Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
He encouraged Taron with a whisper and led the way, numb to the harrowing elements. When they rushed past the shed, he was ready to cry with joy, but when he finally opened the door to the cabin and pushed Taron into the safety of its wooden walls, relief was so great he forgot to close the door and just stood there, shocked when it slammed shut behind him. He was quick to lock the entrance with the padlock.
He’d never been so happy to have shelter. In just the short time he’d been outside, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and Taron didn’t even need to gesture toward the cellar. When Taron had taken the cats there, Colin had been secretly rolling his eyes, not sure why he was so afraid of a little rain, but now Colin appreciated the thought Taron had put into the preparations. So maybe it wasn’t doomsday yet, but if the tornado hit the area and blew the house away, they’d be safe underground.
Colin reached the trapdoor in Taron’s bedroom in no time and hauled it up, to the pitter-patter of paws. He scowled and grabbed Rio, who attempted to sneak past him. “Not now, boy,” he said, glancing back at Taron and switching on the light downstairs.
Colin went down first, clearing the path of cats who wanted to climb back out. The last thing they needed was Taron falling down the stairs because one of his pets was overly eager to greet him. The whole operation was a convoluted process, since Taron wouldn’t empty his arms, but eventually Colin ran back up and closed the hatch.
He didn’t like the violent shivers shaking Taron one bit, and wanted to grab a blanket from his cage, but Taron called him over with a grunt instead, and placed the jacket full of kittens into Colin’s arms.
He stilled, overwhelmed by the sensation of movement in the bundle, but the spell was broken the moment Taron’s teeth clattered so violently Colin wished to put a piece of wood between his jaws.
“Come on, you need to get off all those damp clothes,” he said. He had no idea where to put Missi and her babies, but in the end chose an empty pet bed Taron had carried down here earlier. It rested on the roof of the cage, so when Colin placed the wet jacket right next to it, Missi would surely know what to do next.
Taron wasn’t paying attention and instead fiddled with something in a large metal shelving unit. Was he searching for cat food, or about to have a pickled onion? Colin wanted to scold him for risking so much earlier, but words died on his lips when the whole thing, all the shelves, moved aside on hinges, revealing a round metal door reminiscent of a bank vault entry with all its locks and a complicated-looking mechanism on the inner side.
He wasn’t sure anymore if he’d made the right choice when he hadn’t run away. Whatever secrets the door hid, he wouldn’t be able to unsee them.
Chapter Thirteen
Taron pulled open the vault door despite the pain nipping at his side. The fucking branch got him in the same area where Colin had stabbed him just last month. Talk about bad luck.
The cats were already familiar with what was behind the reinforced entrance, so they poured in first, eager to reinstate it as their territory. Missi and her kittens had experienced enough stress for a lifetime tonight, so Colin picked up the pet bed and carried them in.
He followed Taron in tentative steps, his brown eyes wide. The elongated room was furnished with rifle and gun holders, and ammo of all kinds was piled up in wholesale boxes. Taron even owned tools to produce his own projectiles, as well as knives, and other weapons that didn’t rely on ammo supply. The weapons gathered in the armory could last many people years if need be, and while Taron hoped he wouldn’t have to use them for anything besides hunting, it felt good to be prepared for any situation.
“Jesus Christ. What are you, preparing for? Another civil war?” Colin uttered.
Taron ushered Colin inside once he was sure all the kittens were safe and accounted for. Only then did he lock the vault with a code. At least that gave him a safety net in case Colin did want to run after all, and used Taron’s weakness to do so.
Colin’s attention was already on the other side of the armory, or rather on the door leading farther into the bunker. “Yeah, but this is… an insane amount. You’re the only person here.”