on the display screen.
“How opposite?” Bret inquired.
“It will be five miles from the tip of the state park, apparently another four to the hospital after that,” Lloyd answered, his eyes narrowed on Jenna. His annoyance and impatience w ere evident as he stared hard at her, hoping that his military cold look would cause her to cave. Jenna shifted nervously, looking guilty and frightened, but she show ed no sign s of backing down. And I didn’t blame her. If I thought there was a chance my mother was still alive, I would do anything I could to get to her.
“How far is it to the hospital from the tip of the state park ?”
“Three point nine.”
Bret’s breath hissed out of him, I grimaced. Jenna tilted her chin up, her eyes narrowed slightly. “So it’s either another seven miles…”
“Or another thirteen,” Lloyd finished.
We grew silent; I could feel the tension in the air. “Well thirteen isn’t so bad,” I said softly.
“That is not the mission!” Lloyd said sharply.
“Lloyd…”
“We were given explicit instructions on our goal , and our approach.”
I was surprised by Lloyd’s insistence, but then again I had never been through boot camp, or military training. As far as he was concerned he had his orders and he was going to obey them. Jenna looked stricken; her eyes were wild with fear. “We were never told which route to take,” I said softly trying to make him see reason .
“We were told to take the safest and most direct route possible. This isn’t even on course.”
My patience was quickly unraveling. Jenna had a chance to see if her family was still alive, and we were going to take it. “Her parent ’ s lives…”
“ Our lives, the lives of many !” Lloyd interrupted angrily . “The needs of many greatly outweigh the needs of a few.”
“Lloyd!” I said sharply, shocked by his words.
His air of youthfulness vanished as he leveled me with a withering gla re. My eyes widened slightly as I took an involuntary step back. “I am not the bad guy here. You are the one that wanted to do this mission, and we will do it.”
“It’s only a slight detour.”
“It’s a six mile detour a l ong more populated roads.”
I looked helplessly at Bret and Jenna. Bret was thoughtful, his hands clasped behind his back as he rocked on his heels. Jenna looked about ready to cry, but there was a growing air of fury around her. “I’ll go by myself.”
“No one is going anywhere by themselves!” I told her . “Lloyd…”
“This is not a democracy.”
“We are not in the military!” I snapped at him .
Lloyd’s jaw locked. “I am , and I have my orders.”
“Enough!” Bret finally inserted. “We are not separating; we are not deviating from the mission. Part of our goal was to try and find survivors. Jenna has a lead on where we could find some. It i s part of the mission Lloyd, it may take us a little longer, but it is still part of the mission.”
I couldn’t stop the admiration and relief that filled me as I turned to Bret. I would have sat here and butted heads with Lloyd for hours until one of us just gave up or I completely lost my temper. Leave it to Bret to find reason and logic to use against the stubborn soldier , instead of anger and hostility.
“We cannot leave here knowing that we chance leaving survivors behind,” Bret continued, his tone level and encouraging.
Lloyd was silent for a few moments, thinking over Bret’s reasoning. “You ’ re right,” he finally relented. “We cannot leave the area without first se eking out the possible survivors.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, Jenna let out a small cry of delight as she threw her arms impulsively around Bret. I bit back a smile at Bret’s look of shock and disbelief as he awkwardly managed to hug her back. “Address?” Lloyd barked out.
Je
“How opposite?” Bret inquired.
“It will be five miles from the tip of the state park, apparently another four to the hospital after that,” Lloyd answered, his eyes narrowed on Jenna. His annoyance and impatience w ere evident as he stared hard at her, hoping that his military cold look would cause her to cave. Jenna shifted nervously, looking guilty and frightened, but she show ed no sign s of backing down. And I didn’t blame her. If I thought there was a chance my mother was still alive, I would do anything I could to get to her.
“How far is it to the hospital from the tip of the state park ?”
“Three point nine.”
Bret’s breath hissed out of him, I grimaced. Jenna tilted her chin up, her eyes narrowed slightly. “So it’s either another seven miles…”
“Or another thirteen,” Lloyd finished.
We grew silent; I could feel the tension in the air. “Well thirteen isn’t so bad,” I said softly.
“That is not the mission!” Lloyd said sharply.
“Lloyd…”
“We were given explicit instructions on our goal , and our approach.”
I was surprised by Lloyd’s insistence, but then again I had never been through boot camp, or military training. As far as he was concerned he had his orders and he was going to obey them. Jenna looked stricken; her eyes were wild with fear. “We were never told which route to take,” I said softly trying to make him see reason .
“We were told to take the safest and most direct route possible. This isn’t even on course.”
My patience was quickly unraveling. Jenna had a chance to see if her family was still alive, and we were going to take it. “Her parent ’ s lives…”
“ Our lives, the lives of many !” Lloyd interrupted angrily . “The needs of many greatly outweigh the needs of a few.”
“Lloyd!” I said sharply, shocked by his words.
His air of youthfulness vanished as he leveled me with a withering gla re. My eyes widened slightly as I took an involuntary step back. “I am not the bad guy here. You are the one that wanted to do this mission, and we will do it.”
“It’s only a slight detour.”
“It’s a six mile detour a l ong more populated roads.”
I looked helplessly at Bret and Jenna. Bret was thoughtful, his hands clasped behind his back as he rocked on his heels. Jenna looked about ready to cry, but there was a growing air of fury around her. “I’ll go by myself.”
“No one is going anywhere by themselves!” I told her . “Lloyd…”
“This is not a democracy.”
“We are not in the military!” I snapped at him .
Lloyd’s jaw locked. “I am , and I have my orders.”
“Enough!” Bret finally inserted. “We are not separating; we are not deviating from the mission. Part of our goal was to try and find survivors. Jenna has a lead on where we could find some. It i s part of the mission Lloyd, it may take us a little longer, but it is still part of the mission.”
I couldn’t stop the admiration and relief that filled me as I turned to Bret. I would have sat here and butted heads with Lloyd for hours until one of us just gave up or I completely lost my temper. Leave it to Bret to find reason and logic to use against the stubborn soldier , instead of anger and hostility.
“We cannot leave here knowing that we chance leaving survivors behind,” Bret continued, his tone level and encouraging.
Lloyd was silent for a few moments, thinking over Bret’s reasoning. “You ’ re right,” he finally relented. “We cannot leave the area without first se eking out the possible survivors.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, Jenna let out a small cry of delight as she threw her arms impulsively around Bret. I bit back a smile at Bret’s look of shock and disbelief as he awkwardly managed to hug her back. “Address?” Lloyd barked out.
Je
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