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)
Judy winces as she pulls off her boot. Silas sidles up next to her and hugs her while Dan and Hailey watch with matching worried expressions.
“Does it feel broken?” Tyler asks, gently pressing around her ankle bone.
“Just really sore,” she says with a sigh. “I’m fine. I have to be.”
That’s no lie.
You’re fine or you’re dead these days. There is no in between.
“I’m going to wrap it to give you extra support,” Tyler says as he pulls out the thick wrap from his first aid kit. “Tonight, when we rest, you need to prop this foot up. Make the hubs and kids wait on you.”
She smirks. “Thanks, Doc.”
Tyler efficiently wraps up her ankle and then helps her put her sock and boot back on.
“Jess,” he calls out. “Find Judy a stick she can use for walking. She’ll need the extra support.” Then to me he says, “How’s your side?”
I have checked it on our many bathroom breaks and it seems to be healing nicely. “Sore but better.”
“It could use new dressings,” Tyler says as he moves to sit beside me. “Let me see it.”
I unzip my jacket and then lift my shirt. This close to him, I get a whiff of his scent. Salty and unique. I could pick his scent out of a lineup with my eyes closed. While I probably smell like death warmed over or stinky gym socks, he smells heavenly. It reminds me of last night when I got to taste him. His mouth tasted pretty damn good too.
“You’ll survive,” he says as he inspects my healing wound. “It’s bruised all to hell.” He lifts a brow at me and I read between the lines. Did I hurt you last night?
“I’m fine,” I assure him, sharing a wicked smile. “Better than fine.”
He laughs and then sets to cleaning my wound. Once it’s redressed, he gives me the go ahead to pull my shirt down and zip back up into my coat.
“Miss Judy,” Wayne says, “if you want to sing sweet nothings into my ear, I’ll give you a piggyback ride wherever you want to go.”
Judy blushes and laughs. Dan playfully scowls at him. Despite all our hardships, the mood of the group right now is light and I love that for us. Even Hope is smiling, and I haven’t seen her do a lot of that lately.
I really hope Lee Vining can offer us something. Lodging, a vehicle, supplies, nice humans. I’ll hold onto that hope too.
It’s late afternoon when we see the sign for Lee Vining. Better yet, there’s promise of food and lodging. Our collective good mood grows with each passing step.
That is, until we reach the town.
The small town at the base of the mountains has mostly collapsed into a sinkhole that stretches as far as the eye can see and at least fifty feet deep. A sign for a cannabis store is the only thing that remains of said store. We all stand on the edge of the sinkhole, gaping in part fascination and part defeat.
“We’ll get off the road and head toward 395, catching up to it past the sinkhole,” I say, finally addressing the group. “We might get lucky and find a car.”
Judy, who hours ago took Wayne up on his offer, shoots me a sad smile. We’d all held out such high hopes for Lee Vining. But we can’t sit around and mope. We’ll need to find a place to make camp soon.
I lead our group around the massive sinkhole and onto the road that’ll eventually take us to Stovepipe Wells. The ground trembles beneath our feet and I can’t help but wonder if we weren’t safer in the mountains. There’s no turning back, though. With no lodging or food or water, we’d eventually be ultimately screwed up there.
Tyler falls into step beside me. When he takes hold of my hand, I welcome it. I’m not sure what the others think about our budding romance, but I’m too selfish to care. It feels right holding his hand. It certainly helps soften the blow of what a failure Lee Vining was for us.
We walk another ten minutes before I see a structure in the distance. It’s quickly turning dusk, which makes it harder to see, but my heart rate quickens in anticipation.
“There’s a building up ahead,” I say to Tyler. “What do you think it is?”
“Let’s hope for a working McDonald’s.”
I bark out a laugh. “Of all the things you could wish for, it’s that?”
“I’ve been living off nuts and candy bars,” he grumbles. “A burger sounds divine right about now.”
We’re both all smiles as we approach. It’s not a McDonald’s, but it’s the next best thing. An intact hotel. Not the loveliest of hotels as it’s seen better days, but it sure beats tent living.
“Tyler, Aaron, Dan,” I say, gesturing at the men. “Let’s check things out before we all go traipsing over there.”