We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Eleven

Boston, Mass.

          Cora followed the group up the stairs, trailing at the back. When they got there, they were met by an empty and quiet hallway.
          "A few people here left when they figured out what was going on. They just panicked and ran. Because of that, a few of those things managed to get in, but we got rid of them before they could do anything." Jack explained.
          "Got rid of them?" Jay asked.
          "Megan's got some guns in her apartment." Cassidy said, and that was all they needed to know. Cora's hand brushed the handle of her own gun, which she had put back in her belt.
          "Most of the others are okay, though." Mica added. Cora stayed quiet until they stopped at a door in the middle of the hallway. Jack knocked on the door, then yelled, "It's us!" A second later, the door opened and Cora followed the small group in. It was one of the larger apartments, but it still felt crowded with everyone in there. There were about 8 people in the room, 3 not including the ones who had just come in, and Cassidy explained about the other 12 people staying in the apartments next to and across from theirs. They had wanted to stay close to each other.
          "What about the guns?" Jay asked.
          "We've got 4 guns altogether. That means a gun for every apartment." A woman answered him. She was tall and skinny with brown hair and blonde highlights, and in her hands she held a rifle. Cora guessed that this was Megan. She'd seen her a few times in the past, but they'd never really met.
          "Cora, Jay, this is Megan." Cassidy said, gesturing toward the woman. Then she pointed to the other two people in the room, a girl that looked to be 18, and a boy that was probably a couple years
younger. "This is Avery and Nick, brother and sister." Avery had bright but natural-looking red hair and blue eyes, and Nick had short dark brown hair and eyes to match. Cora waved, and Avery gave her a small nod, but Nick just stared off into space and Jay barely looked over at them. Cora and Avery exchanged a look. Boys. Apparently not overly-social creatures.
          "So how was it out there?" Megan asked. "Where did you come from, and how'd you get here? And what about your parents? Where are they?" Cora stiffened at the last question and fought to hold back the tears. She noticed Jay look at her and was thankful when he answered for her.
          "We came here from Cora's house. We jumped across roofs most of the way, except when we had to cross streets. And those things are everywhere. I got attacked by one. Our parents..."
          "You were attacked?" Megan interrupted. Cora noticed her grip on the gun tightened. She could tell that Jay noticed it too.
          "Um, yeah." he replied nervously.
          "Were you bitten? Or scratched, even? Did you get any of its blood on you?"
          "No." he answered quickly. "No to all of them. Why does it matter?"
          Megan's grip on the gun didn't lessen as she said, "The infection spreads through blood contact. We think so, anyway. One guy running by got attacked, and a few minutes later he was attacking other people. We can't take any risks." Cora knew she wouldn't shoot. Would she? Megan started to raise the gun up, but stopped when a gunshot sounded from one of the other rooms.
          "Dammit, what the hell's going on now?" She muttered angrily as she turned to the door and hoisted the gun to her shoulder. Screams echoed from the hallway outside. "Dammit..." she whispered, and Cora could almost see her hands shaking. The first gunshot was followed by others, along with more screams. Cora pulled out her pistol and glanced at Avery and Nick, who were watching the door with scared eyes. Jay was beside her, and he had his crowbar held up. Jack, Mica, and Cassidy were right behind him, although he didn't have any kind of weapon.
          Cora could see the fear creeping into Megan's eyes, and the rifle shook slightly in her hands. She almost dropped it when something slammed into the door, and they heard splintering. Another crash, more splintering. A final crash, and a hole formed in the wooden door. Megan shot the rifle at the person trying to claw his way through the door and to her. Cora moved closer to get a better look. As she did, the door practically exploded, sending bits of wood everywhere. Megan was on the floor, with another person pinning her down, snapping with his teeth. Cora shot the man without a moment's hesitation. Megan was back on her feet in seconds.
          "Let's get out of here." she said, walking towards the broken door.
          "What if there's more out there?" Cora asked, gripping the handle of her pistol.
          "Then we shoot them!" Megan yelled. Cora could tell that the attack had affected her noticeably. Her rifle was shaking like crazy, actually her whole body seemed to be, and her eyes had a wild and scared look to them. An almost crazy look that made Cora nervous.
          Cora and the others followed Megan out of the apartment. Cora stayed close to Megan. She might not be able to aim her gun with her shaking, so if they were attacked, then Cora was their only real defense from the front. Jay guarded at the back.
          The hallway was littered with bodies. Some had gunshots to the head, some were torn into until they were unrecognizable, and others were still twitching. She could tell that a couple had shot themselves; the guns were still held tightly in their hands. She wondered why, until she noticed the bites and scratches littering their bodies. Cora counted 10 bodies altogether. Weren't there 12 other people? She didn't want to try talking to Megan, so she whispered over her shoulder to Jay.
          "I think there might be survivors."
          "I'm not sure anyone could get out of this alive." He replied, his eyes glued to the bodies. One of the bodies next to them jumped up and snarled, but Jay hit it over the head once and it fell back to the floor. Cora winced when she heard the crack of the person's skull. Megan didn't acknowledge the attack and continued to lead them up to the roof of the building.
          "What are we doing up here?" Mica asked as they closed the metal door behind them.
          "I didn't have a better plan." Megan answered, turning to look at them. Her eyes lingered on Jay. Before she could do anything, Cora stepped forward.
          "You were attacked back there."
          "And...?" Megan asked, almost glaring at her.
          "Were you bitten? Or scratched, even? Did you get any of its blood on you?" Megan's eyes went wide, but she didn't reply.
          "Right." Cora muttered and turned away from her.
          "Hey!" She turned toward the voice that called from across the roof, and saw a boy, no older than 10, running towards them.
          "Ben!" Cassidy yelled and met him halfway, swinging him around in a hug. Cora recognized the name; Cass babysat his regularly. "Are you okay? Where's your parents? Did they get out?"
          Ben was crying, and he answered in between sobs, "I don't know what happened to them! A guy in our room went crazy, and they told me I had to go to the roof and wait. Why aren't they with you?" Cassidy didn't answer, she just pulled him into a tight hug. No one said anything. The only sound on the roof was Ben's cries.