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

we’re up to?”
    “No, Greg, there’s definitely nights that I could use some privacy. God knows it wouldn’t break my heart not to hear you snoring at night.”
    “I would like my own room too,” Joey added. “I don’t like hearing people’s moans when they have nightmares. When I can’t sleep at night and I’m looking around with flashlights people look like they’re in pain. They look scared to, and sometimes I go over and wake them up because I think they’d be happier not dreaming that.”
    Greg said, “What happens then?”
    Shaun answered before Joey could. “A lot of the time it isn’t any better and that's when they start balling their eyes out.”
    Greg said, “And how do you know all that?”
    “Because, I don’t like to sleep either,” Shaun said. “I do better catching a couple short naps in the day. Just another reason I’d rather have my own room.”
    Greg whispered just before running off. “Hey, if you closed the deal with Ellie, maybe you wouldn’t need your own space so bad at night there, Fox.”
    Shaun prominently held up his middle finger for Greg and the three of them raced the rest of the way to the office to meet Aslin and Clary.
     

Chapter 2
     
    Aslin stared out the window checking his watch. “It doesn’t matter what time I tell those kids to show up, they aren’t ever early. I mean you would think having a clock in every single damn building would be enough to make them be on time. There isn’t a lack of places that they can find out what time it is. Do we need to go rob a watch store so everyone on base will have one less excuse?”
    Clary was leaning back and in no hurry for the kids to arrive. “I’m not in a hurry. It isn’t like Shaun hasn’t been preoccupied with Ellie lately. She gets out today, ya know.”
    “Yeah, but she still needs to take it easy. I already spoke to Lou, so if we end up leaving today or tomorrow she’s not going with. Last thing we need is for her doing something she thinks she can and then she gets hurt or worse. You remember what happened with Shaun last time?” Aslin said.
    “Well, it has been a whole two months, Aslin, but yeah, if what you are asking about is if I remember Shaun going off with a storage closet worth of blood bags and taking out an insane amount of the Turned by baiting them, then yes I have a small recollection of it.”
    “It was still dangerous, Clary, and the last thing he needs is the motivation to go do something like that again.”
    “Motivation? Are you kidding me? I’ve never met anyone who hates those things more than Shaun. He has always felt responsible for what his dad did, I’m pretty sure if we ever win this thing that he will be the one pulling the final trigger to put them down. He is a long term survivor; if he can refrain from doing anything else ignorant with grenades on ice then I’d say he’ll be around for some time to come.”
    “Right, I don’t think he’ll be doing anything like that for a while, Aslin. Damn hard to do that since the spring thaw finally hit. I won’t feel quite as bad about sending anyone else packing if the weather stays like this. I could handle these temps year around. That frozen tundra shit when Greg decided it was optimal time to leave sucked. It makes me wonder if those who stayed in Iowa were quitters.”
    “Yeah, I’m sure the whole population of settlers were quitters,” Aslin said. “It couldn’t have had anything to do with them seeing the soil. We’d be smart to get some supplies to start taking advantage of this land. There’s plenty of farmland across the field and surrounding the base that we could have a hell of a crop if we wanted to this year. We could get fresh vegetables and freeze them. Imagine an endless supply, even the people who don’t think they need to learn about firearms could contribute. There’s little as important as food.”
    Clary struck a match, lighting and cupped it around one of his cigars, thinking about it.