Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies (35 page)

Chapter 58

I
t seemed like no time at all before Maryanne was back with a basin of water, a bar of soap, and a rag. The woman began to strip Amanda out of her gas-soaked clothing, and Amanda didn’t complain. Normally, she would have thought it childish to allow someone to do something like this for her, but she felt like a rag doll and didn’t have any energy to fight her friend about it.

“Oh my,” Maryanne said, taking a look at the red rashlike burns that were spread across her body. “Yes, it’s definitely a chemical burn.”

The doctor began to soap her down with the warm water in the pan and the rag. To Amanda, it felt soothing and heavenly, when added to the fluids, like she was floating on a cloud compared to how she had felt earlier with the constant burning feeling that seemed to be spreading and heating up all over her body, like the fire that was coursing through town.

“Now, these clothes are some of mine. I apologize that they’re too big for you, and they might smell a bit, but it’s better to get these washed,” the woman said, tossing Amanda’s clothing to the side before she began to redress her.

Amanda slept in a type of twilight sleep through the whole process. Without ever realizing that Maryanne had left and came back, the doctor was applying gooey aloe vera from a freshly cut frond, to her burn, and that felt heavenly too. Next, Maryanne gave her two pain pills with a large glass of water. She managed to take the pills but could only drink half the glass before needing to lie back down.

Amanda wanted to get up and be a part of the dinner that she could hear that they were having, but that was outside of the realm of possibility, as Maryanne would say, and so she stayed sprawled out on her sleeping bag, wearing her friend’s clothing and wondering if the fever would hit her tomorrow.

“It was so crazy out there,” Sam was speaking, and Amanda was picking up bits and pieces of the conversation during her twilight sleep. “I got to whack my first one at the pawnshop that we broke into.”

“You wouldn’t believe all the stuff that we found there,” the girl was saying, and Amanda could tell that some time had gone by when she had dozed off.

“So many creepers and some of them were on fire,” she heard Sam say later. “We barely got out of there, having to fight them off. I must have run over, like, fifty of them to clear a path for us to get away. I was getting thrown all over the seat of the truck as we bumped over them, and poor Red got thrown onto the floor.”

Amanda could hear that this caused quite a stir among the group by the sounds of their reactions. She smiled, thinking of how well Sam did today, and then she fell into a deep, full, sleep.

She awoke when Maryanne and Roy were rolling her onto one of the foam bed mats that they had acquired in town. A soft pillow was pressed under her head, and she smiled again, but she never fully woke up, so Maryanne skipped bringing her something to eat, choosing rather to let her sleep.

Amanda awoke in the night and had to call for Maryanne’s help because she had to pee. Maryanne came and said that that was a good sign and meant that her body was becoming hydrated. It was mortifying to Amanda that even with her friend’s help, she couldn’t make it down the hill to The Pit and had to go at the beginning of the path that led down the hill.

Maryanne told her not to worry about it and that when the rains came, they would wash it all away down the hill. That didn’t make Amanda feel any better about it, but there was nothing that she could do about it. She decided that sometimes, things just were what they were and that there was no sense in worrying about it.

It was equally mortifying when Maryanne moved her own foam bed over to lay it beside Amanda in case she needed anything else. Amanda wanted to protest, but again, she felt too tired to do a thing about it, especially after the recent potty expedition, and then she was fast asleep, forgetting about the day and oblivious to the pain.

O

“Mom, I’m worried about Amanda,” Sam said in the morning.

Maryanne and Cody were preparing breakfast, and to look at the two of them, one would have thought that they were accustomed to working together and had been friends for a while. Cody was intuitively helpful, so much so that Maryanne kept smiling every time that a necessary item kept appearing in her hand.

“Can I go check on her?” Sam asked before her mother could even answer.

“I think it’s for the best that we let her sleep. She put her body through a lot yesterday, and I want her immune system to be tip-top so that she can fight any infection,” her mother answered without looking up from the pot that she was stirring.

“Well, okay,” Sam said, stealing a glance toward Amanda’s silently sleeping form, while looking worried.

Sam had awoken with a feeling of panic that she would lose her friend Amanda. And after what they had been through yesterday, she felt closer to the woman than she had ever felt before. She couldn’t wait for Amanda to open her eyes and tell everyone that she was fine and then Sam could see her jumping up and pitching in around camp like nothing had happened. Sam bit at her lip with worry and then turned her eyes to her new friend, Cody, that had apparently adopted her mother as his own. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Emotions were whirling and warring with each other inside of her. On the one hand, she wanted Cody to fit in and have a mother figure because his mother had died. But on the other hand, it felt weirdly strange to see him getting along better with her mother than she did.

Finally, besot with too many emotions to feel comfortable dealing with, she went to go sit in the silent place partially away from camp that Amanda was prone to use. Out of all the people in their camp, she felt like she could relate the most to Amanda. And for now, Amanda wasn’t here; she was maybe sick, and she didn’t know if she would ever be able to talk to her again. She wanted more than anything right now to be able to go out on future runs together and be real bad asses. Rather than walk, she stomped down the hill, feeling like her feet could help her express some of her feelings.

“Dad says that you’re a doctor,” Cody said, looking up to Maryanne like the sun only shone on her and that everyone else was some mere mortal that functioned in the dark.

“Yes, your father is right,” said Maryanne, not able to keep another smile from crossing her face.

“He usually is right,” Cody said, in a matter-of-fact tone. “Back in the LBZ, the experts said that I was a genius and destined for great things, but now all the world needs are fighters and survival types. But I could learn to be a doctor, and then I could still do great things, and I could help people. Would you teach me to be a doctor?” Cody said this with such heartfelt sincerity that Maryanne couldn’t help but be deeply touched by it.

“Of course, if you want to learn, then I will teach you everything I know about becoming a doctor,” she said, instinctively reaching her arm out to pull him to her side in a short half hug, because her other hand was occupied.

“Thanks,” he said and then wiggled away. “Dad said that a doctor is a rare thing these days. He said that he thought they were all dead, until he met you. Dad says that I need to fight and learn to shoot and kill stuff. I don’t like guns, and whacking creepers doesn’t appeal to me. I think my dad’s disappointed in me sometimes now.”

“I doubt that your father’s disappointed in you, honey. It’s just that he wants you to know how to keep yourself safe. He worries about you,” Maryanne said, surprised when a cup of flour magically appeared in her hand.

Even though Cody was involved in this heartfelt conversation, he was still able to concentrate on the biscuits that they were making, and he seemed to have a natural feel for what he was doing. She wondered if it would be the same for him as a doctor, and she imagined that it would be.

“I think that there might be some other doctors out there someplace,” Maryanne said. “But trust me, the world is going to need a whole lot more of them.”

“Dad used to be a police officer in St. Louis. He was real good at shooting things. He even received some awards and stuff. Sam reminds me of him, you know, good at doing stuff like that. Sam’s totally cool. I wish I could be that cool.”

“Well, trust me, Cody, doctors are real cool too,” Maryanne said, beginning to stir the ingredients and frowning when the wind caught some of the powders and sent them swirling off.

“I know,” Cody said, looking around. “Where’d Sam go?”

“I think that she wanted some alone time. She isn’t much into cooking.”

“You mean that I could be better at something than her?” Cody asked with a note of awe in his voice.

“Absolutely,” Maryanne said, forgetting about her lost ingredients and smiling again.

O

“It’s just that he’s too trusting,” Cole was saying to Roy. “Even in this world as it is now, he’s always giving people the benefit of the doubt, like they deserve it or something. To me, people need to earn my trust. I’m scared for him.”

“I can see how that would be,” Roy said, nodding his head.

The two men had gone down by the vehicles and were sitting and drinking coffee on the tailgate of Amanda’s truck. Cole and Roy had become instant friends, and Cole had spent so many months worrying about his son that he felt glad to finally have someone to talk to about it.

“What did you do, before all this happened?” Cole asked of Roy.

“I was a mechanic in town,” Roy said, choosing to leave out that he was also retired military. “And you?”

“A law enforcement officer in St. Louis, Missouri.”

“That must have been rough,” Roy said, looking surprised.

“I loved my job, but you’re right. When the infection broke out, it was tough being in my line of work. All the officers I knew, except one, died. And I don’t know where she ended up,” Cole said while staring out across the desert. “I don’t even know if she’s still alive. I haven’t seen her in months.”

“Was she a lady friend?” Roy asked.

“No, just a friend and a respected fellow officer, we rode together for a while. I was her training officer. Later, we would meet for coffee and talk, catch up, mostly on work stuff, but she was also interested in Cody. Cody makes friends easily, so we went out together a few times, not as a date, but as friends, miniature golfing with Cody, pizza, stuff like that.”

“Sounds like Cody was trying to hook you two up,” Roy said.

“Really?” Cole said, snapping his head around to look at Roy. “Now that you say that, I think you’re right.”

“Kids often don’t like seeing their parents alone. How long since your wife passed?”

“That was over five years ago. She went from cancer, and it was horrible for her, for Cody, for me,” Cole said. “She was too good of a person for this world. I didn’t see it this way at the time, but I think her passing was a blessing because she wasn’t meant for the world as it is now.”

Roy didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded, and that seemed to be comforting to Cole. And then, they just sat, staring at the desert and sipping their coffee, waiting for breakfast.

O

Tammy had taken no time this morning to begin busying herself with one of the coloring books that Amanda had brought back for her. She had been delighted to see all the wonderful things that had been brought for her. In her memory, she could only recall one Christmas morning, and to her it had been like another Christmas morning to wake up to the small stack of presents that Roy had brought up for her and sat by her sleeping bag. She had carefully examined each item, explaining to an attentive Boo what each one was and what it was used for.

“Boo, we are going to practice real hard at our artwork because Mom says that the world will need talented artists in the future,” Tammy explained, even as she worked to keep the colors within the lines.

Jason was lying on his chair, smiling as he watched his youngest daughter and thinking that humanity might have a chance yet of redeeming itself from its caustic deeds, if their children had anything to say about it.

Chapter 59

“
B
reakfast is ready!” Maryanne called loudly down the hill.

Sam, whose stomach had been growling for hours, jumped up and began sprinting, despite the early heat, up the hill.

Cole and Roy both moved more casually, being sure to put the tailgate up so that a strong wind didn’t make off with some of the items in the back.

“So this is your whole group?” Cole asked. “There isn’t anybody I haven’t met yet?”

“Nope,” Roy said. “This is it.”

“Amazing,” Cole said, and Roy had the feeling that he had said it more to himself than anyone else.

“How’s that?” Roy asked with curiosity.

“Well, you have children here, a doctor, and it looks like besides the teen, you have only Amanda and yourself to protect everybody. It’s amazing that you have survived this long out here, considering.”

“Amanda’s what’s amazing,” Roy said, very typically remaining modest. “She’s looked out for us and saved our asses a time or two.”

“Do you have any idea what would happen to you all out here if those raiders discover that you have a doctor in your camp? They would kill every last one of you to get to her,” Cole said, suddenly feeling alarmed that it was his responsibility now to make sure that didn’t happen.

“How many are there?” Roy asked as they made a slow stroll up the hill.

“There were fifty of us in the one camp and about thirty-eight or so in the opposing camp,” Cole said, “until the fire.”

“The other camp got pushed out by the fire and lost about twenty or so in a horde that was drawn to the fire. The rest of their camp swooped in on us, like they were hopped up on drugs or something. There was a shoot-out. We lost twenty, and all their people died or fled. Our leader told us to pack up, and we left to make camp in the desert a number of miles from here. When Cody and I escaped, that left them sitting at twenty-eight, and trust me, you don’t want to tangle with them. The leader might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s ruthless and heartless.”

“You say
escaped
like you and Cody were prisoners or something,” Roy said, stopping at the top of the hill.

“We were, but I need to talk to everybody about this because there are some things that you all need to know, except maybe the wee little one,” Cole said, continuing on.

Maryanne and Cody had made biscuits and had simmered the apple-pie filling in a pot, adding a lot of additional cinnamon for spice. Each of them received a juice box and a sports drink. For Cole and Cody, who had been surviving off of leftovers that were meager, it was a meal fit for a king.

“See, Dad,” Cody said, with his mouth full and pieces of biscuit flying out, “I told you that people need good cooks too and not just fighters.”

“I can see that, son,” said Cole, with his eyes alight with mirth.

“Maryanne’s a doctor, and she’s going to teach me to be a doctor too. You’ll see, Dad, there’s a place for me in this world,” said Cody, following it up with a forkful of pie filling.

“Is that true?” Cole asked, stunned, looking to Maryanne. “You’ll teach him? He’s real smart, you know, that’s what they said back in the LBZ”

“I will be absolutely dedicated to teaching this fine young man everything that I know about medicine,” said Maryanne, looking to the boy with pride.

“Well, all right then, we’ll stay if you’ll have us,” Cole said, wearing an expression that told of his amazement.

“What about me, Mom? Will you teach me?” asked Sam, feeling a little jealous.

“Sure, honey, if you want to learn, I would love to teach you. But I thought you wanted to be a fighter and learn from Amanda and Roy?” Maryanne said.

“I know,” Sam said with a sigh. “It’s so hard to do everything. I’m not really that interested in being a doctor. I was just wondering if you would teach me, is all.”

“Of course, I would, sweetie, but maybe you should work at being you and not worry about trying to be somebody that you’re not,” her mother answered.

“Good advice, Mom. I want to be like Amanda. I’ll work on that,” Sam said, before stealing a glance to Amanda’s still sleeping form.

Maryanne caught the glance and couldn’t help but be concerned by the ramifications if Amanda were indeed infected by the virus.

“Cole used to be a police officer. I’m sure he knows a thing or two about fighting,” said Maryanne, trying to distract her daughter’s attention and possibly to set her up with another mentor, should Amanda not survive this.

“Cool,” said Sam, but her voice lacked enthusiasm.

Sam was surprised that she suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore. She picked at her food, thinking that Amanda must be hungry too and worried that her friend might not wake up and that she would never be able to talk to her again.

“How about you take a bath after breakfast, sweetie? You can put some water in a bucket and scrub down. It wouldn’t hurt for you to change your clothes either,” Maryanne said to her daughter.

“Sure, Mom,” said Sam, surprising her mother that she didn’t try to argue about it.

“The two of you sure came back to us a filthy mess, all covered with soot and all,” Maryanne said.

“If you wouldn’t mind, Cody and I should clean up too,” Cole said. “I can’t remember the last time we bathed or washed our clothes.”

“It was back in Oregon, in the creek. Remember?” Cody said, setting his empty plate down and beginning to work on the juice box.

“That was one cold creek. I remember,” Cole said, once again fascinated by his son’s ability to retain information, even under these difficult types of conditions.

“It sure was cold,” said Cody. “It made my balls shrink up,” he said, before looking around and turning a bright shade of pink.

“Sorry,” Cole said, “he’s used to just having me to talk to these days.”

Cole shot his son a look, and Cody shrugged in response.

“It’s okay,” Roy said, giving a chuckle. “You’re among family here.”

“Just the same, I’ll talk to him about appropriate breakfast conversation,” Cole said, sounding serious.

O

Amanda awoke to the sound of snippets of conversation and metal utensils scraping on plates. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that the sun was out. Normally, she would have been uncomfortably hot by now and unable to sleep, but as it was, she still felt like she could lay here for a while. She pushed herself up, feeling the groan from her muscles protesting loudly at the movement.

She looked herself over and was shocked to see that her left arm was covered with a gauze bandage. She wondered when that might have happened. Amanda had only a vague memory of Maryanne caring for her; it was all a bit fuzzy. But it didn’t surprise her to see that she was wearing her friend’s clothing. She did remember that part of the experience.

When she stood, she had to hike up her pants because they wanted to slip down. She stooped to roll up the pant legs. Maryanne was much taller than she was, and she didn’t want to add further insult to injury by tripping over the excess pant legs while she attempted to join the group for breakfast. She realized that Sam must be worried sick about her and wanted to assure the girl that she was okay and fever-free, for now at least.

“Amanda!” Sam screeched when she saw her slowly shuffling toward them.

Sam jumped up and went running to her, nearly knocking her over when she gave her a strong hug.

“Be careful with her,” Maryanne said. “I’m sure she’s still not very strong yet.”

“Why don’t you take her arm and assist her?” said Jason.

“Sure,” Sam said, grabbing her right arm not so gently and beginning to escort her over.

“Thanks, kid, I’m just feeling a little weak, is all,” Amanda said, not liking the sound of it.

Amanda was not accustomed to being doted upon and was looking forward to feeling better so that she could get back to taking care of herself.

Maryanne jumped up to go and fix a plate for her, when she would have preferred getting it herself.

“Sorry, I didn’t take you any dinner last night because you were sleeping so deeply. I figured that you needed it,” Maryanne said, sounding earnestly apologetic.

“That’s fine. I would have been too tired to chew,” Amanda said, stifling a yawn.

“So how are you feeling?” Jason asked.

“Tired, worn out, beat up, and my arm hurts like hell.”

“No fever?” Sam asked, looking excited.

“No fever, not yet, anyway,” Amanda said. “One can hope.”

Maryanne set down a plate that was loaded with food, and Amanda knew that she would never be able to finish it all. Red seemed to be cognizant of that and was hanging by close, waiting patiently. Amanda smiled, as Maryanne set the juice box and sports drink bottle down beside her.

“Cody helped prepare the food. He’s quite the cook and wants to be a doctor,” Maryanne said, catching Amanda up on some of the goings-on around camp.

“I’m glad that you’re fitting in around here,” Amanda said to the boy.

“I know you, Amanda,” Maryanne was saying. “And after breakfast, as your doctor, I’m ordering you to go lie down again. I don’t want you down unloading the truck or sharpening your knives or washing dishes or anything like that. Do you get me?”

“I get you,” Amanda said, admiring her friend for a minute, with how strong she could be at times.

“I really want to be a doctor if you can talk to people like that,” Cody said with an awed expression.

Everybody laughed.

Amanda was glad to see that Cody was fitting in so well around camp. He seemed to be good for the group’s morale. She eyed Cole, trying to get a read on him. Him, she wasn’t so sure about. She would give the man the benefit of the doubt because he obviously loved his son.

“Cole and Cody came from St. Louis,” Roy said.

“What was it like there? And you two had a long journey. I would like to know about that too,” Jason said.

“You know, the last radio broadcast that we’ve heard came from St. Louis,” Roy said casually.

“Oh, you heard that,” Cole said. “The last job I was tasked to do in my role as a police officer was to hold the station against the hordes. We failed. I had the broadcaster show me how to make a recording and set it on a loop before my fellow officers evacuated them. They failed too. The officers and the station personnel didn’t make it.”

“I thought I recognized your voice,” Roy said. “That was you on the recording that we listened to over and over until it stopped broadcasting?” Roy was clearly impressed that he had met the man that he had already felt a bond with so many months ago.

“Yes, that was me, and I thought I was the one that wasn’t going to make it out of there alive to get back to my son. I was wrong to have had them evacuate the way they did, through the back. I had to go out through the ceiling of the building. I building-hopped until I could climb down and make a run for it. Officer Davis, the lady that I told you about, Roy, had stayed at my house to look after my son for me. I made it back home, stealing an abandoned squad car, and loaded us up to leave. Officer Davis wanted to go check on her brother and sister, and I never saw her again.”

Cole sighed and looked weary after having told the story.

“Sounds tough,” Roy said and then dropped into silence.

When it came down to it, they all had a story to tell since the infection had spread, and for the most part, all their stories were filled with tragedies and disappointments.

Roy could relate to Cole’s guilt over the loss of lives because he too carried the same guilt, but from an earlier time.