Alan, who was in front, asked in a cold tone, "Is it just you two?"
"Answer the question!" Riya knew these kids might be lying, so following Alan's lead, she decided to be a bit more aggressive—at least until they knew they weren't lying.
"Don't shoot us… We're the only ones; our parents died." Both kids shook their heads. They weren't that young; they could easily be thirteen years old.
In some ways, Alan's situation might be similar to these kids standing before them. If they weren't willing to accept them, those kids would probably die later.
They had been smart to see them killing infected. If this wasn't a trap, Alan admired the bravery and intelligence of these kids for deciding to come all this way, risking death along the way.
Looking at the two trembling kids, although wholeheartedly, Alan wanted to accept them. After all, there was a girl to care for and unite more—a group that would turn into a daycare.
Riya looked at Alan; she knew perfectly well what he was thinking, so she said, "Whatever your decision is will determine if they live or die."
"Can you carry these suitcases?" Alan pointed at the suitcases on the ground without approving or denying anything.
"We can, sir."
"All right, before we move further, what are your names?" Riya smiled behind her helmet when Alan accepted them.
"I'm Amanda, and my brother is Cristian. We're siblings." Amanda stepped forward to greet them.
Alan, who was scanning the surroundings, said, "We need to hurry. I don't want anyone else to see us."
Since they had to return with Sofía, there was little time to lose, so everyone set off knowing they had to move fast. In less than an hour, the suitcases were in the truck. Alan, who was driving, looked at those kids; they were strangers, unlike Clementine, who was Carol's daughter.
Given the time that had passed, Alan was surprised that after some driving, they had just run into Clementine, who, according to the original story, should have died at the hands of the infected.
Now he better understood that decisions could change many people's lives. Knowing everything one could go through, Alan appreciated life much more.
This whole world he still had to know was full of people worth it. At least there was still hope to save certain people.
When they returned, Alan prepared to leave this place. They had to keep moving to find Clementine's group and, in the meantime, figure out how to contact their people.
At least now he had an urgency to return. Riya had to see her mother, and there were many more things to do now that she could save others she never considered before.
Alan wasn't very enthusiastic about relating to people he thought he knew. The last time, his girlfriend died because he got so obsessed with it that he lost sight of what was most important.
"What do we do now?" Riya broke the silence after taking off her mask.
Alan looked in the rearview mirror and said, "We'll find a way to repair the radio, contact the base, and they'll send a rescue helicopter."