We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Twenty-Five

Illinois

          "This place looks okay for tonight." Allison pulled the truck into a large abandoned garage, which held a few old cars and toolboxes. It looked like it had been apart of some workshop, but it was nearly impossible to tell with all the garbage and scrap metal, and the letters above the door were too faded to be legible. There was once a sign outside, but only the bottom half of it remained. How the top was ripped off, was a mystery that the group felt they were better off not knowing. Paige got out and helped her maneuver the truck and trailer so they would both fit neatly in the garage. Cobalt whinnied from the trailer and kicked at the door. Adam laughed beside her. He had come to like Cobalt and learned a lot about him. Like the fact that he was impatient. Despite how well they sometimes got along, the two seemed to enjoy seeing each other in pain. Adam especially was enjoying the cramped state of Cobalt's last few days after the horse almost broke his foot just the week before (he swore it was on purpose).

           Paige called him to hurry inside after her once the truck was parked. Adam turned  back to them after making absolutely sure that they weren't followed by anyone or thing and jogged inside. He and Allison pulled the door closed while Paige unloaded Cobalt. She'd had to leave his saddle behind when they got held up by a pack of zombies on a search for fuel, which resulted in the cinch being bitten through and the wiping-out of the pack, but she didn't mind riding bareback. Now that someone was trying to get him out of the trailer, he wanted to stay in, so he turned away from her and munched at the hay stacked in the far corner. With a yank on the lead, she managed to pull him out and away from the food. He was going to end up getting fat and lazy, and then he'd just be useless and annoying.
          After they had their sleeping bags laid out and ate their lunch, they sat in silence. The incident with Jaime and Curt had happened a month ago, but it was still fresh in their minds. Paige figured it always would be. She hadn't known them long, but she grew attached in their time together. It wasn't something she could just forget about. She would never forget about them. Looking at Allison and Adam, she knew they wouldn't forget either. She knew Allison could never forget her husband, Adam would never forget his best friend. Paige had asked him a few days after their deaths, and Adam almost laughed when she mentioned her suspicion of them being gay lovers. It didn't affect the small group as bad anymore, but Paige still missed them, and she knew the others did too. They tried to act strong for each other, convince themselves they'd be fine, but it constantly felt like something was missing. After almost an hour of exploring the garage and going through their remaining supplies, Paige spoke up.
          "We don't have that much water left. I think there was a gas station down the road a ways, though; it might have an ice cooler."
          "I'll go with you." Adam offered. He stood up stiffly, and Paige felt bad. He'd been driving for almost four hours and he looked exhausted. So did Allison. Meanwhile, she'd been switching between the cab of the truck and the bed of it when they made stops.
          "No, you're both tired. I can take Cobalt, it'll be good for him to get some exercise anyway."
          They exchanged a look before Allison replied. "Go ahead. Just don't take too long. And be careful." It was a little surprising that she agreed right away, but Paige didn't want to complain now.
          "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it." Paige gave them each a hug before bridling Cobalt and swinging up onto his back. It took a few tries to actually succeed since he was especially tall for a quarter horse, but she finally managed to hook her leg over his back and pull herself up. Adam and Allison pulled the garage door open just enough for her to ride out before closing it behind her. There weren't a lot of zombies in the area, but Paige was still cautious. She winced every time Cobalt's metal shoes hit the pavement, guiding him onto dirt or grass when given the chance. After everything that they'd seen so far, she terrified of being caught by the monsters. They seemed to follow sound, although they didn't care much for noises like footsteps or doors opening or anything like that; those could be made by other zombies. They followed the sounds of people. Gunshots. Screams. Vehicles. Metal horse shoes on concrete. They went after anything that was alive, actually. Dogs, cats, and birds or horses if they could catch them. Nothing was safe.
          Paige pulled Cobalt to a stop in front of the store and slid off to check the outside freezers. Just like she'd hoped, there were bags of melted ice piled in the freezers that were no longer working. She started pulling them out and tying then together with some nylon that she'd picked up from a store. There was a lot, so she tied the first few bundles together and draped them over Cobalt, planning to come back for the rest. She swung up onto his back and positioned the bags so they laid on his withers. She nudged him forward. Usually when they rode, Cobalt had his ears turned backwards, listening for Paige. But now he was swiveling his ears to either side of him, which made her feel nervous. It could be anything, she tried to tell herself, like bugs flying by or rodents scurrying around, but that didn't make her feel any better. To make it worse, he would turn his head to the side and try to walk to a roadside building until Paige straightened him out. She tried to ignore the faint footsteps, convincing herself that she was just imagining things. When she saw movement in one of the buildings, though, she stopped. She knew they weren't zombies. If they were, then they would have attacked already. It would probably be easy for a couple of them to corner Cobalt and go for his legs or stomach if he were to rear up. But they didn't, because there weren't any zombies in that building. There were other people here. After being attacked a second time earlier that month, Paige knew she couldn't lead them to her group. Keeping her eyes on the building where she saw the movement, she carefully leaned to the side to lower the bags to the ground, holding Cobalt's mane for support. She would come back for them later after they led the people farther into town and gave them the slip. She turned Cobalt around, then squeezed her legs hard, but not before firing a few random shots at the building. He bolted forward, and she grabbed for his mane again. She heard shouts behind her, but she didn't stop Cobalt. A few gunshots rang out behind them, but the horse's steps never faltered. Paige worried at first about Cobalt running on the cement; she'd always been told to take it slow on harder surfaces. But she couldn't worry about that, and Cobalt was a tough horse. He would be fine. At this point, she probably couldn't stop him if she wanted to, not until he ran himself out of breath at least. A car started from somewhere behind them, and Paige kicked again. As stubborn as he was, Cobalt was a lot like Paige, and when they rode he practically read her mind. His legs pumped harder, and Paige whispered a Thank You to him. They swerved around buildings, trying to lose the vehicle, but anywhere they could fit, so could the people behind them. At least they had trouble keeping up, though. Positive that she and Cobalt were about to lose them, Paige turned him around another building and looked behind her. She didn't see anything following, but she heard the vehicle behind them. Suddenly Cobalt lurched to a stop and spun around, and Paige held a hand out to her side, using the wall of the dead end to stop herself from flying off of his back. Cobalt was breathing hard now, but Paige knew that if they didn't lose these people, they might not live much longer. She nudged him forward again, but stopped when the vehicle stopped in front of the alley, cutting off their escape. Four people climbed out. All had their attention on her. And their guns.