{"id":132,"date":"2011-04-29T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-04-29T04:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=132"},"modified":"2011-04-29T00:00:54","modified_gmt":"2011-04-29T04:00:54","slug":"day-zero-chapter-2-marin-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=132","title":{"rendered":"Day Zero – Chapter 2 – Marin – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou okay, Marin?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I rested my chin on my knee, looking up toward Kellin and managing a shrug.\u00a0 \u201cThinking, mostly.\u00a0 Not good things.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot a lot of good to think about right now, \u2018cept that we\u2019re what\u2019s left of\u2026well.\u00a0 What\u2019s left.\u201d\u00a0 She came over and sat down next to me on the mattress.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cCarolyn.\u201d\u00a0 She blinked at me, momentarily confused.\u00a0 I sighed and shook my head.\u00a0 \u201cShe knows what we know, I think.\u00a0 Sort of.\u00a0 She feels\u2026she feels that something\u2019s gone wrong, beyond just saying it.\u00a0 I can tell.\u00a0 It\u2019s in her eyes.\u00a0 She knows<\/em>, Kel.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin\u2019s voice was quiet.\u00a0 \u201cShe Awakened?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d I whispered, exhaling slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure of it.\u201d\u00a0 For better or for worse, she\u2019s aware, Awake.\u00a0 Hopefully the former.\u00a0 I guess we\u2019ll know soon enough.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin didn\u2019t say anything for a long moment.\u00a0 \u201cWell,\u201d she said finally, \u201cI guess that\u2019s a bridge we have to cross sooner than we\u2019d have liked.\u201d\u00a0 She scrubbed her hands over her face and leaned back against her palms, looking at me.\u00a0 \u201cWe knew that it might eventually happen.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEventually.\u00a0 We also decided it might never<\/em> happen in this lifetime, so why worry about it?\u201d\u00a0 I blew out a breath through my teeth.\u00a0 \u201cIf she\u2019s<\/em> becoming aware, Kellin, what about the others?\u00a0 They can\u2019t be far behind.\u201d\u00a0 We always thought she would be the last one to Awaken.\u00a0 Maybe we were wrong.\u00a0 I <\/em>hope we are.\u00a0 I just want to be able to take this one person at a time.\u00a0 Carolyn first, everyone else later.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA bridge we\u2019ll cross when we get to it.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got other issues.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure we do,\u201d I mumbled.\u00a0 I dug around in my pocket for my keys, coming up empty.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe took them already.\u00a0 That\u2019s how we got into the other dorms.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 I chewed the inside of my lip.\u00a0 Of course they\u2019d loot my keys.\u00a0 If furniture is going to equal shelter\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s in charge, Kellin?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRight now?\u00a0 We\u2019re kind of leading by consensus.\u00a0 Professor Doyle seems like he\u2019s in pretty good shape, now that his arm\u2019s set.\u201d\u00a0 Greg Doyle was maybe eight years older than me\u2014in his early thirties, I thought\u2014and taught biology.\u00a0 I\u2019d only met him a few times, at meetings for the campus pagan group, which I\u2019d helped to create and then promptly abandoned as things got\u2026well\u2026too fuzzy for me.\u00a0 Kellin had stuck it out, probably just to see if she could channel some of the members in positive directions.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure how successful she\u2019d been\u2014we didn\u2019t talk about the organization much.\u00a0 \u201cHaven\u2019t really found anyone else other than you that\u2019s even moderately in the realm of authority figure.\u201d\u00a0 The only thing that made me an authority figure was that in addition to my off-campus job, I was one of the people in charge of the summer camps staff\u2014which had resulted in me having a lot of keys, mostly to the dormitories and a few associated buildings.\u00a0 Between me and Davon, we probably had keys to most of the campus and knew how to find the rest.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded slowly, taking another long swallow of water.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a Sunday.\u00a0 Guess we can\u2019t expect much of anyone to actually be on campus, right?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFor better or worse,\u201d Kellin murmured, looking at her hands, which were stained with dirt.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh.\u00a0 <\/em>Oh.\u00a0 Oh, Kellin.<\/em>\u00a0 I reached over, squeezed her arm gently.\u00a0 \u201cHow many have you buried already?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThirty or forty, maybe,\u201d she said quietly. \u00a0\u201cLong graves\u2014trenches, really.\u00a0 Out by the PAC.\u201d\u00a0 She paused, then looked at me.\u00a0 \u201cWe haven\u2019t found Thom yet.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why would they be looking for Thom?\u00a0 Thom left for Chicago\u2026he\u2019s not here.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to stay to say good-bye to me.\u00a0 Interview was too important.\u00a0 All that rot.\u00a0 He\u2019s gone.<\/em>\u00a0 My throat tightened.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want him to be gone, to be dead, but that was probably the reality.\u00a0 I fought to keep my voice steady.\u00a0 \u201cThom\u2019s in Chicago.\u00a0 We\u2019re not going to find him here.\u00a0 He\u2019s probably dead, like most of the rest.\u201d\u00a0 The words tasted like ash in my mouth.\u00a0 I felt sick just saying the words.\u00a0 I\u2019m never going to fight with him again because I never <\/em>can.\u00a0 Because he\u2019s gone.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never see him again.\u00a0 Damn it.\u00a0 What I wouldn\u2019t give to fight with him one more time.<\/em>\u00a0 I swallowed hard.\u00a0 Now wasn\u2019t the time to mourn him\u2014there\u2019d be a chance eventually, but not just yet.\u00a0 Right now, we had to make it through the next few days, the next few weeks.\u00a0 I could come apart later.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHis car\u2019s still here, Marin.\u00a0 Drew said he decided not to go.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I stared at her.\u00a0 When did he decide not to go?\u00a0 <\/em>Why did he decide not to go?\u00a0 That job was so, so important to him.\u00a0 Idiot!\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t he\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 My chest tightened.\u00a0 Oh god.\u00a0 That means he\u2019s still\u2026that he\u2019s\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cSo he\u2019s here somewhere?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe have no idea where, though.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I stared at her for a long moment.\u00a0 She looked the same as always, right down to her necklace that wasn\u2019t a necklace.\u00a0 A way to find lost things.\u00a0 One use for scrying, for dowsing.\u00a0 Not just for finding water, but finding anything.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201c\u2026then what the hell are you wearing that around your neck for?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 Kellin looked down toward the finger of rose quartz she wore around her neck on a slender silver chain.\u00a0 It was her pendulum, one she wore like a necklace so she\u2019d always have it on hand.\u00a0 She blinked a moment at it, then looked back at me.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She must have hit her head.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cYou can scry for lost things, can\u2019t you?\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen you find your keys with that thing before.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin shook her head, hard, as if she was struggling to clear it.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to dowse<\/em> for Thom<\/em>?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou said you can\u2019t find him.\u201d\u00a0 I started pushing to my feet again, grimacing.\u00a0 Fuck it.\u00a0 Push past.\u00a0 Time enough to rest when you\u2019re dead, or when he\u2019s dead.\u00a0 Or something.\u00a0 Need to find him first.<\/em>\u00a0 I smiled grimly to myself.\u00a0 So I can slug him, then kiss him, and scream at him for not telling me that he wasn\u2019t going to Chicago this weekend.<\/em>\u00a0 I wavered a moment on my feet; Kellin was quick to steady me.\u00a0 I tugged on her pendulum.\u00a0 \u201cUse it to find him, Kellin.\u00a0 Hell, use it to find any other survivors.\u00a0 We\u2019re\u2026we\u2019re going to need everyone we can get.\u201d\u00a0 I leaned against her, knees shaking.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow do you know?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I deadpanned.\u00a0 You have to ask, Kel?\u00a0 I just <\/em>know.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t had a real, bona fide<\/em> vision yet, if that\u2019s what you\u2019re asking.\u00a0 Then again, I think I\u2019m still half high on fumes from cleaning supplies.\u201d\u00a0 Brains are still half scrambled.\u00a0 Give me a good night\u2019s sleep, I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll start seeing things again.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She recoiled as much as she could with me leaning against her.\u00a0 \u201cRight, right.\u00a0 Sorry.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I shook my head.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t have time for sorry right now.\u00a0 We need to start hunting.\u00a0 Where are the others?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRory and your brother are helping bury the dead I think, though he may have hooked up with Davon to check out buildings.\u00a0 Jacqueline\u2019s with Leah, working with the folks that\u2019re hurt.\u00a0 Drew\u2019s working with some of the camps crew on shelters.\u00a0 Tala\u2019s scouting for food.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s it?\u00a0 What about everyone else?<\/em>\u00a0 She must\u2019ve seen the question in my eyes and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s all we\u2019ve found so far, Marin.\u00a0 It\u2019s not looking good.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cApparently not.\u201d\u00a0 I exhaled a sigh, feeling goosebumps race up and down my arms.\u00a0 I shook my head.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get on with this.\u00a0 My feet are killing me.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter you walked all that way?\u00a0 Yeah, that doesn\u2019t surprise me.\u201d\u00a0 She let me lean on her as we made our way out from under the shelter, out into the waning light.\u00a0 The sullen sky roiled, clouds gathering in the west.\u00a0 I grimaced, watching them drift ever-so-slowly eastward, toward us, tendrils reaching across the sky.\u00a0 Here and there, every so often, a faint streak of light would mark them\u2014whether rock or lightning, I couldn\u2019t be sure.\u00a0 Either way, they were coming.\u00a0 A storm was coming.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou okay, Marin?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I rested my chin on my knee, looking up toward Kellin and managing a shrug.\u00a0 \u201cThinking, mostly.\u00a0 Not good things.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot a lot of good to think about right now, \u2018cept that we\u2019re what\u2019s … 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":[4,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-02","category-day-zero"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-28","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132","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=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}