{"id":1032,"date":"2012-01-23T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T05:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2012-01-22T10:25:01","modified_gmt":"2012-01-22T15:25:01","slug":"autumn-chapter-2-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1032","title":{"rendered":"Autumn – Chapter 2 – 05"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They all stared at Gray, whose jaw was firm, set.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His hands were curled over his kneecaps as he watched Eva\u2019s eyes, which grew sad as she looked back at him and nodded slightly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThen you understand,\u201d she said softly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat this world is far more dangerous than anyone suspects?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Of course I understand,\u201d he said, his voice turning into almost a growl at the end.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve spent half my life since I realized what was out there protecting other people from everything <\/span>and <\/span><\/em>themselves.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He shot a pointed look at Ter\u00e9zia before turning his attention back to Eva.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s hard work.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia opened her mouth to either apologize or demand more answers, but closed it again as Eva spoke.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know it is.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Believe me, I know it is.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I never appreciated what those boys did for me when I was growing up until I had to start doing it for other people.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It has to be just about the most thankless task anyone\u2019s ever taken on.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She smiled weakly at Gray.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cRemind them later that they should thank you.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Have you seen many of those things in the last four weeks?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He shook his head slightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo, none.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s got me a little concerned.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m overdue.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He looked sidelong at his friends.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia\u2019s heart had begun to beat again, painfully hard, thumping against her breastbone.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She wasn\u2019t entirely sure what they were talking about, but it was more than enough to leave her terrified and shaken.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Eva simply made an interested sound and shrugged slightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe you\u2019ve found a sheltered zone, then.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I can\u2019t imagine that they\u2019d miss you up here for another reason.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I found you easily enough, after all.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She scrubbed her hand across her eyes and reached for her mug of tea.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her hand never made it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She started to slump sideways.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gray was there to catch her, muttering a curse.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia caught a glimmer of shiny, wet red beneath the vest Eva wore, the other woman\u2019s T-shirt sticking damp with blood to her flesh on one side.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia blurted.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell us you were hurt?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cToo much else to talk about,\u201d Eva said, almost distantly, still reaching for her cup.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m all right,\u201d she said to Gray.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cReally, I promise, I\u2019m all right.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve believed everything you\u2019ve said up until <\/span>that<\/span><\/em>,\u201d he said flatly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWat, come give me a hand, we\u2019ll get her to a cot.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Teca, find Elton and tell him we need his expertise up here, quick.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia nodded slightly, standing up.<\/span>\u00a0 Told us she got shot <\/em><\/span>at<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>She never said one of the shots found its mark.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>She didn\u2019t say another word as she darted out into the afternoon light.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u2022<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u2022<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Every so often, his thoughts returned to the girl he\u2019d left at the border.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019d been pretty, young, but insistent that he continue north while she went in another direction.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He could still remember her smile.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ve been a wonderful traveling companion, Cameron.\u00a0 <\/span>But there\u2019s someone you need to talk to up there.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You know that in your heart, and I know that, too.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Keep right on following it and I\u2019ll follow mine. Always listen to your heart.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019d smiled, squeezed his arm, and they\u2019d parted company.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019d gone east and he\u2019d continued north, following a gut feeling and her advice.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019d been a week since then, a week of wandering steadily northward.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The smell of the ocean was everywhere as he worked his way north, mingled with the mists and the pines.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His horse didn\u2019t seem to like it much, too damp and chill for his liking, apparently.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron teased him sometimes, even though he was fairly certain the horse didn\u2019t understand\u2014or at the very least didn\u2019t appreciate\u2014the playful ribbing.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But when all you\u2019ve got to talk to his a horse, you make the best of what you\u2019ve got.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He\u2019d seen destroyed towns, abandoned cars, and more bodies than he wanted to think about.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes, his mind trailed back to <\/span>Star Wars<\/span><\/em>, to the death of Alderaan.<\/span>\u00a0 A hundred thousand voices crying out and suddenly silenced.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>It didn\u2019t quite fit the situation, but it\u2019s what he thought of when he thought about the day weeks ago when the destroyed asteroid\u2019s fragments had rained down on the world.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There was a lake in the distance; he could see it beyond the trees, just barely.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was quiet out here, up here.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Two months ago, it would have been the ideal place to take leave, to just get away from anything and everything he could have worried about during his time off from the service.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Now, it just felt eerily empty and quiet.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But he was growing closer to what he was looking for, he knew that down to the marrow of his bones.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The sky was growing dark, either with storms or with gathering evening\u2014unable to see the sun for the clouds, he wasn\u2019t sure which was the case.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The horse nickered softly, nosed his shoulder.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron reached up to stroke the horse\u2019s jaw.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d he said soothingly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ll find some cover before any rain starts.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He hoped it wasn\u2019t a lie, hoped it was sunset that was making the sky dark, not storm clouds.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Still, he began to walk a little faster down the roadway through the trees.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His sore feet protested a little\u2014he hadn\u2019t marched like this since Basic\u2014but he pushed through.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They were so close, he could feel it.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The hair on the back of his neck started to stand on end as he walked onward.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron sucked in a ragged breath as his horse began to misbehave, pulling and shying, growing agitated by something neither of them could see, simply sense.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He swallowed bile as the air around him went very, very cold, almost frosty.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Black mists rolled in through the trees, coalescing around he and his horse.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron moved quickly, scrabbling for the rifle lashed behind his saddle.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If whatever was coming was big, he\u2019d wanted that rather than the sidearm at his hip.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The howls began, and his blood went cold.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Something hit him around the waist and threw him sideways, tearing his hands from the weapon he\u2019d almost freed from its bindings.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His horse screamed and bolted, galloping up the roadway and swiftly out of sight.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fuck me,<\/em><\/span> Cameron thought as he rolled to a crouch, reaching for his weapon.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Red eyes gleamed at him from the dark mists.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A keening sound like a woman\u2019s cry mixed with a man\u2019s scream split the air, vibrated his very being.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Calm,<\/em><\/span> he told himself, staring back at those eyes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Calm.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t panic.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Then one came at him, claws outstretched, the ugliest hag from the depths of hell, all painted blacker than anything he\u2019d ever seen in his life.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron \u201cDragon\u201d MacKenzie rolled with that first blow and from there, launched into a fight for his life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They all stared at Gray, whose jaw was firm, set.\u00a0 His hands were curled over his kneecaps as he watched Eva\u2019s eyes, which grew sad as she looked back at him and nodded slightly. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThen you understand,\u201d she … 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":[38,35,40,14,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autumn","category-book-2","category-chapter-2","category-story","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-gE","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032","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=1032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1033,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions\/1033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}