We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Sixteen

          Three hours later Gavin and Martine were still in Gavin's car. He knew they had left Senoia by now and probably passed through other towns, but he wasn't sure where they were exactly because he'd been asleep for most of the ride. The two of them decided on switching to drive at least every two hours. Now Gavin was at the wheel, steering the car around other vehicles and debris littering the road.
          After sitting at the graves for a while, they had put all the gas cans into Gavin's trunk, along with any food that wouldn't spoil fast and anything they could fill with water. They also took a couple of thick blankets and pillows. Who knows when they might find a place that's safe and has a bed. Martine volunteered to drive first, and Gavin didn't argue. He'd just lost two, probably more actually, of his friends, so if he wanted to drive then Gavin was going to let him drive. They had considered going back into town, but Gavin hadn't been really close with anyone there, mostly because he stayed to himself and his video games. Besides Isaac, anyway, but he knew he couldn't get Isaac back. Martine had just moved from Utah, so he didn't even know that many people in Georgia, let alone any close friends. On the drive, they didn't see many people, at least not many that were still people. 
          Gavin swerved to avoid another one of the strangely infected people, almost running them off the road this time. Martine had fallen asleep almost right away, so he didn't complain. Straightening the car, Gavin continued on down the road.
          Almost six hours later, Gavin pulled the car over to a Big5 in another town and shook Martine.
   He woke with a start. "What..." He muttered, barely awake.
          "It's getting dark, and I don't know how much attention the headlights will draw, but I don't wanna risk it. We can stay here overnight, then get started again in the morning."
          "Sure..." Martine rubbed his eyes as he sat forward in his seat. "Just give me a few minutes..."
          Gavin smiled. "You can sleep when we get inside." He opened the door and got out of car, holding his gun in front of him. Martine didn't have a weapon, so he'd brought a shovel for protection. Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it, Gavin thought as he slowly walked toward the main doors. One of them was just a gap with shards of glass stuck in it, and once they got inside Gavin could tell that the place had been looted. Whoever did it must not have been able to carry a lot, though, because at one corner of the store there was still a few gun sitting in their display cases, which were also broken. Behind the cases, on a shelf in the wall, were little boxes of bullets. There was a lot, too. Gavin turned back to Martine.
          "Now you can get something better than a shovel. I hope you can shoot a gun." He said.
          Martine walked over and looked at the remaining guns. "Yeah, I think I can shoot one of these."
          "But you know how, right? Like you can aim and stuff?" Gavin asked as he pulled the a Desert Eagle off the shelf. He was surprised that a gun like this had been left. Then again, it was set near the m22's...there were more of those left behind than any other. They could do some damage, but it didn't surprise him that people would go for the bigger guns.
          "Of course I do." Martine said, like it was something Gavin should have known. "You just point it and pull the trigger." He took the Deagle from a suddenly worried Gavin, raised in front of him, looking down the sights, and Gavin moved to the side.
          "As long as you don't use it one me..." He muttered as Martine searched through the boxes for the right ammo. "I'm gonna get our stuff, you have fun with that."
          "Alright." Martine called back, still searching through the boxes. Gavin crept outside, looking around to make sure none of the infected were close by. He could hear faint moans somewhere down the street, but they didn't sound too close. He opened the back door of the pickup truck and pulled out the two big blankets and pillows, along with two cans of baked beans and bottled water. Struggling to keep everything off the ground, he carried it back inside an tossed it in a pile on the ground. Martine met him there. He was still holding the Deagle, but now he had a thigh holster for it.
          He pointed at the door with the broken glass. "We should do something about that."
          Gavin looked back at it. "We can probably just push some of those shelves in front of it."
          "Let's get to it then." Martine put the pistol away and they started pushing the nearest shelf in front of the door. They emptied it first so it would be easier to move. It was filled with tennis balls, rackets, badmitton birds, and nets. Once that was done, they set out the bedding in a corner opposite from the door and ate their 'dinner.'
          "You should get one of those guns." Martine said as he spooned out the last of the baked beans from their can.
          "I've already got a gun." Gavin replied, setting his empty can to the side.
          "Yeah, but what if something happens and you run out of ammo, or lose it? I think I'm gonna grab a few more tomorrow. Can't be too careful, right?"
          "Yeah, I guess." Gavin looked over at the guns, then around the rest of the store. "Hey, they've got some pretty nice shoes here. It's too bad they're so expensive."
         Martine laughed. "Yeah, that pair looks nice. Do you think they'd notice if it went missing?"
          Gavin shrugged. "I don't think they'll mind." They laughed a little while longer, then tried on some of the shoes. Gavin also took a neon yellow headband and goalie gloves to match. Martine grabbed a camouflage jacket and a bunch of backpacks to put their supplies in. He wasn't ready for the wiffle ball that came flying at his head from across the store.
          "Damnit Gavin!" He yelled, along with several phrases in Spanish that Gavin couldn't translate. But he could tell he was trying not to laugh. The two had barely had a full conversation since they left the farm, but it was like they had known each other a lot longer. Looking around some more, Gavin found a couple of bows and arrows to match, although they were blunts. He had no idea how to shoot a bow, but he thought it might be worth the try.
          "Martine!" He walked over with a large recurve bow and a quiver full of the blunt arrows.
          As soon as Martine saw them, he dove onto his stomach, as if already dodging the arrows. "Do you have any idea how to shoot that thing? If you don't, then get the hell away from me with it."
          Gavin laughed. "It can't be that hard." He put on the arrows on the string and laid it on the rest, then drew in back in the position that he'd seen Olympic archers in. It didn't work out that well. He only pulled it back a little when it just stopped. He tried again, almost yanking the string back, and this time, he had it completely drawn back. It must've had a heavy poundage, maybe that was why it was left behind. He wasn't very weak, but playing video games wasn't the best way to gain muscle.

          Out of the corner of his eye he saw Martine laying flat on the ground. He turned so he was facing one of the deer targets across the store, then let the arrow fly. It hit the wall—at least five feet above his target. "Aw..."

          Martine fell asleep almost an hour later, and Gavin decided to stay up and work with the bow. He was starting to improve when he got tired. After a few more shots, he retrieved the arrows and set them, along with the bow, next to his gun. Then he layed on the blanket (it was too hot to be under it) and was asleep in seconds.
          When he woke up the next morning, Martine was packing cans of food into one of the backpacks. Sitting up, Gavin saw the other bags sitting close by, all filled with supplies. He looked at the broken door and saw the shelf was shifted just enough for Martine to get out to their things. There was also guns. A lot of guns. Apparently, there'd been more there than he thought. Enough to fill a duffel bag, along with the ammo.
          "You're finally awake." Martine said as he put away the last of the cans. "You can help take all these back to the truck."
          "When did you get up?" Gavin asked drowsily. It must have taken him a while to get all of this done.
          "A couple of hours ago." He answered, zipping the bag closed. Gavin had no idea what time it was, so he didn't know if that was early or not. It had to be somewhat early at least, judging by the cold air flowing in from the broken door. "I also packed some clothes. It's mostly sports outfits, but it's all they had. Nice fleecy shirts."
          "Yeah, okay." Gavin stood up and picked up a couple of bags, then took them out to the truck. The morning air helped to wake him up, along with a distant screech.
          "We should hurry." He said as he and Martine carried the last of their things to the truck and got in.