Two Alive, стр. 27

“Escort them.” Ben attempted to soften the major’s words.

“Can I get my phone back?” Miles asked Julia.

Julia looked at Ben then at Carver.

“No.” Carver said curtly. “We can’t take the chance that phone still works and they’ll try calling their people outside.”

“You cannot be serious.” Ben looked at the major, almost outraged. Carver just closed his eyes to him and to Miles, who was softly sobbing to himself. Antonio nudged him and told his brother to stop.

Manson turned around and took off for the security room. “I’ll go back to the office and make sure Burrows and Castle got that body out of there. They can get rid of it with Anderson and Bates.” He was moving faster than he had been through this whole ordeal. He reached the office in a rush and grabbed the radio on the table next to Nadine. With delicate fingers, he pressed the call button and began to speak. “Castle and Burrows, could you please return to the security room. Over.” Manson was almost whispering into the receiver.

“We’re right here, doc.” Burrows came backing out of the office with the infected corpse in hand, still wrapped in a blanket. Burrows was holding the head and Castle came out soon after, carrying the feet of the corpse with his nose turned up.

“Oh good.” Manson put the radio down and Nadine shook her head at him. The doctor didn’t notice and went over to the men to talk privately with them. “Hide the body,” he said with hushed words.

“What?” Burrows looked at him, irritated and confused.

“Take the body and hide it in my lab. There’s still more I can learn about it. Perhaps even discover some way to combat the virus.”

“Your lab?” Burrows was shushed by the scientist because of his speaking too loudly.

“We’re not trying to carry this thing all over the place.” Castle looked down at the body in his hands and was repulsed at the thought of touching even the blanket wrapped around it.

“Just take it to my lab, quickly. Think about it, gentlemen. The possible cure is right in front of us. Don’t you want to be a part of that? Don’t you want the world to know that you had a hand in the revitalization of civilization?”

When Manson heard the others coming from the hallway to the security room, he peeked over his shoulder and pressed his glasses back up the ridge of his nose. “Thank you, kind sirs. Please dispose of that— striker— post haste.” He winked at the two army men as discreetly as he could, though it still looked awkward to them. It was a gesture he wasn’t familiar with.

Burrows and Castle shuffled aside, Burrows shaking his head as he did, and the two boys stopped at the doorway to the office with Baker standing behind them.

“Here you go. Your new living quarters,” Manson said with a half-smile.

“What’s up with you?” Antonio asked bluntly.

The doctor looked at him strangely. “What ever do you mean?”

Antonio eyed the scientist and felt a weird vibe from him. There was something about Manson that rubbed him the wrong way and the boy could tell there was something more to him that was sinister and dark. Baker ordered the boys into the room and they did as they were told. Miles went in first, looking around the almost empty space. There was a desk, a coffee table in front of the couch that doubled as a pull-out mattress, and a small rug on the floor. There was no window to the outside, though a window to the monitor room was behind the couch. The walls were vacant, with stains where posters might have been once. Miles could tell no one stayed in here. It was too clean and even smelled like someone had sprayed surface cleaner everywhere.

“Nobody stays in here?” Miles said through muted sniffles and looked back at Ben at the doorway.

“Uh, no it’s fine. We typically only use this room for meetings,” Ben replied, smiling.

“What a waste.” Miles turned and looked around the room again.

Antonio entered the office and plopped down on the couch. “Y’all watchin’ movies later, can we get a tv in here? Can we watch somethin’?”

“This isn’t a hotel.” Baker made his way to the boys and cut the zip ties around their wrists.

The army captain left the office and Ben stood at the doorway, trying to think of something to say to make the boys feel at home. To make them feel safe. He lingered for so long that the boys stopped inspecting the office and gave him their attention. But when Carver started closing the door, Ben gave up and simply exited with a smile and “goodnight.” The door closed, and Carver locked it.

Miles went to the window that faced the monitor room and watched the adults go back into the inner store. Baker ordered Anderson to stay behind to stand guard and Nadine was still sitting at the camera screens. Miles was really hoping to spot Ben’s daughter, Alana, again but she was nowhere to be found.

Antonio yawned big and covered his mouth. “This that bullshit right here. We shoulda just stayed at the hide-away.”

“We can still get some food from here.” Miles was so close to the glass, his breath was starting to fog it up.

“These people are all gonna die.” Antonio laid down on the couch.

“I wanna sleep on the bed. It’s a bed in the couch. I wanna sleep on the bed.” Miles turned away from the window and went to his brother.

“Naw man. I’m on the bed. I’m already layin’ here.”

“No! You can’t have the bed.”

The two brothers stared at each other before Antonio sat up. They both held out a balled fist, preparing to play rock, paper, scissors.