{"id":1126,"date":"2012-03-14T00:00:43","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T04:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1126"},"modified":"2012-03-13T18:12:15","modified_gmt":"2012-03-13T22:12:15","slug":"autumn-chapter-6-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1126","title":{"rendered":"Autumn – Chapter 6 – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou know, it would have been festival this weekend,\u201d J.T. said quietly, staring out over the ravine, which was ablaze with the colors of autumn.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He was carrying his claymore slung by a strap across his back, hands shoved deep into his pockets.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I frowned a little and shook my head.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re keeping track of the days, Jay?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSomeone has to, right?\u201d he murmured.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCarolyn and I decided it would be us.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019s been drawing new calendars at night, writing down birthdays and everything as best as we know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Time still has meaning.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His expression hardened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt has to.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If it doesn\u2019t now, it will eventually.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You and Thom are going to want to know what day you got married.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Tala\u2019s going to want to know when her baby\u2019s birthday is.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If we don\u2019t keep the calendars, keep the records, how are we going to know?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose he\u2019s right about that.\u00a0 <\/span>I do kind of want to know what date is when Thom and I get married.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>I smiled wryly and squeezed his arm.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t forget Leap Years.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He grunted.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe agreed they were dumb and were thinking about forgetting them regardless.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I snorted softly and shook my head.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Wind rustled the drying leaves, swirled past us back toward the rest of camp.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHard to believe it\u2019s been that long since the meteorfall, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA little,\u201d he said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut then I look at all the progress we\u2019ve made and I stop being as surprised.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, we\u2019re going to have to hope that we\u2019ll get more construction done before the snows fly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It can\u2019t be long now, right?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cProbably not,\u201d I murmured, remembering my vision from weeks before.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut I think Greg would know better.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGreg.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>When did we stop calling him Professor Doyle?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Probably about the time he started to defer to us.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span>I laughed weakly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know, Jay.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t think he minds, though.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGuess not,\u201d he said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re all on the same playing field now anyway, each have our shit that we\u2019re in charge of.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>After a moment of silence, he looked at me sidelong.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYour brother wanted me to teach him how to hit things with a sword.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I tried to say no.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I blinked.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe does?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You did?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Matt never really wanted to have anything to do with any of that\u2014part of why he didn\u2019t fit in that well with my friends in the first place.\u00a0 <\/span>What changed his mind?<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI wonder if it\u2019s about that forge thing.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI have no doubt it\u2019s about that forge thing of his,\u201d J.T. said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI overheard him talking to Thom and Phelan about it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan was going on about how you had to know how to use a blade so you could forge one.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They didn\u2019t know I was listening.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He pinched the bridge of his nose between two meaty fingers.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThom overheard me saying hell no to your brother, though, and we about ended up in a knock-down, drag-out over it.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cReally.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Those two are really beginning to surprise me.\u00a0 <\/span>They must have declared some kind of cease-fire that I didn\u2019t know about.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He grunted.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Said if I didn\u2019t start teaching him the basics, he was just going to have to do it himself because one way or another, Matt was going to need to learn this shit.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I just looked at him like he was crazy and then we started yelling.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t know, I think I might have actually agreed to teach your brother something by the end of it, but I don\u2019t actually remember.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>All I wanted was for Thom to knock it off.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell,\u201d I said quietly, \u201cwe both know that\u2019s how he wins arguments sometimes.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>J.T. shook his head slowly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re not angry, are you?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAbout what, that you\u2019re going to teach my brother how not to hurt himself with a sword?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>No, I\u2019m not mad.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Hate me for it if you want to, but Thom\u2019s probably right about him needing to know at some point.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Better to get them all started sooner rather than later.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019re not going to have working guns forever, and if you listen to Phelan sometimes, you start to get the distinct impression that guns might not be very effective against some things we\u2019ll go toe-to-toe with going forward.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He nodded, brow creasing.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m just not sure what to make of all of it sometimes.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He took a step away from me and drew the claymore, its edges catching the daylight that streamed through the trees.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not even sure how I knew how to do some of the things I did with this that day, Mar,\u201d he said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow am I supposed to start teaching anyone anything?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe same way you guys did when you started teaching people for faire.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They just won\u2019t pull any strikes when it\u2019s time for the real deal.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I put a hand on his arm and squeezed.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ll be okay.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019ll be okay.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan and Thom can help you when they\u2019re better, Tala can help with the basics until she\u2019s too big to move, and some of the others are pretty clear on the basics.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s just some of the staffers and Matt and Paul and Greg that you\u2019ll really have to worry about.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I smiled wryly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd me.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>J.T. snorted and put up the claymore, then slid an arm around my shoulders.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ll pick it up fast enough.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t know about anyone else, but I think <\/span>Thom <\/span><\/em>would be happiest if you were at the back and outside of harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s never going to happen, Jay.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He smirked.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But we can hope.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Boots crunched on fallen leaves and acorn husks, coming from the direction of the ravine to our right.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I frowned, turning.<\/span>\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember anyone going down there today for anything.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Leah appeared through the brush, slightly mud-spattered and a little bedraggled.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She was also <\/span>alone<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLeah, what the he\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t go alone,\u201d she said firmly, glaring at me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cRory went with me for firewood.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He slipped and hit his head on the way back so I came for help to get him and the wood back to camp.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She walked past J.T. and I, then turned back. \u201cYou know, if you\u2019ve got something to accuse me of, I wish you\u2019d just stop screwing around and just do it so I can stop walking on a bunch of fucking eggshells.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>My mouth went dry.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat the hell, Leah?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She knows?\u00a0 <\/span>Of course she\u2019s got to know that something\u2019s going on, that something\u2019s up, but what does she thinks she knows?<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She shook her head.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou guys have all been looking at me sideways since that thing happened with Phelan.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I get it, I screwed up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I said I was sorry.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But nothing I\u2019ve done warrants the level of suspicion you guys ratcheted up in the past two weeks.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019ve leveraged paranoia into a fucking art form.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhere\u2019s Rory?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>J.T. rumbled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019d almost forgotten he was next to me\u2014and almost forgotten about Rory hitting his head.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m a goddamned one-way street, aren\u2019t I?<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust past the curve in the ravine heading down behind the arboretum.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Leah\u2019s expression softened momentarily.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s not a serious knock, but he was dizzy enough that I didn\u2019t want to make him climb by himself, and he\u2019d be useless to help with the wood.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I can\u2019t help him <\/span>and<\/span><\/em> carry all the wood by myself.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I figured we might want <\/span>both<\/span><\/em> to make it back to camp.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She exhaled, seeming to calm down a little.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m going to go get some more help\u2014it\u2019s <\/span>a lot<\/span><\/em> of wood\u2014and I\u2019ll meet you guys down there if you want to go ahead.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>J.T. was moving before I could respond.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Something was screaming in the back of my head that this might well be a terrible idea, but I ignored it.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Rory needed help, probably down in the swampy meadow where we\u2019d fought the greys and where the <\/span>camazotzi<\/span><\/em> had jumped Thom, Drew, and I that might years before.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Whether or not we were being paranoid about Leah for no reason, she\u2019d left Rory out in the ravines alone in a decidedly dangerous spot.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>J.T. and I didn\u2019t have any time to lose.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The fact that it could be a trap never crossed my mind.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou know, it would have been festival this weekend,\u201d J.T. said quietly, staring out over the ravine, which was ablaze with the colors of autumn.\u00a0 He was carrying his claymore slung by a strap across his back, hands shoved … 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":[38,35,44,14,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autumn","category-book-2","category-chapter-6-book-2","category-story","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-ia","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126","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=1126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1127,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions\/1127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}