\u201cThere\u2019s a story there,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 \u201cOne I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really bear repeating,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cI was an idiot, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 I thought that if I pretended I didn\u2019t give a damn and got away from her, broke shit off with her, I could protect her from something I kept seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron frowned, crossing his arms as they walked.\u00a0 \u201cYou guys both have visions, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I was in denial about it for a long time, though\u2014I wanted to believe what I was seeing was just nightmares.\u201d\u00a0 His voice dropped.\u00a0 \u201cI still hope that some of what I\u2019ve seen are just nightmares.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike what?\u201d\u00a0 Cameron asked without thinking.\u00a0 He saw Thom wince and regretted asking.<\/p>\n
Probably hit a nerve and probably shouldn\u2019t have asked that question.\u00a0 Step lightly, remember?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I saw her die,\u201d Thom said simply, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as they emerged from the shadows of the corridor and into the tents beyond.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m still not sure if I did or I didn\u2019t, but that\u2019s what I thought I saw and that\u2019s what triggered everything else.\u00a0 I denied what I could see and that put a serious strain on our relationship, then I broke things off because I thought that maybe, just maybe, it\u2019d protect her.\u00a0 Took me months and the end of the world to realize that I was probably the biggest idiot to live through the apocalypse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that when you married her?\u201d Cameron asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cameron realized it was the graveyard watch when he saw Rory sitting next to the fire and staring off into the night.\u00a0 The wind tugged hard on the tent\u2019s walls, hard enough that Cameron could hear them snapping and straining against the wind.<\/p>\n
Rory glanced toward the sound of their footsteps.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you two doing up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStorm woke Marin and Neve,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cFigured we\u2019d come out and see if it\u2019s as bad as it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBad enough that Paul and Brandon went to go make sure the animals are secure,\u201d Rory said.\u00a0 \u201cThey haven\u2019t come back yet and they left ten minutes ago.\u00a0 Either there\u2019s a ruckus that I can\u2019t hear over the wind, or they got lost on the way there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be they just decided to feed everyone as long as they were out there,\u201d Cameron said, feeling an uncomfortable shudder in his stomach.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, instead of waiting until morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d Rory agreed.\u00a0 \u201cPressure\u2019s bad.\u00a0 Giving me a headache.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if we can\u2019t get back to sleep in a little while, maybe we\u2019ll come relieve you,\u201d Thom said, scrubbing a hand over his face before he yanked on his gloves.\u00a0 \u201cThat way, you can fall over into bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rory grunted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m more worried about what it means.\u00a0 I\u2019m not usually the one that gets a headache during a storm.\u00a0 That\u2019s Drew\u2019s thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron frowned a little.\u00a0 \u201cBut you\u2019re sure it\u2019s just the pressure change?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see how it could be anything else,\u201d Rory said, then paused, looking at them for a long moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not suggesting that it\u2019s something else, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom looked at Cameron, who shifted from one foot to the other, abruptly uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Why the hell did I even suggest it could be something else?\u00a0 Of course it\u2019s not anything else.\u00a0 What else would it be?<\/i><\/p>\n
Something that Phelan or Thordin or Neve would point to\u2014a warning.\u00a0 A sign.\u00a0 Something.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Cameron said honestly.\u00a0 \u201cI really don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThere\u2019s a story there,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 \u201cOne I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard yet.\u201d \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really bear repeating,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cI was an idiot, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 I thought that if I pretended I didn\u2019t give a damn and got away … Continue reading