We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Sixty-Two

   Jared was in a window seat, and with the jeep on its side, he was the one closest to the ground. They must have had something holding them up, though, because there were still some inches between the
now-broken window and the asphalt. He looked around at the others. They were all still, but when he looked close enough to see the rise and fall of their chests, and the glints of  their eyes in the little moonlight, he confirmed everyone was alive.
   "What do we do?" He whispered, not sure that anyone could even hear him. Paige, sitting in the middle of him and Cora, put a finger to her lips, although she struggled with it. Jared was laying against the door, but she and Cora were held in by just their seatbelts, and Aydin had slipped from Cora's grasp and now sat on the door with him, looking tense and ready to attack anything that moved. As the quiet dragged on, Jared felt his hands shaking, and instinctively reached out to pet Aydin, like he had with Buddy anytime he got nervous or scared. Aydin flinched and let out a low, quiet growl, but he didn't do anything else.
   Over their breathing, he heard footsteps outside, and the strange growls and moans of the zombies. They seemed to be grouped up for a while, as if they were examining the jeep. Maybe they thought the crash had killed them? But that would've been too easy. One zombie broke from the group, and Jared listened as it walked around the jeep until it stopped. Looking down, he saw the old things that had once
been tennis shoes on its feet, just in his line of sight with the elevated jeep. He held his breath and hoped for the best. The best didn't happen.
   The creature dropped down on its hands and knees and started to reach for him. He could just see its eyes as it struggled to fit into the small space between the door and the road.
   "Guys!" He yelled, trying to move away from the hand, which had managed to grab his rifle and throw it to the side before going back for Jared. Aydin grabbed for it and got a good chunk of skin in his teeth before it separated from the arm with a disgusting sound.
   Jared flinched away suddenly when he heard the gunshot and saw the bullet land in the zombie's shoulder. It stopped its struggle and pulled away from the window. Panting, Jared looked up at Gavin, still
holding his pistol. They met eyes before the hands reached in, dirty nails cut the seatbelt, and the zombie dragged him out of the car.
   "No!" Paige screamed and scrambled to the window where Gavin had disappeared. Matt beat her to it, and Atlas jumped out before he had a chance to. Not wanting to wait, Jared squeezed through the little
space. Being smaller than the zombie, he fit through the window without much struggle. He winced at the glass cutting into his hands and knees, but he was out. He grabbed his rifle and jumped to his feet. A zombie had heard him coming and now stood so he couldn't get to the side of the jeep that Gavin had been dragged out of. The zombie wasn't fast enough, though, and Jared took it down easily. He ran
around the jeep, only to be knocked back down by yet another zombie. As he went down he saw Paige being pushed from the group by three of them, and Matt shooting at the oncoming pack while Atlas protected him from others trying to come up behind him. Aydin had one on the ground and was tearing at its arm, preventing it from being able to move, and Cora was  trying to get past the two that were guarding
Gavin and the one that'd pulled him out.
   Jared hit the ground as gasped when the air was pushed from his lungs. He grabbed desperately at the arms that were swiping at his face. Using all his strength, he pushed the thing's arms to its chest, preventing it further from biting or scratching him. His arms burned with effort, and he carefully dragged a leg up and under its stomach. Pushing as hard as he could, he threw the zombie off. It stumbled but stayed on its feet. Jared picked his gun back up and shot it in the head, then moved on. Paige had taken care of the three that had been trying to separate her, and Matt and Atlas were running out of zombies. Cora had killed one that was guarding Gavin, but now there were four others. Aydin was finished with the one he'd been on; its head lay ripped apart not far from him. Now he tackled one that was advancing on Cora, bringing it to the ground. Matt yelled something, and Atlas came running and attacked another guard. Jared killed one and left the last one to Cora. Gavin was now on his back, and the zombie had him
pinned to the ground. It was leaning closer to him, and Jared could've sworn he'd seen its lips moving, like it was talking. He was more sure about its hand, clasped tightly around Gavin's throat. He didn't have
time to think on it and attacked while he had the chance. It's head was so close to Gavin's that he risks shooting both of them, so Jared did the next thing that popped into his mind. He sprinted forward and
jumped on the zombie, wrapping his arms around it and using his weight and momentum to pull it off. He jumped to his feet as soon as he stopped rolling, and stood face-to-face with the infected creature that had once been human.