"But why isn't that real?" Lucas asked, furrowing his brow. "They're talking to eachother, or whatever. Just because they can't see eachother...?"
Luke was the kind of person with a lot of questions. Half of the time they sprouted from real curiosity -- he was a smart kid, decently well-read for having barely entered highschool -- and the other half for the sake of being difficult. He was very good at that, to the point where it felt pointless to resist; Alana was the only one he managed consistently for. Luke trusted his aunt sincerely, which meant that he usually believed what she said, even if he liked pressing for more answers. She just had a way of explaining the world that Lucas appreciated, maybe.
He shrugged at her mentioning the sheer amount of people they'd seen. It was true: there were a lot of them here, way more than he'd ever encountered in Rhode Island after that first night at the docks, but that wasn't what overwhelmed Lucas. The authority was. He wasn't used to seeing anyone try to govern anyone. It looked wrong, and what's more -- it felt wrong, too, which was why they'd ended up in Quarantine in the first place. Luke didn't regret that, though. Sort of.
"I don't know," he told Alana finally, shaking his head. "I don't feel sorry for any of them."
Adapt or die, right? But maybe here it was adapt... or be judged by a nineteen year old kid on the intranet. Lucas snickered at the thought, but then a silence fell between them, and it made him feel very small.
"Hey," he said, after a quiet moment. "Knock knock."