We're Not Alone

Chapter 22

I thought I'd hit someone, but no it was just a dog. The first dog we've seen since the explosion. Thank god anyways.

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New York. I've been here before, it WAS beautiful. Now windows are smashed, shops have been looted (we helped at bit with that one) and cars have been left abandoned either on the roads or crashed into buildings.

There is still a Starbucks on every corner, that brings back memories of the day all of this happened. When Trevor bought us hot chocolates, and Connor got us the best cheesecake I have eaten in my life. Now it's all gone, Connor, Starbucks... everything.

The days are starting to get warmer, and longer. It's six-thirty and it's still light and it's eight degrees.

"We'll come into this Starbucks for the night," Dad says. "The door's already open so we'll just deadbolt it."

No one says anything, we just pile into the shop. It still smells of coffee grinds, the same smell as the day we met Trevor and Connor.

There is some leftover cookies in the cabinet that we help ourselves to while Nirvana makes us coffee and hot chocolate.

While our drinks are brewing I go around all of the windows to shut the curtains, then join the others around a table for our drinks and food.

Thanks are exchanged when we are finished eating and then we get ourselves comfortable to sleep.

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I'm woken by a loud crash inside the shop. A window has just shattered. It's woken everyone else and Dad moves toward the broken window to examine what made it shatter.

He's a meter away before three trackers burst through, pushing all tables and chairs out of their way.

I pull out a gun and shoot at them. I've been at bit scared of my gun since I shot that dog, but I manage a clear shot at the head of one of them and get another after two shots at the stomach. Someone else gets the last one.

"Joey, are you okay?" Nirvana fusses.

"Yes, I'm fine. Can't kill a weed. It was just a shock, that's all."

It's light outside, so I check the clock and see it's, seven-thirty.

"Does anyone want some coffee?" Nirvana asks.

We all murmur a reply of yeses and nos.

I get some crackers and eat those, while I wait for a hot chocolate.

Honestly, I'm sick of this. The quicker we get to Maine the better.

"Mila, how are you?" Paisley comes up to me and asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm panicking. Why? I don't get it."

"Neither do I, but the sooner we get to Maine, the sooner we can sort something out."

"Yeah," Paisley finishes as Nirvana places to cups of hot chocolate in front of us.

"Thanks," we say.

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My legs are shaking under me. I feel as though I'm about to collapse, but we can't stop now.

We're on the other side of New York, running from yet another ambush of soldiers.

"We see you assholes!" One of them yells to us.

"You're dead meet!"

"Mum, where are we going?"

"I don't know, hun."

"Down here! It's an ally. They can't follow us!" Dad says.

We do as told running single file down the ally way. In my hand I have my bow with an arrow set in it.

We continue running through the multiple ally ways until we are certain we are out of any danger.

"Holy sh¡t, that was way too close," I exclaim once we are safe inside a building and resting.

"It was, very. But we need to expect it. Until we are in Maine we are are just going to be faced by all of this." As Dad says this a pack of close to fifteen infected pile into the room.

I pick up my bow which was lying next to me and shoot at them before they get too close. Once they are close to us I pull my knife from my belt and stab the when possible, whilst the others are still shooting them with their various weapons.

When they are all dead we decide it's safer to be outside.

We all pile out of the building and run, non stop until we think we are safe. We're still in the middle of town, but it's more remote than the direct middle of the city.

"We haven't seen anyone, anyone friendly at least, for a long time. What if we're heading to nothing in Maine? What if we're alone?" Trevor is now the one asking this.

"I don't think we're alone. We can't be." Dad reassures.

"We need to get out of this place, Dad."

"Yeah, we do. Let's go."

We do, we jog and walk until dusk, and once it is we find a place to rest. We're close. Almost too close. Something is bound to happen before we're safe.