Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies (11 page)

Chapter 19

S
am, filthy and bruised, limped around camp the next morning.
To her credit
, thought Amanda,
she made no complaints about it
. Amanda hadn’t wanted to be so tough on the girl during their early morning combat practice, but she had to know what the kid was made of, and she knew that she wouldn’t be doing her any favors by taking it easy on her. She really wanted to know how hard she would work to stay alive, even in a simulated environment like this morning, so she had awoken the girl with a start, and they had jumped right into it. Amanda had hoped that the element of surprise would get Sam’s adrenaline spiked so that she could monitor her responses, fight or flight. In a dangerous situation, either response may be required of her.

Amanda had instinctually known when to run and when to fight, but for most, that was not the case. Fortunately, it was something that could be taught with the right training. But Amanda had been pleasantly surprised to find that the teen’s natural survival responses were intelligent and reflexive, meaning that the girl was a natural like herself. It had been difficult for Amanda not to smile during their practice because she was so proud of her, but that would have discredited the exercise, so she had struggled to remain cold-faced.

Sam had put a tremendous amount of energy into their practice, and even after having been repeatedly thrown into the ground, the girl had kept getting back up, ready to give it another try. As far as Amanda was concerned, Sam was not only gutsy and highly teachable but with a little training was going to be perfectly able to protect herself in a close-quarters situation. Amanda hoped that she would be equally adept at driving and shooting, which would qualify her to be a great support during the runs, not to mention that the girl was obviously wanting to go. Like any teen, she was becoming stir crazy being stuck around the camp day in and day out, and that was something that Amanda could relate to.

The clouds had all vanished from the sky, and the heat was back to being oppressive. Roy had been up early to put some sealant in the truck’s radiator and had announced that it had been an easy fix and should hold. Amanda had gone to sleep last night feeling fresh and clean, but already, she was slick with sweat that the desert dirt was clinging too and fast on her way to being filthy again. But having made the decision to better their living situation, she still felt hopeful that she might yet have the opportunity to live like a human being and not like an animal.

Red had kept up his self-scheduled patrols during the night and was sleeping solidly while Maryanne prepared coffee and breakfast. It pained Amanda to think that one day, the coffee would run out everywhere, thus ending the morning routine that she still clung to, and though it wasn’t a survival necessity, the thought of losing it was depressing.

“Coffee’s ready!” Maryanne announced to the group. “It’s a little weak because I’m trying to stretch it out, but use your imaginations, and it’ll be wonderful.”

“I want some, Mom,” Sam said, bringing a mug toward the kitchen.

Amanda felt a little guilty as she looked at the battered girl, standing there with her cup extended. She was hopeful that Maryanne wouldn’t be upset with her for beating up her daughter.

“Of course, you can have some coffee,” Maryanne said, looking to her daughter proudly, as if she was seeing her in a new light.

“Really?” Sam said, apparently expecting a fight. “Cool.” The girl walked away, while stopping to take small sips of the hot brew.

Little Tammy was the only one that was still asleep, and it was a wonder that she could sleep through all the bustle of activity that had and was still taking place around the camp. Jason had said once that out of all of them, Tammy might be the one that ends up the most well-adjusted to their new world. Being so young, she had had very little time to understand how life had been in the LBZ. Therefore, she wouldn’t be pining away at what had been lost to them and better able to make a future for herself in the way that she had always understood it to be. This reasoning made sense to Amanda, and she sincerely hoped that that would be the case because she was sure the rest of them, including herself, were all suffering from PTSD, in some form or another.

Boo was asleep on her back, with her four legs sticking straight up. She was lying right next to Tammy, atop of one of the child’s filthy shirts. The little dog was snoring. Amanda smiled, thinking that sometimes, it is the little things in life that can bring us so much enjoyment.

“It’s a wonder, isn’t it?” Maryanne said to Amanda, having seen Amanda looking at her youngest daughter.

“I’m telling you,” Jason said, “she’ll be mentally healthier than us all.”

Jason was awake, and his voice sounded strong and clear, unlike last night when it had been so low and weak. Amanda felt another surge of hope course through her as she considered again that he would survive his injury.

It was difficult for her to see him lying in the chair, so frail-looking. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get it out of her mind, finding him in such a condition, dragging him to the Jeep as he had screamed. His screams had drawn the creepers back to them, and she shuddered at the memory.

It had been a primal type of gut instinct that had sent her into town to save Roy and Jason, and she had almost arrived too late. Both men had come under siege by an alarming number of creepers and had climbed atop a roof for safety, but there they had remained trapped, and with each passing minute, more creepers had been arriving. The two of them were stuck in a bad way atop a roof in the blazing sun with very little water and a failing hope that they would make it out of this.

Amanda had driven on instinct to the last housing area that they had been searching door to door for supplies in the hopes that that’s where they had picked up on this run. She had taken Roy’s Jeep from camp on nothing other than a really bad feeling, and she had been right. Rolling down the window and lying on the horn had attracted the attention of the low-functioning creepers, drawing them toward her. She had waited until they had almost descended upon the soft-topped Jeep before driving away slowly, being sure to keep them following by making a lot of noise, goading them along. She had taken the pack of creepers all the way down the block and away from the house where Roy and Jason had been.

At the corner, she had gunned the engine and sped away down the next street, making two more right turns before coming upon Roy and Jason again, and this time the creepers were gone. But there was a problem. Jason had slipped down the roof, being caught by Roy. Roy dislocated his shoulder, and Jason fell from the roof, breaking his leg in several places. She had jumped the curb with the Jeep, driving up onto what had once been a lawn and jumping out, leaving the engine running. Jason’s screams had drawn the creepers, and as Roy moved quickly to climb down off of the roof, Amanda dragged Jason toward the Jeep, and with Roy’s help, she had got him loaded in the passenger seat.

Roy had insisted that he could still drive, and Amanda had driven the Jeep out while Roy had taken the truck. But instead of returning with them, Roy had branched off to fill the water drum, leaving Amanda to drive the Jeep at higher speeds than she would have normally deemed prudent, across the desert and back to camp. Roy had returned a couple of hours later, in bad shape himself.

“There’s enough for another cup if you want,” Maryanne’s voice said, breaking through her memories, and she realized that she had absently drank all the coffee in her cup without remembering what it had tasted like. She stared at the empty cup.

“What?” Amanda said, feeling somewhat dazed, before coming back to the moment. “Oh, yes, thank you.”

“Sometimes I wonder where you go off to,” her friend said.

“The same place we all do,” Amanda answered, “the past.”

Maryanne made no comment but merely nodded her head in understanding.

“I think we’re ready to pick up where we left off,” Roy said. “I have some ideas.”

Amanda was surprised to see that it was Roy who was taking the initiative to gather everyone for the meeting. Usually, Roy preferred to watch and wait.
He must have something to present to us
, she thought, feeling a surge of excitement. She desperately wanted to be able to make a home for these people that she had grown to love, to make it work for them, to give the children a chance.

Amanda began to move to the kitchen to grab the notebook, hopeful that it was filled with ideas that would help them to make it out here.

“Don’t bother, nobody wrote anything down. I already checked,” Roy said, and Amanda could feel her enthusiasm begin to wane.

“No need to look so glum about it,” he said. “There have been plenty of ideas floating around here, it’s just that nobody wrote anything down is all.”

They convened in the kitchen, as they had the night before. Maryanne, ever the hostess, passed around bowls of canned peaches and pears for breakfast, much to the delight of everyone except the dogs. She gave several graham crackers to the dogs, which were gratefully accepted. Tammy had awoken with Boo tagging along. The small child seemed to like it when they all collected together, though she rarely ever joined in the conversations.

Amanda found herself feeling guilty as she looked across the group to Sam. The girl was coated in dust. Even her hair looked dull with it, and already, bruises were rising to the surface. Several bruises dotted her arms, and a big one adorned her left cheek. In the LBZ, Amanda would have been arrested for child abuse, but things were different now, and she seemed to wear the bruises with pride.

As if Maryanne had read her thoughts, she placed a hand atop of Amanda’s and whispered, “Don’t feel too bad, honey, she needs to understand how it is, and I’m counting on you to teach her how to stay safe. A few bruises now are better than losing her later.”

Amanda nodded. “Thanks,” she said, “I think that I needed to hear that.”

“The good news,” Roy said, starting them off, “is that the truck will be fine for a time. And this here one,” he said, pointing to Sam, “is a fighter. She did real good today.”

Sam smiled, obviously pleased to receive the compliment but gone was the bravado from the day before. She had sobered up to the reality of what she was electing to get herself into. There was a sense of relief amongst the adults of the group to see that Sam was taking her responsibility seriously, instead of being flippant, as was generally her custom.

“I have something that I want to say,” it was Roy, and his sudden switch in tone had everyone’s attention. “I’ve never talked to any of you about this.”

Roy stopped and cleared his throat. He wasn’t a man that was given to displays of emotion, but whatever he meant to tell them was an emotional topic for him. They waited quietly.

“It’s about my time in the military,” Roy began, piquing the curiosity of the group because he had thus far remained guarded on the subject. Even Jason, whom he considered to be his best friend, didn’t know anything about the time that he served in the military, except to know that he was now retired.

“It’s been nearly twenty years now,” he said. “I was assigned to a small select group, tasked with developing modifications to equipment, sometimes developing new equipment entirely—weapons, gear, and vehicles to be used on special ops missions. I went through survival training but not to use it in the field. That was just to help me understand what sorts of conditions the operatives might encounter. At the time, I thought that it was the world’s most perfect job, and I loved it. I was good at it too.”

Roy stopped. He was rubbing his head. Without the dreadlocks, he had no way of pulling at his hair, and his hand ran aimlessly along his very short hair.

“It was nothing as advanced as what the CIA has in place, but I was proud to be a part of a unit that was making a difference, protecting the country.” Roy shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortably. “All the modifications were supposed to be field-tested before being put into operation, that was the protocol. But my CO was on a deadline and signed off on some of my work, dismissing the field tests,” Roy said this as if the words were getting heavier on his lips. “Five men died when a malfunction occurred, and the paperwork that he had signed off on became misplaced. Because crap rolls downhill, the blame landed on me, and really, it was my project that caused the deaths of those men. I had nobody to blame but myself. It was decided that should I submit my resignation to the unit chief, that I would receive early retirement without the less-than-honorable discharge. I took the deal, and all these years, I’ve felt like I sold out. I knew those five men, had dinner with their families, went to holiday parties at their homes.” He sighed.

Roy looked pained, and Jason knew now why he had always been so evasive about his military career whenever he had asked about it.

“I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I know that I can help us out around here. I’m kind of handy like that. I don’t ever want to be responsible for getting anyone else hurt or dead, so I don’t participate much. But I know I can put a few things in place that will help us be more self-sufficient. It’s time that I stopped living with the regret of my past and move on to helping us make a future. I have a list of items that I’ll need.”

Chapter 20

“
W
hen I left the military world, I wanted nothing more than to be an average mechanic. I came to Blythe to try to run away from my past, to keep my emotions buried so that it didn’t hurt so much. Sometimes it seemed too easy for me to have just walked away from it all, to come out here to this desert and start over, but the guilt has never left me. But it seems to me that you all might be in need of my services, and I’ll try not to let you down,” he said, adding a little half smile that looked like it had been forced.

“Roy,” Amanda said, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. You have to understand that what happened wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, and no,” he said, “it’s complicated.”

“I get it,” Jason said, “when people have passed through some perceived fault of our own, it’s something that never quite goes away no matter how hard we try to rationalize it. But I agree with Amanda in that it wasn’t your fault.”

“Thanks,” Roy said, “I wish I could believe that. But I’m willing to put my skill set to work for us because it seems to me that we’ll be worse off without me doing anything at all for us, and that’ll make me feel guilty all over again. I might as well try.”

“What are your ideas?” Amanda asked, feeling a surge of hope that they might be able to find a solution for some of their problems that had seemed insurmountable to her just yesterday.

“You mentioned having found an old mining sight where they had dug down and struck water, flooding the shaft?” Roy said, looking to Amanda. “How far away is that sight from here?”

“It’s just . . .” Amanda thought and then bit at her lip as she concentrated on remembering. “It’s just about two to four miles from here,” she said, and suddenly, her countenance lit up as she understood where this was going. “I had forgotten all about it.”

“I’d like to take a look at it,” Roy said. “It’s possible that we have a well right under our nose and completely overlooked it. I might be able to rig up a windmill to draw the water up, with the right supplies.”

“This is great,” Amanda said, feeling excited. “I just remember looking, and it was a long way down the shaft, but there was still muddy water in the bottom of the hole. They had definitely accidentally hit water and then abandoned the shaft.”

“If we only had to go a few miles for our water, that would save so much on gas,” Maryanne said excitedly.

“That’s the idea, but it’s too soon to tell,” Roy said, unable to contain some of his own excitement.

“I hate to throw a wet blanket over this,” Jason said, “but I think a windmill would attract too much unwanted attention, don’t you?”

“Oh, you’re right,” Roy said, “sometimes I forget what it’s like with people these days.”

“Why couldn’t we all just share a well, you know, like all of us survivors using the water? That’s what makes sense to me,” Sam said earnestly.

“That’s a wonderful idea, sweetheart, but it’s just not how things work anymore,” Maryanne said, looking thoughtfully to her daughter.

“I don’t get it. It seems like it should be us against the creepers. I mean, like, isn’t that enough? But instead, it’s us against the creepers and us against us. I don’t get how the human race is supposed to survive if we don’t get any smarter than that,” Sam said, sounding disgusted.

“At first, many people thought that way, banding together, keeping each other safe, trying to stop this thing,” Jason said. “But as time went on and more panic set in, as resources began to become scarce and people stopped knowing who they could trust, things changed. Right now, chances are more than good that if we set up a windmill and some other group saw it, they would make camp there, and it would be a war to get any water from them.”

“Jason’s right,” Roy said, nodding his head.

“Unfortunately, that’s the world that we’re living in today, honey. I wish that I could tell you differently,” Maryanne said with a note of regret.

“How deep do you suppose that shaft is?” Roy asked of Amanda.

“I don’t remember the specifics very well. I know its location and know that there is always muddy water in the bottom, but my best estimation would be seventy-five to one hundred fifty feet deep,” Amanda said with a shrug.

“You’ll just need to take me out there, and I’ll have a look. With enough hose, it’s possible that we might be able to use the pump that runs off of the truck battery to suck water up. It’s also a distinct possibility that one or more of us is going to need to get down there and dig it down a little deeper. If they hit water, stopped, and abandoned that shaft, then it’ll need to be dug out to get more than just mud.”

“I know that there’s a lot of specifics that need to be worked out,” Amanda said, “but I feel like we’re going to have a water source that isn’t fifty to sixty-five miles away, and that’s encouraging.”

“Again, I hate to say anything, but how do we know the water is safe to drink?” Jason said. “Aren’t some water sources poisonous or something?”

“That means that somebody will have to test it out,” Amanda said as she considered the risk that went along with it.

“Uhm, I don’t mean to state the obvious or anything, but isn’t Red a wolf?” Sam asked. “Wouldn’t a wolf instinctually know whether the water was safe to drink or not? I learned that a dog’s sense of smell is like over ten thousand times more powerful than ours is. When we walk into a room, we see the room. When a dog walks into a room, they smell the room. And wouldn’t a wolf’s senses be even stronger than that?”

“Quite frankly, kid,” Amanda said, “sometimes you astound me with your brilliance, while at other times, not so much.”

“Sam’s right,” Roy said, reaching to grab at his hair that was no longer there. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. So if Red says it’s safe to drink, then we’ll have a water source, and that will go a long way toward helping our situation.”

“I think so too,” Maryanne said, “wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have enough water to bathe occasionally and to wash our clothes?”

“Speaking of washing clothes,” Roy said. “I have an idea for that too. With a few basic parts, I could make us a clothes-washing barrel that can be powered by a stationary bicycle.”

“Cool,” Sam said, drawing out the word.

“What else?” Amanda said, feeling like this was the turning point in their existence that she had been waiting for.

“Without a way of keeping food cold, we are wasting some of what’s left over,” Roy continued. “I think that with some solar panels, batteries, connections, and wiring, I can rig us up a small fridge that will work. I could probably power a light up at camp and one down at the lavatory too.”

“Too cool!” Sam said with awe.

“Having something cold to drink once in a while would help us with the heat too,” Maryanne said. “I worry about our body temperatures getting too overheated without much by way of lowering our temperature over such prolonged periods of heat.”

“Maybe you could make us a hover scooter that floats over the sand and runs on solar?” Sam said.

Roy laughed at Sam’s suggestion. “I was good at my job, but I wasn’t that good,” he said.

“Oh,” Sam said, looking around the group, “I was just kidding anyway.”

“Sure you were,” Amanda razzed her.

“I know the soil around here won’t grow much,” Maryanne said, “but what if we brought in some potting soil? If we had access to enough water, maybe we could grow some of our own food. I used to have an herb garden in my backyard with a few tomato plants, and the city of Blythe used to grow fields of melons and leafy greens. It’s possible, isn’t it?” she asked.

“That might solve some of our food problem,” Jason commented, “if we could grow some of our own food.”

“In my estimation, every one of us, and especially the children, are suffering from malnutrition. Having fresh vegetables in our diet would really help with that,” Maryanne said, sounding excited.

“Anybody here know much about horticulture?” Amanda asked, looking around the group.

“I killed a plant once because I forgot to water it,” Sam answered with a shrug.

“That’s not helpful,” Amanda said. “Anybody?”

“I managed to keep some herbs alive along with my tomato plants. I wouldn’t win any awards for my growing skills, but I could probably manage something,” Maryanne said. “I guess that makes me the most qualified out of all of us, and that isn’t saying much.”

“If we had access to enough water, then I suppose that it’s worth a try, honey,” Jason said, giving his wife a smile with lips that were dry and cracked.

“This is good,” Amanda said. “I had no idea that we could come up with so many really viable ideas today. I’m glad that we all finally slowed down long enough to talk about this.”

“Yeah, running from flesh-eating creepers has a way of keeping you busy,” said Sam.

“Sam, you’re going to positively love this,” Amanda said, “but you and I need to grab a couple of shovels and dig a shallow basin over there.” Amanda pointed to one of the large collections of tall boulders. “That way, we can catch some water. And I’ve been thinking, with how this whole camp seems to collect water, if we were to dig some trenches that helped to funnel it into the basin, we could have some more water right at hand for a while after every rain.”

“Sounds good,” Roy said.

Jason nodded an affirmation, and Sam looked less than pleased to be nominated for the job.

“I just don’t want anybody twisting an ankle or falling if they have to walk around camp in the dark,” Maryanne said, in her capacity as a doctor.

“Right,” said Amanda. “I guess we’ll have to think that one through, but we can work out the basin at the very least.”

“I love how you’re always picking me for these jobs,” Sam said sourly. “I don’t see why I have to do it. I did most of the work on The Pit.” She crossed her arms, glaring toward Amanda.

“Excuse me, little missy,” Roy said. “I dug most of The Pit while you complained about having to dig it.”

“Whatev,” Sam said, looking away.

“See,” her mother said, “this is exactly why I think she’s still too immature to be going on the runs to town.”

“Seriously,” Sam said, issuing a guffaw afterward. “Fine, whatever, I’m going down to the truck for the shovels.” Sam abruptly jumped up and trotted away.

“That was some great reverse psychology, honey,” Jason said after Sam was out of earshot.

“Reverse psychology nothing,” Maryanne answered, “I was so being serious.”

“Speaking of psychology,” Jason said, “what we’re doing right here in this meeting today demonstrates Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in action.”

“How’s that?” Amanda asked, feeling curious.

“Well, to put it simply, Maslow stated that if a person’s basic need for safety, food, and shelter was not met, then they would be unable to think about things beyond that. But he noted that once those basic needs were met, then the person would strive to move on to other less basic needs, such as improving their personal care and improving their environment. Next a person would attempt to provide things of comfort and pursue educational goals. It’s really a very complex theory, but interestingly enough, it’s true in every case I’ve ever studied.”

“I guess that is a way of explaining what I’ve been feeling lately, this need to improve our situation and ourselves,” Amanda said. “Thanks, Doc.”

“Can I take another driving lesson after I finish this job?” Sam asked. She had walked up with the shovels and handed one to Amanda.

“Sure, just come see me when you’re finished,” Roy answered. “I’ll be down by the vehicles, checking them out. And, Amanda, I’ll jot down a wish list in your notepad, for vehicle needs and parts to help get us up and running around here.”

“Sounds good,” Amanda answered, heading off to follow Sam. “Thanks, Roy.”