Author Note:
Well, I started out with two readers and ended with two. I suppose I lost one and gained one somewhere along the way. I'll try harder next time. :)
But as for my reviewers, I thank you deeply for reading and reviewing with such uplifting comments. I will most likely be writing a sequal set after Carlos sacrifices himself in RE: Extinction. I think I might even move on to K-Mart leading the convoy beside Claire. Who knows?
Thanks again, and anyone else that reads this, please give reviews!!
&.&
Carlos and K-Mart had settled into their more separate ways once more, spending days with little more than a good morning hug and wave during the day more frequently than they spent them together. When she was spending time with one of the protective group, it was usually Claire or Mikey, who showed no back bone when it came to the girl. Something about Carlos's little sister disarmed the Australian man, and he was often seen playing endless games of Shell Attack (the name given to the game played with empty bullet shells) with the competitive girl.
K-Mart was quickly becoming ring leader for the children and teens of the convoy, her inner strength and independence revealing itself as each attack from the undead threatened them. She had become very adept with the M-15, and was near as deadly a shot as Carlos or Claire. Even those that were older than K-Mart by a few years admired the girl as she rattled off clip after clip of bullets, rarely missing her mark. Carlos sometimes worried how the girl would take it when she would be unable to save one of those children, but for now, he had little to worry about. What few undead K-Mart failed to down, Carlos took out quickly as he kept his close guard on the group during the attacks.
After each go with the infected, Carlos watched Claire's pride grow as she watched K-Mart turn in her gun. Every time the girl survived, each child that the young teen saved another life, it made her more and more like Claire. She was not becoming as cold as the woman, but she was earning the respect of the convoy, and gaining the strength and leadership that crowned Claire. Carlos had his suspicions that when she was old enough, Claire would pass the leadership of he convoy to K-Mart. It was a frighteningly big responsibility, but one that K-Mart would easily be capable of later on. He was watching Claire groom and prepare her for the role with his own eyes, even if Claire herself was not aware of it. Carlos would have logically been next in line to lead the convoy, should anything happen to Claire, but he didn't want the job. He was a protector, not a leader. But K-Mart was quickly becoming one, and he had no question that she would be just as fine and strong a leader as Claire some day in the future.
The longer Carlos went without K-Mart as his constant shadow, the more he was reminded of how lonely life was without someone o depend upon for company and unconditional love. Still, he knew that it was better this way. The less attached they were to one another, the more likely they were to survive. As it was, he still had his quiet days alone with the girl from time to time, and he cherished them. And during the days he was not spending with her, he was often watching from unseen shadows, smiling as he gazed at his sister in pride.
Even if it was better for them to stay separate most of the time, they still had each other, and the powerful love they shared. He could ask for little more in a time like this.