We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Nineteen

Boston, Mass.

          Cora stared at the sight in front of them, suddenly frozen in place. She didn't move until Jay pulled her down so they were out of sight of the new people. There were three of them. Mica was glaring at the man threatening him, but Jack didn't seem to show any emotion. He just stared blankly at the ground. Paige didn't know much about him, but she remembered talking to him once about a girl he'd been trying to impress. Could that girl have been Megan? That would explain the way he acted. Or maybe she was just really close to him, like Cora's group was with each other. 

          She dragged her attention away from Jack to the truck. The third gunman was pulling Avery out of the truck, pushing her to the ground next to Cassidy and Ben, who were sitting with their hands on their heads.

          "Hey." Jay whispered suddenly. "I don't see Jack's gun."
          "So?" Cora answered but didn't move her gaze.
          "So, none of those guys has it. It's not on the ground. That means he probably left it in the bed of the truck."
          "That doesn't really help our situation." Cora's voice quivered slightly.
          "It does, though." Cora finally looked away from their friends and gave Jay a confused look. "If you can distract them long enough for me to sneak around and get the gun, then we can shoot them from the front and back."
          Cora looked at him like he was crazy. The worst part of it was that she thought it was a really good plan. "What about my gun though? They'll make me get rid of it as soon as they see it. They might even shoot one of the others. And they probably won't believe I came in here without anything to defend myself with."
          Jay thought for a minute. "Take the crowbar, then, and hide the gun. And then once I start shooting from the back, they'll all turn towards me, giving you enough time to get your gun and shoot."
         Cora stammered. "But what if you get shot? Not to mention that we're talking about killing people! I can't do that."
          "Aim low, then. We don't have to kill them, just make it so they can't shoot us. Get them in the legs or even the shoulder or something." Before Cora had a chance to respond, he'd handed her the crowbar and snuck out of a questionably large hole in the wall, taking quick cover behind a van. She sighed, then after a moment's hesitation she stuffed the gun into her belt and covered it with her shirt. Then she stood up and walked outside, trying to stay calm.
          As soon as she did, all eyes were on her. She froze again and held up her hands as the guns moved from her friends to her chest. The guy watching Mica was the first to talk.
           "Who else is in there?" He had a gruff, almost scratchy voice.
          Cora swallowed and answered, "No one, it's just me."
          The guy smiled, actually smiled, and said, "That's what your friend just told us. Then you came out." Cora gave Mica an apologetic look, and tried to keep her eyes off of Jay as he reached into the bed of the truck, just a few feet behind Mica, who was still beside the driver's side door.
          Cora almost yelled the next sentence, trying to keep the shooters' attention on her. "It's just me. I swear."
          He gave her a suspicious look. One of the other shooters, a woman, yelled, "Drop the weapon." Cora tried not to panic. How could she have seen the gun? Hadn't she hidden it well enough? Before she could say anything, the woman gestured to the crowbar, which Cora had completely forgotten about. "Drop it!"
          "Oh." Cora let go of the bar. She didn't set it down or anything, but literally dropped it to the ground. She winced at the clanging noise as the crowbar hit the ground. Her eyes darted to Jay again. He was still behind Mica, almost hiding behind the cab of the truck, looking around the edge so that she could still see him, just barely. With the rifle in his hands, he jerked his head to the woman, then shot the guy watching Mica, who had been distracted by Cora. He fell forward onto the cement, killed by the one shot to the head. At least it was quick.
          The other two turned to Jay, who had ducked behind the pickup to avoid the oncoming bullets. Cora pulled out her gun without thinking, like she was still in a trance but her hands knew just what to do. In two quick shots, both of the shooters had joined their friend. One bled from a hole in her back, the other from the back of his head. She froze again, holding the gun in front of her with one hand and using the other to steady it. She'd started shaking. She didn't take her eyes off the bodies, not when Jay yelled that it was okay, not even when Mica walked over to her. She noticed he was moving slowly, carefully, holding his hands up slightly. Did he really think she'd shoot him too?
         "Cora?" He said cautiously. She didn't reply, so he took another step forward. She flinched at first when he slowly took her arms and pushed them down, lowering the gun. Then she took a step back, dangling the gun at her side in one hand and covering her eyes with the other. Did she really just do that? Did she just shoot two people? She crouched on the ground and tried to calm her breathing. She felt Mica crouch next to her, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jay walk over.
          "Are you okay?" Cora just shook her head at Jay's question. She didn't think she would ever be okay again.
          "Help her into the truck." Mica said the next part quietly, but she heard it anyway. "Don't let her look at the bodies. We'll get their guns." Jay helped her into the back seat of the truck along with Ben, who'd been clinging to Cassidy. It took a lot more effort that you'd think to convince him to get in, but he finally did. Mica, Cassidy, Jack, and Avery all gathered the guns from the bodies. They also made sure to grab the bags of food an drinks that Cora and Jay had gathered inside.
          They had filled up and were moving again in about 15 minutes. Cora was glad they were finally leaving that place. The longer they stayed, the worse she felt. While she, Mica, Jay, Avery and Ben sat in the cab, Cassidy and Jack shot from the bed of the truck. Cora knew Cassidy could shoot a gun, but she was surprised by her accuracy. She made it seem like a little kid's game. Jay was talking to Ben, who was sitting between him and Cora. He was talking about the fun and exciting road trip they were going to have. Just like another little kid's game. Cora leaned her head against the window and watched the city go by. She wished she could sleep and just dream away the disaster, but she knew she couldn't, so she didn't try. She just sat and stared out the window, something she'd probably be doing a lot during their fun and exciting road trip.