The Amour series (Book 1): The Embers of Amour

by LaRue, Coushatta

  She touched the map with her fingertips, examining it. She glanced down at the papers on the table and read some. They were handwritten notes about each building. Easy ways to get in, fastest ways out, how many undead could be expected inside, and what goods would be inside. There were other papers about how to successfully board up and lock a building with the undead inside.

  Abby blinked and looked up. It all looked so perfectly planned out. They had been locking undead in buildings while stealing everything from them. She wondered when they had decided to start eating people and why. She walked towards the desk and around it. There was an open journal laying on it. Abby looked at the page it was open to.

  I have been praying day and night, my Lord. And you showed me things I cannot understand. There is this burning feeling inside me that knows I can do more for you. I have noticed the fornication between Katie and Dustin. It disgusts me to know they do this when there is so much work for you to be done. However, I will not judge. You are the only one who has the right to judge. Nevertheless, they must pay for their sins. I believe a burning is in order. I dreamed of it last night -

  Abby closed the journal. She groaned loudly, and in a sudden fit of rage knocked the journal and everything else off the desk. She put both hands onto the desk as tears filled her eyes. How could people be so evil to one another? How could anyone turn to this? She did not understand what turned these people mad, but she hoped she would never become this. She hated to know that there were worse things than the undead in the world.

  Abby walked towards the door and stared back with malice. She turned then left the room without taking another look back. She walked towards the door next to the office and found herself in a large room with bunk beds. There were dozens of them, however only five were clearly being used. There was a huge king-sized bed in the back of the room next to a large cross. Abby narrowed her eyes. She closed the door.

  She wandered towards the staircase and touched the cold steel bars. She looked down at the stairs and the darkness. It gave her a very eerie feeling. She looked at a black box next to the door and opened it. There were many different keys inside. She smirked. It was so close to the bars that anyone could reach in and grabbed them. She grabbed all the keys and put them away from the door just in case they weren’t truly alone.

  The last door was black, and there was no knob on it. She pushed it open and found a small staircase downward. She walked down it carefully. Each step felt as if her legs were going to turn to water. When she got to the end, she stopped and stared at a large tub in front of her. She could see pews from a large open space behind the tub. To her left was a large cabinet with towels and rags. To her right was a table full of shampoos, soaps, bubble bath, razors, brushes, face products, and many more supplies for a bathroom. She walked towards the table and grabbed a cherry shampoo and smiled.

  Abby placed it down and went to the tub. It was raised up, and she sat down on the side of it. It was pearl white marble. She put the gun into her lap and rubbed her hand on the side of the tub towards the faucet and tapped it. She wrinkled her nose and reached for the knobs. She twisted the hot water, and it came on. A smile crept onto her face. She touched the water; and to her surprise, it was hot. She rubbed her hands in it and laughed happily. She wanted to bathe in it at that moment then thought of Evan.

  She turned the water off and turned back towards the staircase. She grunted as she walked up. She hurried back towards the second story and shut the door behind her. She walked past the table and towards Evan. He was still passed out on the blanket. He had moved an arm onto his chest. She gave the bandages on his face a sad look then turned towards the piles of food. They needed to eat a real meal. All she wanted was to sleep. She gazed down at Evan and went towards the food pile.

  Abby gazed at the food in awe not sure of what to cook. She had everything she needed, and it overwhelmed her. She put the gun onto the table and started to reach around the food. She grabbed a can of spinach, corn, peas, and a large box of white cheese macaroni. She went to walk away when she spied a box of dried breadsticks. She picked it up and then smiled when she saw a box of brownies. She grabbed it and walked over to the cooking fire. She placed everything onto the ground.

  She grabbed pots and pans and put water into them. She started to boil the spinach, the peas and corn, and started a pot of water for the macaroni. She stared at it and felt as if they needed more. She looked around until she saw large ice chests beside the pile of food. She walked towards them then stopped suddenly. She glanced back at Evan and swallowed hard. She stared at the ice chests and grimaced. She stepped lightly towards them and stared at one for a long time before opening it.

  She scanned the inside, and she relaxed. It was full of ice and chicken meat. She relaxed then narrowed her eyes at the smallest of the ice chests. There was dry blood on it and a strange skull sticker. Her stomach dropped at the thought of what was inside. She turned back towards the chest in front of her. She reached in and grabbed the chicken inside and brought it over towards the cooking fire. She waddled towards the floor and sat down.

  Abby grabbed a frying pan and a cutting board and a knife. She cut the chicken into chunks. She then grabbed some of the seasoning the woman had used earlier and put a lot of it on the chicken. She put the pan over the fire and tossed the chicken it. She mixed the greens in the other pots and then put the macaroni in the boiling water.

  She smiled then looked at the vegetables sitting next to the fire. She grabbed some potatoes, green bell pepper, onions, and long string green beans. She cut everything up and tossed it in with the chicken. She had no idea what she was trying to make, but it smelled amazing. Her stomach growled, and she felt as if she were going to puke. She closed her eyes. When she heard Evan groaning behind her, she looked at him. His eyes were open, but he did not look awake. He mumbled something Abby could not understand then closed his eyes again.

  She mixed the chicken and vegetables together. It sizzled and filled the room with a wonderful scent. It almost drowned out the smell of death around her. Abby looked at the table and walked to it. She picked up two plates and brought them back. She saw the bodies at the corner of her vision and felt hot tears in her eyes. The ordeal from earlier was still making her head spin. She sat next to the fire pit again and pressed her lips together. She just wanted to cry again.

  Abby chewed on her lip as everything cooked. When the food was done, she put piles of it onto the two plates and brought the plates to the table and then saw the wine glasses. She smirked. She searched the food until she found a powdered fruit drink mix and brought it to the table. She grabbed some water bottles and filled the glasses and put the powder inside. She backed up and smiled at the scene in front of her. It looked unreal. She stepped forward again then groaned as pain shot through her left leg. She touched her bandage and moaned. Her leg was aching badly.

  Abby heard Evan groaning behind her. She gazed back and then walked over to him. He was rubbing his eyes, groaning. His eyes were red, and he looked as if he had not slept in days. He started to cough, and she tried to kneel down but fell instead. She gritted her teeth at the pain in her left leg. She touched Evan lightly and said, “It is okay.”

  He moaned and grunted and finally muttered, “What is that smell?”

  “Dinner,” She laughed.

  Evan opened his eyes and blinked. It seemed to take him a long time to realize she was leaning over him. She smiled. He reached towards her face but ended up putting his hand on her right leg and sighed.

  His face twisted, and he asked grumpily, “What is it?”

  She winked at him, and he grimaced.

  “Come on before it gets cold.” She told him, tugging at his arm. He slowly lifted up and put his hands onto his head.

  She reached for the pills she had gotten earlier and handed them to him. She grabbed a bottle of water and gave that to him too. He took three pills and drank half of the bottle. He coughed and closed his eyes tightly. When he opened his ey
es, there were tears in them. It made her want to cry.

  She helped him stand up, and he helped her stay standing. He made a strange sound, and she looked at him. He was looking at her leg, grinning. She smiled at him as they walked side by side towards the table. He stared at the plates of food, and she saw him visibly shake. Tears filled his kind eyes, and he had to grab a chair, so he would not fall over.

  “You did this?” He asked in disbelief.

  She nodded.

  They both sat down, and he laughed at the wine glasses. He sipped the wine and gasped. He looked very happy.

  “Best damn thing I have tasted in a long time,” he chirped.

  Abby started to eat her food but stopped when she saw Evan praying. She looked at him sadly and then over at the two dead bodies next to the railing. They already looked stiff. When he was done, he started to eat. He shoveled the food into his mouth in large spoonfuls. When he noticed the meat, he stopped quickly and gave her a long fearful look.

  “Chicken,” She grinned.

  They ate smiling at one another.

  Everything felt so wonderful; and for a moment, Abby forgot about the hell around them. Everything felt so normal. It made her head spin. She stopped eating and drank from her wine glass and watched Evan. She wondered what he was thinking and if he felt better. She thought of Megan and stared at the empty plate sadly.

  Evan leaned back into his chair and sighed, “I can’t eat any more! It was amazing.”

  Abby eyed him and pointed a finger then got up and walked towards the cooking fire and grabbed the box of brownies. She brought it to the table and placed it onto the table. Evan’s eyes widened; and he ripped the box open, grabbing a brownie. He opened it and inhaled it. Abby sat down and grabbed one herself. She forced herself to eat it, and it tasted wonderful, even though her stomach was twisting in knots. Evan closed his eyes with a grin.

  She gave him a forlorn look. When he opened his eyes, she forced a small smile as she watched his face turn from happiness to weariness. She rubbed her hands together and finally looked around the church and frowned. He looked very uncomfortable and upset. He stared at his empty plate then at Abby.

  “We should go as soon as possible.” He told her nervously.

  “There isn’t anyone here but us,” She told him.

  He nodded then replied, “It just isn’t right… this place. This is not what God is about.”

  He smacked his lips and then rubbed his face. He looked sick suddenly.

  She reached over and touched his arm and gave him a soft smile as she said, “Before we go… we have to do something first.”

  He stared at her in confusion as she stood up.

  “Let’s get a change of clothes first,” She told him as she stumbled towards the clothing pile. There were a lot of clothes neatly laid on top of each other. From men’s to women’s to even baby clothing. Abby looked around for a moment then struggled to kneel on her right knee as she reached for some women clothing. She heard Evan get up and walked towards her.

  “Well let’s hurry, Abby,” He paused and looked around then said, “I don’t want to be here.”

  “I don’t either, Evan,” She pulled out a long red blouse and held it up. It was silky and well made. Evan stood beside her, and she looked at him and smiled, “But we may not have another opportunity like this.”

  He shrugged with annoyance in his eyes and started to look for clothes. Abby grabbed a loosely fitted pair of workout pants then found some underwear. She also grabbed some socks and saw a bunch of boxes of shoes. It took her a while, but she found a pair of running shoes in her size. It took Evan ten minutes to find his clothing. He was quite serious about what kind of clothes he wanted. In the end he grabbed a black button up shirt, pair of blue jeans, and black shoes. He also grabbed a bag of briefs.

  He looked over at her with raised eyebrows and pressed his lips then asked, “Are you okay?”

  “No I’m not, but I will be someday.” She said gloomily.

  She gave him a small smile and nudged her head towards the door in the corner of the room. He gave it a queer look before following her towards it.

  They walked through the door, and Evan gasped when he saw the lights. Abby walked towards the men’s bathroom and touched the door.

  “There is running water, but don’t change in there,” She told him flatly. He eyed her strangely and nodded.

  “Okay. But, I’ll be a minute.” He replied back with a tired voice. He entered the bathroom, and she waited. After a few minutes, he came back. His eyes looked red, and his cheeks were flushed. She knew he had been crying. She frowned as she turned her head away from him. They walked quietly towards the baptizing room. Abby went to push the door open when Evan walked towards the barred staircase.

  “What the hell was wrong with these people?” He asked angrily. She could almost feel his pain, and it sent goosebumps down her arms. He glared at the bars and looked back at her with glassy eyes.

  “The end sometimes makes people lose themselves.” She twisted her face, frowning as she whispered.

  He gave her an uncertain look before giving the bars a long thoughtful stare. Abby turned back towards the door.

  The door pushed open slowly, and they walked down the stairs together. When they entered the room, she heard Evan say something under his breath. He dropped his clothes and walked to the overly large tub. He touched the sides of the marble and grinned. He let out a laugh and looked over at her with a cheerful expression. She walked to him and put her clothes on the table with the towels.

  She put the plug into the tub then turned the water on and asked Evan, “How hot do you want it?”

  He eyed her grinning and replied, “Lava sounds good.”

  They walked to the table with the bathroom supplies on it. It was easy to forget about the hell outside or upstairs. Or the fact that over the brick railing by the tub there were many rotting bodies. Abby forced those thoughts out and focused on the fact they would have a bath. She had not had one in so long. She grabbed some shampoo and body wash then a razor. Her legs and underarms were so hairy, and it embarrassed her. Though she knew things like that did not matter anymore.

  Evan grabbed shampoo and a bar of soap and then a razor and hurried towards the tub. He put his things on the side of the tub, and he looked back at Abby in thought. He rushed to her, grabbed a bottle of something, and then back to the tub. She turned towards him and walked to the tub slowly. She laughed when she saw the water bubbling with bubble bath.

  “Really?” She asked rolling her eyes as she smirked.

  “Yeah I know blueberry scent isn’t as nice as strawberry; but hey in these times, we can’t be picky,” He winked at her; and she glared, smiling.

  The tub filled quickly, and Evan started to take his clothes off. Abby watched him take his shirt off and was shocked by the tattoos. They were beautiful and inspirational. Abby pulled her shirt off, and it did not feel strange at all. It was as if she had known Evan her entire life, and this sort of thing was normal. She did not feel uncomfortable when he took his pants off and boxers. And he looked relaxed and calm when she took her sweatpants off. He looked down at the bandage on his side and wrinkled his nose. He pulled the bandage off, sneered at the wound, then hurried into the tub whining happily about how hot it was. Abby laughed and took her underwear off.

  She felt slightly insecure about her hairy body and how thin she had become. Evan looked at her with a compassionate stare. She walked towards the tub and stopped to undo her bandages on her leg. Evan watched her closely. The flesh around the wound was purple and black, but the area of it was not as large as it had been. The bite marks had scabbed and were pink and bumpy. Most of it was already scarring.

  “It is amazing,” She heard Evan mutter.

  She glanced at him, eyeing her at the edge of the tub; then she looked at the wound. Then she looked at how thin her leg was and how horribly pale it was. She saw the thick hair, and her face turned red. She hurried into the tub
and felt the heat race through her body. It felt like knives ripping through her cold body. The water was too hot, but she had never felt so good in so long. She pulled hair behind her ears, and Evan eyed the wound on her ear. She touched it again. It felt slightly sore but was healing.

  Abby sank into the bubbles, sighing. She looked at her right hand and at her pinky and ripped off the brace and gauze. The part of her finger that had a bone sticking out had turned into an ugly scar. Her finger looked slightly bent in the middle, but she could move it somewhat. She smiled, and Evan raised one eyebrow at her.

  She could feel Evan’s muscular leg next to hers. He had his eyes closed, relaxing in the hot water. Steam rose up; while Abby moved her hands through the bubbles, cupping them and squeezing them through her fingers. She felt like a child again with butterflies in her stomach. Evan reached for his shampoo and wet his hair awkwardly, trying to avoid his bandages on his face.

  Abby dunked her head into the water and rubbed her fingers through her messy hair. Dirt and blood came out, and the water started to turn colors. She came back up and grabbed her shampoo and washed her hair. It felt amazing. Evan was soaping his body up, now grinning. She used the body wash and cleaned her body.

  “This is the life,” Evan joked as he washed his arms.

  “Let’s enjoy it as much as we can,” Abby agreed.

  He looked at her blankly. He understood what she meant all too well. This could be the last time they ever have a bath like this. Abby reached for her razor and put a leg on the side of the tub.

  Evan rubbed his hairy chin and chuckled, “Wait a minute… so you are saying you aren’t part of the Bigfoot family?”

  “Shut the hell up,” She growled, splashing water at his face. He laughed as he splashed water back at her and then grabbed a razor himself and started to shave his face.

  “You know Megan wasn’t perfect either,” Evan started to say. Abby glanced at him as she shaved and saw him looking at her necklace she still had on.