The Quake

Chapter 8

When Erin shivered, he loosened his grip on her, pushing her back to arm's length. "You must be freezing. We need to find you some clothes."

She gnawed at her lower lip that was beginning to turn blue. He noted with despair the water droplets trailing down her nose as she nodded shakily. "Yeah. I guess I am pretty cold." She stuttered.

He dragged her over to the cab of the truck, reluctant to let go of her hand. Hoping he'd left at least a jacket in there to warm her, he opened all of the inner compartments then slammed them shut. Damn. "Climb in, I can at least put the heater on for you."

"We wont all fit in here," she protested hugging herself with one arm.

"All?" Tyler asked glancing around their deserted property.

"I can't leave them," she said nodding toward the truck bed. Tyler followed her gaze to the dripping mass of fur taking up residence there. "They don't understand what's happened."

Tyler didn't understand what had happened either. One moment he'd been taking out the garbages and berating himself for kissing her. The next thing he'd known, the damn house was falling in all around him. His blood buzzed with the primal drive to keep her safe. Erin was his responsibility, even if she chose to fight him on this. He looked pointedly between the two dogs in the back and the dog pressed against her bare legs. "You're not leaving them. They can still see you through the window."

She shook her head defiantly. Dropping his hand, she hoisted herself into the bed of the truck where she was immediately mauled by welcoming tongues. Not to be left out, Gary hopped over the back to join the dog pile.

Tyler scrubbed a frustrated hand down his wet face. It was obvious that he could either argue and lose or begin to survey the damage without worrying what trouble she would be getting into while out of his sight. If she chose to be cold out here, at least she was well protected by drool.

His hair dripped into his eyes while he considered the position of the sun. It was probably nine in the morning, he guessed. He didn't know exactly because his cellphone was still in the house and the clock in the truck had never worked. He knew, the most dangerous time to re-enter a building was right after a disaster like this one. Things had shifted to become unstable but hadn't yet fallen. As gravity pulled on them through the day, more pieces of the building would give-in and crumble. Not to mention any unpredictable aftershocks.

Jittery with adrenaline, he left Erin and the dogs to walk the perimeter of the house, checking the ground for water or sewage leaks as he went. He shut off external valves on the house as he passed. He made it halfway around when he stopped beside the entry to the day basement. It was a gaping maw shredded like the cracked teeth of a UFC fighter after a grueling bout. A black streak startled him as it launched itself through the broken glass of the basement. Damn cat could survive anything. He'd have to tell Erin that.

Behind him a good distance from the house stood a six foot by three foot plastic building that looked more like a dog house than a respectable shed. He'd gone cheap when he'd purchased it. Its only job being to keep some of his tools out of the weather temporarily before a larger more permanent shed could be constructed. Despite the day's events, this shed still looked pristine. Even if it wasn't, if it fell on him, it would only hurt a little, not kill him. He looked uncertainly back at the house. Unlike the basement.

Tyler pried open the plastic door of the shed, making the entire structure shiver. Just inside, in the front right corner was a carefully folded tarp. He snatched that up, then wrapped a drill and his small case of bits in the tarp. At least that felt like he'd done something. He closed the door carefully, but it wouldn't re-seal.