Two Alive, стр. 20
As a figurehead, he stepped out in front of the gathered families and amassed groups, all murmuring about what was going on outside. The major would be lying to himself if he didn’t feel some rush of pride that came from watching mothers and fathers hush their children when the major stepped out. Husbands and wives regarded him with esteem and couples who formed in the store were beholden to the major; he was the reason they were together and safe. Those who had no one, saw Carver as a surrogate father, an older brother, or an exalted leader who they would trust with their lives. The major would be lying if the feeling of all their eyes on him, waiting for him to reassure them wasn’t intoxicating.
“Everyone please, remain calm.” Carver said, his hands raised for their attention.
“Major Carver, what’s going on outside?” a voice cried out.
“We heard banging. Is someone trying to get in?” someone else asked.
The crowd started up again and the murmuring turned to a low chatter going on and on about different theories. The army had arrived. People were trying to break in. A storm had hit. Then someone shouted some nonsense about aliens.
Carver sucked at his back teeth and bellowed out, “There are infected outside of the docking area.” His words put an end to the rabblerousing, but now the gathering was silenced by a slow growing fear. Carver went straight to the point without revealing the full situation. “There is a large number of infected freaks outside but there’s nothing to worry about. The situation is being taken care of.”
“Infected? Oh my god.” A woman clutched her child and held him close.
“How did this even happen?”
“Did they find us? Do they know we’re in here?”
Carver looked over his shoulder at Ben, standing awkwardly behind him and against the wall. “Well…” the major started.
“Two people went running through the parking lot and led them here.” Ben stepped forward to cut Carver short mid-sentence. “The people kept running and got away but the infected are still outside our doors. They can’t get inside here but in order to avoid attention we’ll have to take some precautions. We’ll have to turn the generators down. Only for a little while, to make sure those people outside don’t come back thinking the store is still working. And so the infected will leave on their own.”
The audience sneered at his finishing statements. “C’mon Ben,” a man called out. “We were gonna show Star Wars tonight on the big screen.”
“Ben’s right.” Carver started to cough but during his convulsions, the people still waited for him to continue. “This is something that Ben and I, and even Julia, agree must be done. We can’t let anyone know we’re here. Not just the freaks… and especially not the living. Trust me, those freaks outside will eventually wander off on their own once they realize they can’t get in.”
The crowd was pleased and the gamut of emotions they had felt finally settled on relief. As they slowly dispersed, a small number of people stayed behind and approached Major Carver and Ben.
“Have you heard any news from Franklin and the others?” The woman with her son moved in front of the major, still clutching the boy as he clung to her leg. She was a mess with unkempt brown curls and a distraught expression on her flushed face.
“Do you think those freaks got ‘em?” An old man with an eye patch and gray beard was behind the woman. He was hunched over and slack-jawed, wearing a long Raiders jersey, fresh off the rack.
When the others started up, Carver just sighed and put a hand up to quiet them. “We haven’t heard anything from Franklin and the others but believe me when I say we’ll find them.” The major coughed a rough and wet cough.
“But how do you know?” The woman picked up her six-year-old. “Are they still calling in on the radio?”
“Who were those people outside? Did you get a look at them?” The eye-patched man chimed in again.
“No. We couldn’t see them in the cameras. We don’t know where they went, Clint.” Carver continued with the lie that there were people outside rather than two boys locked in a closet in the security room. The major addressed the old man with the patch, Clint, then went to the woman and her child. “And we’re trying the radios every few hours to see if we can get in contact with them, Kayla. There is nothing to worry about. We’re taking the utmost precautions.”
“Will you send someone out to look for them?” An apathetic man, standing behind the small group, eyed the major with what could be slight disdain. He had shaggy blonde hair and dark bags under his eyes. With a scrawny build he didn’t look imposing but the contempt on his face made him look disturbing.
Carver returned a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well I would, Lance, but with current circumstances… I’m not sure that’s an option right now.”
“We’ll send someone out to look for the other group as soon as the infected move on.” Julia tried stepping in to settle the matter.
“We should’ve sent someone out to look as soon as we lost contact with them,” Lance snapped back.
Carver wasn’t entirely pleased by Julia’s interjection or Lance’s countering tone, but the major continued to play nice. “For all we know, Franklin and the others are on their way back now. Hopefully those freaks are gone by the time they get here. But there’s no reason to leave the compound. We just have to deal with that hive outside.”
“A hive?” Clint asked. “What, the freaks outside?”
Carver had