We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Nine

Nocona, TX

          After she finished saddling cobalt, Paige lifted two of the four burlap sacks and hung them around the horn of the saddle, then tied them down. She strapped the other two to the back. She hated the smell, and she knew Cobalt did too, but this might be the only way for them to get around. If it even worked. They couldn't just stay in the barn for the rest of their lives, as peaceful as it may sound. The burlap sacks added extra weight to the saddle, but Cobalt was a big horse and Paige knew he wouldn't have troubling carrying them. The fact that they were filled with zombie guts, however, might present a problem. Paige shivered again as she thought back to the whole procedure: cutting into the dead body, pulling out its insides, stuffing them in bags. It was enough to make a person sick. Especially after rubbing more of the stuff into her uncle's trench coat and wearing it. Not Paige though. It was hard to make Paige sick; she had a strong stomach, and that was a good thing, with everything that was happening.
          She sighed as she tied on the last bag. "Okay boy," she whispered to Cobalt, "Moment of truth." She walked to the front of the barn and slid one of the huge doors open. She expected the zombies to have returned by now, but the farm was empty except for her and Cobalt. She walked back to her horse and swung into the saddle. Then, making sure that it was secure, she gently squeezed her legs against his sides while giving him a small kick with her heels. That was all he needed. Cobalt took off running, almost at a full gallop, across the field. At first it was difficult for Paige because the bags kept hitting her legs and the bow and quiver slung over her back made it hard to keep pace with the horse, but she managed. Cobalt slowed to a steady lope as they got into town, and Paige pulled back on the reins, slowing him even more to just a walk. There was a group of zombies crowding around something in the middle of the street. Paige wanted to know what, but if she knew that if she acted suspicious she might get caught. That is, unless the disguise didn't work already. Then she would be dead.
          She started to move Cobalt past the group when one of them lifted its head, and Paige froze. It was the man from the farm. The one that had come at her after the she fell out of the loft door. She winced as she remembered the horrible howling noise. The leg in the man's hands didn't help to calm her down. He only stared at the two for a few seconds before turning around and biting into the leg. Paige looked away and focused on keeping Cobalt calm. He kept tossing his head up and he'd sidestep every once in a while, shying away from any of the zombies.
          After a while, though, Paige started to relax. Other than the occasional glance or sniff, the zombies didn't seem to pay much attention to her and Cobalt.
          "Zombies." she muttered to herself, "I knew most of these guys before, and now they're just...zombies. Monsters from a horror movie." Suddenly Cobalt stopped and jerked his head toward the side. Paige pulled it forward and then nudged him, but he just backed up and snorted. She gave him a small kick, and only succeeded in almost getting herself thrown to the ground. She held the reins tight as Cobalt tried to move forward, into a small grocery store by the side of the road. The horse threw his head more and snorted, then pawed at the pavement. Paige gave him a weird look. What was going on with him? He was normally calm, and even when they had passed the group coming into town, he hadn't acted this bad. So why change all of a sudden? Finally she slid out of the saddle and grabbed the reins, then pulled Cobalt's head to hers and whispered softly, hoping to calm him down. It'd worked in the past, so why not try it now? After a few seconds of this, Cobalt finally started to calm down. Paige gave his forehead a quick scratch and was about to jump back on when she saw his ears swivel back. She knew that meant he'd heard something. And lately, they'd only been hearing one thing out here.
          Paige held tight onto the reins and pet Cobalt calmly as she stared into the face of a zombie just feet away from them. Paige didn't recognize him, although she wasn't sure that mattered too much now. He wouldn't notice them though. None of the others before had. He was just the same. He moved the same, looked the same, made that same, weird growling noise. But there was one difference. Instead of just walking by, he sprinted at Paige, ramming into her chest and throwing her to the ground. Cobalt screamed and reared up, but he didn't run.
          Paige gasped when she hit the concrete. Maybe the guy had played football before this. It would've made sense. Paige thought so as she pushed against him with her hands and feet, and couldn't help but think that this was the second time she'd been attacked in one day. She was struggling to keep him away; he was stronger than the woman from the farm, and Paige felt like her arms would snap at any second. She could feel his breath on her neck, hear his teeth snapping and flinging spit and blood around. Terror ran through her body as she realized she couldn't push the thing away, and the clamping jaws were getting closer by the second. Then he stopped. He stopped everything and collapsed, pinning Paige under his weight. She felt him being pulled off of her, but didn't make a move to help. She laid there until she heard a woman's voice yell at her. Then someone yanked get to her feet and dragged her into the grocery store that Cobalt had been so excited about.