{"id":100,"date":"2011-04-11T08:27:55","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T12:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=100"},"modified":"2011-04-11T08:27:55","modified_gmt":"2011-04-11T12:27:55","slug":"day-zero-chapter-1-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=100","title":{"rendered":"Day Zero – Chapter 1 – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Half an hour later, they had taken stock of the situation\u2014and found it wasn\u2019t good.\u00a0 Standing in the middle of the plaza, they surveyed the wreck of what had once been their university campus.\u00a0 Several of the old, stoutly-built cinderblock, concrete, and glass buildings on the central plaza were already half ruined.\u00a0 All the glass in Au Sable Hall\u2019s atrium was shattered, glittering greenish on the ground.\u00a0 They\u2019d collectively decided that it probably wouldn\u2019t be best to necessarily trust the structural integrity of the rest of the buildings around them\u2014especially in the light of what they continued to watch.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Meteorites continued to lazily rain from the sky, one or two every five or ten minutes.\u00a0 It was hard to tell where they were landing, how far away they were landing.\u00a0 A few times, they could see fire licking into the sky in the distance or feel the earth tremble beneath their feet.\u00a0 They\u2019d seen no sign of other survivors, but they hadn\u2019t expected there to be many people on campus, anyhow\u2014it was a Sunday morning, after all, in the middle of August.\u00a0 Semesters had ended.\u00a0 Most people were back home, enjoying their last few days of freedom before the new term began.\u00a0 Just a few days before, they\u2019d been discussing how empty the university grounds were in these waning days of summer, before move-ins started for the fall semester but after the end of the summer term.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matthew Astoris had struggled up one steep side of the ravine about twenty minutes after the six had emerged from the library, one of the few relatively intact buildings on this section of the campus.\u00a0 He was tired, and gratefully accepted a bottle of water the friends had looted from one of the broken vending machines in the library\u2019s lobby.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSomething must\u2019ve come down downstream of here,\u201d he reported after he\u2019d gotten about half the bottle into him, slumped against the concrete steps up to the library\u2019s doors.\u00a0 \u201cRiver\u2019s moving faster than it should be.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Davon grimaced at hearing that.\u00a0 Drew just shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNothing we can do about that,\u201d he said quietly, looking around.\u00a0 \u201cYour phone working, Matt?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matt shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t get a signal.\u00a0 Can you?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNothing.\u00a0 None of us can get anything.\u201d\u00a0 He blew out a breath through his teeth, looking around.\u00a0 A few people were stumbling up form underneath Lake Michigan Hall, they could see at the end of the plaza.\u00a0 Tala was waving.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGuess they were down in the cave,\u201d Davon muttered, shaking his head.\u00a0 The slang for the anthropology lab in the basement of Lake Michigan Hall was one they\u2019d all become accustomed to hearing.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGuess so,\u201d Jacqueline echoed.\u00a0 She glanced at Rory, Drew, and Kellin\u2014the trio had withdrawn a little from the rest, each looking at each other with strange expressions on their faces\u2014guilt, was it?\u00a0 No, not guilt.\u00a0 Something else.\u00a0 Reluctance, almost.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew winced.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it.\u00a0 Look, we\u2019re going to go take a look at Little Mac and stuff\u2026why don\u2019t you guys take Matt\u2019s bag and go grab whatever food and water and stuff you can out of those broken vending machines?\u00a0 Might need them before this is over.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jacqueline frowned, starting to protest, then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Come back for the rest of us before you go take a look beyond Commons, huh?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe will,\u201d he assured her.\u00a0 She nodded, watching the trio head down the plaza toward the pedestrian bridge over the ravine.\u00a0 Chewing the inside of her lip, she slowly turned back toward the library, mounting the steps.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m getting the impression that this might be a little bigger than a local thing,\u201d Carolyn said quietly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI wish I could say I felt like they were wrong,\u201d Jacqueline muttered back.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u2026damn.\u00a0 I was hoping you didn\u2019t feel that way, too.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jacqueline shook her head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cWorld feels different, Care.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ask me how, but it does.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou bet it does.\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn shouldered the door open, holding it ajar for Jacqueline.\u00a0 Matt and Davon remained on the steps, waiting for Tala and her fellow shovel-bums to make it across the plaza to them.\u00a0 \u201cNice to know I\u2019m not the only one who suddenly feels that way.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNeither do I,\u201d she sighed.\u00a0 \u201cBut something else tells me we don\u2019t get a vote about it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jacqueline frowned, grabbing a few plastic bags from behind the circulation desk, the kind usually used for books.\u00a0 She handed one to Carolyn and began to gather up the bottles of water and juice that had spilled from the broken machine as Carolyn started gathering the food from the other machine up.\u00a0 \u201cWould you really want one?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood question.\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn paused a moment, frowning.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think I would.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t think so, either.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo what are we going to do?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot sure.\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline paused, too, staring at her friend.\u00a0 \u201cMuddle through somehow?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBusiness as usual.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs usual as it can get under the circumstances, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 She resumed stuffing bottled water into her bag, trying to will her stomach to settle down.\u00a0 She felt sick.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026what do you think is going to happen to us?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m trying not to think about that just yet,\u201d Carolyn admitted, starting to help her with the bottles.\u00a0 \u201cRight now, I\u2019m just trusting Drew and Kellin.\u00a0 And Matthew.\u00a0 They\u2019ll figure something out.\u00a0 Some kind of solution for at least the short term.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd the long term?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying not to think about.\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn blew a breath out through her teeth.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t even really know what happened out there, Jac.\u00a0 Shouldn\u2019t get too<\/em> ahead of ourselves, right?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The ground shuddered beneath them, more violently than all the previous tremors.\u00a0 Jacqueline muttered an oath under her breath and pushed to her feet; Carolyn was already headed for the door.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell is that?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The ground was still moving beneath them as they scrambled outside.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d\u00a0 Kellin, Drew, and Rory were making a mad dash back toward the knot of survivors gathering outside of the library.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matthew looked grim.\u00a0 \u201cEarthquake,\u201d he said calmly.\u00a0 \u201cMeteorites probably hit something and caused it.\u201d\u00a0 The ground gradually stopped shaking.\u00a0 The geology student slowly stood up, squinting at the sky.\u00a0 \u201cI think they were wrong,\u201d he said quietly, watching as another meteorite streaked through the sky distantly, disappearing behind the tree line.\u00a0 \u201cThese aren\u2019t negligible at all.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re saying this is from the asteroid they blew up?\u00a0 The one that everyone threw missiles at so it wouldn\u2019t\u2026wouldn\u2019t do something like this?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter who the voice came from; Matthew answered all the same, voice grim.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think they exactly knew what they were dealing with, or the consequences that could result from the actions they took.\u00a0 This\u2026I don\u2019t think they expected this at all.\u201d\u00a0 He picked up his bag.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to rig up some shelters and get as much food together as we can.\u00a0 Hopefully, this is isolated and the National Guard will show up soon enough to help us sort out this mess.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The National Guard isn\u2019t going to be able to fix what\u2019s just gone wrong with this world.<\/em>\u00a0 Jacqueline tried to kill the thought before it manifested, but failed.\u00a0 When had she become such a pessimist?\u00a0 A glance toward the bloody sky answered that question quickly enough\u2014in the moment of a flash of light when the world went dark.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Half an hour later, they had taken stock of the situation\u2014and found it wasn\u2019t good.\u00a0 Standing in the middle of the plaza, they surveyed the wreck of what had once been their university campus.\u00a0 Several of the old, stoutly-built … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-01","category-day-zero"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-1C","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}