We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Thirty-Seven

Illinois

   Paige moved away from the door so the other guy could get in to help. She wasn't able to do much now. She looked back at Gavin, who was walking away from them and towards the lanes. What was he doing? She'd heard him yelling to Max, but she hadn't really been paying attention to what they said. Holding the gun in front of her, she followed Gavin to a door on the wall next to the last lane. It was hanging open and its hinges had been practically torn off. Gavin turned to look at her, and she knew he was thinking the same thing. At least others hadn't followed. Hopefully.

   His expression turned from confusion to fear as she felt the ragged breaths against the back of her neck. Her grip on the gun tightened. The guys were busy at the door, and if she or Gavin moved it might
attack. She was surprised it didn't already. She tried to turn around, but stopped when the thing snarled. She heard the dog barking and Cobalt freaking out, but it didn't pull its attention away from her. She looked back to Gavin, hoping he could do something, anything. He met her eyes and nodded his head towards the floor, then raised his eyebrows at her. She was confused until he did it a second time and
lifted the tip of his gun just enough so it was unnoticeable. Suddenly understanding, she nodded to him and then fell flat on her stomach on the floor. A second later she heard the shot, followed by the 'thump' of the zombie's body hitting the floor. She slowly stood up and turned to look at the body. She wondered how it was able to breathe; its stomach and chest were torn to shreds, and she could see its ribs. It was a man, she could tell that much, in a barely-recognizable business suit.
   "We gotta block the door." Gavin said quickly as he tried pushing the door back into place.
   "What?" She spun around to face him. "We can get out this way! If we block it, we'll be trapped."
   "If we don't, others might come in and then we'll be dead! And the others might not make it here before those things catch up with them. They'll come running in as soon as they let the door go." Paige opened
her mouth again to argue, but then stopped. "Okay then, go get the-" Paige shushed him. "What? We gotta block the door now..." He trailed off when he heard it. It came from outside, barely audible above the
screams of the zombies. But they heard it. The faint sounds of gunshots. Paige heard what she guessed was a shotgun, but she couldn't believe that she could get this lucky. She and Gavin ran back to the front of the alley, where the three at the door had begun to relax with some of the weight taken away. Max and Martine were already checking their mags and switching the safety off. Wes was still leaning against the big arcade game on the door, trying to avoid the reaching hands of the few remaining zombies. The gunshots were getting closer, and without even thinking about it, Paige sprinted out the back door, hoping her gun still had enough rounds to help. She was followed out by Gavin, who moved easily despite his shoulder. In a few minutes the street was covered with bodies, with the exception of a few people. Only two, actually, but with just the two of them they managed to get a lot done. Wes, Max, and Martine were also outside now, poking around some of the still-moving bodies while keeping their distance from Adam and Allison.
   "What happened to just getting water?" Adam called to Paige as she and Gavin walked around to the front of the building. Gavin walked over to Martine and the dog jumping around his feet, while Paige kept
walking straight.
   "Long story...kind of." She replied as Cobalt bolted out of the building and almost ran her over. "I think he's having fun though."
   Allison patted his neck. "We thought you were dead for a while. Or lost. It wouldn't be the first time."
   Paige laughed and leaned on Cobalt. "Nah, we're fine."
   "Only because we showed up. That's not your gun is it?" Adam pointed to Wes's gun in her hand.
   "No it's not." She turned and tossed the gun to Wes, who flinched as he caught it. "It's empty, don't worry."
   "Exactly what's going on?" Allison finally asked.
   "I don't think we should talk about it out here. We can't go back in there..." Max trailed off, looking at Allison expectantly.
   "Sure, let's go." She sighed after exchanging a glance with Paige.