“Also, everyone except for Tammy needs to brush up on their weapon skills. All the adults and almost-adults should be carrying a gun at all times. Or if Sam prefers, she can carry her bow,” Cole said, surprised that he still had everybody’s attention.
“Isn’t that overreacting a little bit?” Maryanne asked. “Guns, I hate having to carry one of those things, especially when we’re so far out here and don’t need to.”
“Just wait till twenty-eight or more very hungry and angry raiders come to storm the place, and then let’s see what you think about using a gun,” Cole said, and this time, there could be no mistaking the flash of anger in his eyes that her comment had elicited.
“No need to get too graphic,” Jason said, clearly resenting the implications of Cole’s remark.
“Look, you all can keep burying your head in the sand, but that won’t help this operation to survive now, will it?” he said, but now he sounded more weary, as if he could not make a connection with the group and felt like he was wasting his time trying to help them to understand his position They all went silent for a full minute or more.
“He’s right,” Amanda said. “Let’s work with him on this. You all mean too much to me for me to lose a single one of you due to our unwillingness to face the facts. We are living in a little loving, sharing, and caring community that is an oasis in a sea of rot, let’s be willing to fight to keep it.”
“Yeah, like she said,” Sam quipped and was surprised to see that no one chastised her for it.
“Are we all onboard then?” Cole asked, searching the faces for answers.
“Yes,” Maryanne said, sounding contrite. “I’ll do it, for the children and our future. I understand your point. I would just rather choose to believe that we are safer than that here, but you’re right, we aren’t. I don’t think that there are any safe places left anymore,” she said, as her voice trailed away, while she thought about how life had become for them, as opposed to how it had been.
“I’ll do it too,” Sky said. “But I’m not sure that I’ll have much skill with a gun. Just the same, you can count me in.”
“Good,” Cole said, “and, Cody, that means you too. I’ve taken an inventory of the weapons. Roy’s cleaned them and loaded them. There are enough guns for each of us to have one, leaving the shotgun as a backup, fail-safe type of weapon. Of course, it’s a more up close and personal type of weapon, and let’s hope that we don’t let them that close to us.”
“Count me in,” Jason said. “I know how to shoot, even though I’m not an ace at it.”
“The good news is that when it comes to the raiders, you don’t have to have a head shot to put them down. Hitting a living human anywhere will at least incapacitate them somewhat and could even kill them. I say we aim for the torso if it’s not a creeper, is everybody agreed?”
“Agreed,” Roy said.
“Agreed,” said Sam.
“Yes,” said Maryanne and then let out a sigh.
“Absolutely,” Amanda said.
“Agreed,” Jason answered.
“I’ll do my best,” Sky said, looking like she sincerely hoped that it would never come to that.
“Sure, Dad,” Cody said, sounding regretful, like he couldn’t understand why people could be attacking other living people at a time like this.
“Good, thank you. Be thinking about what else we can do to make this place safer in the event of an attack, because the same thing that makes this box canyon defensible is also what makes it dangerous. Should we become overrun by anything, there is only one way out,” Cole said, and again, he looked around the group to make sure that everyone understood how serious the situation could become.
“I might have some ideas about that,” Roy said, “but let me think on it overnight, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay,” Cole said, nodding to Roy. “I would welcome anyone’s input. I know that I can sound hard and I lack tact, but I was good at my job. I’ve kept others safe before. I’ve been trained for that.”
“I believe that you were good at your job,” Amanda said, though she did so grudgingly.
“Do you think if the bad people come, they’ll take my coloring book?” Tammy asked, looking as if she might begin to cry.
“Trust me, Tammy,” Amanda said, “no one is going to take that coloring book. I won’t let them.”
“That’s good, because I waited a long time for that,” the girl said, holding back a sniffle.
“Let’s not scare the child anymore,” Maryanne said. “I need to get back to work.”
“Who’s going to take the first lookout, and does anybody have a watch that still keeps accurate time?” Cole asked.
“I have a watch,” Jason said, shifting Tammy to the side a little as he dug into his pocket to bring it out. “The band broke, but the watch still works. It’s digital and has a light if you push this button.”
“Any volunteers?”
“I’ll take the first watch,” both Roy and Amanda said, simultaneously.
“I figure, each of us, except Jason, takes a watch every four hours through the day and through the night. That will cover twenty-eight hours before the rotation begins again,” Cole said, obviously having thought this through. “The more people that volunteer to do it, the easier it will be on everybody.”
“I’ll take a watch,” Jason said.
“Don’t be silly,” his wife answered, “your leg, dear.”
“All I need is some help getting up there, but I can sit on the boulder as easily as I can sit here, and I need something to do,” Jason said.
“What say you, doc?” Cole asked.
“I suppose a night watch so that he doesn’t wear himself out in the sun and burn himself on that boulder that heats up,” Maryanne said, giving in.
“Then it’s settled,” Cole said. “We’ll have thirty-two hours of coverage between watches for people. That ought to make things easier on us.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” Amanda said, before Roy could speak again.
“I’ll relieve Amanda,” Roy said.
“I’ll take Roy’s place,” Jason said. “Roy can help me up there.”
“I’ll follow Jason,” Cole said.
“Me next,” said Sam, and out of everybody, she sounded like she might be really looking forward to it.
“I’ll do it after Sam,” Sky said, her voice quiet and melodious, like perhaps she had been a singer in the life before.
“I’ll relieve Sky,” Maryanne said.
“And then I’ll take Maryanne’s place,” Cody said, happy to be the one to relieve his new mentor.
“Thank you again for hearing me out. I know sometimes it’s difficult to hear the hard truths, but I think that we’ll all sleep a little easier now, knowing that we’ve taken measures to protect ourselves, I know I will,” Cole said as he looked around the group with a genuine expression of appreciation.
Amanda scooped the watch up from Jason and then kissed Tammy on the cheek.
“You can get back to your coloring, girlfriend, because that book is safe in camp,” Amanda said, reassuring the girl.
Tammy threw her little arms around Amanda’s neck and returned the peck on the cheek.
Amanda went and parked herself upon the big boulder, binoculars in hand, pocketing the watch after checking on the time. She felt a lot better now that she had eaten something. The sun had an hour or more before it would set, but again, the heat had ceased to bother her, even though the boulder was quite warm in addition to the sunlight.
She yawned and stretched, feeling like she had regained her energy and could easily last the four hours. And then she put the binoculars to her eyes, scrutinizing the desert. Of all the jobs around camp, she decided, I just might like this one the best. All was quiet in the area beyond their camp, and that was reassuring to her. Cole was right; it would be nice to sleep a little easier knowing for sure that no one was going to be sneaking up on them. She also felt a little schooled, in that she kn
ew that they should have been doing something like this all along, considering the circumstances. It was good that Cole had come to them, she firmly decided. He was helping to create a nice balance in the way that they currently did things. He would most likely have more ideas as to how things should be done, ideas that would differ from hers. Amanda reminded herself, now, when all was quiet, that she would need to be understanding of that in the future.
Chapter 69
After 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.
Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies Page 48