Two Alive, стр. 28
“I think all this goes without saying.” Martyn was shaking his head with his eyes down, lost in thought.
“No. Everyone needs to hear it out loud. This decision may have put the whole compound at risk. What happens next, we’re all responsible. Even me.” Carver went into a fit of coughing and his whole body shook.
“You can’t blame us for not wanting to just kill them out right, like you major.” Doctor Chakrabarti said. “Julia’s solution satisfies everyone in this situation. We should wait before we make any rash decisions.” Martyn wiped his forehead, feeling sweat on his brow from the tension of the past twenty or so minutes. A lot was being thrown at him, when earlier this morning his biggest issue was dealing with skid knees.
Carver covered his mouth and tried holding the coughs in, then after a minute or so, he started to speak. “And I hope you’re all prepared for the fallout.”
Everyone looked at each other and began to disperse. Martyn walked slowly towards the aisles, looking preoccupied. Lesly made some comment about the movie night. Though she was noticeably shaking, she pulled out her pocket mirror, checked her makeup and smile, and went off to find those who were preparing the night’s festivities.
Julia put her hands on her hips and looked between Carver and Ben. “We’re responsible, but you two put us all here.”
Carver chuckled. “Well you’re right there.” The major peered at Ben.
Ben met his gaze with equal measurement. Then he turned to Julia. “Thanks for being reasonable and helping everyone see a better option than what the major was suggesting.”
“Don’t think I don’t understand where Eric is coming from Ben.” Julia crossed her arms. “Those kids are really fucking smart when it comes to the infected, but they’re feral. Those kids are dangerous, and we have to be cautious.”
Ben sighed, nodding his head as he turned to leave. Julia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She stalled for a moment, looking at the major, almost about to speak.
“Whatever you’re about to say, don’t.” Carver glanced at her then glanced away.
Julia shook her head and decided to leave. Manson stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked at the door behind him anxiously. When he saw Burrows and Castle coming out, with Ryan Bates not far behind, he waited for recognition from the two men to tell him they had finished the task he gave them.
“Did you take care of the bodies in the dock?” Carver asked them.
“Yeah.” Burrows shook his head and knew the scientist was looking for reassurance. Manson eyed him with a narrow look.
“Burrows, Castle, go check with your patrol teams before going to your aisles.” Baker gave out orders to the men. “Bates, head over to the food banks and help out there.”
Carver grunted and began walking away, Baker close on his heels. “When the opportunity arrives… we’ll deal with those kids and do it quietly.” The major spoke in a low voice so only Baker could hear him. The captain nodded, and they continued.
Manson waited until Carver was out of earshot and called out to Burrows before he left. “So, it’s done? You took the body to my lab?”
Burrows sighed and rolled his eyes at the eccentric doctor. “Yeah, quack, it’s in your lab.”
Manson slowly started nodding his head. “Good. Good. This is good.” The doctor wandered off, murmuring to himself about things becoming more interesting.
Chapter 3
2 years prior—
It was an average Friday morning. Johnathan was sitting in his truck, across the street from Ascend Academy in east Oakland. He took a long drag from his vape pen and blew the smoke out the small opening in his window. He had already clocked in at the school two hours ago and was already ready to go home. He scratched his head full of short twists and made his way down to scratching his thick beard. After another drag from his pen, he saw Principal Michelle Weathers pull up in front of the school and she quickly jumped out of her Nissan.
She was rushing to the front door of the school with her orange hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Her rosy cheeks were turning redder from her struggle to get out of her car and Johnathan thought he better get out and help her. Not before spraying himself with a bottle of Febreeze just to be certain the smoke smell didn’t carry with him.
Michelle was fumbling with all the school supplies she was carrying in her arms and ended up dropping her coffee on the pathway to the door. “Shit!” she exclaimed.
Johnathan crossed the street and caught a pack of number two pencils she dropped before they hit the ground. “I got coffee going in the breakroom if you need a refill.” Johnathan was a lot taller than the principal and a few shades darker too.
Michelle looked at his blue jeans and black polo and saw they were both dirty. “Good morning Johnathan. What’s wrong now?” She gathered the mess on his clothes must have been from maintenance in the basement.
“The basement is nearly flooded, and the roof is leaking worse than it did yesterday,” Johnathan responded. He held open the front door to the building and Michelle entered, putting down all the supplies she was carrying on the front office desk.
“Damn it.” She let out a deep breath and looked at the vacant chair behind the front desk. “Did she call in?”
Johnathan shrugged his shoulders and reached over the desk to push the answering machine’s button. After a loud