Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies (42 page)

Chapter 69

A
fter the group had dispersed, Sam brought her guitar up to sit and mess around with strumming it. She had not a clue how to play it, but she figured that she could take the time to practice and that maybe one day, she would figure it out. But as it turned out, Sky knew how to play, and though she claimed to be rusty at it, when she held it and began to strum her fingers over it, the sound was beautiful.

Maryanne and Cody were busy with dishwashing, and then there was still more water to prepare for the next few days. Maryanne considered that if this pipe to the aquifer were for real, then there would no longer be a need to have to use such extraordinary sanitizing procedures for the water, and that was all right by her because as their camp size grew, so did their fresh water needs, and even with Cody’s help, it was becoming a strain on her, along with additional food preparation that had to be done now.

Maryanne couldn’t help but notice the music, even though she felt exhausted right down to her bones. The music was a refreshing sound and something she would have never expected to hear around camp.

Cole had gone down the hill again, claiming that if he hustled, they would have an outhouse before nightfall.

Tammy had left her father’s lap and had promptly fallen asleep on her mother’s bed. The child’s bangs clung to her sweat-streaked brow, but despite the heat and the music, she was clearly deep in slumber. Seeing Tammy like this reminded Jason of how flexible and adaptable that child was to all the extraordinary conditions that they had been forced to live under.

Red padded over to a location just below Amanda, at the base of the hill that led down to the parking area. He sat, looking serious and regal, as if he had decided to participate in a lookout of his own. Amanda knew that the dog already did nightly patrols of all his sleeping companions because she had awoken with him standing over her before watching him go to check on the next sleeping form. He seemed to have an innate sense of pack preservation that made him conscientious of the safety of each of its members.

“Thanks for the snake,” Amanda said to the wolf dog.

He turned, as if to acknowledge her, before staring back out over the desert landscape.

“I guess Cole should have given you a shift,” Amanda said. “I bet you don’t even need the binoculars.”

For Amanda, it was nice knowing that she had stayed infection free and would be around to assist her friends in their continued survival efforts. For a while yesterday, she had been sure that by this time today, she would have succumbed to the fever and possibly turned already into one of the dreaded creepers that she had come to despise as having robbed humanity of its goodness. She felt that it was like having been given a new lease on life.

Sky periodical strummed some tunes on the guitar, in between giving lessons to Sam. Amanda smiled. It is good to be alive, she thought, before unconsciously reaching to rub at her itching arm.

It was 11:00 p.m. when she went to hand the watch over to Roy. She had waited the few extra minutes, to make it an even, on the hour.

All the rest of the camp was asleep, but Roy had opted to stay up. He had been reading one of the books that Sam had brought for Jason, by the light of the lantern.

“Guess you better be getting to bed now,” Roy said, taking the watch from her.

“Don’t feel that tired,” she whispered, “but I can get more done tomorrow if I get some sleep, so I’d better try anyway.”

“I think I’ll sit up there and work out some defense strategies for us,” he whispered back, looking like he would enjoy that.

“See you in the morning,” Amanda said to Roy quietly so that she wouldn’t wake the others.

The camp was quiet, except for Jason’s snores and the grumbling of her stomach, as she watched the stars from the comfort of her foam mat. With the pillow under her head, she finally closed her eyes, wondering as she drifted off to sleep, how she could be hungry again so soon after dinner, especially a dinner that had seemed so filling at the time.

O

In the morning, Maryanne found Tammy sprawled out across her; the heat and sweat that their combined body temperature had produced was unbearable to her. She gently scooted out from under the sleeping girl and was pleased to notice that she had not woken her.

It was early, and the sun had just peeked up over the mountains in the distance. She stood, yawned, feeling a gentle warm wind, already working to dry her soaked shirt.

Jason was still on his watch. Cole would be relieving him soon. She walked over to her husband, who had not noticed that she was awake. He had the binoculars up to his eyes, making a scan of the area.

“How are you feeling, honey?” she asked in a soft voice that still startled him.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said. “Good morning, sweetheart. All is quiet on the home front. It felt good to be doing something meaningful for a change.”

“You look uncomfortable. I’m sure that there’s something that we can do to make this more bearable for you in the future,” she said, noticing that he was wearing a grimace.

“I’d be uncomfortable no matter where you put me,” he said, rather matter-of-factly.

“I’ll get you a glass of water, some coffee, and a pain pill,” Maryanne said, turning to go to the kitchen area. “You’re up early,” Maryanne said to her oldest daughter as the girl came up to give her a hug.

If Sam had been a more physically expressive child, she would have turned the hug down because she felt so hot already, but as it was, hugs from Sam were a rare event, so she said nothing and simply enjoyed it, regardless of how much hotter it made her feel.

“What’s up?” her mother asked, wondering why the sudden display of affection.

“Going to town made me realize how short life can be. You know, like we never know if we’re going to have tomorrow or not,” she said, in erudite manner.

“Why are you up so early? You and Sky were playing that guitar till late,” asked Maryanne, not able to stop being the mother to her daughter.

“Oh, Mom, I got plenty of sleep. I want to work on my bow skills. Cole says that I can be the bow master if I practice. I want that whole silent-and-deadly thing. Don’t worry so much. Why don’t you go and wash up and put on those clean clothes that Amanda washed for you and I’ll get the coffee on.”

“Oh,” Maryanne said, taking a step back in her surprise, “you would do that for me?”

“Sure, Mom,” Sam said, and it was obvious that she had awoken in great spirits this morning and was especially congenial.

“Okay then,” said Maryanne, “give your father a cup along with a glass of water and a pain pill, they’re in the first-aid kit over there.”

“No problem, I got this, and then I need to go and practice before I relieve Cole after his watch,” Sam said, already going to get the glass of water for her father.

Maryanne smiled. Sometimes she found it difficult to figure the girl out, whereas Tammy’s personality had always been very straightforward, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of child. Sam had always been complex and multifaceted, like a colorful prism, and this characteristic had only been enhanced since she had come into her teen years and with living under these types of situations.

“Where’s your assistant?” Sam asked, speaking of Cody, whom she knew was still sleeping.

“He’s asleep, and you leave him that way, do you hear me?” Maryanne said, hoping that her daughter wasn’t about to go and wake him while she was down, washing up.

“Sure,” Sam said, looking disinterested. “I thought he was going to be such a cool friend and all, but all he wants to do is hang out with you. Go figure. I’m trying to get away from my parents, no offense, and he’s wanting to hang out with you all. Sky’s cool to hang with, though, and so is Amanda. I guess that’s good enough.”

“No offense taken, I think,” Maryanne said, before shaking her head.

A diplomat she is not
, thought Maryanne while she was gathering up her bathing supplies.

“Hurry up already,” said Sam, “I really do want to get some practice in before it’s my turn to stand watch.”

“And here I thought that you were being so sweet,” her mother said, scooting past the girl before Sam could take off.

“Where are you gonna be?” Jason asked as she began to move past his location.

“Why, sir, you don’t plan on spying on me with those binoculars, do you?” Maryanne said in a teasing tone.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, me lady,” he said. “Just want to keep you safe, is all.”

“I think I’ll just go down to The Pit area,” Maryanne said. “That way, I won’t have to go all the way down to the parking spot, it’ll just be quicker.”

“I’ll keep Sam in check for you while you’re gone,” Jason said, before giving her a wink.

“I didn’t think there was anybody that could do that,” Maryanne quipped, before turning to continue down the hill to the halfway point, where The Pit had been dug.

It was nice of Sam to offer to take some of the load off of her shoulders, but as a mother, she was taken aback by her daughter when she would make such an overture and then be difficult about it. She sighed heavily as she walked. Yesterday she had been exhausted, and after a restless night of sweaty sleep, she felt the weight of all of the day’s responsibilities quite heavily. In addition to all her normal tasks, she now also had watch duty.

As she made it to The Pit area, she was surprised to see that Cole had in fact managed to piece together an outhouse for them. She smiled and decided to remember that she wasn’t the only one of the group that worked on a daily basis until they were ready to drop over from fatigue. It was all their combined efforts that kept them safe, and it was nice to know that changes had come into play that would make their lives simpler, more livable.

“Turn that frown upside down,” was a phrase that her mother had been prone to make, God rest her soul. She thought of that now and decided to smile an honest and genuine smile that left no room for doubt.

When she looked down at her bucket of wash water, she was thankful to have the opportunity to bathe and freshen up. And Amanda had been kind enough to wash a set of clothes for her.
My life is good
, she decided, knowing that as rough as they had it, others had experienced much worse and were still going through the nightmare of survival in a much crueler fashion than she.

Chapter 70

“
D
on’t go down there,” Sam said, “Mom’s washing up.”

“Oh, I needed to use the facilities before my watch,” Cole said, looking like he was experiencing some angst over it.

“She won’t be long, she never is,” Sam said, completely unaffected by Cole’s apparent situation. “She’s always all about the work and doesn’t spend much time on herself.”

Sam had set the coffee to perk and was currently rifling through the first-aid kit to find the pills for her father.

“Not like you, I take it,” Cole said, eyeing the girl speculatively.

“Not like me, what?” Sam asked, accidentally spilling the contents of the kit all over the ground.

“Uh-oh, Mom’s going to be bent over that,” she said, bending to pick everything up.

“You like spending time on yourself,” Cole said. “I kind of get that vibe about you.”

“Yeah, so?” Sam said, clearly irritated, but Cole wasn’t sure it was at him or the items she had spilled.

“No reason really,” Cole said, “I’m just trying to get to know everyone, is all.”

“Well, either help me get this stuff cleaned up and repacked, or go and get to know someone else,” Sam said.

Cole smiled and moved in to help Sam gather up the items and dust them off.

“Fortunately, all these gauze rolls are still in their packages. The pill bottles are all tightly capped, and we can wash the scissors, tweezers, needles, and thread, so I think that you’ll be in the clear,” Cole said.

“What happened?” Maryanne asked, looking at the two of them.

“I just accidentally dropped the stuff in the kit,” Sam said, looking apologetically to her mother.

“Cole’s right, we can fix it,” Maryanne said with a small shake of her head.

“If you ladies don’t mind, I have to visit the facilities in a most urgent way,” Cole said, excusing himself.

“Coffee’s ready,” Sam announced, leaving the mess only half cleaned up, in favor of going to give her father a cup.

“For heaven’s sake,” Maryanne said, deciding that she had better be the one to make sure that the contents of the kit were cared for properly.

“Good morning, Sky,” Sam said, giving her new friend a big smile. “Coffee’s ready.”

“I’ve always drunk tea,” Sky said, “but I guess I could try some.”

Sky looked like she was feeling much better than she had yesterday. There was a better color to her cheeks, and though there were bags under her eyes, her eyes did appear to twinkle more than they had the day before even.

“Take your father a glass of water and his pill too, would you please, Sam,” Maryanne said, stopping Sam while she was in route.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Sam said, twirling around to get back to the kitchen area.

“Did someone say coffee?” Roy asked, looking like he hadn’t quite woken up yet.

“You had a late night on watch. You don’t need to be up yet,” Maryanne said, kindly scolding him.

“Who can sleep in this heat once the sun comes up?” he asked.

“Apparently, those three,” Sam said, speaking of Amanda, Cody, and Tammy.

Roy liked his solitude in the mornings, and he especially looked like he wanted it this morning. Without saying a word, he took his coffee and went down the hill.

Red was sitting just outside of the kitchen, looking expectantly for his breakfast. Boo was sprawled on Tammy’s dirty clothes that were piled beside her usual bed mat. The little dog appeared to be watching the goings-on for the morning but had as yet no desire to get up and interact with any of them.

“You look nice this morning,” Jason said to his wife, “and I only peeked once with the binoculars,” he said, before laughing, as he accepted the two cups from his daughter.

“Some people are just shameless,” Maryanne said but then laughed herself.

It was difficult these days to live as husband and wife. The LAZ had stolen most of their usual routines, had stolen most of the laughter, most of the teasing banter, and all their privacy. Maryanne felt a glow at times like this when circumstances felt less tense, more natural.

“What’s shameless mean?” Tammy asked, suddenly sitting up from her slumber, reminding Maryanne again of just how little privacy they had.

“It’s one of those big words that’s hard to understand till you get older,” Sam said, coming to stand over the girl.

“Oh,” Tammy said, suddenly losing interest, “I have to go potty.”

Maryanne stood, preparing to escort her daughter down the hill. Now that The Pit offered some privacy with their new outhouse, it would be possible for her take the child down now and wait for Cole to finish.

“I’ll take her, Mom,” Sam said, extending her hand toward her little sister.

“Oh,” Maryanne said, and for the second time this morning, Sam had shocked her.

For a full minute, Maryanne began to wonder if Sam didn’t do things like that just for the shock value that it offered. She dismissed the idea when she saw the two of them walking down the hill, hand in hand. It occurred to her again that the run had changed Sam to some extent.

“Are you ready to be relieved of duty?” Cole asked of Jason, having just returned up the hill.

“I think so,” Jason said, before popping the pill in his mouth and drinking the full cup of water.

“I’ll help you down,” Cole said, positioning himself so that he would be most effective at helping the man down off of the boulder without causing further injury to him.

“I wanted to thank you for the outhouse,” Maryanne said, clamping the lid closed on the first-aid kit.

“It’s not finished yet, but thanks,” Cole said. “I still need to finish piling the rocks around the boards that stick out on the bottom of the frame, and then I’ll bury the rocks with sand. That should help it from getting blown over in our next windstorm.”

“It really made me smile when I saw it this morning,” Maryanne said, feeling like Cole might have missed the compliment part of what she had said previously.

“Well, thank you,” Cole said, opting to just carry Jason over to his reclining chair.

The man didn’t weigh much, and it seemed easier than risking the man falling off of the boulder onto his bum leg. He hoped that doing it this way didn’t offend Jason, though.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason said, picking up on his thought. “Roy ended up doing the same thing to get me up here last night.”

By the time Cole had stood, Maryanne had already placed a cup of coffee into his right hand. He switched it to his left because he was actually left-handed.

“This tastes good, like it’s tea on steroids,” Sky said, looking up from her cup.

“Breakfast will be soon,” Maryanne said, already beginning the preparations to feed the crew before they would all get started on their daily activities. “And for future reference, I’m sure that we have some tea bags around here somewhere, if you care to look for them.”

“I understand we have a group going to check on that water source that was mentioned in the book?” Sky asked of nobody in particular.

“Yes, that’s right,” said Cole, looking to the woman.

“I was wondering if I could tag along and learn to shoot something,” she said.

After having the night to consider what they had talked about, Sky had decided that it was important for her to learn to shoot, even if she never envisioned herself to be much of a marksman.

“Good, good,” Cole said, looking somewhat surprised that she would take the interest in it. “I’m sure that we could arrange that.”

“Tammy’s up here now,” Sam announced. “I’m going to get some target practice in before my watch.”

Sam stooped to retrieve her bow and arrows and then took off down the hill before anyone could stop her.

“She really likes that bow,” Cole said, as he hopped up on the boulder, binoculars in hand.

“It’s not like there’s a lot of things to interest a teenage girl around here,” Maryanne said.

“I’ll tell you, I’m pleased to see it, and I hope that she really has a knack for it, because that would sure come in handy,” Cole said, watching the girl stroll down the hill, with Red tagging along beside her. “And I guess that we don’t have to worry about her heading off by herself because of that wolf she’s got with her. I have a feeling he can protect them and keep her alerted to danger. After all, he apparently keeps finding rattlesnakes to bring back to you, and they’re deadly, if not handled correctly.”

“I would prefer that she stayed out of the fights, but that’s just me,” Maryanne said, setting a large pot of water to boil. “If she had her way, she’d be in the thick of things all the time. I am pleased that Red’s taken to following her around. She can get herself into trouble sometimes, just because she’s so darn headstrong.”

“I’ve known the type,” Cole said, sounding as if he had recalled some distant memory. “I think it’s a good thing, given how things are now and all.”

“If you say so,” Maryanne said.

“Sam’s a real cool big sister, Mom,” Tammy said. “Can I learn to shoot that thing too?”

“Not right now, dear,” Maryanne said dismissively because she was focusing on their breakfast preparations.

“I’ll teach you,” Cole said, “if that’s all right with your parents, that is,” he added, while waiting for a response from one of them.

“That would be a fine idea,” Jason said before Maryanne could issue a protest.

“Yay,” Tammy announced with obvious glee. “Can we go right now?”

“No, not right now, I have the watch now, and then we have to eat,” he said. “How about tomorrow?”

“Okay,” the girl said, “I’m going to go practice with my colors now.”

Tammy shuffled away, with a big grin on her face.

“Does Sam take much of an interest in the girl?” Cole asked, watching the child wander off to find her coloring book.

“She is more so recently,” Jason answered, knowing that his wife was busy.

Cole nodded, before placing the binoculars to his eyes.

“I’m going to take my leave, visit that new outhouse I keep hearing about, and then I’ll get started in the garden,” Sky said, taking the rest of her coffee with her.

“How come nobody woke me?” Cody asked, rushing up to the kitchen area.

Cody’s cheeks and forehead were a bright pink from sunburn. He looked frantic and disheveled, like he had overslept and was arriving late for work.

“I figured that you needed your sleep, honey. We put in a lot of hard work yesterday,” Maryanne said, not failing to notice how burned the boy was. “Where’s that ball cap that Amanda promised you?” she asked.

“I dunno,” Cody said with a shrug, immediately jumping in to help.

“Where’s Sam?” the boy asked. “I feel like I haven’t talked to her in ages, she’s been so busy and all.”

“She’s practicing with the bow and arrows. Why don’t you two take a break after breakfast and catch up,” Maryanne said, before smiling, realizing that time was perceived differently by children than it was by adults, and his perception of it seemed rather comical to her.

So far, all their party was awake and accounted for, except for Amanda. Maryanne decided to let her sleep, because yesterday must have been quite exhausting for her when she was still trying to recover from the horrendous run they had gone out on.