Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Emotion wells up inside me, making my throat ache and eyes burn. It takes a second to register that someone’s speaking to me. Over the roar of the boat’s motor and pouring rain, I realize it’s Tyler.
You’re okay.
I’ve got you.
We’re safe.
His words are a balm to the psychological storm raging inside my head. I grab onto his hand, clutching onto it with profound desperation.
How is it someone I only met days ago feels so important to me? It’s as though we’ve known each other for months, not the short time we’ve really known each other for. If there’s anything to be grateful for in a situation like this, it’s that I met Tyler. Without him, none of us would have made it this far.
“Where to now?” I rasp out, wincing when we hit a wave at top speed and I’m thrown into the air before slamming back down onto the deck. “Your brother captains like a maniac.”
Tyler grins at me. “You should see me or Jesse when we try to pilot this thing.”
Kyle, who’s seated nearby, joins the conversation. “I don’t know where we’re going, but if I don’t see ocean water ever again, it’ll be too soon.”
Slowly, Tyler helps me to a kneeling position. He doesn’t let go of my hand, which I’m grateful for. Earlier, I might’ve been embarrassed for my employees to see me holding his hand. However, now I don’t give a damn. I need his strength too much to care about what people think.
For as far as the eye can see, ocean surrounds us. The tops of our once great city that clung to life, chin barely above water, has drowned. San Francisco is nothing but a place that once was. I’m not sure it’ll ever be home to anyone but sea life ever again.
The engine cuts off abruptly, but we continue to coast on the momentum we’d created. It doesn’t take a genius to know Aaron is probably preserving fuel. We’re not out of the woods quite yet.
Since there’s nothing to see but more water—and I’m sick of looking at it—I turn back around and sit on my ass. My side burns and I’m feeling new bruises all over from taking hits against underwater debris during our hasty escape. I scan the group of survivors crammed on the boat.
We have our original crew—me, Tyler, Hope, Elise, Gerry, Kyle, and Barb. There’re also Tyler’s brothers, Jesse and Aaron, plus another guy wearing a shirt with the same logo Aaron wears. There’s another family too. A father, a little older than me with graying hair, a mother around my age, a teenage girl, and a boy around six or seven. And, of course, our survival mascot…a Chihuahua.
So many lives were lost this weekend.
Friends, families, pets.
The loss of not only a great city but an entire population of regular people is gutting. All I can hope for is that the people who made it out of San Francisco and the other affected coastal cities make an effort to live the best life possible in honor of those who no longer can.
I tighten my grip around Tyler’s hand.
I know I’m going to do my damn best.
Tyler
Exhaustion finally steals Kellen away from me. He falls asleep sitting up and even snores audibly. I smirk as I gently guide him down to his good side, using my thigh as a pillow for him. While he sleeps, I move his arm and peel his soaked jacket, dress shirt, and undershirt away from his skin to assess his wound.
Blood pulses from the reopened gash. I locate the first aid kit and quickly clean it with the alcohol wipes. He doesn’t even flinch. Once I’ve gone through all the motions and bandaged him back up, I put away the kit in my bag and then lean back to rest.
Since we’re drifting, letting the wind push us eastward, Aaron abandons his perch at the helm to come sit near me. It’s no longer raining, but the wind is fierce. Everyone is quiet—either sleeping or staring off into space, lost to their own thoughts. Even Jesse is sleeping, curled close to the teenage girl with Pretzel between them.
“Pretzel’s not the only stray you picked up,” Aaron says, smirking at me.
It’s then I realize my fingers are stroking through Kellen’s hair. I pluck them away so I can shoot my brother the bird. God, it feels good giving each other shit again.
“You’ve got a few yourself.” I motion to the family. “They were your client?”
He nods, a pensive expression crossing over his features. “The father is Dan Kravitz. He’s a dentist. The other three are his wife, Judy, and two kids, Hailey and Silas.”
“Seems like you, Jesse, and Wayne took care of them. You’re all still alive and well.”
Aaron frowns. “It was scary as hell for a while there.” His jaw clenches. “You have no idea how difficult it was to flee the Bay Area rather than head right for it in hopes to rescue my little brother.”