The Orphans (Book 5): Civil War Read Free Page A

get less and less supplies those who aren’t workers and necessary to the continuation of our base are going to be on the road.”
    Greg opened the door before he could say anything back. When he stepped back out into the hallway Joey was standing there and he looked more than a little concerned. “Greg… Greg, did you do something to him? Is he okay, you didn’t hurt him, did ya?”
    “Nothing a day of taking it easy isn’t going to heal on its own, Joey. Don’t worry about it, kids like that can take a beating all day. They have to be able to or they wouldn’t ever survive this.”
    Joey picked up Greg’s gear and handed it to him. “Greg you gotta stop hurting people just because they say something dumb. I got thick skin. They don’t hurt my feelings that bad. I've dealt with it for years. I'm special and I know that, it is okay to be special.”
    Greg threw on his gear nodding and said, “No, you aren’t special, Joey, you aren’t different. You are just a survivor like me, like Patrick, Clary, and even Chris, but the difference between you and him is you treat every day with the respect that it deserves. You don’t take things for granted and that is just one of the reasons why everyone on this base loves you. You contribute, you fight, and in my book that is better than anything.”
    *****
    Shaun sat next to Ellie while the two of them were finishing their lunches. Ellie said, “I need to get out of this place, Shaun. I’m seriously going to lose it if I don’t get a day pass. It’s April, the frigid weather is over, and soon we can start doing fires at night and have a little piece of normalcy. But I can’t do any of those things if I don’t get out of here. I mean at some point someone’s going to start asking what I do to get a free ride. I heard the stories from visitors saying how a few people had to leave.”
    “They left because they stole and were a waste of space, Ellie. If anyone has any issues with you not contributing while you were healing then they can talk to me. I promise you that there’s nothing you have to worry about. For God sakes we were the ones that knew about the base and did all the shit work trying to get it set up early on. By the time anyone that wasn’t one of our original group, plus the kids from the orphanage, came it was practically already safe and secured. We, unlike them, actually had losses after the start of this. We weren’t hiding like the rest. We were actually, from day two, trying to do something to end this hell.”
    Ellie said, “Right, but we only left the cabin because of Patrick.”
    “You sure your heads okay? We went right back down that hill once Greg and Kristy told us they were looking for any research that could have been helpful. In all honesty meeting the Seals was probably the best thing that could have happened to us. I mean, we never would have learned anything that we know now. These skills going forward are what keep us alive.”
    Ellie watched his intensity in his facial features and knew that he always had a plan and that even while they were talking he was probably thinking of it. “Yeah, well I’m going to need to spend some serious time at the range after this. It’s been awhile since I’ve been behind the trigger of anything. I’m not going back out again until I can handle the gun. I don’t want to put anyone in a predicament where they need to save me because I can’t handle my own gear.”
    “You aren’t going anywhere, Ellie, until you can run again. Lou still thinks that you need more time to heal. He said the only reason you are getting released early is because you’ve been okay in all the other checkups. He said you need to take it easy and-”
    “Shaun, stop please, I get it, okay? I’ve been sitting here during all these conversations. He warned me, he told me about taking it easy and doing a little at a time. There’s no rush, but like I said if I don’t get out of this little room I’m going to lose