{"id":168,"date":"2011-05-13T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2011-05-13T04:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=168"},"modified":"2011-05-13T00:00:30","modified_gmt":"2011-05-13T04:00:30","slug":"day-zero-chapter-4-marin-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=168","title":{"rendered":"Day Zero – Chapter 4 – Marin – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was hovering, I knew it, and I also knew that it was pissing Jacqueline off to at least some degree.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 It was Thom<\/em>, for Christ\u2019s sake.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t letting him out of my sight again\u2014at least not anytime soon.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMarin, will you please at least give me a little room to work<\/em>?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But I don\u2019t want to get too far away from him.\u00a0 <\/em>I grimaced, edging back slightly, sprawling in an odd sitting position near one corner of the mattress but staying within arm\u2019s reach of his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIs he going to be okay?\u201d\u00a0 He has to be.\u00a0 He <\/em>has to be okay.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t how his story\u2019s supposed to end.<\/em>\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t answering fast enough.\u00a0 \u201cWell?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMarin!\u00a0 Relax.\u00a0 Give me a minute and I can answer you.\u201d\u00a0 She looked bewildered as she stared at me for a long moment, then shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cToss me that roll of ace bandage.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I fished it out of the kit and watched her start splinting Thom\u2019s ankle, which she\u2019d set properly\u2014or so we hoped.\u00a0 She was working by touch and instinct and a lot of preliminary medical training.\u00a0 J.T. would double check everything later, and so would my brother\u2014the EMT and the Eagle Scout.\u00a0 By that point, I was pretty sure most of us had resigned ourselves to the fact that we were more than certainly on our own.\u00a0 It was almost a no-brainer at this point.\u00a0 Carolyn was right.\u00a0 If someone\u2014anyone\u2014was coming to help us, they would have arrived by now, and since no one had, what other conclusion were we supposed to reach?
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I reached down and gently ran my fingers along Thom\u2019s hairline, careful to avoid the purple knot that dominated part of his forehead.\u00a0 It just looked angry<\/em> to me, that mark.\u00a0 Jacqueline had sent Carolyn to go scavenge some ice from Kleiner so she could hopefully get some of the swelling down.\u00a0 The weather was turning quickly\u2014the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees within the last few hours, and the angry clouds I\u2019d been watching since I woke up were moving in, gathering strength in the strange sky.\u00a0 Rain would come soon.\u00a0 I could smell it on the wind.\u00a0 We had maybe another hour, maybe two if we were lucky.\u00a0 Almost everyone was working on shelters, or food, or other essentials, and working quickly.\u00a0 I think they knew that we were running short of time to get those together.\u00a0 Some of the anthro students had gone back to the storage areas beneath Lake Michigan hall to raid it for supplies\u2014tarps, shovels, other tools.\u00a0 A few people, like Kellin, J.T., and Drew, were still out looking for survivors, though hope was rapidly dwindling that we\u2019d find many more.\u00a0 We were running out of time<\/em>.\u00a0 Night would come quickly after the rains.\u00a0 We all knew that.\u00a0 It was just a question of when, and how ready we\u2019d be to face it.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My brother had apparently had the presence of mind to start raiding our rooms in the dorms while he was investigating them for survivors with the others.\u00a0 He and one other person had been gathering up personal items and extra clothing as quickly as possible, bringing it to the shelters\u2014just in case we wouldn\u2019t have another chance to get into the unstable buildings\u2014I was thinking that we were all fairly certain that they were going to become even more unstable rapidly, since the earthquakes had only become a little less frequent in number and the intensity hadn\u2019t eased by that much, either. \u00a0There was also inclement weather blowing in\u2014literally blowing in, since the winds had picked up a bit.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou wanted the big box from the office, Jacqueline?\u201d\u00a0 Jack had a huge green plastic tote in his hands.\u00a0 Jacqueline barely glanced up before nodding.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPut it in the corner, there.\u00a0 That\u2019s fine.\u201d\u00a0 She continued to wrap Thom\u2019s ankle.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t stir at all, just kept breathing.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jack nodded, stowing the tote, then looking at me.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll haul that other mattress in here, Marin.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I smiled weakly at him.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Jack.\u201d\u00a0 Is it that obvious I\u2019m not going to leave him?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jacqueline snorted, fastening off the end of the ace bandage.\u00a0 \u201cGuess I don\u2019t have to worry about staying here to watch him, huh?\u00a0 You\u2019re not leaving him at all.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot until I know, no, I\u2019m not leaving him.\u201d\u00a0 I bit my lip, staring at his dirty, ashen face a moment.\u00a0 \u201cBrandon said they had to lever a slab of the ceiling sheetrock off of him.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, he\u2019s really lucky he\u2019s not worse off.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think his ribs are broken, but we\u2019ll figure that out later.\u00a0 He\u2019s bruised up real nice.\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged a little.\u00a0 \u201cI can only do so much, Marin.\u00a0 This is really\u2026really touch-and-go, if you know what I mean.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure everything that I\u2019m doing is actually going to do him any good.\u00a0 I\u2019m not even sure that I\u2019ve found<\/em> everything that\u2019s wrong.\u00a0 All we can do is wait and hope.\u201d\u00a0 She stood up carefully and scooped up a blanket, tossing it to me.\u00a0 \u201cKeep him warm and get that ice on his head when Carolyn gets back with it.\u00a0 Wrap it in the towel.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 Better not to shock the system that way.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded back.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to go check on everyone else.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded again, edging closer to Thom as she left, unfolding the blanket and spreading it across his prone form.\u00a0 He seemed to react a little, but not enough for me to even dare to hope he was waking up.\u00a0 I leaned down and kissed his forehead gently.\u00a0 \u201cStay with me,\u201d I murmured softly.\u00a0 \u201cRather spend the rest of my life fighting with you than having buried you today.\u201d\u00a0 Hope you feel the same way.\u00a0 Hope that\u2019s what\u2019s in store for us\u2014if half of what I\u2019ve seen is right\u2026it is.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was hovering, I knew it, and I also knew that it was pissing Jacqueline off to at least some degree.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 It was Thom, for Christ\u2019s sake.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t letting him out of my sight … 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":[6,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-4","category-day-zero"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-2I","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","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=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}