We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Twenty-Three

NYC, New York

          Cora jumped back in her seat, leaning so that she pushed Jay into Avery and Ben. Avery yelled something about waking Ben up, but Cora wasn't really listening. She and Jay stared at the new smear of blood on the window, left over by a zombie that had thought it could break through the glass if it ran at the side of moving truck fast enough. Mica and Cassidy didn't have to worry about shooting it though; Cora knew that when she felt the truck bounce as it rolled over the body. Jack was trying to get a look at it in the rearview mirror, but all that was left was a crushed and bloodied heap of skin and bones laying in the middle of the road.

          She heard a small sniffle and looked over to see Avery trying to soothe Ben back to sleep. He was curled up on her lap, with an arm wrapped around her waist. Cora could tell she was trying not to let them see her tears. While Jack didn't show much of a reaction to Megan's death, Avery couldn't hold in the grief from losing her brother. She'd been crying since they left the gas station, having gotten over the shock of it all. Jay reached over and gave her a small comforting hug. Cora couldn't really reach her, so she just watched. After just a minute or two, Ben was fast asleep again, and Avery was close to joining him. Relieved that they were both okay, or at least physically okay, she looked back out her window at the once-beautiful city. Now it was just car pile-ups, blood and bodies, broken windows, and the creatures responsible for all of it. No people, though. She didn't know if that was good or bad. Of course they needed to find other survivors, that was why they were making this trip in the first place, but when she let her mind wander to the incident just the day before...
          She took in a deep breath. 'I was protecting us' she thought to herself. 'It was self-defense, they would've killed us first.' Jay had shot one, but he didn't seem as beat up about it. Maybe he'd convinced himself it was for a good cause. Why couldn't she? She ran her fingers through her bangs, trying to gather her thoughts. There was so much guilt, it was practically eating her alive. What if they had families? What if there was a group they had to get back to, that they were trying to take care of and just got desperate? She jumped in surprise when she felt Jay's hand on her shoulder.
          "I know you're thinking about yesterday, and it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. It was their mistake." She gave a small nod, letting him know she understood, but it didn't stop the thoughts running through her head. She leaned into him, letting loose a few tears. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried. It might have been awkward for some, but Jay was like a brother to her, just like Mica and Cassidy were her brother and sister. None of them were blood related, but they were still a family. And the family had just gotten bigger. Jack was too old to be her brother, of course, but he'd been a sort of father figure in her life, even if she didn't know him that well. Then there was Avery and Ben, the little brother and older sister. Altogether it made for a big but close family.