Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies (36 page)

Chapter 60

T
ammy had left the group to go back and get to work on her coloring. The young girl was taking the task of becoming an artist very seriously. Her mother congratulated her on her pictures and kissed her on the forehead before the girl left with the little dog in tow.

Amanda set her plate down, allowing Red to finish off the second biscuit with the apple pie filling, much to the dog’s delight. He would have two breakfasts this morning, which was what Amanda felt that he had earned after such a hard day of work yesterday on so little food.

“Here,” Maryanne said, handing another pain pill to Amanda. “I can tell you’re hurting.”

“I don’t want to waste our supplies,” Amanda said, complaining.

“They are supplies that you attained for us, and now you will use some of them. End of story,” Maryanne said, and Amanda admired the doctor part of her that was so forceful when it came to her patients.

Amanda swallowed the pill with no further complaints, and Maryanne handed Jason one too. He took it without saying a word, clearly not wanting to cross her.

“I have to say that I am truly impressed with what you’ve been able to do out here,” Cole said. “But there are some things that you need to know, for your own safety.”

This piqued Amanda’s interest, so she said, “We’re listening.”

“The raiders, as you call them, are looking for your group. It seems that some months ago, they got the drop on two of you in town, and there was a shoot-out, and you killed two of them before escaping away.”

“Yep,” Amanda said, remembering the incident.

“Yes, that was Amanda and I,” Roy said.

“Well, one of the men you killed had been their leader. His brother took over leadership, and he’s put a steep price on your heads. Lucky for all of you, he’s not too bright and can’t seem to figure out how to find you. I could have helped him with that, but I didn’t. I just played dumb.”

“Well, thank you for that,” Maryanne said, sounding flustered.

“That’s something I didn’t want to hear,” Amanda said, sounding chagrined. “Now we have a bunch of cannibalistic raiders out to get us. That’s just great.”

“What?” Maryanne screeched.

Amanda winced. Apparently, they had not been told about that yet.

“It’s true,” Cole said. “When the fire started and all hell broke loose and they fled for the desert, they took two of the enemy raiders and decided to eat them. There was a lot of concern around camp that with the fire destroying all the supplies, they wouldn’t be able to support themselves. So their not-so-brilliant leader came up with the idea of eating others.”

Cole sounded like he had nothing but contempt for the group that he had been with, and Amanda was looking at him, studying him.
Maybe
, she considered,
he’s not so bad after
all.

Nobody said anything for a full minute, apparently needing to digest the information that they had just heard. Maryanne was looking like she might throw up her breakfast.

“I can tell that you are all good people, and I’m sorry for having to deliver this kind of news, but you need to know. They sent Cody and I to go dig out a new latrine, and we took off. I wasn’t going to be any part of that and needed to get my son away from those people. Up until then, they had always kept Cody and me apart unless we were with the whole group, probably to control me better. But I saw our chance, and I took it. Luckily, we ran into you and Sam,” he said, looking to Amanda. “Because, as my son pointed out, we weren’t likely to have survived with nothing but two shovels and a burnt-out city.”

“We’re glad to have you,” Maryanne said, slipping her arm around the boy that had not left her side all morning.

“That’s craziness,” Sam said. “Amanda, you were right about those raiders being bad news.”

Amanda didn’t feel any consolation in being right. She was worried about the future of their group and how they might take action to defend themselves against them because she knew that sooner or later, they would need to. It was a big desert, but not so big that they would never be found, even by a not-so-bright leader. She sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted again.

“So how is it that you and Cody ended up joining up with them?” asked Amanda, feeling exasperated with Cole.

“I took out of St. Louis, looking for a safe place to raise my son. When we left, I had a small arsenal. It was crazy in the city. I wanted to help, but there was nothing to be done. The city was lost. I stopped to rescue a woman with her two kids on the way out of St. Louis. She wanted to be dropped at her parent’s house a few counties over, and we did that. I kept driving. But things were bad everywhere. We got carjacked in Idaho and were lucky to leave with the shirts on our backs. I hot-wired an abandoned truck, found a shotgun, and we kept rolling. I don’t know why I thought that there might be some safe place to be, but I did,” Cole said, stopping to take a swig of the sports drink.

“One night, I thought of the desert and how that might be less populated, you know, safer. But when we arrived and got out of the truck, they got the jump on us. The new leader, the not-so-bright one, put a gun to Cody’s head and said that either I joined them, or they’d shoot him. I joined but was looking for an opportunity to leave the whole time. Their leader’s plan was to gather a small army and march against the other raider camps. Me, I was considered expendable, and Cody, well, I don’t want to think about that. When the shooting broke out yesterday at the tractor supply store, I tucked Cody under a desk in the office and did my best to hold the other raiders off. I guess the leader thought that he could trust me after that, and he let Cody go with me to dig the latrine. We escaped, again with nothing. I have the feeling that there is safety in numbers, but deciding whom to hook up with is tough these days. I’m glad that you found us.”

“Sorry, for being so judgmental,” Amanda said, feeling contrite. “I would have done the same thing in your shoes.”

Roy could tell that Amanda and Cole were both two strong personalities and that it would be inevitable for them to butt heads now and then. In fact, he could see it already. He sighed, not looking forward to diffusing the situations that would arise between the two of them.

“Welcome, home,” Maryanne said. “I’m glad that you found us too. You know, it sounds like we could use your expertise to help us defend ourselves from them.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Cole said. “There isn’t much for manpower here compared to them. What do you have for firepower?”

“Cody and I are going to wash up these dishes. Amanda is going to lie down, aren’t you Amanda? So why don’t Roy, Jason, and Cole, put your heads together and work on this?” Maryanne said, once again taking charge of the group’s personal logistics.

“Yes, ma’am,” Cole said, “will do.”

Amanda looked longingly toward the three of them as they gathered to discuss defense measures. She would have liked to have been a part of their gathering, but Maryanne was right; she needed to rest. Already, she was feeling nearly too tired to keep her eyes open.

Maryanne must have noticed that she was in bad shape because she rushed over to help escort her back to her foam pad. It had been nice to sleep in such comfort on that soft surface, and the pillow had been wonderful, and now all she could think about was getting back to it.

Amanda gently knelt down on her mat, careful not to exacerbate the pain in her left arm by using it to get down with. Maryanne placed a hand to her forehead and nodded, apparently pleased that she was not currently running a fever.

“You rest, and I’ll come in a little while to change the dressing on your arm and apply some more aloe. I hope that doesn’t wake you,” she said.

“What makes you think that I’ll be asleep?” Amanda asked.

“I’m no idiot. I am a doctor. I can tell. So let’s just say that while you’re sick, you start being less argumentative and more agreeable.”

Amanda smiled thinly as she watched her friend walk away. She was thankful for having made the fateful decision to stop and help Roy get them out of the house that day because her life had become so much more enriched for having met them. She was also thankful that Sam had stopped her truck, even against instruction, so that they could pick up Cole and Cody. Chances were good that if Sam had not stopped, Amanda would have checked out the area and circled back for them, but it was hard to say.

“So you’re feeling okay?” Sam said, sneaking up on her.

“Yep,” Amanda said, knowing that it was kind of a half lie.

There wasn’t much about her that she would call, “feeling okay,” but Sam didn’t need to know that.

“Good, maybe we can talk later, you know, after you’ve had a nap?”

It was touching to Amanda to see the kind of admiration that the girl looked at her with, and again, she hoped that the fever would not come. She wanted more time to spend with these people, more time to get to know Sam and help her to grow into the fine young woman that Amanda knew that she would become.

“That sounds great,” Amanda said, working hard not to yawn in front of the girl but failing.

“I’ll let you go now before Mom catches me over here and accuses me of not letting you rest,” she said, giving Amanda a quick nod before turning away.

Amanda could see buzzards circling in the air over the valley next to theirs. She wondered why they were there and watched them for a few minutes before falling asleep.

O

“I’m curious,” Cole said, “with the fire eating up the resources in the city, how do we plan on staying way out here with no access to supplies or water? I mean, it looked like Amanda brought home a lot of water, but it won’t last, not with bathing and clothes washing especially.”

“See, here’s the thing,” Roy said, “Amanda went to town to get enough supplies so that we could work to sustain ourselves. I was checking out the truck’s load, and I think that she might have accomplished it for us. I’ll tell you one thing, that’s a woman that you can count on.”

“Sustain, how?” Cole asked, looking to Roy curiously, but it was Jason that answered.

“We’re finally going solar. We’ll grow our own food, and Roy is working on the whole water situation, aren’t you, Roy?” Jason said.

“Haven’t quite got the water sorted out yet, but Sam and Amanda dug a basin to catch rainwater, and that will help some,” Roy said, rubbing his hand over his head.

“I guess the thing is,” Jason began, “we need to fully unload the trucks and then see what’s available. Sam said that they found some weapons and ammo. It would be nice to know what kind of resources are at our disposal before we make a defense plan. For all we know, they came back with a rocket launcher or something.”

Jason chuckled at his joke, but Cole and Roy remained serious. Jason wondered if the pain pill he had taken had made him a little loopy.

“Sorry, I can’t help with the load,” Jason said, trying to make up for his failed attempt at humor.

“So is it agreed that we unload the truck and then take an inventory?” Cole asked, trying to make sure that they had a working plan in place.

It was in Cole’s nature to be thorough whenever possible, and he preferred to have a well-thought-out plan before he undertook any endeavor. He had been known, by his comrades in blue, for his attention to detail and meticulous ability to plan. Winging it just wasn’t his style, and it looked like this camp winged it often, and it just happened to be working out for them. He considered what would happen if the raiders found them now, in such a disorganized state. He visibly shuddered at the thought.

Cole jumped up, eager to begin the process of unloading, despite another day of extreme heat. At least, he thought, he and Cody had eaten a hearty breakfast and were well hydrated. That was more than he could say about their situation over the past few weeks.

Chapter 61

B
y midafternoon, the contents of both trucks had been unloaded. With Cole’s direction, everything was neatly stacked according to its purpose. Sam had been a big help, but she had spent a great deal of the time complaining that she wanted to practice her archery, claiming that it was important that she be able to shoot well in order to help them defend themselves. To her disappointment, she was consistently outvoted and had to continue helping with what she viewed as the mundane task of unloading.

When Maryanne and Cody had finished with the dishes, they had come down to join in the work too. Cody, however, issued no complaints. He was happy to have found a place to be and pleased to know that he would one day be a doctor, under Maryanne’s tutelage. He chatted with Sam, helping to ease some of the angst that she was feeling.

Cole had found one of Amanda’s notebooks in the truck, and once the piles had been made, he busied himself with cataloging their supplies.

“Now can I go practice?” Sam asked.

She was red in the face and layered in sweat but determined to be able to use the bows and arrows that she had found at her ex-teacher’s house.

“Please,” Maryanne said, in a tired tone, “come sit in the shade, and drink something. Cool down a little, and then you can go, but I’ll need to know where you are going to be.”

With Sam, once she got an idea in her head, it was difficult to derail her, even if it was in her best interest to calm down and take a break.

“Okay, Mom, but I really need to get good at it,” the girl said on her way to join them in the shade, where Roy had placed a tarp up for protection from the sun.

“Has anyone checked on Amanda?” Roy asked. “I expected to see her down here at some point. It would be just like her to defy her doctor’s orders.”

“When we left, she was still fast asleep,” Maryanne said.

“No fever?” Roy asked.

“None yet, she might be out of the woods soon, but it’s still too early to call it,” Maryanne answered.

The only things that they had been unable to unload from the trucks were the vast stores of water in the tanks. The full tanks weighed eight hundred pounds apiece. They would remain there, and when one of the tanks was empty, it would be brought up top. There they would sanitize the tank with a bleach and water solution and then place it on the wooden tower that Amanda had brought back for them. And then Maryanne would be able to put all the purified water into that tank so that it would be protected from the dust and readily accessible to them for cooking, drinking, or bathing.

Roy looked over the stash that comprised his pile of stuff: tools, batteries, solar panels, wires, and accessories. He was very pleased. He figured that he had everything he needed to get them set up with a small amount of usable electricity, to light the outhouse, once they built it, and for a light up top. He had also seen the television and DVD player and knew that it would be no problem to be able to generate enough power to have several movie nights a week. To him, it looked like they were well on their way to becoming civilized, right down to the foam mats that they had slept on, complete with the pillows.

“Amanda said that she wanted you to take a look at that .45 pistol, the one that she spilled gasoline on,” Sam said, speaking to Roy. “She thought that you might need to clean it or something before anybody shoots it.”

“I plan on doing just that, but tonight, when we’re all sitting around camp. I’ll clean and inspect all the weapons to make sure that they’re ready to go,” Roy said. “But thanks for telling me.”

Cole frowned. For the amount of people in their camp, they were well armed between the myriad of weapons that were laid out on another tarp. The ammunition was weak, though, compared to what he knew that the raiders had. But the biggest problem that he was encountering when he considered the plans for their defense, was that they simply did not have enough people here, compared to their enemy.

He glanced over the landscape, judging the lay of the land.
It is a defensible space though
, he thought,
if we’re smart about it
. He scratched at a cut on the back of his hand that looked like it wanted to get infected. Cole figured that he and Cody had better get cleaned up after this. He would need to wash and disinfect his cut, and they both could use to scrub up and wash their clothes. He would have to ask around to see if there were any spare sets of clothes that would fit them while their clothes dried.

Cole joined the group under the tarp, figuring that he had a real good handle on how their supply situation looked.

“Both of the trucks were a mess,” he said, sitting down in the only available folding chair.

“Staying organized wasn’t exactly high on our priority list,” Sam said, sounding irritated that he would say that.

“We have never had anybody bring that much stuff back from town in a single day,” Roy said, feeling the need to defend Amanda in her absence. “I’m sure they didn’t have the time.”

“Organization is the key to any successful operation,” Cody said, in a voice that meant to mimic his father’s.

“In my opinion, organization is essential to survival,” Cole said, feeling irritated that no one seemed to share his view.

“Is that how you two ended up here with nothing but two shovels and the clothes on your backs?” Roy said, feeling irritated that the way they did things had come under attack.

“Good point,” Cody said, getting a sharp look from his father for it.

“Well, I for one am glad that somebody can be organized around here. We need to let all our skills work together,” Maryanne said, trying to diffuse what she perceived to be a tense situation arising amongst them. “I wouldn’t exactly call Amanda the organized type, but she sure can get things done,” Maryanne continued.

“Point taken,” Cole said, looking like he was still steamed over the topic but willing to concede in favor of diplomacy.

Again, Roy realized that should Amanda pull through the bite, there was going to be some inevitable tension between the two. He thought that would be a shame because they both were very smart, capable, and dynamic leaders.

“I’m going to start lugging this solar equipment and the batteries up top. Can I get any help?” Roy asked, standing.

Roy felt that he had rested long enough, and in a way, he felt as eager to begin his project as Sam was to work on her archery skills. He had loved his job with the military until that fateful event had soured it, and he had also loved being a mechanic and tinkering on vehicles. He missed that and would enjoy rigging some things up for them that would make their lives much easier. Once the solar was up and running, he planned on getting the small refrigerator going first because he could almost taste a cold glass of water just by thinking about it.

Sam grabbed a battery, and Cody picked up one of the solar panels.

“Do these wires go too?” Maryanne asked, preparing to pick up the two spools.

“Yes, thanks to Cole’s organizational skills, everything in this pile goes up top for my project,” Roy said.

“I’ll take that as a thank-you,” Cole said, still feeling irritated.

“Don’t mind Dad so much,” Cody said as the procession worked its way up top. “He’s just a little intense sometimes, especially now with the way things are.”

“Don’t you worry about it, honey,” Maryanne said. “You two are among family here. We understand.”

Again, Cody beamed. He couldn’t be more pleased that they had happened across Amanda and Sam after having escaped the raider’s camp.

O

Amanda awoke when Maryanne was undoing the gauze dressing around her arm.

“You don’t need to wake up,” Maryanne said. “I just needed to check your arm, and I’ll put on a fresh dressing. Thanks to you, we have plenty of first-aid supplies.”

“I need to get up. I should be helping to unload the trucks. How long have I been sleeping?” she asked, sounding groggy and confused.

Cody was standing beside Maryanne, watching what she was doing. He was fully committed to learning how to be a doctor, and he wasn’t the least bit squeamish when she undid the dressing to reveal the blistered wound that was seeping with plasma.

“The trucks have already been unloaded, and there’s nothing that you need to be concerned about, except getting your rest. Cole’s been a tremendous help. It’s just a good thing that the two of you came across them when you did. I mean, imagine the odds of that.”

Amanda sat up, despite Maryanne’s urgings.

“I feel like I’ve slept enough. I feel pretty good really, all things considered,” she said with a yawn. “I’m thirsty and starving.”

“That’s a good sign,” Maryanne said, applying the back of her hand to Amanda’s forehead. “There’s still no fever, and I’m surprised that you’re not hotter than you are. It’s beastly out today, and you’re cool to the touch, not even sweating.”

“I feel pretty comfortable, except for the arm,” she said. “But I can’t remember ever being so hungry.”

“Do me a favor, and look at me,” Maryanne said, curious about something she had noticed with Amanda’s eyes.

Amanda complied and looked to her friend.

“That’s odd,” Maryanne said, moving in closer to look.

“What’s odd?” Amanda asked.

“Well, you’re eyes have always been a nice warm brown, and they look like such a soft brown now. It’s like they’ve changed color or something,” Maryanne said, and there was a concentration wrinkle that had sprung up on her forehead.

“Do people’s eyes change color?” Amanda asked.

“No, that’s the thing. Eye color is fixed for the most part, but it’s probably just the sun playing tricks on me. I’ll check on it again later. And you’re in luck, Cody and I are going to fix us up some lunch after we’re done here, and you’re welcome to come and join us.”

“Thanks,” Amanda said, and as if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly.

Maryanne applied more aloe and then allowed Cody to rewrap it, as per her instruction. When the boy had finished, Maryanne looked inspecting the work, pleased.

“You’ll make a fine doctor, young man,” she said. “Now, how about we fix these hungry campers some lunch?”

Amanda stayed down on the mat, to flex and stretch her muscles. She found it hard to believe that after her nap this morning, she was feeling so extraordinarily better. And unlike most of the blistering hot days, she was not feeling the effects of the heat.

Before getting up, she noticed the vultures still circling in the sky and determined that they should send scouts over to investigate why they were there. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it seemed important that they check it out.

Amanda was hoping that lunch would be ready soon because she felt so hungry that it was becoming painful to her, and her stomach continued to groan and moan in protest.

“Good to see that you’re up,” Roy said, before grinning broadly back at her. “We’ve been worried about you.”

“I understand that the trucks are already unloaded, and I missed it,” Amanda said, before returning her own grin.

“We are all in awe of what you and Sam were able to accomplish yesterday. It’s almost like a miracle to see so much water, tools, wood, batteries, panels, and supplies. You weren’t kidding when you said you needed to teach Sam to drive a second truck. That was amazing, and my hat goes off to you. Sorry that you took a few hard knocks on our behalf, though,” Roy said, giving her a nod of appreciation.

“It’s nothing you wouldn’t have done if you’d been healed up,” Amanda said.

“I’m not as young as you all now, so I doubt that,” Roy said and then issued his signature chuckle.

“I am so hungry I could eat my arm,” Amanda said, using a figure of speech that she had heard a lot while growing up.

Roy just gave her an odd look and then turned to walk away.

I wonder what that’s about?
Amanda thought, eyeing him quizzically as he walked away.

Sam came marching up the hill, winded but all smiles when she saw that Amanda was awake.

“I’ve been practicing,” the girl said, holding up the bow.

“How’s it going?” Amanda answered, pleased that the girl had an outlet that didn’t involve having to stay cooped up in the camp with everyone else all the time.

“I’d have trouble hitting anything I wanted with it right now, but with some practice, I think I can learn to aim it. I finally got the arrow to fly straighter, though,” she said, sounding out of breath. “The bowstring’s rubbed a raw spot on my forearm because it keeps snapping it. I’ll wear a long sleeve shirt for a while until I figure out how not to do that. Is it lunchtime? I’m starved.”

Roy had headed back down the hill to grab another load of his project materials, and under minimal protest, Sam went down too, followed by a tail-wagging Red, who seemed eager to be wherever the action was.

“Can I shoot the arrows, Mommy?” Tammy asked, coming up to tug at her mother’s shirt and pointing to the bow that Sam had set down.

“Not now, honey, you’re my little artist, remember? You’re supposed to be coloring me a picture,” Maryanne said, skillfully deflecting the question.

“Oh, you wanted a picture, Mommy?” Tammy questioned. “I can do you a real good picture.”

The girl trotted away, having to call to Boo to follow her because the little dog was more interested in finding out what was for lunch than she was in creating any more works of art.

“I think I’ll go down and find a suitable outfit of mine to wash so that I can get out of your clothes. No offense, but I’m afraid I’ll lose these pants with every step that I take,” Amanda said, turning to the path that would lead her down the hill.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Maryanne said. “You’re going to sit right here in this nice folding chair and visit with Jason. You both need to rest and can help keep each other from getting stir crazy. I’ll send Sam down after your clothes.”

Begrudgingly, Amanda did as she was instructed, hoping that soon she would be given the all-clear and be able to get back to her normal level of physical activity, because she wasn’t one to want to be doted on and scolded like a child.

“So is lunch ready?” Sam asked on her way by carrying another battery for Roy. She deposited the battery at the far end of camp where Roy had begun setting up a workstation and then came back to where her mother and Cody were preparing the food.