Two Alive, стр. 21
“This is getting crazy.” Julia spoke as soon as the group of people were out of earshot. “We’ve got the infected outside, a missing group we sent out and two kids locked up who could possibly try to kill someone. Am I missing anything?”
“The bodies in the docking area. Baker, go take care of that.” Carver looked to his right-hand soldier, who hadn’t left his side since dealing with the kids.
“We can burn the bodies in the docks, major. I’ll get the boys on that.” Baker pulled his radio from his waist.
Carver started for the doorway to the security room.
“What’s your plan, major?” Julia said and the major stopped in his tracks. “I know the wheels are turning. So what are you thinking?”
The major turned around, “We need to kill those kids and get rid of their bodies.” Carver was so curt and to the point that Ben and Julia were stunned. “That’s probably our best option.”
“No it’s not!” Ben looked to Alana, who was still close enough to overhear the conversation. It spurred on his anger with Carver. “Not going to happen! How could you even think that?”
“Someone has to think of the worst-case scenarios. If you all are too soft to do it, I will. Besides, I’m sure the thought has crossed your mind, Julia.” Carver eyed the woman and saw the wheels turning in her head.
But she shook the thoughts away. “No. We can’t just kill whoever shows up here. We don’t even know anything about these kids.”
Carver shrugged his shoulders. “It’s one option.”
“An option that is off the table, Eric!” Ben snapped.
“So that’s what we should do.” Julia’s statement was enough to surprise Ben, but she wasn’t talking about what Carver insinuated. Honestly she was paying little regard to what the two men were saying. “We find out what they want. We ask some more questions and get some more answers. Then we make a decision on what to do with them after we hear their story. But we need all the committee to make a choice like that.” She looked at Alana. “Can you find Lesly and Chakrabarti, sweetheart, and bring them back to the security room?”
“No, I’ll go find them,” Ben intervened. “Alana, just go back to our aisle.”
“Dad, I can do it! I’ll find them faster than you anyway.” Alana’s teenage angst was coming through her tone.
“I just don’t want you to have to come back there. There’s a lot going on and I don’t want you mixed up in all this.”
“Too late for that, dad.” She turned to jog off.
“Keep this quiet, Alana,” Julia called to the young girl, who stopped to listen. “Don’t tell anyone about what’s going on other than what they already know.” The young girl nodded and ran off, and Julia turned to the men, “Let’s go.”
She went past Carver and Ben and they followed after. As they entered the security room, Nadine spun around in her chair, looking a shade redder than she was earlier. The display in front of her was the cause of her blush and her excitement.
“Uh, you guys… those things at the door are starting to get more aggressive. Please tell me we’re going to do something about them soon.” Nadine was shaking her foot so rapidly under her chair she was starting to bounce in her seat.
Julia went to Anderson standing near the broom closet and ordered him to open it again. The soldier looked to Carver. “Open the damn door.” Julia was about ready to snatch the keys again from the military man. Carver just nodded behind her and Anderson went to open the closet.
Again, Antonio came lashing out, this time with a broken broomstick in his zip-tied hands. He swung it around and even knocked Anderson back, but when he charged at the unflinching major, Baker stepped in and stopped the boy mid-attack. Baker dropped Antonio to the floor and put a pistol to his head.
“This kid just doesn’t learn,” Baker said under his breath.
Antonio cracked back, “Fuck you.”
“Everyone stop!” Julia shouted, just as the bickering was beginning. She didn’t need to say anything more to quiet the room. She eyed the captain, standing over the boy, and Baker backed off some. Julia began to drag an empty table away from the wall to the center of the room; the scraping was the only noise now.
Ben grabbed two folding chairs from out of the closet. He noticed Miles in the back corner rocking back and forth and mumbling to himself. “Hey, are you ok? Miles?” Ben remembered the small boy’s name, but his saying it wasn’t enough to spur the boy out of the closet.
Miles didn’t respond. He just continued rocking.
“Ben, could you bring those chairs over.” Julia set up a chair for herself and sat down on one side of the table with her hands folded in front of her.
Ben set up the chairs opposite her, and Baker picked up Antonio, stuffing him into the seat across from Julia. The young boy looked at her and rolled his eyes. Baker went to the closet to get Miles, but with each command to come out, Miles just continued rocking and shaking his head, refusing to exit the small space.
“C’mon kid!” Baker shouted.
“He ain’t gon come out,” Antonio said, looking over his shoulder at his brother. “He ain’t gon come out cuz y’all took his phone.”
Julia peered into the closet and saw the