{"id":144,"date":"2011-05-02T00:00:38","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T04:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=144"},"modified":"2011-05-02T00:00:38","modified_gmt":"2011-05-02T04:00:38","slug":"day-zero-chapter-2-marin-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=144","title":{"rendered":"Day Zero – Chapter 2 – Marin – 04"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The clouds above us roiled, twisted.\u00a0 Thunder rumbled in the distance, though I didn\u2019t see any lightning to spark it.\u00a0 Rain splashed down against the weathered concrete and we huddled together, sharing blankets against the damp and the cold.\u00a0 Carolyn grimaced as she stretched shaking hands toward a small fire that crackled and popped, barely staying alive.\u00a0 She seemed to concentrate a moment, and the fire stopped struggling, strengthening a moment.\u00a0 Kellin nodded slowly, smiling weakly.\u00a0 I just shivered a little, drawing closer to whoever was next to me and listened to the rain keep coming down\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I pressed a hand against my temple, groaning quietly as I leaned a little more heavily on Kellin for a moment, letting the vision run its course and dissipate.\u00a0 Bloody hell.\u00a0 I say something about not having any visions, and one hits me between the eyes.<\/em>\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t much to it and I didn\u2019t try to hang onto the vision, delve any deeper.\u00a0 I wanted to focus on the present, on finding survivors\u2014especially Thom.\u00a0 Kellin threw a questioning glance in my direction and I just shook my head.\u00a0 Don\u2019t need to worry about what I\u2019m seeing right now.\u00a0 Need to worry about the here and now first.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll need Drew, at least.\u00a0 Some of the guys from the camps could be useful, too, in case we need to carry anyone.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She grunted, then nodded in agreement.\u00a0 \u201cAt the very least, we\u2019ll need Drew to carry you<\/em>.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u00a0 I can walk.\u201d\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 Slowly.\u00a0 It\u2019ll hurt like a bitch and I\u2019ll be useless for a couple days, but\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 She deadpanned at me and I sighed.\u00a0 \u201cFine.\u00a0 Park me someplace where I can watch, at least.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan probably do that.\u00a0 We\u2019ll start with what\u2019s left of Mackinac, I think, and work from there.\u201d\u00a0 She pulled me across the hill\u2014I could see a few makeshift shelters of furniture taking shape, though mostly it was just a forest of beds, desks, and shelves in various states of assembly scattered across the area.\u00a0 The buildings looked stable enough, but I was wholly understanding of their logic\u2014I wouldn\u2019t trust them, either, not with everything that was happening, not with the ground heaving erratically.\u00a0 They were giant brick tombs, especially if things shook just<\/em> right\u2014or just wrong<\/em>.\u00a0 I knew what those floors could shake like on a normal day, let alone a day with earthquakes.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDrew!\u201d\u00a0 Kellin lifted her arm to wave.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew was working on hauling a wardrobe out of Robinson Hall with Jack Schmidt, one of the camp staffers.\u00a0 He glanced at us for a moment, blinked, then continues to help Jack haul the wardrobe out. \u00a0They struggled to get it partway up the hill before they unceremoniously dropped it into the thick grass there.\u00a0 Drew cocked his head to one side, looking at me.\u00a0 His tone was half teasing, half chiding.\u00a0 \u201cUp already, Marin?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I made a rude gesture, feeling about as tired as I\u2019m sure I looked.\u00a0 \u201cUp not soon enough, apparently.\u00a0 We\u2019re going survivor hunting.\u00a0 Can\u2019t believe you hadn\u2019t thought of that<\/em> yet.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cMost have found us.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t had to look.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd the ones who can\u2019t come find us?\u00a0 They don\u2019t get to live?\u201d\u00a0 I gave him a dirty look to match his sheepish one.\u00a0 In hindsight, I shouldn\u2019t have laid into him so hard.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t deserve that, on top of everything else that he was facing\u2014what all of us were facing.\u00a0 I was worried, though, more than I was willing to admit at the time.\u00a0 I wanted Thom to be all right, wanted to find him.\u00a0 I wanted to find our other friends; I prayed silently that they were still alive, waiting for someone to come rescue them.\u00a0 It was all I could<\/em> do, and that hope was all we had except each other.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin sighed.\u00a0 \u201cArguing isn\u2019t going to do anyone any good.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go.\u00a0 Grab some of the camp staff, Drew.\u00a0 We\u2019ll check Mackinac first.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 Drew looked at Jack, then the two of them headed back into Robinson Hall as Kellin and I slowly made our way over to the wreck of the Mackinac Hall complex.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The center columns that had towered above the open courtyard had come down, crushing tables and smashing windows.\u00a0 One corner of the building had already collapsed, and other parts were in a state of partial collapse.\u00a0 Most of the building\u2019s glass littered the ground and I grimaced, hoping against hope that there hadn\u2019t been too many people inside when it started to come down.\u00a0 Apparently, the ground wasn\u2019t nearly as stable as the contractors who\u2019d worked on it had thought.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I sank down on what was left of a bench at the edge of the courtyard while Kellin unwound her pendulum from around her neck, wrapping a good portion of the chain around her hand.\u00a0 She took a deep breath, watching the finger of stone dangle from her fingertips, then glanced at me.\u00a0 \u201cWish me luck.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I smiled weakly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re better at it than I ever was.\u201d\u00a0 Good luck, Kel.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She grinned wryly at me, then took another deep breath, as she relaxed her hand and arm, closing her eyes a moment.\u00a0 She opened them again as the pendulum began to swing lazily toward the wreckage of the buildings.\u00a0 Moving carefully, she walked the path set out before her, following the pendulum\u2019s direction into the devastated courtyard.\u00a0 I watched, rubbing gently at my feet and calves, as she picked her way through the debris.\u00a0 Drew joined me with three of the camp staffers before to long.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHas she found anyone yet?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I shrugged a little.\u00a0 \u201cNot sure.\u00a0 She hasn\u2019t said anything if she has.\u201d\u00a0 Gods, please.\u00a0 Please let her find him alive.\u00a0 Please.\u00a0 Please just let this work.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then her voice called from deeper into the ruin.\u00a0 \u201cOver here!\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve found someone!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The clouds above us roiled, twisted.\u00a0 Thunder rumbled in the distance, though I didn\u2019t see any lightning to spark it.\u00a0 Rain splashed down against the weathered concrete and we huddled together, sharing blankets against the damp and the cold.\u00a0 … 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-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-02","category-day-zero"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-2k","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144","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=144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}