Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Shifting back into gear, she continued up the driveway, slowly given she didn’t know what was beneath the snow nor if she was actually on the driveway or just making it up as she went along. The nearest town was forty minutes away, and that had been when there was normal driving weather.
Something she didn’t have now. It had taken her nearly two hours to get here, and she accepted she wasn’t going to be heading back the way she’d come for a long while. She had to wait for the roads to be plowed, and given the way it was still falling, that wasn’t going to happen for a good chunk of time.
Iris was fine though. She’d stocked up at that town’s little store, basically wiping the shop out in her mind, picking up provisions for both her and Piros. The back of the vehicle overflowed with food, camping gear and additional oversized men’s clothing in case she needed even more layers.
Winter camping was something she’d done often and she wasn’t concerned about the prospect of facing such a situation.
To her left she saw a garage with an attached carport. The structure had definitely seen better days but the SUV wouldn’t be out directly in the falling snow. She carefully guided the vehicle inside. Snow covered the ground here as well but not as deep as what she’d driven through to get to the location.
“The stone house is nice, though, right, Piros?”
He sat on the seat beside her and huffed. With a long exhale, she shrugged into her jacket and zipped it up. This was going to take a few trips. “First thing will be to complete that front gate to make it continuous and check the rest of the property to make sure there are no gaps.
Her companion side-eyed her like he’d taken offense to her comment. After ruffling his head, she opened the door, sucked in a sharp breath at the cold and hopped out. Piros followed right on her heels.
Without hesitation, she struck out through the deep snow to the front porch of the house, the key she’d been given firmly in her pocket. Although from the look of this place, I’m not sure the key will be necessary.
The porch’s screen door hung askew, and she was fairly certain it would blow off in the next strong wind. She tripped and struggled to catch herself as she swore, grateful she had on her winter hiking boots.
“Found a step, Piros.”
He bounded up and under the warped and holey cover of the porch, she followed a bit more carefully. Three steps were what she discovered leading up. Snow filled all the steps and the porch as well, the screen which lined the porch having long since been ripped away by wind, animals, she wasn’t sure. Plus there could be holes. What she didn’t need was an injury out here all by her lonesome.
From where she stood, at a corner of the porch, there was a door off in each direction at the end of the porch. A large stone section along two sides of the house, before her with a window, on each side both broken. Very nice. Or it will be. The Realtor had said the key was for the red door and since the other was white… She went to the right, toward the faded red one.
Opening the door took patience and muscle. Not the key. Iris ended up throwing her shoulder into it and shoving it open. Piros stepped in, and she pushed the door closed behind them.
“Well, if this is kept, it’s going to take some work. I’m beginning to think I should have come out in the summer to check this out. Not in the dead of winter.” Piros leaned against her leg and she laughed. “Yeah, I get it, bud, but just remember, you’re here with me.”
He snorted.
Iris got to work.
* * * *
Two hours later, she’d hauled all of her things inside, and discovered there was not only no electricity but also no running water. Only one room was habitable, the innermost room. Luckily, it had a fireplace. Thankfully the stone house was only one story. She took photos to share with her family, but realized that she had no signal and, when she looked outside, she found it had gotten dark. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“Another camping trip, Piros.” Yes, she knew this already, but when your companion didn’t speak back to you in actual words, she found she repeated herself on occasion.
Her dog currently lay by the fire she had burning. She needed to go find a lot more wood. Again, she wasn’t worried. She’d grown up camping and roughing it with her family.
“But hey, this time we’re at least inside a building. Sure, we’re sleeping on the floor, but the room has a solid roof and walls.” She knelt by her bag and rifled through it to find her headlamp. Shoving it over her wild afro, she got back to her feet. “Let’s go check out the garage just in case. And before it’s any later. There may be more wood in there.”