We're Still Alive(Book1)BEING REWRITTEN

Seventeen

Nocona, TX

          "Do you need help with that?" Jaime asked as Paige struggled with the saddle. She'd saddled plenty of horses, but the old ranching saddle was heavier than most.

           "No, I put it on, I can take it off." She panted as she slid the saddle off Cobalt's back and set it on the floor, along with the blanket. Then she took off his bridle and watched as he shook his long black mane.
          "Are you sure he'll be okay without anything on?" Adam asked cautiously.
          "What's he gonna do, move the shelves and jump out the window? He'll be fine, don't worry." She replied. Adam didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything else. Curt was pacing the floor in front of the doors. He was rubbing his head with both hands, maybe because of a headache. Paige wouldn't be surprised. With him being so close to all those guns going off, it had to have some affect on him. She wondered if any of the others were badly affected by all the noise. Her ears were still ringing a little. Then again, stress could also be a likely cause. Allison was facing the door, and from what Paige could see, it looked like she was concentrating hard. Paige was also having mixed thoughts. They didn't really know what was outside, but could they just ignore the gunshots they'd heard after the zombies ran off? If there were more survivors, they should go find them. But if they did, then they might be leaving the closest thing to a safe place they had for some people who may or may not be dead. But they couldn't just forget about it, right?
          It seemed like hours had passed when finally Allison spoke up. "We have to leave here." Adam and Jaime looked up from where they were sitting on the floor, reloading the guns they'd used. Curt stopped pacing and also looked at Allison like she'd suggested they feed themselves to the zombies.
         "Why would we leave? This place is great, we have food and it's protected." Paige answered Adam's question in her head before Allison replied.
          "We can take some of the food with us, but those things almost got in here and now that they know we're here, they'll be back."
          "They might not even think to remember us after going after those other guys." Jaime said.
          "I think they will." Paige froze when everyone turned to look at her.
         "What do you mean?" Curt asked.
          "They're smart, or at least some of them are, I think." Paige struggled to keep her voice calm. "When they attacked, most went to the front door, just because the first ones did. They didn't think about coming in through the sides where it wasn't protected."
          "That just shows how stupid they are." Adam said as he set one of the now-loaded shotguns aside. "The dumber they are, the safer we are."
          Paige shook her head. "One of them was smarter, though. It came in through the side window, over there. And some of them ran away instead of practically walking into the bullets. If those ones remember where we are and come back, then others will follow." She looked around at all of them, waiting for someone to say something.
          "She's right." Allison said. "We'll go in a couple hours. Grab as much food and water as you can and pack up." The boys looked like they wanted to object, but one look from her silenced them.
          Paige smiled. "How did you train them?" She joked as the two boys wandered around the store.
          "She can scare a lion into submission." Curt said as he leaned over to kiss her. It wasn't until then that Paige noticed the rings on their fingers.
          "I guess I'll go...look for stuff..." She muttered awkwardly and started walking farther into the store.
          It was almost an hour and a half later when they had gathered as much food as they could, putting some in the saddlebags and stuffing the rest into the three backpacks Curt and Allison had. She'd saddled Cobalt with a little bit of struggling, and Curt and Allison had their revolver and rifle, while the younger boys both had shotguns. Paige slung her bow and quiver over her shoulder and swung onto Cobalt.
          "Can he handle that weight?" Jaime asked, nodding to horse.
          "Oh, yeah. It's a lot better than when he went up and down the mountains with all our camping supplies. He had two other horses helping, but we had a lot of stuff." Paige reached over and patted Cobalt's neck, remembering the trip she and her family had taken to Wyoming just a few weeks earlier.
          "Our? Who else were you with? Why are you alone now?" Adam asked suddenly. Paige tried to answer, but the words caught in her throat. She breathed in deeply and set her hand on Cobalt again, trying to calm her voice. She opened her mouth again to talk, but Curt interrupted.
          "It's okay. We know. I'm sorry." She just nodded at him as he glared at Adam, who had a guilty look on his face.
          "We should get going." She said after a few seconds of silence.
          "Right." Allison pushed one of the shelves away from the door with Curt's help and they stepped out together, guns ready. Paige heard a short whistle, their sign that it was okay, then nudged Cobalt to follow Adam and Jaime outside.
          "We'll have to walk a while." Allison called from the front of the group. "We'll never get a car around all this, let alone something with a trailer. Unless you think he can keep up." She said it with a hint of humor, and Cobalt snorted again, like he knew they were talking about him. They started walking again, staying to the side of streets and maneuvering around stray cars and anything else that got in their way. At first it was quiet, aside from the sound of hooves hitting the pavement. It didn't last long, and Paige didn't expect it to. She was on alert as soon as they left the building, so when the torn shape of a person came running and screeching at them, she didn't hesitate to pull out her bow, nock an arrow on the string, turn in her saddle and shoot. The person fell to the ground before anyone had a chance to line up their sights. It went on like that for almost an hour. They stopped in some of the stores a few times to hide out. Every time they stopped, Paige felt like she was going to burst, getting more and more impatient. The longer they stayed, the more dangerous it was for them. She just wanted to get where they were going. She wanted  to be able to feel safe again. On the outskirts of the town, they found a pickup truck with an empty trailer hitched to it. The door was open, and there was blood on the driver's seat and wheel, and some was dripping off the little step. The keys were laying close by on the ground. Paige took Cobalt to the back of the trailer, and Adam helped her unsaddle him and lead him in. She tied him at one end of the trailer, giving him enough room to move his head, then set the saddle at the opposite end so he wouldn't step on it. Then they crowded into the truck and started their journey.