We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Sixty-Six

Jared hadn't been assigned any jobs, so he took the opportunity to catch up on sleep. He didn't get much, though, before he felt the sudden weight crushing down on his chest, and he gasped and struggled underneath Buddy. But the dog was relentless and kept him pinned down, licking at his face when he got the chance. Outside the struggle, Jared heard Casey and Martine laughing from somewhere nearby.
   "Guys! Help!" He yelled, pushing the dog away from him. He tried getting to his feet, but Buddy caught him first and threw him back on the floor. This caused the two to laugh even harder, and made Jared
worried as he realized he couldn't get out of his situation without help. "Okay, yeah funny!" He pushed the dog's about away from his open mouth. "Seriously, get him off! Please!" Finally the weight lifted as Martine pulled Buddy off.
   "Your hair's a mess." Casey said once she caught her breath.
   "Shut up." He grumbled, running a hand through his dark brown hair, which was now wet with dog slobber. "I hate you guys."
   "What, you don't like being woke up by the kisses of someone who loves you?" Martine asked from his spot on the floor, where he was scratching Buddy behind the ears.
   "Screw you." Jared rubbed a random shirt over his hair, trying to get the slobber out.
   "Yeah, you wish you could." Martine shot back, earning another chorus of laughter from Casey. Jared groaned and threw the shirt to the side in defeat.
   "What are you even doing in here?" He asked.
   "We got bored." Casey shrugged. "We saw you were still asleep, Buddy was hyper, and we couldn't resist."
   "Well, thanks for that. That was great, just perfect." He said sarcastically.
   "Welcome." Martine laughed.
   "Is there any food?" Jared asked Casey.
   "Not a lot of extra." She replied. "We'll be having dinner in a few minutes anyway."
   "Dinner? How long did I sleep?"
   "We don't know, we're not your caretakers." Jared flipped him off and stood up.
   "Let's go then. You guys can stay. Please stay." He said, pointing to Martine and Buddy.
   "No way man, we're going to eat too." They followed Jared and Casey out of the little store. It was on the 2nd floor of the mall, and Jared, having just barely woken up, leaned on the rail for support.
"Don't fall." Martine joked, pushing on Jared's shoulder. Jared punched him in the shoulder and kept walking, ignoring Casey's laugh. When they got to the first floor, they joined the group in the dining hall, which consisted of Tom, Max, Wes, Matt, Joe, Renee and Ella. The mood changed from fun to serious as they approached the group.
   "If we go now we could make it back by tomorrow night at the latest!" Max was pleading with Tom.
   "It's not a bad idea." Matt added from beside Wes.
   "We can't risk sending more people out, not now and especially not that far!" Tom protested.
   "They gave us a week." Wes added. "That gives us four days! With all the food we have here, we'll die of starvation before we're attacked." Jared, Casey, and Martine walked over to the group but didn't force their way into the conversation.
   "Those people aren't the only threats out there!" Tom reminded him. "What happens if the team gets attacked and killed before they even make it to the base?"
   "If we don't try, we'll never know." Matt answered. "It's our best option for food right now." Tom sighed and looked around, as if asking for support.
   "We can't spare a lot of people." Renee said, standing next to Tom. "But if it's true, then this might be worth it."
   "I agree." Ella added. "Sorry Tom, you're outnumbered."
   "Traitor." He muttered before turning to Jared. "These guys think it's a good idea to send a team out to Montgomery, as soon as possible."
   "Why?" Martine asked.
   "Because..." Matt started. "There's an Air Force base there. You'll find a lot of the same things in a lot of different based. Guns, grenades, vests..."
   "We need all of those." Wes added. "But what we need the most is food. And what's another thing you can find at a base?"
   "Food?" Casey said with a confused expression on her face.
   "MRE's." Max finished. "Meals Ready to Eat. Now going with the theory that there aren't any people still at the base, the meals are packed tight to keep out rats. Also works for dogs, cats, and basically anything that might want to eat them. And they'll last for years if you don't open them. If we're right, then we might have a feast waiting for us at that base."
   "Why are we even still talking about it then?" Jared asked. "We need to send someone out there!" Tom groaned.
   "Fine, but I'm having nothing to do with it." With that he walked away.
   "I'll go talk to him." Renee sighed, following him away from the group.
   "He's just going off to pout by himself, I wouldn't worry." Ella called after her, before addressing the group again. "He does have a point about one thing. We can't spare that many people, whether or not
we have the time to. So Wes and Matt, chose two people to take with you."
   "Gavin." Wes said right away.
   "Lynn." Matt added.
   "Okay, I'll have to make sure with them first, until then, go pack your things." They did, and she turned to Martine. "He knows you better, you want to be the one to tell him he's going out again?"
   "Yeah, I don't know how happy he'll be though." Martine answered, still petting Buddy.
   "If he really doesn't want to, we can find someone else." Wes added, not turning to look back.