Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies (13 page)

Chapter 23

“
A
manda?” Tammy said, walking up to her and tugging at her hand. “You are going to get the crayons and coloring book for me?”

Amanda smiled at the girl. Tammy was not one to complain, and she rarely asked for anything. Amanda had been trying to throw pebbles into a red Solo cup that she had placed about six feet away from her. They were seriously lacking entertainment options these days, she thought as she set the pebbles down and reached to retrieve the notebook.

“See here, it says, ‘crayons and coloring book,’” Amanda said, pointing to her notes.

Tammy squinted at the writing, trying to make it out. After a fair amount of concentrated effort, it was obvious that she didn’t know what the letters meant.

“I trust you,” Tammy said to Amanda. “When are you going because I really, really want to color something?”

“That’s a good question,” Amanda said, reaching her fingers up to tickle the girl on the belly. “I’ll let you know when I know, okay?”

“Okay,” Tammy said and added a giggle.

Red trotted into camp, holding a dead rabbit in his mouth. Amanda watched as he lithely moved past her, making a beeline for Maryanne. He dropped the rabbit at her feet.

“He’s smart,” Amanda said. “He knows who handles the meals around here.”

“My goodness!” Maryanne exclaimed, staring down at the lifeless animal. “I guess he wants something more than crackers and nuts.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Amanda said and then laughed.

“There you are, Red,” Sam said. “I was wondering where you took off too.”

“He wanted to go grab some takeout food,” Roy said.

“Apparently, he has a very high opinion of my abilities,” Maryanne said, still staring at the animal.

“Do you know what to do with it?” Roy asked, walking up to grab it off of the ground.

“Not in the least,” Maryanne said, shaking her head. “I always liked to cook. But when I would go to the grocery store, it would all be ready to go. Chickens were plucked and quartered, beef was cut into whatever I was looking for. For heaven’s sake, this thing still has its fur on it, and it’s probably still warm.”

Maryanne eyed the rabbit that Roy was holding up with skepticism.

“I’ll show you how to clean it up and prepare it,” Roy said and then offered a wide grin.

“Looks like Red will be earning his keep around here,” Jason said.

“We’ll want to make sure that we cook it thoroughly,” Roy said. “But this is going to make a mighty fine rabbit stew. Yes, it will.”

“I think that Red is going to be helping us out with our food sustainability,” Amanda said.

“It’s really not so different from chicken, except it’ll taste gamier,” Roy said.

“Can I play with you?” Sam asked, referring to the pebble game with the Solo cup.

“It’s not really as fun as it looks,” Amanda said, setting the cup upright again after a pebble that she threw knocked it over.

“Look around you, Amanda,” Sam said, making a show of glancing around the camp. “Do you see much going on around here?”

“Grab some pebbles, kid. I guess you’re not so much into learning how to prepare rabbit?” Amanda said, smirking.

“Not so much, no,” Sam said. “I’ll have to go find some pebbles. I think you took all the ones from here.” “Let’s keep score,” Sam said. “It’ll be more fun that way, you’ll see.”

“What’s the chance of one of these cans being a vegetable?” Maryanne asked loudly, holding up a can that had no label. “We have four cans left, and none of them have a label.”

“Your guess is as good as mine?” Amanda said.

“Well, I suppose whatever it is, it’ll help us add something to our rabbit stew, won’t it, Red?” Maryanne said, looking to the wolf dog, who seemed to have a grin on his face.

“He sure looks pleased with himself,” Roy said.

“His lineage probably hasn’t been domesticated long,” Jason said. “His instincts are sharp, and so are his reflexes, whereas Boo over there is all about hanging out with the people and letting them take care of her. She comes from a long line of domesticated dogs.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if it was canned peaches?” Sam said, tossing a pebble straight into the cup. “That’s one for me,” she said smugly.

“Rabbit ala peaches might be good,” Amanda added, already feeling her stomach growl. “And one for me,” she said as one of her pebbles made it in with a bank shot.

“I’m starting to hope it is peaches,” Roy said and then laughed.

As difficult as things are in the LAZ, there were good times, when they all felt close and when laughter filled the camp, thought Amanda, feeling a warm sense of peace inside of her that rarely happened these days. It was moments like these with the feelings that went along with it that made her wish that these precious minutes could last forever.

“It’s sweet peas,” Maryanne announced, feeling satisfied that she had her vegetable to add to the stew.

“What are you thinking about right now?” Sam asked of Amanda, looking at her quizzically.

It’s uncanny how perceptive the girl can be when she feels like it
, thought Amanda. She tossed a pebble at the cup, and it went wide.

“I’m thinking that we’re lucky to have each other and that we’re a lot like a big extended family even if we aren’t related by blood. I was also thinking that I wish that moments like these could last forever,” she answered.

Sam was quiet, tossing a pebble that knocked the cup over. She was thinking about how things had been before in the LBZ and how messed up everything was now. She reached out and righted the cup.

“If you say so,” Sam said. “What are some of the things that you miss about before?” Sam asked quietly.

“I really miss all the good food and how plentiful it was,” Amanda said without even having to think about it. “Remember all those fast-food places all through town, where you could have your pick of whatever you wanted, as long as you had the money to pay for it?”

“Pizza,” Sam said, “I miss pizza.”

“Yes, pizza and French fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes with real butter, fresh vegetables, bean and cheese burritos, donuts, fresh fruit,” Amanda said, feeling her mouth salivating at the thought of all the foods that she missed, the foods that she may never eat again. “I miss cool, crisp apples.”

“I miss my friends, the Internet, text messaging, and clean clothes,” Sam said, feeling a pang of grief. “I miss going to the mall in Palm Springs and catching a movie at the theater after I load up on new clothes, shoes, makeup.”

“What about television, radio, live concerts, hot showers, and cold swimming pools?” Amanda added, feeling surprised at how many things she could think of quickly that were no more.

“That too,” Sam said. “Do you really think we’ll get it all back?”

“I know that we’ll get something back,” Amanda said, “but I don’t think that it will ever be like before. But who knows, it might be better than before. Considering what’s happened, we might not want it all back like it was before because something went very wrong with how we were doing things.”

“Mom’s a doctor, and she can’t even say for sure what happened,” Sam said passionately. “How are we going to know what not to do, if we don’t know what went wrong?”

“Only time will tell, Sam. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but hopefully over time, we’ll discover enough to rebuild society in some way. I do know that experimenting with viruses for biological warfare is a really bad idea. That I can tell you right now,” Amanda said.

“Do you think that it was a weapon?” Sam asked.

“Don’t know, I’m just talking,” Amanda said with a sigh, and the good feeling that she had had a few minutes ago had vanished. She had already known that it couldn’t last forever, but she longed for its return just the same.

“How scary is it in town?” Sam asked, and Amanda couldn’t tell whether or not the girl was having second thoughts about the trip or not.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s pretty scary,” Amanda answered, knowing that there was no point in disguising the truth from her when she would find out for herself soon enough. Amanda could only hope that she would be able to protect the girl and bring her home safely should anything go wrong.

“Do the stores still have anything left in them?” Sam asked, remembering the many shopping trips that she had taken with her mother and how easy it had been to grab things off of shelves and put them in the cart.

“The answer to that question is yes and no,” Amanda said, realizing as she said it that she was confusing the girl. “Things like food, ammo, guns, weapons, medicines, alcohol, candles, and stuff like that are no longer on the shelves. There are some stores that have been kind of skipped over because people no longer need anything that they have to offer, like there’s a store that sells video games and gaming units. That store is pretty much as it was left, with everything still on the shelves.”

“I see,” Sam said, looking thoughtful. “So how do we get the things that we need? I know a little bit by the stories that you tell when you get back, but that’s about all.”

“We have to get creative to find stuff now, especially since the gangs of raiders control a lot of the town’s resources,” Amanda said. “For instance, abandoned cars will sometimes have backpacks full of good stuff, or there’ll be ammo in the glove box or crackers in the trunk, stuff like that,” Amanda said.

“You go into people’s houses too, though, right?” Sam asked.

“It’s not like anyone owns their homes anymore,” Amanda said. “Houses are like a thing that people used to call their own, someplace that used to be mostly safe. But now, the people that are left aren’t in the houses anymore. The survivors in town have fortified areas, mostly centered around resources, like gas stations, grocery stores, except now the food is all gone from the stores.”

“I see,” Sam said. “So when you go out, it’s like a scavenger hunt.”

“I suppose that’s about right, except all the while, you need to stay alert, watch each other’s back. Personally, I think that the raiders are worse than the creepers,” Amanda said, glad that they were having this conversation because it would help to make her more prepared for their trip.

“The raiders know what they’re doing, as opposed to the creepers that just do,” Sam said, nodding her head. This was something that she was familiar with hearing over the past months.

“We’re fortunate to have the Colorado River not too far from us. The water isn’t safe to drink as is, but once your mom’s finished with it, it is. I can’t imagine what we’d do without that river, Sam.”

“Why is it that you’re always looking on the bright side of things?” Sam said. “You seem to be thankful for so much even with how things are now. I don’t get it.”

“That’s not always the case, Sam. You’ve seen me in some foul moods,” she answered.

“You know what I mean,” Sam said, sounding like she was becoming frustrated with trying to get her point across. “I’m angry and disappointed most of the time.”

“Sorry, I guess I do know what you mean. You see, kid, the thing that might be most important to remember these days, besides how to stay safe, is that our happiness isn’t situational. Even in the LBZ, when people made their happiness situational, they were miserable. Happiness is and will always be a decision that we consciously make from day to day and hour to hour. It helps when you can look around you every day and find something, no matter how small, to be grateful for. Think about it, and give it a try, I’ll be curious to know if that changes how you feel,” Amanda said, feeling spent, and she realized that it was probably just the heat that was draining her because she was very much encouraged by the direction of their conversation.

Sam scrunched up her face for a second, while she pondered this, and then she brightened. “I get it, I think,” she said, “like I’m thankful that I have my whole family still, even if I’ve lost my friends. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” she answered, feeling satisfied that she had been able to get her point across in a way that made sense to the girl.

“So when do we leave for town?” Sam asked breathlessly, changing gears so suddenly that it threw Amanda off guard.

“I’m thinking about it, Sam,” she answered. “How about you go and spend some time with your dad? Have him answer some of your questions about town from his perspective, okay?”

“Sure,” Sam said, hopping up and forgetting all about their game.

“Is it possible to sweat any more than I am?” Maryanne asked, fanning herself with her hand, as if that would help. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m positively drenched with sweat.”

“Being in the kitchen with the burner going isn’t helping any,” Amanda said.

“Well, the rabbit stew isn’t going to cook itself,” she answered. “With Red on the job of hunting us down more food, we just might be able to stay at a healthy weight. And you know that I never thought I’d see the day where I heard myself say that,” Maryanne said. “It used to be that I struggled with my weight a little bit, and I’m not talking about being too thin.”

“I hear you,” Amanda said.

“Since when did you ever struggle with being too fat?” Maryanne said, looking playfully but accusingly to her friend.

“There was a time,” Amanda said, secretly hoping that her friend didn’t ask her to recall when that time might have been because she couldn’t remember.

“Mom, I’ll be sure to find us some deodorant when I go to town,” Sam said enthusiastically.

“Oh, you will, will you,” Maryanne said, and Amanda watched as a strange expression flickered across her friends’ face. Amanda figured that was because soon, her daughter would be placing herself in peril, and she didn’t want to think about it.

Quickly, Maryanne plastered a very fake smile on her face, wearing it broadly.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, honey,” she said, trying to match her daughter’s enthusiasm. “I wanted to ask you ladies if you could bring up some more water from the truck. I might as well purify water while I’m already standing here because tomorrow, there won’t be any more drinking water if I don’t,” Maryanne said.