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)
“Help! Kellen! Aaron! Jesse!”
When no one immediately shows up in my vicinity, I let out a resigned howl. What if everyone’s dead, including those in the truck? What if I’m the only survivor?
The weight of that lonely thought is much heavier than the building trapping me in its fiery clutches. Tears from both smoke and despair fall freely, soaking the ground beneath me.
I try to fill my last thoughts of childhood memories of me and my brothers. I even think of Kellen, handsome in his outdoor gear. It’s all gone.
“There!”
The shout nearby snaps me out of my despondency. I start hollering, hoping whoever it is will find me. Seconds later, someone falls to the ground on their knees in front of me.
“He’s alive but stuck!” Kellen yells. “Help me get him out of here!”
Aaron and Jesse both arrive, talking over each other at how happy they are to see me.
Kellen and Aaron both grab under my armpits, tugging with all their might at the same time. All it does is feel as though I’m going to be ripped in two.
“Ahhh!” I cry out. “It’s not working!”
Aaron curses.
Kellen strokes his fingers through my hair, calming me. “It will work. We’ll get you out of here.”
Jesse runs off and then appears a moment later with a large broken tree branch. The three men grunt and plan. I’m beginning to lose hope when the earth grumbles again as another quake makes an appearance.
The guys shove the branch under the structure where I’m pinned, scraping my pants along the way.
“Pull him and the second there’s any give, get him out of here,” Aaron barks out. “Come on, Jesse. Put your weight on it.”
Just when I’m about to give up on their plan, I feel the weight on me lift slightly. Kellen groans as he yanks on my arms. I manage to free one of my legs and use the sole of my boot to shove against the thing holding me captive. With a little more wiggling on both my part and my brothers with the tree branch, I finally break free.
Then it’s a flurry as the three of them drag me away from the fire and into the cool grass where it’s safe. The ground continues to tremble, but at least we’re no longer at risk of burning to death.
Aaron hauls me into a seated position and then hugs me so hard I think my ribs might crack. Jesse joins in on the crushing. I let the tears of relief fall, thankful to have survived the explosion along with my three favorite people left on this earth.
“Are you hurt?” Kellen asks when my brothers release me from their hold. He squats in front of me, narrowed gaze inspecting my legs.
I move my feet and wriggle my toes. “My calves are bruised all to hell, but nothing’s broken.”
“Lucky sonofabitch,” Kellen says with a brilliant grin. “Come on, man, let’s get the hell out of here.”
He helps me to my feet and wraps a comforting arm around me. I could probably walk unassisted on my own, but I sure as hell don’t want to.
Kellen holding me feels pretty damn good.
The earthquakes have stopped for the moment, or maybe we’re traveling too fast for me to notice. Regardless, despite the cold wind whipping at my face, I finally feel safe. It helps that I have Aaron sitting on my right and Kellen sitting on my left.
We’re headed for the mountains. It’s our hope that if we can make it there, we’ll be safe from tsunamis, earthquakes, and redneck kidnappers. The cold, though, is another story. The temperature keeps dropping. While it feels amazing on the parts of my arms that were a little burned during the fire, it makes me nervous.
I pull my jacket tighter around me and suppress a shiver. Even if we almost died in the process, it was wise for us to take the risk to get the jackets. Jesse didn’t waste any time hunting for sizes while in the store earlier. He’d managed to grab all the large and extra-large sizes. Wayne’s jacket was a tight fit and Silas’s swallowed him, but the important thing was that we all got one and had a few to spare, which we’re using for blankets.
“How much farther?” I ask, leaning into Kellen’s warmth.
“We have to be close,” he says with a grunt. “How are you feeling?”
The truck hits a bump hard enough my teeth clang together. I work my jaw before answering. “The burns hurt, but the ointment you applied helps. I’ll add more when we stop.” I shudder when a blast of wind sends prickles of icy rain spattering across my face. “Why is it so damn cold?”
Kellen huffs out a white cloud. “I don’t know, but it’s starting to freak me out. It’s not even dark yet, but when the sun fully sets, it’s only going to get colder.”