Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“A building!” I call over my shoulder to Trinity. “There’s a building!”
She cries out and starts to hobble-run. Tears burn my eyes as I race the rest of the way to what turns out to be a small cabin. I’m breathless by the time I step onto the front porch, which spans the entire length of the front of the cabin.
I take a few seconds to catch my breath as Trinity makes it to the porch.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she says through tears. “Should we knock?”
“Yeah. I didn’t see any vehicles, but there might be someone in there.”
I approach the front door, lowering my brows when I see that it’s locked from the outside by a bar of metal. It looks like if I just lift the bar, I’ll be able to open the door.
I pound on the door for a full fifteen seconds, then wait. Nothing. I pound again, this time yelling.
“Hello? Hey, we need some help! Anyone in there?”
When we don’t hear a sound in response, Trinity and I exchange a quick glance. I raise the black metal bar and turn the doorknob to open the door.
The sweet scent of cedar greets me as I step inside, a wood floorboard creaking beneath my foot.
“Hello?” I call out. “I’m not an intruder; I just need some help.”
The outside light isn’t helping in here. I get my phone from my pocket, my hands too cold to push the buttons I need at first.
When I finally get it powered up and turn on the flashlight, I shine it around the room. The cabin is all open, with a bed against one wall, a fireplace, a kitchen area and a bathtub.
There’s also a neat little wood rolltop desk with a lamp on top. I walk over and use my phone flashlight to find the little knob on the lamp, turning it.
We’re alone here.
The cabin is flooded with dim light and Trinity gasps. A bed and fireplace are more than either of us were even hoping for. She pushes the door closed and drops to her knees, crying.
I’m on the verge of tears myself. Finding this cabin feels like a miracle. It doesn’t seem to be heated, but just getting out of the wind is huge.
“Maybe there’s a phone.” She gets up and limps toward the desk.
“I’ll look. You need to lie down.”
She looks at the bed and then back at me. I glance at the small love seat in front of the fireplace, which has a folded quilt draped over one arm.
“I’ll sleep on the love seat; you take the bed.”
“No, we’ll share the bed. Both of us need to get out of our wet clothes and get warm. Let’s add that quilt to the bed.”
I nod, glad she’s being practical. As she sits on the edge of the full-size bed and pulls off her wet boots and socks, I look around for a phone but don’t find one. I go through all the kitchen drawers and the small chest of drawers standing near the front door.
“Holy shit.” There are clothes inside.
I pull out two sets of one-piece thermal underwear and two pairs of socks. When I turn to show Trinity, she’s got her left foot up on the bed and I get my first good look at it.
I didn’t know it was this bad. Her ankle is swollen to twice its usual size and it’s marked with purple bruises. Guilt stabs me in the chest. I pushed her to walk all those miles in this condition. She’s right—I am an asshole.
I consolidated most of the contents of the first aid kit into the survival kit, so I’d only have one thing to carry. I open it and take out the nylon wrap.
“You want me to wrap it?”
She shakes her head. “Maybe tomorrow. Did you find dry clothes?”
“Yeah.” I walk over to her. “You need some help changing?”
Her cheeks turn pink as she looks up at me. “I can do it. Can you not look, though?”
“Of course I won’t look.”
I walk over to the wall next to the front door, which has multiple gun racks loaded with different-sized guns, a few hunting knives and even a bow and arrow. Whoever owns this place seems to be a big hunter.
“Ah...” Trinity hisses through her teeth. “God, that hurts.”
I keep my back to her as she changes, which sounds like a painful process.
“Okay, I’m decent again,” she finally says.
She’s wearing white long underwear which is about two sizes too big, the color dull from lots of washings. Even with her blond hair a mess and her face red from the cold, she looks cute.
“Here.” I walk over and put an arm around her, supporting her while she stands on her good foot.
I pull down the blankets in the bed and then help her sit down on it. Tears shine in her eyes as she looks up at me.