In The End: a pre-apocalypse novel by Edward M Wolfe Page A

wasn’t
going to be any help getting them out of there. He looked at Carl and although
he still appeared to be in no danger of waking up any time soon, Trey didn’t
want to take any chances so he kicked his head again, then turned and ran to
the kitchen where he remembered seeing the woman’s purse.
    Trey unsnapped the purse and was
relieved to see that her keys were inside. He also saw her Driver’s License in
a small I.D./credit card holder and read her name. Monica Lourenz .
He dropped the I.D. back into the purse and took it with him as he ran back to
her room. Carl was still down and out. He went to her closet and grabbed a
travel-case and laid it on the end of the bed.
    “You’re going to be okay, Monica.
I’m gonna grab some of your things and take you away from here. I wish you’d
help me though. It’d be good if you could put some clothes on.”
    Monica’s breath began to hitch and
she moaned like a wounded animal at the sound of Trey’s voice. He grabbed
clothes at random from her bureau and threw them into the case. When he figured
he had enough he ran out to her minivan with the case in one hand and her keys
in the other. He threw the case in the back and started the engine, then ran
back inside.
    He looked at Carl as soon as he
entered the room. Still safe. “Monica, my name is
Trey. I need you to trust I’m not gonna hurt you. I just want to take you
someplace safe, okay?”
    She looked up at him with what
could have been a look of terror laced with hope that he was telling the truth.
Trey’s heart was ripping him up inside and he hated himself for having had any
part in this. His one hope was that she was actually listening to him now and
believing him.
    “If you don’t get dressed really
fast, I’m gonna have to carry you out to your truck like you are. We really
need to go. I’ll turn around if you’ll get up and put some clothes on.”
    She made no move to do anything or
go anywhere. Trey approached her slowly with his hands extended out to his
sides, palms up. “I’m going to carry you out. Okay, Monica? Don’t be scared.
You’re safe now.”
    Monica continued to stare at Trey
as he approached her. She kept looking at him with that look of hope and fear,
but she didn’t try to get away as he reached for her. She just looked at him
and her teeth began chattering as if she were freezing. Trey reached behind her
with one hand and under her with the other, scooping her up off the bed. He
struggled to get the blanket wrapped around her while holding her up with his
knee.
    He carried her to the door and
adjusted her weight so he could turn the doorknob, then carried her out to her
vehicle, leaving the door open behind him.  Dammit, he thought. I should
have left the car door open, but I wanted it to be warm inside. He managed to
open the passenger door with the hand he had around her back.
    He placed her on the passenger seat
and fastened her seat-belt. The blanket fell away from her and she pulled it
back up. Trey ran around to the other side, got in and slowly backed out of the
driveway, fearing that any second Carl would come running out and either shoot
them, or maybe grab the vehicle and stop it as he broke the windows and pulled
them out through the broken glass like some kind of insane killer from a horror
movie where the bad guy keeps coming back and never dies.
    “I’m taking you somewhere safe till
we can find your husband. My family has a cabin nearby.”
    “Thank you,” Monica whispered and
began to cry.

Sixteen
     
    Tori stopped the story when she heard Elizabeth’s breathing
become shallow and even. She looked down at her little girl and made a silent
promise to find them someplace warm tomorrow. Or she’d find a way to insulate
the broken window. There had to be something. It was ridiculous that they were
freezing to death inside of a house.
    She turned onto her side and laid
as close to Liz as she could and put her arm around her, willing her body heat
to transfer