{"id":200,"date":"2011-05-23T00:00:48","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T04:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=200"},"modified":"2011-05-23T00:00:48","modified_gmt":"2011-05-23T04:00:48","slug":"day-zero-chapter-five-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=200","title":{"rendered":"Day Zero – Chapter 5 – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Two big tents got set up before the first fat raindrops splashed down on the terrain\u2014they\u2019d had more time than any of them suspected.\u00a0 Matthew and Carolyn, between the two of them, had managed to get enough wood for at least three fires, with some extra.\u00a0 Current head-count of survivors stood at forty-seven.\u00a0 Not many\u2014probably not enough\u2014but almost too many at the same time.\u00a0 Dinner had been a cobbled-together stew that had been surprisingly edible, crafted by Matt from food scavenged from refrigerators\u2014food that wasn\u2019t going to keep for more than a day or two.\u00a0 In the morning\u2014at least that was the talk\u2014Davon and another survivor, an engineering student, were going to try to rig generators up to some of the refrigeration units in some of the buildings, so they could keep some of the stored food cold so long as the fuel held out and the buildings stayed standing.\u00a0 How long that would be was anyone\u2019s guess.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most bedded down on mattresses under the tents, with blankets and pillows salvaged from the camp stores.\u00a0 A few lingered awake, staring at each other over the light and warmth of a fire, as the rain pounded down onto the tent\u2019s roof above.\u00a0 It was getting colder.\u00a0 They could all feel it.\u00a0 The earthquakes had subsided\u2014for now.\u00a0 Matt didn\u2019t seem to think they\u2019d felt the real end of them, though.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ten huddled by the cooking fire, in a half-circle around it, avoiding the way air currents took the smoke out of the tent.\u00a0 Thom lay with his head in Marin\u2019s lap, dozing as she stroked his hair.\u00a0 J.T. had rewrapped his fractured ankle after Jacqueline had done it, double-checking the work already done.\u00a0 Thom seemed all right, except for sore, maybe bruised ribs and lots of black and blue marks, including the nasty knot on his head, and the broken ankle.\u00a0 Most of the injured weren\u2019t hurt that badly, mercifully enough.\u00a0 More of the ones rescued from the Mac complex were more shaken than hurt.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matt frowned to himself, pulling a blanket tighter around his shoulders and taking a slow sip of coffee from his salvaged mug.\u00a0 They\u2019d raided the machines in the coffee shop for the beans that were already ground and made at least some<\/em> coffee.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure how long the stuff was going to last\u2014they\u2019d have to see.\u00a0 They\u2019d have to see a lot of things.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019re all talking like it\u2019s the end of the world.<\/em>\u00a0 He glanced toward his sister, then stared at the fire.\u00a0 \u201cThis is it, isn\u2019t it?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marin looked up, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cHuh?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He shook his head slightly, sighing and looking at the others.\u00a0 \u201cThis is the end.\u00a0 We\u2019re what\u2019s left.\u00a0 The unlucky few.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. snorted at the reference\u2014they\u2019d all always said, Marin the most often and the loudest, that they weren\u2019t lucky enough to die at the end of the world.\u00a0 He caught a sharp elbow from Carolyn for it, who grimaced and inched closer to the fire.\u00a0 J.T. rubbed at his side, giving her a dirty look before leaning back on his hands and sighing.\u00a0 \u201cLooks that way.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLooks that way,\u201d Matt echoed.\u00a0 Kellin toed him gently.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot as bad as it sounds, Matt.\u00a0 Staring over?\u00a0 We\u2019ll be okay.\u201d\u00a0 She pushed some hair out of her face, eyes bright as she stared not into the fire, but through <\/em>it.\u00a0 Matt grimaced, watching her.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wish I understood all this shit better.<\/em>\u00a0 He rubbed his eye, casting a quick glance toward his sister, who was quiet, not looking at anything or anyone but Thom.\u00a0 He sighed silently, trying to hide it.\u00a0 At least they\u2019re not fighting again yet.\u00a0 Worse than Tess and I toward the end sometimes.<\/em>\u00a0 He smiled to himself.\u00a0 Almost a relief to know I\u2019m never going to have to deal with that again.<\/em>\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t been a pretty break-up, but he hadn\u2019t been able to take it anymore.\u00a0 If Marin was right, there was someone else out in the world for him\u2014somewhere.\u00a0 Provided she was still alive after this mess.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He had his own strong theories on what had happened, and a few shaky ones on why other things were happening.\u00a0 When various governments had launched their missiles into space in order to take out an errant asteroid on an unswerving course for the planet\u2014one large enough to take a nice chunk out of the Pacific, if they were lucky<\/em>\u2014they had anticipated that there would be some debris leftover, but nothing all that substantial.\u00a0 Every estimate they\u2019d made, all the computer models they\u2019d designed, had what was left after the asteroid was hit by multiple missiles burning up in the atmosphere on the way down.\u00a0 Earth would pass through the debris field and the debris field would pass through Earth with nothing more than a spectacular meteor shower.\u00a0 No harm done.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To the best of Matt\u2019s estimates, they\u2019d been dead wrong.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think anything all that<\/em> huge had survived, but even the smaller array of good-sized chunks were bad enough.\u00a0 Matt was fairly confident that those good-sized chunks had chewed up a good portion of the landscape\u2014and probably not just in their immediate area.\u00a0 What the others knew by gut feeling and intuition, he knew from childhood research, a morbid fascination with end-of-the-world scenarios, and a solid grounding in science.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He watched the fire crackle and pop.\u00a0 The rain continued, drumming on the roof of the tent.\u00a0 Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he finally said quietly, \u201cThese tents aren\u2019t going to do for shelter for long.\u00a0 And we can only live for so long on the food we can scavenge out of the campus stores.\u00a0 What are we going to do?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTomorrow, a couple of us are going to hike out to the strip mall up M-45 and see what we can scavenge out of there.\u00a0 Send a few more out to the orchard, see what there is there.\u201d\u00a0 Drew chewed the inside of his lip.\u00a0 \u201cProfessor Doyle may have some ideas about how to put together some sustainable food sources, wouldn\u2019t he?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe,\u201d Matt shifted his weight, settling on the ground and taking another slow sip of coffee before setting the mug down near to the flames.\u00a0 Wonder if the greenhouse off Padnos is intact.\u00a0 If it is, we might be able to use it.\u00a0 For as long as stuff there stays stable, anyway.<\/em>\u00a0 He frowned to himself.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about shelter?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSomething you and I can work on.\u00a0 When Thom\u2019s better, he can help,\u201d J.T. mumbled, pouring himself a little coffee from the pot precariously perched over the fire.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe when the rain lets up in the morning.\u201d\u00a0 He looked toward Davon, flicking a woodchip at him.\u00a0 \u201cHe can help, too, assuming that he\u2019s finished with those generators and shit.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Davon snapped out of his daze; he\u2019d been staring out at the rain, at the lightning that lanced through the clouds, at the play of the smoke from the fire against the rain and wind.\u00a0 \u201cI can help with what?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShelters, Davon, shelters.\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat were you looking at?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cNothing.\u00a0 Thinking.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged a little, glancing toward J.T.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll do some sketches, but that\u2019s not my strong point.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cDo some thinking and some mental engineering.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got tools, right?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlenty of them, now, I think.\u201d\u00a0 Davon scratched the back of his neck.\u00a0 \u201cWhat we don\u2019t have, I\u2019m sure we can find someplace.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAcquire somehow,\u201d Rory snorted.\u00a0 \u201cShouldn\u2019t be that hard.\u00a0 Most people are already dead.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn shivered and Jacqueline glared.\u00a0 \u201cRory!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cLet him talk.\u00a0 He\u2019s probably right.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jacqueline stared at her for a moment, then shook her head and stood up.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to bed.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A chorus of quiet good-nights at counterpoint to each other echoed as she turned and made her way to the mattress she\u2019d claimed, not far away, but far enough away that she wouldn\u2019t hear the rest of their conversation if they kept their voices down, as they\u2019d been trying to.\u00a0 If their current line of discussion had been enough to banish her to bed, she probably didn\u2019t want to hear what the conversation would progress into quickly enough.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Two big tents got set up before the first fat raindrops splashed down on the terrain\u2014they\u2019d had more time than any of them suspected.\u00a0 Matthew and Carolyn, between the two of them, had managed to get enough wood for … 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":[7,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-5","category-day-zero"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-3e","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200","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=200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}