Something out in the arboretum exploded.\u00a0 White light spiked toward the heavens, briefly turning night to day before the brightness faded.\u00a0 J.T. blinked against sudden blindness, swearing and pushing to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were out there,\u201d Thordin said a second before he sprinted for the bridge.<\/p>\n
Who was–oh. <\/em>Oh. Oh shit. <\/em>\u201cSif, can you handle her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll have to,\u201d she retorted, then pointed toward the bridge.\u00a0 \u201cGo, Jameson.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s got to bail the lot of them out of trouble and it seems to me that mayhaps you\u2019re the best equipped right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf one of the others–\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell them where you\u2019ve gone and decide from there.\u00a0 Now hurry before that lunkhead gets himself killed.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, now I know who the brains of that operation was way back when.<\/em> J.T. sucked in a sharp breath and ducked after Thordin, running as fast as he dared toward the head of the bridge.\u00a0 Thordin was halfway across the bridge and still running by the time J.T. hit the span.<\/p>\n \u201cThordin, slow down, dammit!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo time!\u201d he yelled back, glancing back over his shoulder toward J.T.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever just happened, it wasn\u2019t good!\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s never good when something explodes like that. Story of our freaking lives.<\/em>\u00a0 J.T. sighed and barely stopped himself from swearing again as he picked up the pace, realizing that running off without his medical kit was probably not the smartest decision he\u2019d made lately. I\u2019m going to need that if this is bad and I\u2019m not going to have it. Idiot.<\/em><\/p>\n A dozen yards beyond the end of the bridge, Thordin stopped dead in his tracks and swore heartily in what J.T. guessed must have been some old Nordic dialect.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo back to the ruins,\u201d Marin croaked.\u00a0 She and Thom leaned against each other.\u00a0 She clutched something bundled in her coat in her arms and she was shivering even as Thom struggled to stay upright, pale in the predawn light. \u00a0\u201cSeamus and Leinth might need your help getting back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFuck that,\u201d J.T. said, moving to tuck himself under Thom\u2019s arm and taking his weight off of her–she didn\u2019t seem much steadier than her husband and her lips were already blue from what he could tell in the dim.\u00a0 \u201cWhat just happened?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still trying to figure it out myself,\u201d Thom said, wavering and out of breath.\u00a0 J.T. winced. Had his friend somehow popped another rib?<\/p>\n \u201cJust keep moving,\u201d Marin said, clutching her bundle to her chest.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to hurry.\u00a0 We have to get back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMarin–\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n She kept walking.\u00a0 Thom swallowed hard, straightening slightly as if to follow her, then groaned and sagged against J.T.\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 J.T grimaced and glanced over his shoulder toward Thordin.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you handle Seamus and Leinth?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I have to,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d J.T. said, barely suppressing a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cGoing.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced askance at his friend.\u00a0 Thom sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Thom whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI really don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n J.T. stared into the darkness, toward the bridge and the fading sound of Marin\u2019s footsteps.\u00a0 \u201cWhy the hell do I keep thinking that things just went from bad to worse?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I think they did,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cI think that maybe they just did.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Something out in the arboretum exploded.\u00a0 White light spiked toward the heavens, briefly turning night to day before the brightness faded.\u00a0 J.T. blinked against sudden blindness, swearing and pushing to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the–\u201d \u201cThey were out there,\u201d Thordin said … Continue reading