I suddenly remembered I have to end this series at some point.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven: Run Through the Jungle
**Carol**
They rolled into a camp that was highly secure by the looks of the guards in heavy body armour who patrolled around a perimeter made up of busses pulled around a large fancy looking office building of sorts surrounded by a tent city.
The further the left Georgia behind, the more anxious she got. Not for herself or the Lieutenant, but for her baby girl.
It was a miracle at her age she even had another and survived, but here she was squandering her opportunity at the hands of some terrifyingly stoic men.
As the SUV pulled up out front of the building, she spied a melange of uniformed men emerge, all of them seeming to flank a towering military man in full dress uniform, complete with hat and gloves.
She swallowed thickly.
Wilkens and Hartnell ushered both her and the Lieutenant out of the vehicle and practically dragged them before the officer.
He gave the Lieutenant a run for his money in height, his shoulders just as broad and powerful, his waist just as boyish, giving him a striking figure. But his handsome face was severe, intense, and almost stern.
"Major General, we have a new gun for the Corps."
The man studied Carol, before quirking a brow and motioning to her.
"Ah, me," the Lieutenant said. "They probably mean me. Though she's not too shabby with a rifle."
Sighing lightly, the officer spoke. "I could care less, take new recruits up with the General. You both know recruits aren't my job."
"Major General Gauthier, we both—"
"Both what?" The officer snapped.
Carol noticed this man's commanding tone hushed the two men who had taken them by force to this place and covered a smirk with a twitch of her nose.
Staring down both Hartnell and Wilkens with olive oil eyes, the officer then repeated his inquiry. "Both what?"
"The President said—"
"Gentlemen, until I hear it from the President's own wine stained lips, I don't do anything I don't feel like doing. Take these recruits to the General."
"Sir," Carol broke in softly, catching the man's attention again.
His intense eyes stared her down. They were emotionless and hard and she felt as though they could cut through steel.
"Sir," she went on, "we didn't ask to be brought here. To be honest we were doing just fine on our own. I'd like your permission to leave, please?"
The man stared at her for a solid three minutes, unblinking, barely breathing, before he quirked his brow higher and said, "not my problem, ma'am. Take it up with the General."
As the man walked away, Carol scowled a little and grumbled to the Lieutenant, "with an attitude like that I'll make it his problem."
The Major General's footsteps faltered and she knew he heard her.
They were brought into the building, deep, deep inside it, passing people working in the offices like nothing had changed.
Carol scowled mildly at them. How milk fed they looked, how spoiled and clean they were. Like they were still clinging to the old world.
Didn't they know the rest of the country was cast into hell?
In a large office waiting room, they were told by some secretarial looking woman that the General wasn't seeing anyone.
Wilkens and Hartnell both seemed to be growing impatient.
Beside her in one of the waiting room chairs, the Lieutenant lounged idly, hands behind his head, cradling it as he stuck his long legs out almost smugly.
"Bureaucracy in action," he exclaimed loudly.
"This is ridiculous," she growled lowly to him. "I just want to go home. Why did they even bring us here? They obviously don't need the manpower."
"Marines are useful," the Lieutenant said. "Especially in a state that touches water like Florida."
"Yeah, well, you're useful back home. I'm useful back home."
Reaching over, the Lieutenant gripped her hand warmly and said, "don't worry, ange. We just have to bid our time."
"Scout might not have time," she said.
Grimly, the Lieutenant withdrew his hand and sat back, suddenly more morose and thoughtful.
"I'll handle these two," someone spoke from across the waiting room. "Until the General's ready for visitors."
Carol looked up and found a short military man standing there in his dress uniform holding some files, peering at them from behind black framed, Army issued glasses.
"Thanks, Colonel," Wilkens said.
The man nodded and moved to stand before Carol and the Lieutenant as Wilkens and Hartnell slunk out of the room.
"I'm Colonel Kravitz," he greeted. "Welcome to Jacksonville."
"Lieutenant Lafayette Vancoughnett and this is my wife Carol."
Kravitz looked them over quietly, his outward attitude and appearance drastically different from the first officer they encountered. This man looked friendly enough, though he didn't smile, his eyes read kindness. He looked to be a little older than Major General Gauthier, possibly in his late forties, with softer eyes an indecipherable shade between hazel and grey.
Carol hoped they could plead their case to him better.
"Follow me," the man said in a sweet, almost shy tone. "I'll get you settled with some rations and a place to rest up."
Following the Lieutenant's example of biding their time, Carol followed the man obligingly back down the way they came.
"Where are you from?" He asked conversationally as they took the stairs.
"Georgia," she said, not wanting to be specific.
"Just the two of you?"
"Been Carol and I for a long time now," the Lieutenant said.
"Must have been hard when the groups of them moved through camp," the Colonel said.
"It wasn't too bad, we kept deep in the woods, high in a stand. I work best at a height, you understand."
"Rifleman?" The Colonel asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Good, we could use more on the wall."
"To be honest," Carol decided to try, "we'd kind of like to go home."
Stopping short on the stairwell, the Colonel looked at her for a moment, tilting his head studiously, before he offered her a small smile. "Well, I'd like to help, but being that your fellow there is a Marine, his duty is to the President now. You're free to go, however, if you'd like."
"So, we're against our will here?" The Lieutenant asked.
"You're a Marine," the Colonel said. "I'd like to arrange for the Corps to discharge you, if that's what you want, but…you're in the service and my hands are tied legally."
"Legally?" Carol asked. "What legal system still exists? Do you know what it's like out there?"
Colonel Kravitz sighed. "I do. Believe me, I know what's going on outside these walls. But I'm sorry, the law is the law." He continued walking. "It's not so bad here," he assured them. "We abide by all laws instituted by the United States of America, there's fresh water and plenty of beds and canned goods."
"But no freedom?" Carol inquired.
"Not for him, sorry." The Colonel looked at her sincerely. "Really. I am. I don't want to be here either, to be honest I hate Florida, I was only down here visiting my parents in Boca Raton. I was working my way north when they found me and brought me here."
"Your parents…" Carol began.
"They're with me here, my little girl too."
Smiling, she asked, "how old?"
"Eight, she was a late comer, but I'm glad she came."
The smile of fatherly pride was unmistakable on the Colonel's face and so Carol decided to play her hand.
"We have a little girl too," she said. "Back home."
"You weren't alone?" The Colonel asked with wide eyes.
"Would you tell strangers you have more family in these times?" The Lieutenant broke in.
Eyeing them sombrely, the Colonel asked, "not all of them are relations though?"
Carol shook her head.
Dropping his head, the Colonel sighed again. "I can't help them. We have a strictly relations policy here. We can't take in surplus. I'm sorry. But we can send soldiers to get your little girl, if you want?"
That was out of the question and Carol shook her head.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," the Colonel said. "Well, you are free to go, Carol. If you wish, and at some point if you come back with your daughter, we can take you both in for the Lieutenant."
"Thank you," Carol said.
"I'm sorry," the Colonel apologized sincerely. "I wish Hartnell and Wilkens never found you. They can be persuasive."
As they walked once more, hitting the basement of the building, the Lieutenant said conversationally, "so this President…you meet him?"
"It's too much of a safety risk for anyone to meet with the President except for the General. The General meets with him, gets his orders and relays them to the officers, we carry them out. Each officer is in charge of a different aspect of the camp."
"What's your duty?" Carol asked.
"Normally? Not getting new comers settled," the Colonel said with a grin. "But I am in charge of personnel, so if there's any issue with anything, you let me know."
"You're a Ranger," the Lieutenant said after a moment. "Seem a little small for a Ranger."
"Small and Jewish," the Colonel said. "I like it that way. Lulls people into a cocky sense of superiority."
"Hey, I wouldn't fight you." The Lieutenant exclaimed lightly. "If you're a Ranger, I won't challenge you at all, sir."
"That's good," the Colonel returned. "I like you, but I'd ruin that pretty face, Marine."
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"Here's a room for you two to bunk down in," the Colonel said, opening an old janitorial closet for them. It had a bunk bed shoved at the back and nothing else. "Sorry, it's cramped and not cozy for a married couple, but it's indoors, which believe me, is the Promised Land for a lot of personnel out there."
"It's fine," Carol said. "Thank you."
"I have meal vouchers for you, these have to last a week, so…don't try for seconds," the Colonel counted out some cheap little ticket type tokens for them. "Showers are on the main floor, by the gym, feel free to use the complimentary soap and shampoos left in there. There's plenty of towels and hot water. If you need anything, genera inquiries are on the first floor by the cafeteria. But don't hesitate to grab me if you see me for anything."
"Thank you, Colonel."
The officer smiled and said, "I hope you manage to get your girl here with you. I'm sorry you were separated."
"It's not your fault," she assured him, reaching out and touching his forearm warmly.
"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay. Lieutenant, up by eight, you can check in with the Corps Colonel in the front lobby." The man finished, before backing out of the room and leaving them to their own devices.
Closing the door behind him, Carol sighed and turned to the Lieutenant.
He reached up and pulled the cord on the bare bulb, illuminating them.
"So?" She said.
"You have to go," he said simply, moving to the bunks, pressing the mattress to feel them for firmness.
"I'm not leaving you," she argued.
"Your baby girl is more important. I know you can fend for yourself on the way back," he replied, hopping onto the bottom bunk and curling into a comfy ball.
"Lieutenant," she argued. "I'm not leaving you here."
"It's not so bad," he stated. "They seem more stable than most. I'll be fine. But your little girl won't."
"I can't. I won't walk into that convent without you."
Hopping up, the Lieutenant pressed a finger to his lips. "I wouldn't put it past the military to bug our room," he whispered.
"Sorry," she whispered back.
"Listen, ange, I don't think I'm in any real threat here," he said. "You should go home. If push comes to shove I can always find some way out of here. Don't let anyone come after me. These men are all trained and they're not some backwoods militia a half-cocked Colonel cooked up in Tennessee. These men are damned good, the best of the best. If anyone comes here looking for trouble, they won't make it back alive."
"I'm not leaving you," Carol insisted. "We'll get out of this together."
"Your daughter—"
"We're going home together," she insisted firmly. "Now just listen to me. I have a plan."
"I'm listening," the Lieutenant said. "And I'm also a little scared of you right now. Please don't yell at me."
Smiling despite the dire situation, Carol grabbed hold of his uniform front and said, "be serious."
"What's your plan?"
"Well, I think our best shot is selling our situation to the President or even the General, in order to get close to either, we'd be best if I got close to the Major General."
The Lieutenant pulled away a little and frowned. "How close?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter," she scolded him. "Well, whatever it takes, but not that just yet. I want to get a feel for this Major General, get to know him, maybe appeal to his human side."
"I don't know, ange. He might not have a human side. Seems to me he's a real model of a modern Major Gen—"
"Just don't," she pleaded, on the verge of laughing. "I'm serious.
"Alright, you work on him, but we might also want to play up the Colonel's sympathy, he might not have the pull, but I wouldn't write him off as useless yet."
Carol nodded. "In the meantime, keep playing dumb, I think it lessens your threat."
"Playing?!"
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DarylDixon'sLover - Maybe you better read back a few chapters...
RandomMoonshadow - The new big bad should be interesting this round.
Yazzy x - Yes, those babies need their parents. Poor little ducks.
itsi3 - Well, thank you.
Surplus Imagination - I'm hoping the next chapter will be Daryl and Grace working together. Should be interesting to write.
Guest - Thank you! Sorry for the late update! College has been nuts.
Padgaent - Probably not the best way to encourage a writer to continue a story. Sarcasm is never a good option, my friend.
alibabwa - Reviews like yours remind me that this story is loved, thank you for the encouragement!
RuinNyght - Sorry! I'm hoping to get this one finished! I didn't mean to get swept away by school, but as mentioned previously, college is nuts.
Claire Randall Fraser - Again, sweet reviews like yours are some lovely encouragement and a friendly reminder to write more. Thanks for your support!