We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Thirty-Three

Illinois

   "...and I doubt we could get the horse past those things." The soldier, she figured out his name was Max, said from beside the pool table. She didn't look away from Cobalt though, just continued to inspect his mouth. There was a small cut on the corner of his mouth, but it wasn't half as bad as she was expecting. Still, it would probably be best to keep the bridle off for a while. When they first went into the bowling alley and blocked the doors, they'd tried to separate her and Cobalt. That was a mistake. She couldn't do much, but Cobalt could get really protective and really mean. Like worse than a raging bull mean. Long story short, they decided to let them stay together.

   "Or we could use it to distract them." The latino, who she learned was Martine, muttered from the door. This time she did look away from Cobalt, straight at Martine. He tried to hold her glare, but looked away and acted like he was distracted by something else. Paige turned her attention back to Cobalt. The guy watching her, Wes, was glaring. Paige could tell he was frustrated. He'd been yelling at her for almost an hour before he finally gave up. She wasn't going to tell him where they were staying. Not after what happened last time. How were Adam and Allison doing, anyway? Were they looking for her? Did they get caught by any of the zombies that came looking for them? If they did, it would be her fault. She fired the shots.
   "Are we taking her with us?" The boy she'd shot earlier, Gavin, suddenly asked. Paige looked up again, this time at Wes, who was looking straight at her.
   "I'm not sure yet." He said, turning his attention to Gavin. Paige looked back to Cobalt. His ears were flat against his head, and he kept flicking his tail, even though there wasn't a fly to be seen.
   "What's wrong with it?" Wes asked, eyeing Cobalt cautiously. Paige didn't answer and followed the horse's gaze. He was staring at the door. The dog was too; its ears were pinned back and a low growl
formed in its throat. They heard a screech outside, and her eyes widened. Seconds later, the glass door shattered and the arcade games were pushed forward. The zombie disappeared from view, then with a few quick footsteps the games were pushed back even further. Cobalt whinnied and reared up, pawing the air in front of him. He turned to face the door, almost stepping on Wes and reared again. The three men all had guns pointed at the door. The zombie rammed it a third time and made just enough space for it to step inside. Literally step. It didn't leap through the opening or make a mad dash at them. Instead, it stepped inside and it held its hands above its head. Paige gaped, and the others hesitated instead of shooting right off. That would've been the right thing to do. While it had them distracted, it jumped at the nearest person, Martine and pulled him back, using him as a human shield. Max and Wes were trying to line up their shots, but they risked shooting Martine with him being so close to it. The dog was barking at it, but it backed away when the monster stepped closer. It was now standing in the middle of them, and Paige was almost behind it. With Wes distracted, she crept along the wall until she reached the door. Avoiding the broken glass, she sprinted forward. The breath was knocked out of her as she collided with the zombie, and the three of them collapsed onto the floor. Martine was on his feet in seconds, but the zombie grabbed Paige's foot before she could stand up completely and yanked her back to the ground. It leapt to its feet so it was towering over her. It looked like it was about to lunge at her when she heard the muffled gunshot and it fell to the side. She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed on the floor. Her leg was sore, but its nails hadn't been able to pierce through her skin. It had torn the bottom of her jeans though. She stood up slowly after a few minutes. Cobalt had calmed down but was standing so he was almost above her and he was facing the door, daring any more of the zombies to come in. She flinched when something touched her arm, then relaxed when she saw it was Max helping her up. She was pulled to her feet, then tuned her attention to Cobalt, breaking him out of his trance-like state. He was still tense, though. She ignored the others' warnings and looked out of the gap at the door. The street in front of it was empty.