"If you think it'd be so easy, why haven't you gone out there yourself?" This man wasn't the first he'd encountered that held such a low opinion of the world's fate. Too many injured and dying people in the infirmary would've agreed wholeheartedly to what this man was saying. Cheering them up with happy stories of years ago didn't work; those people had given up.
Elliot set his jaw, not deigning to respond to the man's cynicism. He kept quiet with the hope that the man — both of them, since the silent one had been nodding emphatically in agreement to the talkative one's words — would either change his pace or his direction.
Neither happened, to his great disappointment. However, Elliot was determined not to let either of these fools get the better of his good mood. He needed this. They all did. "I'm sure you're really good at that." With some effort, he stopped himself from telling the other man how useless he was. Elliot wouldn't stoop that low, not without proper provocation.