She was thankful for all the training and information that their excursions and discoveries had given her. It seemed strange to her that a land that was once one of the most dangerous places to live within the United States of America had now become one of the safest places to be. In the LAZ, Blythe was a dangerous place with a lot of creepers. And even though the creepers outnumbered the raiders, encounters with the raiders could quickly become deadly. She could not imagine what the major cities must be like, and this brought her thoughts to her mother, father and sister and San Diego. Her sister had been physically fit, smart, capable, and resourceful, but she didn’t want to know what the odds were that they might have survived this. But still, she couldn’t help but wonder at times.
It was times like these that made her consider going to San Diego to try and find her, but that was just fanciful musings that she liked to cling to rather than believe that there was no hope. San Diego was a major city and had been hit hard. In fact, it had been one of the first major cities to fall to the infection, and between that and the roadblocks, she had never made it there. And still, regardless of how irrational it was, guilt clung to her over that, like a sweater that she could never take off. Even on the off chance that her sister might still be alive, she had no clue where to look for her, and for all she knew, she had made it out of the city and into another state, had she survived.
There were times, like these, that her gut would tell her that her sister had somehow survived. She had no such gut response about her parents. But each time she would feel this, her brain protested, saying that it was statistically improbable to say the least that she could have survived these last six months having resided in a major city.
“I understand that you wanted to call a meeting?” It was Roy’s voice. He had walked up behind her, interrupting her thoughts.
Amanda felt relieved that he had come to pull her away from everything that was swirling around inside her head. But some good did come out of her pondering: she had decided that they were right where they needed to be for the time being and that they would just have to adapt and overcome the challenges that their location offered. The good news was that here, they rarely encountered creepers, and the herd that had been crossing the desert for no apparent reason had been a fluke. The Albrechts had described what it had been like for them in even a small city like Blythe. Here they could sleep comfortably, knowing that they were comparatively safe. Somewhere else, they would go back to living from moment to moment, never knowing what was coming next but knowing that something was coming next.
“Thanks, Roy,” Amanda said, hopping down from the boulder and giving him a pat on his shoulder. He was tall, and she had to reach up to do it.
“I think it’s a good time for it,” Roy continued. “Jason’s awake for a little while anyway.”
“How’s he doing?” Amanda asked, knowing how close he and Jason had become.
“The doctor says the antibiotics are working, and she thinks that she can save the leg,” Roy said, keeping his voice low.
“Do you realize how incredibly fortunate we are?” she asked him.
“If you say so?” he responded, not knowing where she was going with this.
“We have a camp full of good people and two doctors, even though Jason’s a psych doc, it still counts. Then we have you with your mechanical knowledge and me with my understanding of this desert. We’ve never had a creeper come into camp, knock on wood,” Amanda said, feigning a knocking signal in the air with her fist. “We are very fortunate, indeed.”
“Agreed,” Roy said with a nod of his head, “I can see your point. Hey, I’ll go round everybody up.”
Their little family collected in the kitchen area. They thought it was best not to move Jason again. As nightfall was approaching, they took the tarp down so that it didn’t feel so claustrophobic inside of the tiny rock-walled area. Maryanne sat on one of the upturned buckets and Sam on the other. Roy chose to sit with his back against the boulder, and Amanda preferred to remain standing.
Tammy sat, trying to train the little dog to sit obediently in a “corral” that she had drew in the dirt, alongside another one for her small plastic horse. The little dog didn’t understand and kept moving out of bounds. It was adorable to watch how patiently the child continued to work with the situation, never letting her frustration get the better of her. It was clear to Amanda that Tammy was very much like her mother—whereas Sam was more like herself, edgy but effective.
Red chose to remain outside of the enclosure, preferring a more open space; that was probably the wolf in him. In the night, Amanda had heard him standing over her. She sat up to see that he had moved on to Roy and then Maryanne and Jason, Tammy and the little dog, and then back to Sam. As unbelievable as it had seemed to her in the middle of the night, the dog had put himself on patrol duty, checking each of his self-proclaimed charges before getting some more sleep. It seemed that he had a two- to three-hour schedule that he kept his patrols to, and it made her feel safer, knowing that somebody had their back when they were all asleep.
Maryanne, always the perfect hostess, handed out glasses of water to everyone in the group, being sure to fill the dog’s water bowl too. Amanda found herself wishing that they had met in the world that was before this one. She and her family were truly good people.
When they had met, Roy was struggling to get them out of their house that had been laid siege by creepers. It had looked like he was losing the fight. That’s why she had stopped her motor home to go and help. It had been a tense time. Creepers had broken through the glass of the windows that Jason had not had the time to get plywood over, and the house was surrounded. Amanda and Roy had both risked their lives in a perilous rescue attempt that had been successful.
That had been a crazy time. People had still been in the dark for the most part about what was happening. A lot of people had been in shock and denial, and most people had been ill prepared to be fighting off those that had turned. Families had been split up with one person going for help and either not returning or coming back with a bite. By that time, most of the survivors had tried to barricade themselves away from the rest of the world, with ineffective results—either because the creepers had broken through the barricades, or because they hadn’t enough supplies to sustain them. And then, the power had gone out, plunging them into darkness, both literally and figuratively. The last news reports they had had were of scenes of chaos and despair and then nothing.
That is the time that Amanda had met the Albrecht family. With both her and Roy, it had been possible to take out the creepers, but more had been coming down the street, and everyone had had to move fast. A breathless Maryanne had come running out of the house, carrying Tammy, followed by Sam, who had tried to carry out an armful of her favorite clothes, dropping some along the way. Jason had followed up the rear, carrying a titanium and aluminum baseball bat. Amanda had dashed back to the driver’s seat of her older motor home, starting it up, while Roy stood outside by the side door to make sure that they had all got safely inside before he went to his Jeep.
Amanda heard the all clear and the slamming of the door and punched the gas, just as they were encountering a large group of creepers. She had had to plow over a stream of them in the street, clearing the way for Roy to follow in his Jeep. When the motor home broke down about sixteen miles out of town, Roy determined it to be from having creeper parts lodged in the undercarriage and splattering up to clog the exhaust system, with more damage being done than could be quickly fixed in the field. And just like that, she had given up her home of years and piled with them in the Jeep, leaving everything personal behind. Later when they had gone back to the motor home, some vandals had burned it up.
“Amanda, we’re ready when you are,” it was Maryanne’s voice.
“What?” Amanda said, for a second confused. “Oh, yes, sorry. I was lost in thought,” she continued, looking around to see that several of them had already finished their waters.
Chap
ter 17
Maryanne had begun to pass around a plate of the snake meat with a box of crackers. She also refilled the water glasses. If someone had told them a year ago that they would be thrilled to be eating snake, they would have all laughed, but here they were, stuffing themselves on what had become a delicacy.
Everyone except for Tammy and the dogs were looking to her expectantly.
“Sometime today would be nice,” Sam said sarcastically, and this elicited a look from her mother.
“I have a few serious topics that I would like to go over with everybody, but first, let’s get a fun one out of the way,” Amanda began. “We need to come up with a name for the little dog, besides ‘little dog,’ and I thought the kids might like to do that.”
“I wish people around here would stop calling me one of the kids. I’m fifteen years old, practically an adult,” Sam said, with an eye roll.
“I already have a name for her,” Tammy said, clutching the little blond dog to her chest.
Everyone chose to ignore Sam’s comment. She was in the habit of making so many negative comments that they had learned to tune her out.
“Would you like to share the name?” Maryanne asked.
“I call her Boo,” Tammy said proudly.
“Well, very good then, Boo it is,” she said, adding a smile.
Jason nodded in agreement before beginning to have a coughing fit, reminding them of what a delicate condition he was still in.
Tammy didn’t seem to register her father’s coughing spell, but Sam looked to her mother, scared.
“Glad to have you back with us, Jason,” Roy said, trying to lighten the mood after Jason had finished with his hacking spasm. “It hasn’t been easy around here with you out of it.”
Amanda smiled, but secretly she was thinking of how pale and weak-looking he was.
“Well, our first order of business was easy,” Maryanne said, trying to get everyone back on track. “What’s the next order of business?”
“Unfortunately, most of what’s on our agenda for today won’t have any easy answers,” Amanda said, “and some of it we may need some time to consider before making any decisions.”
“Oooo, sounds serious,” said Maryanne, looking around the group.
“Though I really like our location and believe that we should for the time being stay put, the way that we have to make so many trips to town for our supplies is not sustainable for much longer. If we want to stay, we need to find some solutions for our problems,” Amanda said succinctly.
“If we could clearly look at the problems, then we might find our solutions. Can you lay out the problems for us?” Roy asked. “I have an idea of what a few of them are, but I want to be sure.”
“Gotcha,” Amanda said. “Problems one and two go hand in hand. One, finding enough gas to be driving these kinds of distances so often while carrying a heavy load is not sustainable for much longer. Two, in my opinion, we are too dependent upon these trips for our water. I found out when I was late getting back from the last run, the camp was left with a half-gallon of water, and this is not okay. We could die out here if one of our runs goes wrong or we can’t find enough gas while we are in town to make it back to camp.”
“I agree,” Jason said, in a soft low voice.
“What’s to be done about it?” Maryanne asked, while Roy remained silent, and Sam appeared to be thinking.
“That’s just it, I don’t have an answer to our two most pressing issues, other than to move closer to our supplies, but I am not happy with that because the creeper and raider threat is so much greater that way,” Amanda said, looking apologetic for even having suggested it.
“Well,” Sam said, “what if we were to change the way that we do things?”
Her input seemed to come as a surprise to the rest of the group, as they were not expecting the teenager among them to have any input at all on the subject. But then again, Amanda thought, Sam has surprised me several times before.
“Sam has very simply and precisely pointed out my next point,” Amanda said, “and I think it is this point that will bring us around to finding our answers.”
“Okay,” Sam said, looking enthusiastic for a change.
“We aren’t living here, we’re surviving from day to day, and we’ve been doing that for the past six months. I understand that our lives have been thrown into upheaval, and for a time, we were spending so much of our time fighting, running, and hiding that we didn’t have a choice. But I think that now we are ready to take our existence to the next level, so to speak. Let’s make this place into our home,” Amanda said, sounding passionate.
“Like?” Maryanne said, looking to her friend quizzically.
“Like, what if we could arrange for plenty of water for adequate bathing, clothes washing, food prep, and emergencies. Like, proper beds and shelter from the elements. I mean, we need pillows to rest our heads on, that sort of thing,” Amanda said, really getting into her speech.
“We’re trying to keep from being eaten alive, and you’re worried about pillows?” Roy asked sounding irritated.
“That’s just it, Roy,” Amanda said. “When was the last time a creeper came into camp at this location?”
“Never,” Sam said, “I think that The Trench helps.”
“That’s my point,” Amanda said. “This location is relatively safe, if we can make sure that our basic needs are met.”
“Amanda has a point,” Maryanne said. “We’re out here living like animals. It just all seems so hopeless sometimes. It wasn’t until that shower that I took in the rainstorm that I really realized how horrible it feels to be that filthy. It’s been difficult for all of us, especially the children. I’ve been just existing, but I want to start living, and I want my children to feel alive and vital too.”
“It’s about creating a quality of life,” Jason answered, “and I agree that it’s time to start creating some quality to our life because if we don’t do it, there’s nobody else that will do it for us.”
“I can’t say, as I would mind having a pillow myself,” Roy said resignedly. “I didn’t sleep so good last night, and even though it’s hot and miserable, a pillow might help.”
“I’m confused,” Sam said, “how’s a pillow gonna help us with our gasoline, water, and food situation?”
“Come on, kid, you know you want one,” Amanda said, adding a smile.
“I want one,” Tammy said, feeling proud that she was able to make a contribution to their discussion.
“Now that that is settled,” Amanda continued, “I have a notebook here,” she said, holding up a composition book that had a black-and-white cover, “and I want everyone to jot down ideas as they think of them. I don’t expect that all our problems are going to be solved in this one meeting or even overnight for that matter. If you think of something that might help, then make a note of it.”
“Yes, I can,” said Tammy, extending her arm toward the notebook.
“That book’s not for you, sweetie,” Maryanne said, reaching out to take the notebook from Amanda. “I’ll keep the book in the kitchen area where it’s somewhat protected from the wind.”
“That’s no fair,” Tammy said, and her face had screwed up into a pout.
“I will get you a coloring book next time I’m in town,” Amanda said, to Tammy’s obvious delight.
“Speaking of going to town,” Sam said, realizing that this was her opportunity to speak up, “I want to go. I promise that I’m ready.”
“Wait just a minute, young lady,” her mother said, shooting her daughter a scolding look.
“Mom, that’s just not fair.” Sam slouched back against the rock wall with a look of defeat.
“Going to town isn’t like going on a field trip, honey,” her father said gently. “It’s dangerous out there. You know what happened when we had to leave home. Just look at what happened to Roy and me. It’s not like it was in the LBZ, sweetie, and there’s nothing glamorous about it. If we didn’t absolutely have to
, none of us would ever be going near another densely populated area again.”
“I think that I’m old enough to start contributing around here. I’m not stupid. Of course, I know it’s nothing like it used to be, and I know it’s dangerous,” the girl said, sounding passionate.
“I hate to say this,” it was Amanda speaking, “but we could use her help. She would need to have some training and agree to follow protocol, but I think in the long run, she’ll be an asset to us.”
“See,” Sam said, shooting up to a straight-backed seated position, “I’m glad someone around here believes in me.”
“Like hell,” Maryanne said, and Amanda could see the color rising to her fair-skinned cheeks. “If you want to contribute so bad, why don’t you help me with the dishwashing, cooking, water sanitizing, tidying up around here, watching your sister without argument, anything but going to town.”
“Wait a second,” Jason said, and everyone stopped talking to lean in to hear what he had to say because his voice was so low. “I think that Amanda’s right, as much as I hate to say it.”
“Honey?” Maryanne questioned, looking to her husband with a shocked expression.
“What if I hadn’t made it back to camp?” Jason said. “She’s old enough in this new world to learn how to take care of herself and how to help others. We are only handicapping her by being overprotective. What if someday soon she suddenly has to look out for herself?”
Maryanne began to speak. Her mouth opened as if to say something and then closed again as she thought better of it. She had tears in her eyes, and Amanda found herself hating what this new life has done to such a good family, that they would be forced to have to make decisions like this for their children.
“Roy, will you teach her to shoot and give her a few more driving lessons?” Amanda asked of the man that had chosen to remain silent on the matter. “If you could do that, I’ll teach her some hand-to-hand combat skills.”
Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies Page 11