{"id":1018,"date":"2012-01-13T00:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-01-13T05:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1018"},"modified":"2012-01-10T17:24:20","modified_gmt":"2012-01-10T22:24:20","slug":"autumn-chapter-2-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1018","title":{"rendered":"Autumn – Chapter 2 – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBloody <\/span>hell<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She shoved her hands into a bowl of cold water, cursing under her breath.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>First her eye, now her hands?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>How paranoid <\/span>were<\/span><\/em> these people?<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gray crossed his arms, staring at her.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNow what?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPractically set the mirror on fire, that\u2019s what,\u201d Ter\u00e9zia Ramsay growled, taking her hands slowly out of the bowl to inspect them for blisters in the making.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFirst it\u2019s like someone threw a handful of sand in my eye, and then blazing hot mirror?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What <\/span>are<\/span><\/em> these people?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re the one scrying for other sensitives, Teca.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t tell me you didn\u2019t expect something like this to happen.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She almost threw the mirror at him.<\/span>\u00a0 Is he blas\u00e9 about <\/em><\/span>everything<\/span>, or am I just blessed with the brunt of his apathy?<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThank you, Gray, I really needed someone to point out that it could be <\/span>dangerous<\/span><\/em> to do what I\u2019m doing.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Thank you very much for telling me it\u2019s my own damned fault.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>His brow arched.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre you saying it\u2019s not?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All right, he\u2019s got you there.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cJust shut up.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She touched the mirror cautiously, lightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was cool again, unlike the scalding heat that she\u2019d felt while scrying on the concentration of sensitives somewhere west of them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She lifted it and inspected the cloth below.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Scorched in a ring around where the mirror had lain, but otherwise serviceable.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She put the mirror back down, then wrapped it in the cloth and left it on the table, sighing as she stood up.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gray just smirked a little and stepped out of the tiny room inside the lodge.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There were twelve of them here.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>More than half had come up together, a group of friends on a retreat.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Then there was a pair of hikers and a widower with his two kids.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>All of them had proved to have varying levels of sensitivity.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019d been lucky to find each other and later the abandoned lodge up here in the park.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They hadn\u2019t seen anyone else alive in the last month, since they managed to duck a biker gang cruising through, apparently looking for resources of some kind or another.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019d bypassed this area of the park, and the two that had spotted them had been mercifully ignored.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019d all known, though, somehow, that there were more survivors out there\u2014maybe dozens, maybe hundreds, but they were out there.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>So Ter\u00e9zia began looking, over the objections of some of their friends.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She emerged into the lodge\u2019s main room and glanced toward the large windows at the front end.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The sky was gray above the trees and it looked chill.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kess was sitting by the fire with a pile of fabric in her lap and a needle in her hand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She looked up at the sound of the door\u2019s opening and peered at Ter\u00e9zia.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGray was walking like some kind of one man army when he came out of there, had that little I-told-you-so look he gets.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You find something?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia grimaced.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah, I found something, and that something bit me twice before I backed off.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOnly twice?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They must not have been that interesting.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kess moved part of the pile over\u2014it was apparently a sleeping bag that she was repairing\u2014and patted the space next to her on the floor.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDone for the day, then, huh?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDone for the moment.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia inspected her hands again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A little red, still, but no blisters.<\/span>\u00a0 Good.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s not that they weren\u2019t that interesting, it\u2019s that they knew I was watching.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I might look again another time.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Their defenses against me just kept escalating\u2014not sure what would have happened next if I looked again.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAh.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>So that\u2019s why Gray had that look.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her nose wrinkled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMore than likely.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m still not sure he thinks I should have been looking in the first place, though.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But how else are we supposed to figure out where anyone is, or how many people like us are out there?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Kess shrugged and went back to sewing, her neat, tiny stitches attaching a patch over a rip in the sleeping bag\u2019s lining.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe he doesn\u2019t think we should be looking.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe he has a better way.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He doesn\u2019t belong to me, he\u2019s just my friend.
\n<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia snorted softly and leaned back against her palms. \u201cThat\u2019s for sure.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Where\u2019d he go?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWith Wat to check the snares.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Said they\u2019d be back in half an hour or so.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Elton and the kids went with them, but I think they\u2019re looking for berries and shit.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kess shook her head.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre we going to have enough food to get through the winter, Teca?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Do we even know?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Have a plan?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She shrugged.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s between Elton and Wat.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019re the ones looking after that part of the equation.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Kess sighed and shook her head.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI never thought my survival would be in the hands of someone named Sherlock Watson.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia grinned.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s not his fault.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know, I know.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kess pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her voice came vaguely muffled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo what did you see before someone started attacking you?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Anything?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTent camp with a lot of building going on,\u201d Ter\u00e9zia said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was drawn to a cluster by a fire.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Got attacked when I started looking at them too close, I guess.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She frowned slightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThey\u2019re west of us, but I\u2019m not sure where.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s a lot of power there, though.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I started seeking and found them first.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo you\u2019ve only found one group so far?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust the one.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Decided to quit while I was kind of ahead.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She frowned.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy do you sound so surprised?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Kess shrugged.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I guess because I am a bit.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I mean, you were really crazy gung-ho to find other groups, other survivors, maybe hook up with them at some point and you stopped after you found <\/span>one<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s not like you.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her cheeks flamed with shame.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kess was right.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It wasn\u2019t like her to just give up like that.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She shook her head slightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe I\u2019m a little afraid,\u201d she mumbled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWithout even knowing it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I got angry with Gray for giving me a hard time and yet being incredibly apathetic at the same time.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s not quite like you, either.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia shook her head.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Usually, she ignored Gray\u2019s apathy in favor of focusing on his quiet insights. Then again, life usually didn\u2019t come with this sort of <\/span>stress<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>And none of this had quite felt so real before the meteor-fall.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was as if something inside of their souls had twisted, switched on, something.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Even Elton\u2019s kids could feel it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There was something markedly different about the world now, something none of them could quite explain or define.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia stood up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDo you want to watch?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWatch what?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kess stared at her for a moment, blinking, then her eyes widened in realization.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re going to go back in these and look at them again?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s got to more out there, right?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll look for others.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Grab a notebook.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll start a list.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Kess hesitated a moment, then nodded, knotting off her thread.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ll be there in a minute.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s all I need to get ready,\u201d Ter\u00e9zia said, feeling lighter, buoyed by her friend\u2019s support.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She grinned at Kess and ducked back into the small room, into its shadows and dim.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She unwrapped the mirror again and settled it on the table.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Kess arrived a moment later, wearing a brave smile as she eased the door closed behind her.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve never watched you do this before,\u201d she said, almost shyly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her friend grinned.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFirst time for everything,\u201d Ter\u00e9zia said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She leaned over the mirror, let her eyes slide halfway shut, and concentrated.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Something hummed in the back of her brain, drawing her taut like a guitar string, humming with the energy she drew from the world around her.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She imagined a pendulum in her mind, swinging, seeking life, seeking power like her own.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gray smoke seemed to bubble up out of nowhere, followed slowly by an image.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A man dressed in a military uniform walked down a rutted highway, leading a horse along with him.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He squinted, looking around.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The door to the small room banged open and Ter\u00e9zia\u2019s concentration snapped.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The image winked out as her head came up.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Sherlock Watson didn\u2019t even have the grace to look abashed at having interrupted.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPut that thing away,\u201d he said, waving a hand at the mirror.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe need you out here.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Nose wrinkling, Ter\u00e9zia stood up from the chair where she\u2019d seated herself.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Kess was peering beyond their friend, back into the main floor of the lodge.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c\u2026I think they found someone.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBloody hell.\u201d\u00a0 She shoved her hands into a bowl of cold water, cursing under her breath.\u00a0 First her eye, now her hands?\u00a0 How paranoid were these people? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gray crossed his arms, staring at her.\u00a0 \u201cNow what?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPractically … 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":[38,35,40,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autumn","category-book-2","category-chapter-2","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-gq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018","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=1018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1019,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018\/revisions\/1019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}