Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies

by Jo Lee Auburne

  “How’d you know that’s what I was doing?” she asked, whispering back.

  “Not such a lucky guess. That’s what I’d be doing if I were in your shoes,” he said.

  “Tell me again how ready she is, Roy?” she asked, wanting to be reassured.

  “She’s ready, as ready as anybody could be, adults included. In fact, she’s more ready than any of us had been when all this started. Besides, she’s got a few things going for her that we don’t. She’s young, agile, and strong. Hell, she’s in the prime of her life. Trust me, she’ll do fine,” he said, using a more normal volume with his voice. “I know it’s still early yet, but try to get some rest,” he said, leaning close to bump her shoulder with his in a comforting gesture of camaraderie, which she appreciated.

  Amanda began preparing for bed, brushing her teeth and washing her face with a partially wet rag. She wasn’t sure that she saw the point to going to bed so soon, but Roy had been right; she needed her rest, even if she couldn’t sleep. She had steered clear of Maryanne, in an effort to let the woman process in whatever way she needed to. So it took her by surprise when she walked up to her, as she was shaking out her sleeping bag, making sure that nothing had crawled into it during the day.

  “Is it too late to add a few things to the list?” her friend asked, surprising Amanda by how chipper she sounded.

  “There’s still time. The notebook is down there,” Amanda said, using her head to nod toward it because her hands were full.

  “Sam’s already asleep,” Maryanne said. “I think we wore her out today.”

  “I’m sure we did. That was kind of the plan, wear her out to make sure that she gets a good night’s sleep,” Amanda said, laying the bag out sure to make sure the surface underneath it was clear of any small pebbles.

  “I guess it goes without saying, if you could find some more drinkable alcohol, that would be great, you know, for medicinal purposes. But I could use more rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, if you can find it. Bleach is a must-have, kerosene for our lanterns, but you’ve probably already got that,” she said, even as she was writing it all down. “I would love it if you could procure an aloe vera plant too.”

  “I think there’s a good chance that I can find all that,” Amanda said. “This is going to be one of our biggest trips yet.”

  Amanda regretted having added that last part, as she watched her friend wince.

  “Thanks,” Maryanne said without conviction.

  Maryanne hovered in the area for a while longer, not speaking, and Amanda allowed herself to feel awkward as the seconds ticked by.

  “I know that you’ll do your best, Amanda, but please bring my daughter home to me,” her friend finally said in a pleading tone.

  “I’d take a bullet for that kid, Maryanne,” Amanda said with conviction.

  “But only if it comes to that,” Maryanne said. “If you take a bullet, then that leaves her all alone out there,” the woman said as she shivered through her shoulders. “Just please, I want you and her back here tomorrow afternoon,” Maryanne said, giving Amanda’s hand a soft squeeze.

  Maryanne walked away, and it was as if her words were still resounding in the air as she lay there with nothing much to think about but the run tomorrow. Roy was lighting the lantern, just one because most of them were already heading off to bed. The sky was clear, and when night had fallen completely, Amanda began to count the shooting stars that were so prevalent above her. She fell asleep after fourteen.

  Chapter 27

  “Amanda?” came a voice while she felt a hand shaking her shoulder. “Amanda?” the voice said again. And now the hand was shaking her harder.

  “What?” she inquired, coming out of a deep slumber, while instinctually her hand went down to the hilt of her knife.

  “There’s no problem, but you’re oversleeping,” Sam said in a whisper. “You always leave for the runs early, and it’s getting late.”

  “Late?” Amanda said, snapping up to a seated position, rubbing her eyes.

  “Here’s almost a full cup of really weak coffee,” Sam said, shoving the cup into her hand.

  The cup of coffee felt real hot. Sam, not being accustomed to cooking, had really heated it. She blew on it a couple of times but opted to wait to drink it. Considering how watered down it would invariably be, it wouldn’t be a great loss to not have any right away. Instead, she opted to finish the water in the bottle that she kept by her sleeping area.

  Amanda looked around with eyes that felt fresh and rested, and it was still dark. Sam had brought a lantern over with her, and she could see that the girl looked like she had slept well too.

  Amanda reached her hand over to grab the backpack that she had taken off of Red’s master. She handed the pack to Sam. She had been saving this surprise for today.

  “Here, this is yours now,” she said as Sam snatched it out of her hand, almost causing her to spill the coffee.

  “Cool,” Sam said, immediately unzipping the pack and thrusting her hand inside.

  It wasn’t very often anymore that she received a present, and the girl was clearly thrilled about it. Amanda smiled sleepily and then took a sip of the brew, burning her tongue.

  “Whoa, Amanda!” she exclaimed without raising her voice.

  It was evident that she didn’t want to wake the others, most likely so as not to have to say good-bye to her parents. Amanda could understand that.

  “Awesome,” the girl whispered as she pulled out a large hunting knife that was encased in a shiny leather sheath that had inlaid turquoise decorating it.

  “I wanted to give it to you yesterday, but you fell out early,” Amanda said, getting to her feet and stretching.

  “This is cool, it’s cooler than yours,” Sam said.

  “It’ll fit on your belt, but I don’t want you using it unless you have to, okay?” Amanda said, eyeing the girl to see if she was really listening.

  Amanda was taken completely by surprise as the girl lounged forward and embraced her in a tight hug. Coffee from her cup sloshed over her hand, and she winced because it was hot and burned her skin.

  “Easy there, girlfriend,” Amanda said, cringing from the burn. But secretly, she was happy to have received such a grateful reaction to such a simple and practical gift.

  “What else do I need in it?” Sam asked.

  “Very good, Sam,” Amanda said, “I was just going to get to that.”

  They were still talking in hushed tones, so as not to wake the others, but Amanda was still surprised not to see at least Roy awake by now. Jason’s snores could be heard clearly, and Maryanne moaned and rolled over but didn’t wake. Like Amanda, she had probably had trouble falling asleep last night too, and it was better to let her sleep; otherwise, they would be delayed for a while because of all her misgivings about her daughter going. Delaying could cause them to run into the dark tonight, and she never wanted to be away from camp after dark. There was just no way of clearly seeing any approaching enemies in the dark, and it would make the trip much more dangerous.

  “You’ll want to put three full bottles of water in your pack, plus some crackers, or something to snack on,” Amanda said.

  Sam promptly hustled to do as instructed and came back with a grin. Red had already figured out that something was going on, and he pushed himself up, softly padding over, as if he too recognized the need for quiet. He didn’t strike Amanda as the type of personality that would want to be left out of an outing, and it was clear that he had already decided that where Sam went, he would go too.

  She watched as Sam, using a flashlight to light her way, skipped down the hill toward the truck. It would be light soon, but for now, the first splinters of sun weren’t enough to completely light the way, and Amanda carried her flashlight extended and walked carefully, not wanting to spill any more coffee. Red trotted beside Amanda on his way down the hill. See, even the wolf isn’t as excited to be going to town as the girl, she thought. And again, she hoped that Sam was ready for this day
and that they wouldn’t encounter any nasty surprises along the way.

  It was possible that Maryanne would be upset with her for not having woken her this morning to say good-bye to her daughter, but it seemed that it was better this way, cleaner. Amanda thought it would be much better to leave quietly without any undo shows of fear and affection that might have the effect of rattling Sam.

  The girl had already tore the tarp off of the truck and was folding it as Amanda arrived at the little flat area that was naturally cut into the side of the hill, where they parked the vehicles.

  “Look,” Sam said, pointing, “that’s so cute. Red just yawned.”

  “Yep,” Amanda said, yawning herself. “I hope you think it’s cute when I yawn because I’ll be doing a lot of it for the next hour or so.”

  “Nah, not really,” Sam answered. “But you’re not soft and cuddly and covered in red wolf fur either, so don’t feel too bad.”

  Amanda yawned again as she opened the driver’s side door and watched Red jump in. The heat had been really taking a lot out of her as the summer wore on, and they would have a good month and a half to go before the pummeling heat would let up on them.

  “Can we listen to a CD and use the air conditioning?” Sam asked enthusiastically.

  Amanda wondered if she might not be the one that wasn’t ready for this trip, because so far, her enthusiasm wasn’t anywhere near to matching that of Sam’s; and out of everyone that was accustomed to going on the runs, it was always Amanda in the past that had been the most eager to go. But that paled in comparison to her new run partner here. But then again, she considered, the teen had been cooped up around camp for months and was probably itching to go anywhere away from her parents.

  “In answer to your question, that’s a yes and a yes,” Amanda said. “But when we get closer to town, we won’t want the sound of the music on, so enjoy it now while you can.”

  “Roger that,” Sam said, proudly taking up her position as copilot, while Red climbed dutifully into the back extra cab seat.

  “When we get to The Trench, I’ll want some help in setting the planks,” Amanda said. “Trust me, this is going to be one very long day for you, so try and pace yourself, or you’ll get too tired.”

  Amanda didn’t really know if it was even possible for the girl to get too tired today, but she thought it prudent to offer up the advice anyway.

  “Copy that,” Sam said with a nod of her head.

  Amanda finally took her first full sip of coffee before starting the ignition. And because she was expecting it to taste pale and anemic, she was not disappointed. She was hoping that they would be able to find some more grounds on their trip, hoping that maybe somebody had stashed a lot of them someplace so that she could have some real coffee for a week or so. She sighed, thinking that she would be lucky to find much left at all.

  “Did I do a good job with the coffee?” Sam asked curiously.

  “Well, since you never knew how coffee was back in the LBZ, I guess you could say that,” Amanda offered by way of an answer. “You just got it a little too hot is all.”

  “I remember it looking much darker then,” Sam said. “But Mom would never let me have it. And I’ll make sure to not heat it for so long next time.”

  They began the trek out just as the full globe of the sun was cresting to the side of them. And it might have been her imagination, but Amanda could have sworn that she felt the heat radiating off of it, coming through her closed window and heating up her cheek.

  It would be a hot one today, but that was nothing unusual. The music played, and Amanda was beginning to get into the spirit of run day. She had never been much of a morning person. Back when she had been in relationships, there had always been an agreement not to speak about anything important in the morning until an hour after she had awoken. And even though these days required her to be much more flexible and ready for action at a moment’s notice, she still found the waking time to be a process.

  “Ewww, gross,” Sam said as she peered into The Trench. “That stinks bad.”

  She was referring to the two creepers that had become stuck in there that Amanda had dispatched the other day.

  “You think that stinks, honey, just wait till we get to town,” Amanda said, laying a plank across as Sam did the same.

  “I know. I remember what town was like,” said the girl. “It’s just that it’s been a while. We’re lucky back at camp to have all that fresh air.”

  “I’ll let you drive the truck across, but go slow, and whatever you do, stay on the planks. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long day right here, and there won’t be any run because we’ll have to elicit everyone’s help to get the truck unstuck. Got it?” Amanda said.

  “Got it,” Sam answered with enthusiasm. “I can do it. I’ve done it with the Jeep twice.”

  “The Jeep’s a good one to learn on because it’s shorter, less time for the tires to veer off,” Amanda said, already feeling herself beginning to sweat. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was worried about Sam’s abilities or if it really was that hot already.

  When Sam had suggested bringing back some deodorant, Amanda had found it laughable, considering how great their needs were for really important things. But now she was reconsidering that thought, as she recognized how badly she smelled already. And she had just showered a few days ago.

  Sam was cautious and drove slowly over the planks without mishap. Amanda then pulled the cargo net out of the bed of the truck and dropped it into position behind them, so as to cover their tracks, and then they switched places. Amanda wanted to control how they went into town. If things went according to plan, Sam would be driving another truck back.

  “Don’t you usually turn out the other way?” Sam asked, noticing that Amanda had made a right instead of a left at the main dirt road.

  “I like to switch things up often out here, because developing a pattern gives anyone paying attention a way to ambush you. These days, being unpredictable will keep you safe.”

  “I wish I had that recorded for my parents,” Sam said and then chuckled melodiously. “They keep wanting me to be predictable when I’m really not.”

  “You got that right, you’re really not,” Amanda said. “Sometimes you’re a real pain in the butt, while other times you really aren’t.”

  O

  “I never even heard them leave,” Maryanne said, and her tone was anxious. “They should have woken us to say good-bye. I’m her mother, for heaven’s sake. I should have heard her getting ready to go. What’s wrong with me?”

  She kept wringing her hands together as she looked pleadingly at her husband for assurance. Of what, he wasn’t sure. Uncharacteristically, they had all slept until a little after the sun had risen.

  “You already know that when we go on the runs, we leave out early, and nobody wakes anybody. That’s the way it’s been,” Jason said, trying to sound soothing, but he was afraid that he had missed the mark and that maybe it sounded condescending.

  He winced as he looked at his wife’s expression. Of course, in her anxiety, she had taken his comment wrong, and he didn’t know what to do or say that might help. Being a psychologist was great when he wasn’t too close to the situation, but he found it of no help now.

  “We’ve always left early,” Roy said. He had walked up, not realizing how tense the mood was; otherwise, he wouldn’t have interjected a word. “The early bird gets the worm and all that.”

  “Where’s the worm?” Tammy asked, running up and looking to Roy in the hopes that he had found one.

  “There’s no worm, honey,” Maryanne said with a sigh, while Roy and Jason both laughed.

  Tammy went to her mother and gave her a big hug and a peck on the cheek, causing Maryanne’s mood to soften.

  “Why’s everyone laughing?” Tammy asked.

  “It’s an inside joke, sweetie,” her mother said.

  “Oh,” the girl answered, looking perplexed. “Grown-ups are so weird.” She said this and
walked away with Boo dutifully trailing her.

  “We shouldn’t have let Sam go on this run,” Maryanne said once her youngest daughter was out of earshot.

  “Let it go,” Jason said. “Please,” he beseeched.

  “She’s just too young and immature yet, Jason. We were crazy to think otherwise. It isn’t right to send one’s children into harm’s way like that,” she said, sounding remorseful.

  “I have an idea, honey,” Jason said. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but why don’t you try to stay busy today? I really think that will help to lower your stress level, and it’ll also help the time to fly by.”

  Jason reached out to touch her hand, but she quickly withdrew it and turned to walk away without saying a word.

  “Oh,” Roy said with a soft groan. “It’s going to be one mighty long day.”

  Chapter 28

  The burn from the hot coffee to her right hand was a bright pink. She could see that now that the sun had come fully up. It felt as if it were continuing to burn, and Amanda reached her hand out to the cool air coming from the trucks air vents.

  “Did you burn yourself?” Sam asked, innocently.

  “Yep,” Amanda answered.

  “Ouch, that looks like it hurts,” the girl said, bending closer to take a look at it.

  “It’ll feel better in a minute,” she answered. “The air is cool, and that’ll take the sting out of it.”

  “Oh,” Sam said, but she was already losing interest.

  “You know you’ve been different lately, since we decided that you could go on this run,” Amanda said, even as she nodded her head to the beat of the music coming from the speakers.

  “What do you mean?” Sam asked, looking to Amanda with curiosity.

  “You’ve been acting more responsible and less confrontational. You know, more like a human being instead of an angry teenager,” she answered.

  “I’ve been going crazy stuck in that camp all the time,” Sam said, fingering her hair away from her face, like her mother often does. “I just want some freedom, you know, like without all the eyes on me all the time. You try being fifteen and having to stay cooped up with your parents and your little sister all the time.”