{"id":305,"date":"2011-06-17T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2011-06-17T04:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=305"},"modified":"2011-09-04T09:23:43","modified_gmt":"2011-09-04T13:23:43","slug":"day-3-chapter-7-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=305","title":{"rendered":"Day 3 – Chapter 7 – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin\u2019s nostrils flared as she stared at the ravine.\u00a0 The sun was high in the sky, cloaked by clouds, struggling to burn through them.\u00a0 The rain had stopped, at least, though the break in the weather probably wouldn\u2019t last that long.\u00a0 She shivered a little, hands curling into tight fists, refusing to give into the chill of the wind.\u00a0 It was getting colder, that was for sure.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What should have started to settle down was getting worse instead.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t stopped\u2014the twisting and knotting of the lines of power, of the earth\u2019s veins and arteries, of the conduits of latent energies that skated along or just beneath the surface.\u00a0 It was as if the planet itself, the living part, was writhing in pain\u2014or as if the world was suddenly being rewired.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Her mouth was dry.\u00a0 Could that really be what was happening?\u00a0 The natural power grid\u2026being rewritten, redrawn?\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t quite see it, but she could feel it, knew exactly where the lines were, where they were knotting.\u00a0 Where they were moving<\/em>.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She shivered again.\u00a0 It was all too close, and getting closer.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cKel?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She startled, gasping in a breath before slowly turning toward Carolyn.\u00a0 \u201cCare.\u00a0 Something wrong?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The other woman started to shake her head, then hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe.\u00a0 What are you looking at?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin took another deep breath and looked at Carolyn.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think I\u2019m looking at?\u201d\u00a0 She asked quietly, without malice or sarcasm.\u00a0 Carolyn looked back at her, brow furrowing slightly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAt something I can\u2019t see but I can feel,\u201d she said after a long silence.\u00a0 She stared at the creek far below them, at the bottom of the ravine, watched the water tumble over rocks and fallen tree limbs for a moment before looking back at Kellin.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s so quiet<\/em>,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cLike there was all this noise before and I never noticed that it was there until it was suddenly gone.\u00a0 And now I just\u2026feel things.\u00a0 Hear whispers.\u201d\u00a0 Her lips thinned.\u00a0 \u201cThat night by Lake Superior Hall, you guys weren\u2019t kidding, were you?\u00a0 There really was<\/em> something there.\u00a0 Is<\/em> something there.\u00a0 The fairies.\u00a0 I thought I dreamed it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin shook her head slightly and looked back toward the ravine.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t dream it.\u00a0 They were really there.\u00a0 I can\u2019t see them.\u00a0 Marin can, sometimes.\u00a0 Rory can, too, sometimes, but they don\u2019t like him.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled weakly and glanced at Carolyn.\u00a0 The other woman was still standing next to her, where any sane person probably would have backed away slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not running away.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn shook her head, hugging her sweatshirt tighter around her thin body.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Maybe a year ago I\u2019d have thought you were talking crazy, that we\u2019d finally played too much D&D and gotten our brains scrambled by it.\u00a0 Now\u2026now I\u2019m not sure what to think.\u201d\u00a0 She crouched, wrapping her arms around her knees.\u00a0 \u201cAll I know is that the world feels\u2026empty.\u00a0 Lost, hurt.\u00a0 But mostly empty.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin frowned.\u00a0 \u201cEmpty?\u00a0 Empty how?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She winced.\u00a0 \u201cLike there\u2019s suddenly a lot fewer people breathing its air,\u201d she said, wetting her lips.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Kel.\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u2026I don\u2019t really have words to describe what it feels like.\u201d\u00a0 She sucked in a breath and exhaled it slowly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just\u2026there.\u00a0 A knowing.\u00a0 A feeling I just can\u2019t shake.\u00a0 Like I knew that a lot of people were dead, that\u2026that this was the end of the world.\u201d\u00a0 She sniffled, swiped at her nose with her sleeve, then looked up at Kellin again.\u00a0 \u201cIt is, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 The end?\u00a0 You said it was.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin bit her lip.\u00a0 I did say it was.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI also said it was the beginning of something else, Care,\u201d she murmured, slowly sitting down in the grass with Carolyn.\u00a0 She stared straight across the ravine, into the trees.\u00a0 \u201cWelcome to the new world and all that jazz.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe new world,\u201d Carolyn echoed, then sighed.\u00a0 \u201cNot sure if I like it yet.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure it\u2019s quite born yet,\u201d Kellin said.\u00a0 Her stomach twisted, like the lines below.\u00a0 \u201cBut we\u2019re watching it happen.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll keep watching it happen right before our eyes.\u201d\u00a0 She tore her eyes away from the dark tree trunks and studied Carolyn.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re starting to understand.\u00a0 To see and feel it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn looked back at her.\u00a0 \u201cThis is all the stuff you guys told me I could ignore.\u00a0 I told Marin that I knew\u2014or that I was starting to, anyway.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know,\u201d Kellin said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cShe told me.\u00a0 How much of what you just told me did you tell her?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She shook her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cNot a lot.\u00a0 Just that I knew it was the end of the world.\u00a0 A feeling I had.\u00a0 Nothing else.\u00a0 She kind of got scared when I said it, I think.\u00a0 Like she hadn\u2019t been expecting it from me.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She sure as hell wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 None of us ever thought that you\u2019d be one of the ones to suddenly become aware of all of this stuff.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure she didn\u2019t think you\u2019d be <\/em>first.<\/em>\u00a0 Kellin toyed with a smooth, flat stone, running her thumb along its surface as she cupped it in her palm.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve known for a long time that a lot of you could<\/em> be aware of a lot of the things that we could just\u2026see and feel\u2026but we didn\u2019t want to press any of you.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually safer to just let it all happen naturally, if it\u2019s going to happen at all.\u201d\u00a0 She looked at Carolyn again.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be honest.\u00a0 We knew you had the ability, we just never thought you\u2019d tap it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat ability?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin gestured vaguely toward the ravine.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you\u2019re feeling\u2014sensing, really.\u00a0 Things shifting and changing.\u00a0 That\u2019s the sign that you\u2019re becoming aware of what most people go through their lives never realizing existed, everything that\u2019s out there operating on another level, a level I believe most of us have simply just forgotten is there.\u00a0 Society trains us to think in a certain way so most of us never go looking, and not everyone who goes looking can perceive the undercurrents, or the overtones, depending on how you look at it.\u201d\u00a0 Her hand tightened around the stone.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t even tell you what to call it.\u00a0 The supernatural.\u00a0 The preternatural.\u00a0 The unseen world.\u00a0 Magic.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even know.\u00a0 I just know it\u2019s there.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLike Marin and Rory and Drew,\u201d Carolyn said.\u00a0 She relaxed slowly, arms loosening.\u00a0 She rested her chin on her knee and watched Kellin.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can I do, Kel?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI mean\u2026what can I do<\/em>?\u00a0 To help?\u00a0 To\u2026what can I do with this?\u00a0 Is there anything?\u00a0 I mean\u2026you found people with your pendulum.\u00a0 Marin sees things<\/em> before they happen.\u00a0 Drew\u2019s gut isn\u2019t wrong very often and he always seems like he knows when someone needs a hug or go punch something.\u00a0 Stuff like that.\u00a0 Do you know?\u00a0 Is it possible to know?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin hesitated for a moment, then shook her head a little.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure what you can do yet, Care.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to have to wait a little while and see.\u00a0 We used to think that maybe you had some kind of connection to air spirits, because of the fairies in the garden, but maybe\u2026acch.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0 She pressed the heels of her hands to her temples.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Care.\u00a0 Could be you\u2019re in tune with a lot of things.\u00a0 Something tells me that all of us, the survivors here\u2026I think most of us have something.\u00a0 A spark.\u00a0 Underlying ability that we haven\u2019t been able to tap.\u00a0 And I think a lot of us have more than one connection.\u00a0 Does that make any sense?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She frowned for a moment, then nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 You\u2019re saying that it\u2019s very likely Marin can do more than see the future, that you can do more than sense what you\u2019re sensing and find people with your pendulum.\u00a0 That I can maybe do more than just feel things like I\u2019m feeling them right now.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin exhaled, nodding.\u00a0 She gets it.\u00a0 That\u2019s a start, anyway.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn nodded slightly and looked back at the ravine.\u00a0 \u201cSo how do I learn?\u00a0 How do I figure it out?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin touched her shoulder and smiled a hopefully reassuring smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou be patient and don\u2019t run from it.\u00a0 Understanding comes with patience and time.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd practice, sometimes.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn laughed.\u00a0 \u201cSo just keep\u2026doing what I\u2019m doing?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cUnless we tell you to stop.\u201d\u00a0 She looked back out toward the ravine, brow creasing for a moment.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn\u2019s brow furrowed, too.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u00a0 The dim?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ice filled Kellin\u2019s guts.\u00a0 \u201cYou can feel it?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOut at the edges.\u00a0 Beyond the river.\u00a0 But yeah.\u00a0 A dimness, cold and hot at the same time.\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Neither do I,<\/em> Kellin thought.\u00a0 She pressed her lips tightly together.\u00a0 \u201cDo something for me,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 Carolyn nodded.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust tell me.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf you feel that getting closer, find Marin or Drew or Rory or I as fast as you can.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNothing good,\u201d Kellin murmured.\u00a0 I used to think we could just\u2026coexist with it.\u00a0 That it was part of a natural balance.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m not so sure.<\/em>\u00a0 She squeezed Carolyn\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cCome on.\u00a0 Break time\u2019s over.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see what we can do back at camp.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRight,\u201d Carolyn said, standing up.\u00a0 She glanced out over the ravine again, then smiled faintly, a smile that touched her gray eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re still there,\u201d she murmured.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe fairies,\u201d she said softly, almost breathless.\u00a0 \u201cI can see them in the trees.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled at Kellin.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe it won\u2019t be so bad.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe,\u201d Kellin agreed, stomach feeling hollow.\u00a0 I wish she was right.\u00a0 I wish I didn\u2019t know that she\u2019s wrong.<\/em>\u00a0 Things weren\u2019t going to go easily, not by a long shot.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t have the heart to tell Carolyn that, though.\u00a0 Not yet.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Who knows?\u00a0 I\u2019m not the one with visions.\u00a0 Maybe she\u2019ll be right.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She could hope, anyway.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0First<\/a> \u2022 Previous<\/a> \u2022 Next<\/a> \u2022 Latest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin\u2019s nostrils flared as she stared at the ravine.\u00a0 The sun was high in the sky, cloaked by clouds, struggling to burn through them.\u00a0 The rain had stopped, at least, though the break in the weather probably wouldn\u2019t last … 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":[9,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-7","category-day-3"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-4V","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305","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=305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":674,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305\/revisions\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}