food.

“Looks good. Are we going to grow stuff here?” Sam asked, surveying the area.

“Yep, that’s the plan,” Amanda said, feeling tired and red-faced.

“Driving lesson went well,” she said, “made it out of first gear. I can use second now.”

“Glad to hear it,” Amanda said, trying to match the girl’s enthusiasm but feeling like she failed.

“So does that mean I pass the driving test?” Sam asked.

“The Jeep has five gears,” Amanda said and then gave the girl a smile.

“Come on, I did a good job,” Sam said, begging.

“I’ll tell you what, Sam, you pass the driving test when Roy says that you pass and not before,” she answered.

“Okay, I’ll go bug Roy about it,” the girl said shamelessly.

“You didn’t happen to see my favorite ball cap out there, did you?” Amanda asked. “I lost it when it blew off during the storm yesterday.”

“Which one?” Sam asked.

“You know, the blue and white one, or used to be white one,” she answered.

“Nope, sorry,” Sam said. “We went out past The Trench today on our drive. I really am doing a good job.”

“I hear you, Sam, and I think so to,” Amanda said, “and make sure that you don’t bug Roy too much. He kind of likes to keep to himself some, you know, personal time.”

“Gotcha,” Sam said, shooting Amanda a wink.

Amanda had to hand it to the kid; she was definitely working hard for the opportunity of going to town.

“Lunch is ready,” Maryanne said, calling to them, and Amanda was relieved to hear that there would be some lunch today because she was hungry, tired, and her muscles were shaking. It wasn’t every day that there was enough food to go around that they could eat in the middle of the day.

Without question, the group had put Maryanne in charge of the food rationing. She was good at the job, and everybody knew better than to ever doubt her about it. Amanda felt fortunate that she had such a good group to work with and that everybody worked hard to get along and to do their part. Even the teen of the group was trying, even though she could be difficult at times because of her moodiness. But then again, all of them were moody at times.

“What’s for lunch?” Amanda asked, coming up to her friend a little breathless.

“Sorry, it’s just some dry cereal and banana chips, but I figured with the way that you two are working, you could probably use it,” Maryanne said apologetically.

Amanda nodded, giving her friend a smile. It wasn’t Maryanne’s fault that food was scarce and that she had to be creative in balancing it out for everyone.

“Nothing for me,” Jason said. “I’m trying to watch my weight.” He laughed when both women gave him a questioning look.

“Just a joke, honey, but I’m not hungry,” he said, and Amanda had the feeling that he was doing his part to help them conserve food because these days, most of them were hungry all the time.

“I like bananas,” Tammy said, holding out her small hand for some of the dried fruit.

“Do you remember the bananas that we used to eat?” Maryanne asked, curious to know how much of the world before her daughter could remember now.

Tammy nodded her head, and then she popped a chip in her mouth. “They were wrapped in yellow paper, and they were softer,” Tammy said and then dashed off to continue playing.

Maryanne gave her friend a weak smile. “See, it’s only been a short time, and she’s already forgetting how things used to be,” the woman said.

“I think that will turn out to be a blessing,” Jason said.

“I think that it’s sad,” Maryanne said softly.

“She won’t pine for the land of plenty and all of its conveniences,” Jason said.

“She’ll be free to help create a new world, and it may not be much like the one that we used to know, but considering what’s happened, that’s probably a good thing. I’m with Jason on this one,” Amanda said. She was enjoying the taste of banana, even though the chips also tasted old and stale. But she discovered that sips of water helped to bring out the flavor.

“I don’t think that I can manage to grow enough food out here to sustain us entirely. So what happens when the food from town runs out?” Maryanne asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get closer to it,” Amanda said. “For now, I think that we’re doing our part to make some changes around here, and that will have to do for now.”

“Yum, banana chips,” Sam said. “I’m starving.”

“You remember bananas, don’t you?” Maryanne asked, looking at her oldest daughter.

“Of course, Mom, what do you think, that I’m stupid or something?” Sam said, eyeing her mother suspiciously.

“It’s nothing, sweetheart, go eat your lunch. I was just wondering is all,” she answered.

Maryanne tried to hand Roy some food, and he waved it away. “I’m like Jason, trying to watch my figure,” he said with a chuckle.

“You’ll make me feel like a fat cow then,” Maryanne said, “but I’m hungry. I guess it’s just us girls for lunch.”

“You’ve been working your butt off, honey,” Jason said. “And you didn’t have much of a butt to start with.”

“Thanks for the compliment, I think,” Maryanne said, brushing some hair away from her eye.

“Do I get to go with Roy for target practice today?” Sam asked, loud enough for everybody to hear.

“That’s up to Roy,” Amanda said, “but remember what I told you about not bugging him too much.”

“I can hear you,” Roy said.

Sam looked to him questioningly, as if to say please.

“You know that you’re wearing me out, right?” Roy said. “And it’s hot.”

“Just look at it this way, Roy,” the girl said, “we get to ride in the Jeep with the air conditioning again.”

“Sold, and it was the air conditioning that did it,” Roy said, getting up.

“Let me know before you go, Sam, and I’ll give you the pistol that I found on Red’s master. It’s a .22 older model revolver, but he kept it clean. Once Roy gives you the green light, then it’s all yours to keep and take care of. But remember, it’s always safety first, and don’t point it at anything that you’re not prepared to kill,” Amanda said. “And those older models don’t have a safety, so you might want to store it without the bullets, but talk to Roy about that.”

“Wow, cool,” Sam said. “Don’t worry. I can be safe, and I’ll pass the shooting test just like I’m passing all the others.”

“We sure have come full circle in our beliefs,” Maryanne said, issuing a soft sigh.

“How’s that?” Jason asked.

“Not too long ago, we were lobbying for tighter gun control, and now look at us. We travel with an arsenal, and we’re allowing our teenage daughter to learn to shoot. Heck, she’ll even own her own gun,” Maryanne said with a shake of her head.

“Remember, Mom,” Sam said, “guns don’t kill people, creepers kill people.”

This elicited a laugh from all the adults, and Sam looked pleased with herself for her little play on words.

“So what, are you switching political affiliations now?” Amanda asked of her friend in a teasing way.

“What did you used to be, Democrat or Republican?” Maryanne asked.

“Neither,” Amanda said. “I was always disillusioned with both sides. I thought that they were doing things all wrong. I guess now that I’ve been vindicated in knowing that I had it right, I don’t feel any comfort in it.”

“It used to be ill-advised to talk politics amongst friends, but I guess that doesn’t matter anymore,” Jason said.

“You so have that right,” Sam added, “like I would have any friends to talk politics with now.”

“Oh, come on,” Amanda said, “don’t be so glum. We’re friends right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Sam guardedly.

“Go, get outta here before you hurt my feelings,” Amanda said with a laugh.

Roy and Sam took off together with Red trailing, heading for what qualified as their shooting range about five miles away from camp, out farther into the desert. With the noise that the guns made, there was always the risk of drawing unwanted attention, either from the creepers or the raiders. So they always made sure not to shoot the guns anywhere around camp and, when they needed to target practice, to go even farther out into the deserted desert, just in case.

Maryanne was visibly nervous about her daughter going so far away from camp, and Amanda realized that this would be the first time that they had been separated by more than just a mile or two since the infection had begun. Even with the driving lessons, Roy had kept them close. Maryanne was keeping herself busy around camp and plying Jason with glasses of water until he complained that his bladder would burst.

Tammy, as per usual, was unaffected. She was drawing sand art in the dirt with a stick and explaining each image in great detail to Boo, who lay there watching the stick move. Occasionally, the little dog would cock her head from one side to the other and lift an ear, apparently attentive to the girl.

Amanda chose to sit and rest. She was sitting in the dirt with her back pressed up against a boulder, feeling the sweat trickle down her torso underneath her shirt. She felt a little envious of Roy and Sam right now, who both at least had the benefit of the Jeep’s air conditioning. She watched Maryanne work until she was worried that her friend had become too red in the face.

“I know that you feel like you want to keep busy,” Amanda said to her friend. “But why don’t you take a break in the shade? You don’t look so good right now. It won’t do us any good to have our doctor pass out from heat stroke now, will it?”

“I guess you’re right,” Maryanne said, taking another swipe at her hair. “It’s just that since this all happened, she’s never been very far away from me. It makes me nervous. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when she goes into town with you.”

Amanda was glad to see that her friend had taken her advice and went to sit in the shade beside her husband. When she handed him his sixth glass of water, Jason poured it over her head, and she laughed and slapped at him playfully.

She was relieved that she would be the one going to town because she didn’t want to imagine what kind of a wreck her friend was going to be with Sam gone on such a dangerous trip. And this made her think of the trip and the things that they were going to need if they were to be successful at homesteading their camp in a way that made their resources last.

She went and grabbed the notebook from the kitchen, pausing to look over the supplies that Roy had said he would need. In her head, she was already formulating a plan for getting her hands on them on her next trip. Perhaps, she considered, she was expecting too much from a town that was overrun with raiders, filled with creepers, and scavenged daily by those who had survived. She sighed and set the pen down after only making a few notations, feeling discouraged. It wouldn’t be easy to get the things that they needed and still remain unnoticed by the gangs of raiders that ruled the streets, while avoiding the creepers.

Chapter 22

“
I
hit it,” Sam squealed and jumped up and down, after her third attempt with the .22, pistol.

“Yes, you did,” Roy said. He was surprised that she had caught on so quickly.

Red wasn’t alarmed at all by the gunfire. He seemed respectful of it, but obviously his master had shot guns around him. He sat obediently when he was told to.

He had had Sam fire the shotgun first, explaining to her that it was a weapon to be used when your target was near and that there wasn’t much aiming required. The weapon had recoiled harshly and thrown her back as he had expected it would, even after having warned her that it would probably bruise her shoulder. He had only allowed one shot to be fired from the shotgun, but it was enough for her to have the general idea of how that weapon operated. Roy was not wanting to spend too much time on the range, as that could attract attention, and he didn’t want to be ambushed by anything human or otherwise.

Then he had given her a couple of shots with his nine-millimeter, but not wanting to waste ammo, that had been all for that weapon. The nine-millimeter was sleek and fired easily. It has a safety, and he showed her how to use it. But their ammo for that gun was running low, and they needed to conserve.

Roy himself practiced a few shots with the .308 rifle and hit his target every time. The rifle made a loud cracking sound each time it was fired, and the noise echoed for a short time afterward. He explained that this rifle was for the more experienced and that it had a hard, fast kick to it that might knock her off her feet. He didn’t have her use it, but he did explain that it would work as a sniper rifle in a pinch and that it could hit a target far away, especially if he were to modify it with a scope, which he didn’t have.

Lastly, he had had her fire what would become her own weapon, the .22, pistol. This seemed to be a good fit for her, as its recoil was nominal and easy to account for. By saving this weapon for last, he had made it easier for her to be successful with it because it was the most user-friendly of all their weapons, for a beginner. But he was still impressed with the ease at which she could shoot it, even hitting the target before they had finished. He talked to her about needing to make sure she could get a clear head shot with the creepers and that anything else would only slow them for a second. She nodded, but he knew from experience that it was one thing to know what to do and another thing entirely to do it.

Maryanne had always preferred to use her aluminum-titanium baseball bat, which she had only had a few occasions to use, as Jason had been their protector until they came into the group. Jason’s weapon of choice had been a medium-sized claw-handled crowbar. But both of those weapons required their targets to be close, and there was some weight to the crowbar. He had brought the bat along and had Sam take several swings with it to get the idea of what it felt like. Next, he had had her try the crowbar, and as he had suspected, it was too heavy to be easily wielded by her in close quarters.

Roy explained that her mother could give her a few more pointers on how to use the bat before her first trip into town. On the drive back, which he let her make, he explained how firing guns in town was only a last resort and that whenever possible, she should use either the baseball bat or the knife, so as not to draw attention to their location.

Sam seemed savvy to the weapons portion of their lesson, and on the way back, she even managed to get the Jeep into third gear without stalling it. Roy was pleased as the air conditioning blasted, and he let her listen to music a few miles from camp. He figured that it must be tough on a teen to be living like they were—so isolated from others her age, worried about the dangers, and cut off from all the luxuries that she had known.
Sure
, he thought,
the kid can be a real handful sometimes, especially with her rude remarks, but overall, she seems to be better adjusted than many kids would be, given the
circumstances
.

Roy felt his stomach growl. He used to have a considerable paunch that hung over his belt, even though the rest of his body had appeared thin; but these days, he was just thin all over. Now, he was fortunate if he could stave off the hunger pains enough to not feel uncomfortable. He felt uncomfortable now as his belly grumbled again. He had skipped the lunch being offered in an effort to conserve food, but now he was wishing that he hadn’t.

Amanda was right, he considered, they needed to do more than just survive from day to day, when he thought of their food rationing.

“So, Roy, how’d I do?” Sam asked after she had parked and shut off the ignition.

“Good, kid, you did real good,” Roy said, dreading the trek back up to camp in the heat. It would be a bit of a shock after having been in the air-conditioned Jeep.

Both Roy and Sam worked to reposition the desert camouflage tarp back over the vehicle, and they secured it. It was important that no glint from the metal on the vehicles would alert others to their location.

O

Amanda had finally finished her “shopping” list, and it covered two full pages in the composition book. She realized that it was mostly a wish list and that hopefully over numerous trips into town, they would be able to fulfill it. She had then put an asterisk next to the items that she felt were more essential and a double asterisk next to the nonnegotiable items, such as food, water, propane, and gas. She also put a double asterisk before coloring book, as she didn’t want to disappoint Tammy, who would be waiting for it the next time she returned. And disappointing small children was not high on her priorities list.

Feeling like she had accomplished a lot for the day, she opened the rum bottle and took a sip. She wondered how it was that Maryanne preferred the constant monotony of camp to the excitement of having a chance to leave it. As dangerous and difficult as the runs were, it still gave her something meaningful to do, and it broke up what would otherwise be monotonous day-to-day tasks that would eventually drive her crazy, she feared. And she definitely wasn’t any good at just sitting around because that made her feel more jittery than fighting her way out of a group of creepers. Maryanne, on the other hand, dreaded having to leave camp and only reluctantly volunteered to make a run out of a sense of obligation.

“You know that alcohol increases dehydration,” Maryanne said, coming to sit down beside her.

“Yep, want some?” Amanda asked, passing the bottle her way.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Maryanne said. “They’ve been gone a long time.”

“Not so long,” Amanda answered, casually. “Sam’s just figured out second gear, it’s slow going in the Jeep for now. Besides, I thought I heard the Jeep a few minutes ago.”

Maryanne took a sip and then recapped the bottle.

“I always feel like I’m being so irresponsible by drinking in this heat, but it does help to take the edge off of the day,” Maryanne said.

Red trotted into camp, tongue lolling but barely panting, unlike Roy who walked up clearly winded. Sam was excited and immediately bounded over to Amanda and her mother. Maryanne looked relieved to see her daughter and smiled up to her.

Even in this heat that could wilt even the most enthusiastic of people, Sam was radiating excitement. Amanda surmised that the lesson must have gone well.

“I hit the target, and I drove the Jeep in third gear,” Sam said, as if she expected no one to believe her.

It was clear to Amanda that Sam’s personality was more similar to her own than that of her parents. And that was a blessing, considering that the group could use another fighter.

Jason and Maryanne were both the type of people that had supported numerous charities, had lobbied for tighter gun control, and had valued diplomacy at all costs. In fact, they had been of the opinion that diplomacy held all the answers to worldwide problems. And that might have been the case, had others believed in that as well. But now they had come face-to-face with three foes that couldn’t or wouldn’t be reasoned with. There were the creepers that no longer had a functioning brain, the raiders who refused to be reasoned with, and the desert that showed mercy to no man.

People like Jason and Maryanne were like the gems of humanity, but unfortunately, now they required protectors, people that were willing to fight to protect them. Sam was looking like she was a born fighter. Amanda had no idea how they could have survived the initial outbreak and the subsequent rioting because unfortunately, it was people like them that had been the first to be added to the death toll. Amanda was glad that they had survived and pleased with the promise of what they might be able to add to the future of humanity with their kindness. She hoped that one day, the world would be in a position to appreciate their services again. But for now, most of the survivors were out to take care of themselves only and would stab anybody in the back, so to speak, if they thought it would help. Now, the raiders preyed on the kindness of others, setting them up in ambushes.

The raiders had formed initially as an effort to survive. They had not all been born bad, but somewhere along the way, they had crossed lines that led them to do things they would never have imagined doing before. And with no law enforcement to stop them, it had escalated until people fought people, sometimes more than they fought creepers. Personally, Amanda held more respect for the creepers than she did for the raiders. At least, as far as she was concerned, the creepers had an excuse for the way they were, but people had no excuse.

Amanda, Sam, and Roy were the second rarest types of people to be found in the LAZ They were tough, didn’t back down, able to make difficult decisions, but had as yet not cashed in their humanity as an excuse to survive.

She made a mental note to talk to Sam about “The Code.” As far as she and Roy were concerned, each person was responsible for developing and maintaining a code to live by. And by staunchly following the protocol of their respective codes, it was easier not to cross lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

“You aren’t listening,” Sam accused Amanda.

“What, Sam?” Amanda said, snapping her head up to look at the teen that had come to stand directly in front and above her.

“I passed my shooting lesson,” Sam said proudly.

“Only after you clean all the firearms,” Roy said. “I’ll show you how to do it since you’re so eager.”

“Piece of pie, piece of cake,” Sam said as she swiveled around to trot over to where Roy had all the weapons laid out on a sheet.

“I’ve watched you and Amanda do this,” Sam said. “I can do it.”

“You know, Amanda,” Maryanne said, “you and Sam aren’t so very different.”

Maryanne held her hand out for the rum bottle, and Amanda slapped it into her outstretched palm, wondering if her friend had meant that as a compliment.

Amanda was finally feeling a little bit of a buzz and decided that was enough rum for her. She didn’t want to have another hangover tomorrow.