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

by Jo Lee Auburne

  It seemed to Amanda that she could still smell the fire, even this far out. And that could be true, she figured, but it could also be true that she had smoke in her nostrils, lodged onto her nose hairs, in her hair, on her body, and all over her clothing, and that could also explain why she could still smell it.

  “Sam, it’s Mother!” Maryanne yelled out. “I can’t wait to get my arms around you, sweetheart. I’m so happy to see you.”

  “I’m here, Mom, and I have a new friend. His name’s Cody,” the girl said with gusto.

  “I see that,” Maryanne said, with a hand up to shield her eyes from the headlights of the big truck.

  Maryanne was impatiently waiting on the other side of the trench, eagerly anticipating the placement of the plank so that she could run over there and greet her daughter.

  “That’s my mom,” Sam said to Cody, as if he hadn’t already figured that out.

  “Wow, you still have a mom?” Cody said, and it was touching to Amanda to hear the awe in his voice.

  Amanda knew that many people these days had lost a loved one or more and that it was rare that she shared a camp with an entire intact family.

  Cole walked the metal rail to The Trench, careful to place it to where it would line up with the big truck’s tires.

  “And who are you?” Maryanne asked, eyeing the man that was so clearly visible by the headlights.

  “I’m Cole,” he said, nodding his head.

  “I’m Maryanne, Sam’s mother.”

  “My name’s Roy,” he said, feeling stunned that they had come back with some company.

  Roy did not know yet how he felt about having an addition to their close-knit family because he wasn’t sure that they should be too trusting of an outsider in their midst.

  Roy eyed Cole carefully, as if by taking a good look at the man, he could judge his intentions. It failed because after giving the man the twice over up and down, he had still not come to any type of definitive conclusion about Cole’s character.

  Maryanne wasted no time in scurrying across the rail and scooping her daughter up into a bear hug. Sam wiggled because it felt to her like a vice had cinched around her body. Finally, the girl managed to squirm away when it appeared that her mother had no near intentions of letting her go.

  “I’m sorry, honey, I don’t mean to embarrass you in front of your new friend, but I was just so worried about you, we all were. When we saw that Blythe was on fire and then when you didn’t come home, well, needless to say, it scared your father and I the most.”

  “You aren’t going to believe how much stuff we found, it’s incredible. And what a day,” Sam said, stealing a glance to Amanda, knowing that they had some bad news to share too.

  “Well, the most important thing is that you’re back safe and sound. Stuff can be replaced, but you can’t,” Maryanne said with conviction.

  “Um, stuff can’t really be replaced anymore after this fire finishes,” Sam said. “The fire’s taking everything, and it’s raging through town fast and blowing stuff up too. You should have seen some of the explosions and how all the creepers are drawn to the fire like it was a magnet for them or something. It was real crazy there.”

  “Oh my, it does sound like you had quite the day. Is that where you ran into these two?”

  “No, we just came across them on our way home. They ran away from a raider camp that was holding them prisoner. They were headed for the river with nothing but two shovels,” said Sam, running her words together because she was speaking so fast.

  “Well, I’m sure that there’s a story to that,” Maryanne said. “But first, let’s get you home. You’re covered in soot, and I imagine that you’re anxious to eat something, see your dad and sister, and get some rest.”

  “Yeah, but I really want to tell you guys all about what happened. It was amazing and horrible, if those two things can be true at the same time.”

  “Let’s get you back to camp, and you can tell us all about it over dinner. I’m sure that Cole and Cody are hungry too. By the looks of it, they’ve had it worse than us in the food department,” Maryanne said, turning to Cody. “Look at you, my dear, aren’t you just skin and bone? I don’t know what you’ve been used to, but we’ll feed you the best we can.”

  “Cool. Can I help with the dishes and the cooking too? I used to watch the cooking channel back when we had TV,” the boy said, and Maryanne felt her heart melt a little bit for this precious-looking, enthusiastic boy with the dimples in his cheeks.

  “Sure, you know I don’t have a dishwashing helper or an assistant chef. It’s just been all me. I’d be happy to have the help,” Maryanne said, holding out her hand to shake the boy’s.

  “I help sometimes,” Sam said defensively, “like with the dishes and stuff.”

  By the light of the headlights, Cody beamed; his dimples had etched themselves deeply on either side of his broad grin.

  “Looks like Cody’s already making friends and figuring out how to make himself useful,” Roy said to Cole as he laid the last rail.

  “I can’t believe that my son’s a dishwashing chef in the middle of the LAZ. I tried to teach him how to take care of himself, to fight, but he has no interest in that. I worry about him being able to make it out here in this world,” Cole said while sounding obviously frustrated with the situation.

  “Some folks just need to be who they are,” Roy said, standing.

  Cole double-checked that the tires were lined up and then gave Roy a nod.

  “Trust me, I’ve heard that all before,” Cole said. “But I still worry.”

  “It seems to me that he’ll find his place and bring something to the table that others want. In return, they’ll look out for him in ways that he isn’t capable of,” Roy said, again looking to his father’s wisdom to help in this situation.

  “I hope that you’re right,” Cole said. “I really hope that you’re right, because from what I’ve seen from people these days, I’m afraid for him.”

  The two men joined up with the others and announced that it was all clear to begin rolling the trucks over The Trench. Amanda wanted desperately to be back home, and she was the first one in her truck ready to roll. But of course, the big truck was in front of her and she would have to wait.

  “Cole or Roy, can you roll up the cargo net so that it doesn’t get stuck on the rails?” Amanda hollered out the window, realizing that in her haste, she had forgotten that step of the journey.

  “I’ve got it,” Cole said, not failing to realize that Roy had several splints on his fingers and that it would be uncomfortable for him to do it.

  Amanda watched Red, Sam, and Cody all go bounding for their truck, and it looked like they would be getting underway soon. Amanda was glad for this because she felt that she was nearing the end of her physical capacity to function. Fatigue, exhaustion, and weakness were taking a hold of her; it had been a long day, and she had put her body through a lot more than she could rightly expect it to be able to keep up with in the desert heat.

  “That’s a great idea,” Cole said, “the cargo net, I mean, to cover your tracks.”

  “Yep,” was all Amanda said, as she watched the big rental truck begin to slowly make its lumbering way over the metal rails and to the other side of The Trench.

  She found herself holding her breath because she didn’t know for sure that the rails would be strong enough to hold the truck when it was under this kind of stress from the weight of the supplies. But it turns out that she needn’t have worried because it rolled on over without so much as a groan.

  Amanda stopped at The Trench and allowed Roy to make a minor adjustment with the rails to accommodate the slightly different wheelbase of her truck. And then they were off on the last leg that would take them home. Roy and Maryanne had stayed behind to use shovels to disturb the sandy earth enough to obliterate their tire tracks on the other side of The Trench. And they said that they would bring the rails back with them.

  Even the music seemed to promote fur
ther exhaustion in Amanda, and she snapped off the radio, leaving them in silence.

  “How long were you and Sam gone for?” Cole asked, by way of conversation.

  “We left out early this morning,” Amanda said, noticing that even her jaw felt tired when she spoke.

  “Oh,” Cole said, “by the way Maryanne was acting, I would have thought it had been longer. She and her daughter must be close.”

  “Today was Sam’s first trip to town, first driving experience on her own, and her parents are real overprotective. And I’m sure, knowing that the town was on fire didn’t help much,” Amanda said, feeling the need to explain the dynamic so that he would be able to understand their situation better.

  “Oh, that makes sense,” Cole said. “Sam and Cody have sure hit it off.”

  “Yes, Sam’s been wanting a friend, and her little sister’s too young to fall in the category, I guess,” Amanda said, noticing that the big truck ahead had gained some ground on them because she had begun to drive real slow.

  She pressed down on the accelerator, catching up to them.

  “Do you want me to drive?” Cole asked, noticing that Amanda was struggling.

  “No, there isn’t much farther to go.”

  “So is their entire family still intact? They haven’t lost anybody?” Cole asked.

  “The Albrecht family is intact, and though we almost recently lost Jason, the father, on a run to town, they are all still present and accounted for,” Amanda said.

  “Interesting,” answered Cole. “That’s unusual these days. Most people either got split up or have lost one or more of their family members to this infection. How old is the youngest daughter?”

  “Tammy’s six, or just turned six, I think. It’s easy to lose track of time out here,” Amanda said, seeing the red taillights to the big truck in duplicate in front of her.

  Her vision had begun to blur, and she put a hand to her eyes to rub them. That did not succeed in clearing up her vision, but it did make her eyes sting from the soot and chemicals on her hand. Her eyes watered, and the taillights swam around.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” Cole asked.

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “I was just wondering because you’re weaving,” he said.

  “Oh, I’m trying to figure out which set of taillights I should be following,” she said, realizing as she did that he wouldn’t understand what she was talking about.

  Chapter 57

  The big truck squeezed up next to the mountainside and stopped on the landing that had served as their parking lot all these months out here. Amanda pulled next to the truck, and then Roy rolled his Jeep up alongside her truck. It was a tight fit with the three vehicles, but it would work.

  Sam shut the big truck off, and the headlights automatically turned off, and Amanda and Roy did the same, leaving them in the dark. Soon the beams from their flashlights were bobbing about as they moved to congregate at the back of the vehicles. But Amanda, after having handed Cole a flashlight to use, remained in her truck. She felt like she needed a moment to collect herself before joining in on the homecoming. What she really felt was that she might pass out should she exit the vehicle now.

  In times past, she had experienced occasions where she had felt a little faint after an adrenaline rush had worn off and the threat had dissipated, and this was what she was feeling—that and her grueling day. She took a breath, trying to steady the shake that she felt in her body.

  Her arm throbbed with the burn, and she wondered what it looked like now because it sure hurt quite desperately bad, especially now that the adrenaline had been flushed out of her system. She wanted to take a look at the wound because she knew that she ought to, but another part of her was dreading the experience and would rather put it off and allow the doctor to handle it. She refrained from shining a flashlight on it or from using the truck’s dome light to take a peek. She took a few minutes in the dark to rest, not believing that she felt well enough to be socializing with the others at this time.

  Amanda still had her truck window down, and she heard Roy asking Sam if she had applied the emergency brake. She was relieved to know that someone would be handling the details from here on out because she clearly had no energy left to deal with much of anything.

  The back door rolled up on the rental truck, and she could hear a lot of sounds of appreciation as Roy, Maryanne, Cole, and Cody, shone their lights inside to see what they had managed to bring back with them. It felt good to hear this, and she smiled, in spite of the fatigue that was weighing her down like a scuba diver that was wearing too many lead weights on their belt.

  “Amanda, it’s incredible what you two were able to do today in town,” Maryanne said, rushing up breathless and flushed, to congratulate her on their haul.

  It was obvious to Amanda that her friend was pleased, both to have her daughter back and to have so much by way of supplies, and that was without even knowing exactly how much they had managed to collect. There would be a repeat of this when they were all unloading the truck together tomorrow. Again, she smiled, a thin anemic smile even when she wanted to do a broad, bold one.

  “Hop on out, and let’s get you four fed. I’m sure you’re all ravished with hunger,” Maryanne said before giving Amanda an odd expression that Amanda didn’t know how to interpret.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Maryanne asked, finally speaking again after staring at her for a while.

  “There are some things that I need to talk to you about, really important things,” Amanda said before sighing.

  She didn’t like it, but she could feel her eyes watering up at the thought of having to tell her dear friend about the bite. Having to tell Maryanne about it almost seemed worse than the bite itself. She sighed and twisted to reach in the back and pull out the plastic grocery sack that had the two cans of chili, the toothpaste, and the men’s stick of deodorant.

  “We can have this for dinner to keep things simple, since the food’s mostly buried by things in both trucks,” Amanda said, not recognizing that Maryanne was beginning to look flustered.

  It would have been difficult to see the physical aspects of Maryanne’s flustered appearance by the light of the single flashlight that she was carrying. Amanda sensed it by noticing that the woman had begun to sigh loudly and repeatedly, until finally Maryanne cleared her throat, so as not to be ignored.

  “What?” Amanda asked innocently.

  “What do you mean, what?” Maryanne asked, and Amanda could see that the woman’s hands had gone to her hips. “It sounds to me like you need to drop some bombshell on me, but you’re sitting there and acting like it’s no big deal.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know how to act in this situation, and I’m much too tired to think about it,” Amanda said in a tone that sounded weary.

  “Now, you’re really scaring me,” Maryanne said, pushing herself up close to the window of the truck and shining the light in to take a look at Amanda. “What’s that gasoline smell?” Maryanne asked, backing up a few feet and blowing out puffs of air to clear her nostrils.

  “Well, that’s one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about,” Amanda said, sounding even wearier this time.

  They could hear the small collection of people talking and laughing at the rear of the vehicles, and Roy was rustling around inside the moving truck, apparently too excited about their finds to wait until morning to check it out.

  “You look horrible, and you smell worse,” Maryanne said, not intending it to be an insult, but it came out that way anyway.

  “Thanks,” Amanda said stoically as she pulled on the door handle to let herself out.

  “Sorry,” Maryanne said, “I didn’t mean it like it came out, but you’ve had quite the day. I thought that Sam looked like she had taken one for the team until I got a look at you. Sam looks pretty as a daisy compared to how you fared.”

  “That’s about the size of it,” Amanda said, pulling her body out of the truck.


  It felt to her like all systems were shutting down when her legs gave out from underneath her, and for the second time today, she fainted.

  When she came to, Cole had her in his arms; despite his emaciated appearance, he was quite strong. They were headed up the hill, and it did not appear to be difficult for Cole, and Amanda wondered how thin she must be by now. She scoffed at him, telling him to release her and that she could make her own way up the hill.

  “This is one of those nonnegotiable situations,” Roy said kindly, and she easily acquiesced.

  Amanda was not entirely certain that should they let her down, she would be able to make the journey up the hill.

  Maryanne was hustling along beside them, telling her that she needed to take a look at her and that she would go on up ahead and get the fluids ready.

  “You’re probably suffering from heat exhaustion,” Maryanne said loudly on her way up the hill.

  Amanda could only wish that it were that simple.

  “Are you going to tell them, or should I?” Cole said, and he was obviously referring to the bite that she had told him about.

  “I will, and you’re not to say a word,” Amanda said, feeling ire rise at the thought of this near-stranger speaking to her friends about such a delicate subject.

  “Sorry, I’ll stay out of it,” Cole said, becoming quiet and sullen-looking.

  Once at the top of the hill, Maryanne directed them to lay her out on her sleeping bag, and she met them with a bag of fluids and the IV line.

  “Please don’t waste it,” Amanda said, struggling to sit up.

  Maryanne gently pushed on her shoulder and nudged her back down. “I won’t hear of it,” she said. “You’re getting these fluids if I have to knock you out to do it.”

  Amanda sighed and nodded, thinking that her friend might feel differently once she was informed of the whole situation. But she also knew, with how passionate Maryanne could be once she was on a mission, that the woman just might knock her lights out to get the job done.

  “I want all of you to go down the hill and start doing something, but give me some private time with Amanda. We need to talk, and I’m sensing that she’d prefer to do it in private, patient-to-doctor-like.”