Amanda Carter in the L.A.Z., life after zombies Read Online Free PDF Page B

out from around Jason cracked lips and down his chin. Sam looked to Roy, a scared expression on her face.
    “Tilt his chin up a little,” Roy said. “Good, now just a little at a time.”
    Roy watched as Sam delivered very minute amounts of water. Jason’s Adam’s apple moved up and down a couple times, showing that he had swallowed something, but still his eyes never opened.
    “That’s good, just a little more,” Roy said.
    “He’s so sick,” Samantha said with a whisper, delivering another couple of small amounts of water, until Jason coughed.
    “Good, I’m going to set him back down now,” Roy said as he gently lowered Jason back to a horizontal position.
    Sam had already brought the pan of wash water back to them before Roy had finished positioning his friend.
    “I know what to do,” the girl said, dropping a rag into the pan. Roy backed away because it seemed that Samantha wanted some time with her father.
    Roy went to sit with his back against a boulder. He watched as the teen dipped the rag, and then she would wring it out over Jason, until the feverish man had water dripping off of him.
    “Water’s gone,” Samantha said, showing Roy the near empty pan.
    “That’s okay,” Roy said, “you did good, real good.”
    But secretly, he was worried about their water situation. There was, at most, two gallons to spread between them. During other times of the year, that might have seemed like no cause for panic, but out here in the summer, a body could easily lose a gallon or two of water a day, and there were five of them.
    Samantha came to sit with Roy.
    “The water’s almost gone, isn’t it?” Samantha asked.
    Roy didn’t respond immediately, until finally he said, “Yes, and I would prefer, for my own sanity, that we not talk about that right now, please.”
    The girl seemed to understand this, and she nodded, dropping the subject.
    “Roy?” the girl said after a while. “Why back in the LBZ did Mom and Dad used to insist that we call you Uncle Roy even though you aren’t related to us?”
    Roy took a breath and closed his eyes for a second. It seemed that children, even teenaged ones, always had a lot of questions.
    “Well, Samantha . . .” he began but was interrupted.
    “Call me Sam. All my friends used to call me Sam, and I wish my parents would too,” she said earnestly.
    “You’d have to ask your parents to be sure, Sam,” he said, emphasizing her name, “but I think it’s because families stick together. They watch out for each other, and well, that’s what we do for each other, right?”
    Sam thought about this, and he watched her countenance brighten a little. “Right,” Sam said, “that makes sense.”
    The hot wind buffeted them, and the tarps snapped incessantly above their heads.
    “So where’s Amanda, or would you prefer not to talk about that either?” Sam said, giving him a look that indicated that she wanted the truth.
    Roy said nothing for a full minute. He wasn’t one to spend a lot of time talking, and it seemed to him like talking and answering questions was all he was doing lately. He sighed.
    “Why won’t you answer me?” Sam bemoaned.
    “Here’s the answer, Sam,” he finally said. “I don’t know where Amanda is or why she isn’t back yet, and that terrifies me.”

Chapter 5
    I t was a shock to hear the dogs out here in the middle of the desert. She had not so much as seen a dog in months, and the last time she had laid eyes on one, it was in town. She proceeded forward, cautiously, whipping the knife out just in case. She rounded the corner of a large boulder, and there they were, two dogs. She lowered the knife, hoping that she didn’t need to use it. As far as she knew, dogs could not be infected, and these two looked healthy.
    “Hey there,” she said, lowering her body a little, so as not to appear threatening.
    “It really is incredible,” she told herself, “Two dogs out here in this heat, how can this be?” she asked