Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies by Jo Lee Auburne Page A
Authors: Jo Lee Auburne
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photographing old mining sites. Up until that point in her life, she had had no desire to settle down, but she had started to call this land her home and had even had a steady boyfriend, and they had begun to talk about marriage when the infection had taken over. She had lost her boyfriend early on to an infected bite.
While in town looking for supplies, she had come across Roy attempting to save his neighbors, the Albrechts. Jason, Maryanne, and the kids had barricaded themselves in their home and were under siege by a dozen or more creepers. The family had been in desperate need of food and water. Amanda had swept the family off in her motor home to the way out part of the desert. Everyone agreed that it was the safest course of action, given the circumstances. Along the way, the motor home had broken down, and Roy had taken them all the rest of the way in his Jeep.
They had made camp where they were now, relatively safe from the creepers and the raiders. But runs to town were necessary for food, water, and other supplies.
Amanda was only five-foot-two, but she had rarely ever been called short because what she lacked in height, she had gained many times over in spirit. Her sister had called her a force of nature, and the term was very apt.
She had olive-colored skin that tanned easily, high cheekbones, long black hair, and dark brown eyes that could flash with a fire that burned from within when she felt crossed or when something felt unjust. No one had ever accused her of being easy to get along with, but at the same time, everyone that knew her had trusted her.
Amanda had not had any contact with her parents or her sister in San Diego after the initial outbreak. She had kept her cell phone charged and on her, waiting for a call, but none came. Eventually, the cell phones had stopped working, and though Amanda hated to admit it, she presumed her parents and sister to be among the dead.
At the time of the outbreak, the military had set up roadblocks, and travel from city to city had been cut off. She had had no way to reunite with her family, but events had provided her with a group of people that had come to feel like family.
The next time she checked her rearview mirror, it appeared that the vehicle behind them was farther back. It was possible that they weren’t trying to catch her at all, but she couldn’t take that chance.
Chapter 8
T he sun had just begun to set when Amanda made it to the turnoff that would take her back to camp. She stopped the truck to get out and use the binoculars to check her surroundings. The last thing that she wanted to do was to lead a group of raiders back to their well-hid camp.
After a thorough scan, she could see nothing in any direction. Whoever had been behind her had fallen out of view. She felt that it would be safe to make the turnoff and jumped back into the truck. Even as the sun was going down and the hour getting late, it was hot, and the dogs were panting again. She turned on the air conditioning. From the turnoff, it would only be a few miles to camp.
She made the turn down a wash that was in between two hillsides. There were a number of these types of turnoffs, and there was nothing about this one to set it apart from the others, except that she had come to recognize certain landmarks that were familiar.
“Well, guys,” she said to the dogs, “we’re going home.”
The others would be surprised to see that she was showing up with four-legged company, but she couldn’t imagine that they would mind expanding their family a little bit to include the new members. If they were concerned, she would explain about how helpful Red had already been to her. She was sure that that would put their mind at ease.
Amanda had a name for the big wolf dog but nothing for the little one. She began scouring her brain for names, one by one discarding them, until she had an idea. She decided that it would be fun for the kids to name her.
She needed to call a meeting with her
While in town looking for supplies, she had come across Roy attempting to save his neighbors, the Albrechts. Jason, Maryanne, and the kids had barricaded themselves in their home and were under siege by a dozen or more creepers. The family had been in desperate need of food and water. Amanda had swept the family off in her motor home to the way out part of the desert. Everyone agreed that it was the safest course of action, given the circumstances. Along the way, the motor home had broken down, and Roy had taken them all the rest of the way in his Jeep.
They had made camp where they were now, relatively safe from the creepers and the raiders. But runs to town were necessary for food, water, and other supplies.
Amanda was only five-foot-two, but she had rarely ever been called short because what she lacked in height, she had gained many times over in spirit. Her sister had called her a force of nature, and the term was very apt.
She had olive-colored skin that tanned easily, high cheekbones, long black hair, and dark brown eyes that could flash with a fire that burned from within when she felt crossed or when something felt unjust. No one had ever accused her of being easy to get along with, but at the same time, everyone that knew her had trusted her.
Amanda had not had any contact with her parents or her sister in San Diego after the initial outbreak. She had kept her cell phone charged and on her, waiting for a call, but none came. Eventually, the cell phones had stopped working, and though Amanda hated to admit it, she presumed her parents and sister to be among the dead.
At the time of the outbreak, the military had set up roadblocks, and travel from city to city had been cut off. She had had no way to reunite with her family, but events had provided her with a group of people that had come to feel like family.
The next time she checked her rearview mirror, it appeared that the vehicle behind them was farther back. It was possible that they weren’t trying to catch her at all, but she couldn’t take that chance.
Chapter 8
T he sun had just begun to set when Amanda made it to the turnoff that would take her back to camp. She stopped the truck to get out and use the binoculars to check her surroundings. The last thing that she wanted to do was to lead a group of raiders back to their well-hid camp.
After a thorough scan, she could see nothing in any direction. Whoever had been behind her had fallen out of view. She felt that it would be safe to make the turnoff and jumped back into the truck. Even as the sun was going down and the hour getting late, it was hot, and the dogs were panting again. She turned on the air conditioning. From the turnoff, it would only be a few miles to camp.
She made the turn down a wash that was in between two hillsides. There were a number of these types of turnoffs, and there was nothing about this one to set it apart from the others, except that she had come to recognize certain landmarks that were familiar.
“Well, guys,” she said to the dogs, “we’re going home.”
The others would be surprised to see that she was showing up with four-legged company, but she couldn’t imagine that they would mind expanding their family a little bit to include the new members. If they were concerned, she would explain about how helpful Red had already been to her. She was sure that that would put their mind at ease.
Amanda had a name for the big wolf dog but nothing for the little one. She began scouring her brain for names, one by one discarding them, until she had an idea. She decided that it would be fun for the kids to name her.
She needed to call a meeting with her
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