Chapter 6

About two hours later, they had arrived back at the camp and Amanda was grateful to finally take a shower. She could even admit she couldn’t stand the smell of the gore that was rotting on her clothes.

Amanda leaned her head against the shower wall as she watched the nasty gore wash down the drain and she let her thoughts roll around in her mind. Heavily, she sighed as she thought about the events that had occurred that day. The new monster species, the daywalkers only wanting her, and the death of her teammates. She lingered on the thought about the daywalkers not going after the others as they made their way to the truck.

The only thing she could think of that would cause the mutants to just come after her was that she was covered in the larger mutants blood. It seemed so strange, however, at that moment, Amanda knew that they had to keep their eyes peeled for any more strange mutations that may have evolved.

The showers were designed with five foot brick walls between each one and they had a curtain to close. The room was large and had about eight showers along the wall, and then the other side was the bathroom. It seemed like the same showers they had at the base when she and Megan went through training, except these showers had a little more privacy.

Suddenly, excited voices rang through the large shower room and Amanda immediately made sure her curtain was closed. Curiously, she peered over the wall and at that moment she saw the sergeant’s cousin walk in with Faith. Noticeably, Joe was with them and she found herself staring at his bare chest. She was intrigued by how muscular he was. At that moment, Amanda’s eyes locked with Joe’s and he stopped walking.

“Sorry, Amanda. We didn’t know anyone was in here,” said John, and then he and Joe turned their backs to her.

Cheerfully, Megan walked into the room and then she looked at Joe and John oddly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, as she reached them.

“We didn’t realize that Amanda was in here,” said Joe, and Megan looked at them thoughtfully for a moment ,and then she looked at Amanda, as she grinned.

“Well, there you are. I felt like I haven’t seen you since this morning!” Megan said sarcastically, and Amanda rolled her eyes, as she stuck her toothbrush in her mouth.

Megan then looked at Faith, John, and Joe.

“Well, come on,” she said, and then she made her way over to the stall next to Amanda.

All of a sudden, Josh walked into the room and then he stopped in his tracks as he looked at Megan. Joe chuckled as he took the stall on the other side of Amanda, and then John and Faith took the stall at the end of the room.

“So, we all shower together?” Josh asked, dumbfounded, and Megan looked at him and nodded.

“Okay, then,” said Josh, and he walked over to the stall next to Megan.

Amanda glanced up at Joe and she was thankful that the walls hid everything from the neck down. Cleverly, Megan looked at her and then she grinned as she raised her eyebrows. Oddly, Amanda looked at her.

What was she trying to tell her? she wondered.

All of a sudden, Joe, Josh, John, and Faith all yelled as they turned on the water and then it dawned on Amanda. Megan never told them that there was no hot water. Amanda giggled as she finished brushing her teeth and spit down the drain. Josh and Faith were laughing in the last stall and Amanda was ready to get out of there. She missed Eddy more when she saw happy couples together and she just wanted to ease her pain.

Seemingly, Amanda went straight to the showers to get some alone time. It wasn’t that she was happy that they were able to rescue DJ’s family, she was extremely happy about that, but it was all still hard on her that Eddy was gone. Not only that, but she was the one that had to shoot him in the head. It might have been different if someone else had shot him, but since it was her that had to do it, things hit her differently.

At that moment, Amanda decided she was going to finish her time and go out to her truck. She would celebrate their rescue later. Right now she needed to destress. Thoughtfully, Amanda glanced up at Joe and she half smirked at him.

“I guess she didn’t tell you that there was no hot water,” she said with her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, and Joe looked down at her, as he grinned and nodded.

For a moment, she looked at his handsome face and then she remembered his arm. It must have been sore from catching her during her cleverly-thought-out stunt she pulled.

“How is your arm?” she asked, concerned, as she shut the water off, and wrapped her towel around her body.

“It’s better. The medical staff here was able to stitch up the wound,” he said.

Amanda nodded as she grabbed her shower caddy, and then she pulled the curtain back.

“See you guys later,” she said, as she walked out of the shower room.

“I really don’t think she cares for us,” Joe stated, and Megan looked up at him, as she shook her head.

“Nah, it’s not that. She just needs some space right now. She has been through so much, and she has her own way of coping with her sorrows. Mand just needs to do her thing and work through with whatever is bothering her,” she explained, as she sighed.

Seemingly, Megan knew where Amanda was headed. She would go out to her truck, knock a drink or two back, smoke a joint and then a cigarette. That is what Amanda did when she was troubled with things or she was triggered by something that reminded her of Eddy.

“We have all been through hell,” stated Josh, as he looked at Megan with care, and she looked at him seriously.

“No, her whole life has been hell for her. You will understand if she ever lets you in,” she said, and Josh only nodded.

Evidently, Amanda and Megan had been close their whole lives. They grew up together because their parents were friends, and they went to the same schools together. The two girls were inseparable. Unfortunately, Amanda had been dealt a shitty hand in life, but she never really seemed to dwell on her past, and not let it get her down.

Proudly, Megan watched her friend move forward in life in the best way that she could and one of her favorite things about Amanda was that she could turn any shitty situation into something funny.

Seemingly, Megan knew that Amanda would bounce back after she had processed everything that was on her mind.

******************

Heavily, Amanda sighed as she got dressed and she slid her boots on. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and then she quickly looked herself over in the mirror. She decided to go raid the liquor barn.

Once, Megan and Amanda were on one of their scavenger hunts for supplies out in the dead world, and they had come across a liquor store. Surprisingly, the store had been untouched and the shelves were full of dusty bottles of different liquor. Quickly, they loaded as much as they could into the truck and they brought it all back to camp. DJ decided that the best thing to do was to keep it under lock and key, and that it would be used on special occasions.

The sergeant had a solid wooden crate made with a top that they locked with a couple of military key locks and he kept it in the same tent as he kept the extra weapons and ammo. He called the tent the liquor barn.

Casually, Amanda walked out of her room and she climbed down the steel ladder to the ground. She walked up to the communications tent and walked inside. Just as she suspected, DJ was right where she thought he was.

“Hi,” she said with her hands behind her back, and she looked at her sergeant.

“Hi,” he said, and then Amanda held out her hand.

He looked at it in question, and then he looked back up at her.

“Keys please,” she said with a smile, and DJ gave her a knowing look.

“Really? Why don’t you wait until after we eat,” he suggested in a fatherly tone, and gave her a stern look.

Definitely, Amanda shook her head.

“No, I think that I will dine alone tonight,” she said firmly, and DJ looked at her with concern.

“Later,” he said seriously, and she hung her head in defeat.

This is why he kept the keys. He wasn’t really much of a drinker and he made sure Amanda didn’t over do it.

At that moment, she wanted to kick herself, but then she remembered that she had stashed a couple of small bottles in the hiding spots of her truck. Calmly, she looked up at him as she smiled.

“No problem,” she said as she grinned and then she quickly left the tent.

*************

Four bottles sat in the middle console of her truck along with the few packs of cigarettes she had and the pack of joints. Seemingly, the cigarettes and joints once belonged to Eddy and she would only smoke when she drank, which was very rare.

Amanda pulled herself into the driver's seat and she grabbed the first bottle. Easily, she downed the bottle’s contents and she felt the burn of the alcohol course through her body. Quickly, she grabbed and down the second bottle and then she leaned her head back and let the alcohol take effect. Heavily, she sighed as she let her thoughts roll around in her mind and she let her tears fall. There were times she wished she could join her loved ones, but something made her keep going.

However, at that moment, she just wanted to be in her late boyfriend’s arms and she wanted to hear him say that everything was alright, that this was all a bad dream. Unfortunately, that wasn’t her reality and it made her cry harder. After a moment, she took a deep breath and her tears stopped pooling in her eyes.

She thought about how much she had been through and she realized that she was a survivor. She was alive, no matter how hard shit got, she couldn’t give up, no matter how bad she wanted to. Her resilience to stay alive would not let her. Nonchalantly, Amanda pulled out one of the joints and she lit it. Uncontrollably, she started to sob again as she let go of the hurt, the anger, and the pain she felt. Deeply, she pulled off of the joint and then she coughed hard as she blew the hit out.

“So, you started the party without me?”

Startled, Amanda gasped as she looked up and saw a pair of soft brown eyes looking at her. Her tears began to fall as she looked at him and he wrapped his arms around her as he pulled the joint from her fingers.

“Alright. Alright,” he said after a few moments, and the embrace ended.

Amanda swung her legs out and sat on the edge of the seat. DJ took a deep pull from the joint, and then he handed it back to her as he coughed.

“Light up one of them cigarettes,” he said, and she nodded.

Seemingly, she reached into the console, pulled one out, and she lit it.

“So, this bad, huh?” DJ asked, as she handed him the smoke, nodded, and hung her head.

He took a couple pulls of the cigarette as he looked up and then he looked at her, thoughtfully.

“You know, we face our hardest battles at our most vulnerable moments. This wasn’t meant to break you. This was meant to make you grow,” he said, and she nodded, as she kicked her feet.

“Okay, put the goodies away, and come with me,” he said softly, and Amanda nodded, as she threw everything in her center console, and then jumped out of the truck.

She shut the door and hit the lock button. DJ threw his arm around her shoulders and they walked over to the liquor and weapons tent. Evidently, DJ decided to get a bottle for each of his cousins, himself, Megan, and Amanda. Despite the fact that the sergeant really missed his wife and his children he had lost in the outbreak, this was his new family now, and that was something to celebrate.

Quickly, they grabbed the bottles they wanted and then they locked everything back up. After that, DJ and Amanda made their way toward the back of the camp and Amanda saw that a campfire was already lit and waiting for them.

Patiently, Megan, Josh, John, Faith, and Joe were waiting for them around the campfire. They were talking and laughing as Amanda and DJ walked up with the liquor bottle in hand. They sat on the ground next to Joe and they smiled at everyone.

“I was wondering if you were going to grace us with your presence tonight,” teased Megan, as she smirked at Amanda.

“Thanks, I had to go do my thing,” she said, as she took a sip out of the bottle she was holding, and DJ passed around a bottle to everyone with a smile.

“Let’s toast to building a new world together. To remember those we have lost, and to those we have gained,” stated DJ, as he held up his bottle, and everyone raised their bottles.

At that same time, they all took a swig.

“To old friends and new friends,” said Joe, and they all took a swig.

Amanda raised her bottle at him and then she took another swig. Evidently, the alcohol was already giving Amanda a hard buzz, so she leaned back on her arms and she stretched out her legs. Drunkenly, she looked at Megan and grinned.

“Slide and slice,” Amanda murmured, and Megan giggled, as she raised her bottle to her friend.

“Slide and slice,” she repeated, and they both took a swig of their drinks.

Curiously, DJ leaned forward and he looked at each of them in question.

“Okay, you two. What is the deal with this slide and slice, you keep saying?” he asked, intrigued, and Amanda and Megan looked at each other, as they laughed.

“That is when I distract and then miss courageous over here slides under whatever it is that we may be facing and she slices it open with no remorse,” Megan explained dramatically, and Amanda rolled her eyes.

“Is that what happened back there, and why you were covered in that nasty gore?” asked Joe with wide eyes, and Amanda laughed as she nodded.

For a moment, she looked at him, and realized that he truly was very handsome, especially with his hair draped over to the side.

“You should have seen her in action,” stated Megan, and Amanda gave her a look.

“Well, in the world we live in, it is good to be quick on your feet,” Amanda said, as she took another swig of her drink.

“Well, you and Megan have always been quick on your feet when it came to sticky situations,” DJ said, and Megan and Amanda looked at him in question.

“How so?” Megan asked, and the sergeant gave her a knowing look.

“I remember when we were overseas on a mission and all of a sudden the enemy base exploded and the next thing I see is you two fresh pups, be-lining, hauling ass for our basecamp. You should have seen the look on their faces,” laughed DJ, and Amanda and Megan looked at each other and laughed.

“The bomb went off early and she decided to say, the hell with it, if we die, we are going out with a bang. And I told her no ma’am, it is time to go,” laughed Megan.

“I thought we were dead,” Amanda laughed, and Megan laughed even harder.

At that moment, DJ looked at both of the girls proudly and smiled at them.

“Mand, Meg. You two have made me so proud, and I consider both of you like daughters to me,” he said sentimentality, and Amanda looked at him and drunkenly grinned.

“Please, don’t cry,” she teased, and he pushed her shoulder.

“I take that back, Megan is like a daughter and you are just a pain in my ass,” he teased, and everyone laughed.

Suddenly, Amanda had an idea as she glanced around at her new family that surrounded the campfire. They all have had a hard life due to the apocalypse, just like her, and maybe it was time to let the past go.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, as she scrambled to her feet.

At that moment, the alcohol seemed to take full effect and she staggered a little.

“Are you sure you can walk?” asked John, and Faith giggled.

“Yeah, I will be fine,” Amanda said, as she staggered toward her truck.

“Watch this. I bet she falls flat on her face,” Megan said, as she sat up.

She and Josh were leaning back on the grass and after Megan sat up, Josh stretched out his arm.

“How much is the bet?” DJ asked eagerly, and Joe looked at both of them oddly.

“You guys are being mean to her. Look at the poor girl, she is drunk,” he stated, and Megan laughed, as DJ looked at his cousin with a knowing look.

“You don’t know her like we do. That girl is completely evil,” he stated, and Megan laughed as she nodded.

“Once she acted like she had gotten infected and scared all of us half to death,” said Megan, and Josh shook his head in disbelief.

Curiously, they all watched as Amanda drunkenly stumbled to her truck.