{"id":37,"date":"2011-04-04T19:03:17","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T23:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=37"},"modified":"2011-04-04T19:03:17","modified_gmt":"2011-04-04T23:03:17","slug":"prologue-day-zero-marin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=37","title":{"rendered":"Prologue – Day Zero – Marin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I had the music turned up that afternoon, loud enough to drown out the awful muszak that corporate seemed to think was the right kind of music for the store.\u00a0 Cleaning the storage closet wouldn\u2019t ordinarily be my idea of fun\u2014it\u2019s not really anyone\u2019s idea of fun\u2014but it was just one last shift before I started the process of moving to the east coast, to start my graduate work out there.\u00a0 Better yet, it was one last shift that I didn\u2019t have to deal with sweaty, demanding customers who wanted everything practically for free.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have been there at all that day unless my sales manager hadn\u2019t practically begged for me to come in and do it.\u00a0 Never really could say no to that woman.\u00a0 In the end, I suppose it was best that I was there.\u00a0 I shudder to think what might have happened if I hadn\u2019t been, how things would have turned out if I hadn\u2019t been there.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sufficient to say, I probably wouldn\u2019t have survived.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Belting out lyrics to a song I\u2019d heard a dozen times in the last week at the top of my lungs, I was stacking toilet paper on the shelves of the storage closet when I realized I wasn\u2019t singing along with the song anymore\u2014I was singing along with static.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDamn it anyway,\u201d I muttered, putting down the last couple rolls on the shelf haphazardly and climbing down from the ladder.\u00a0 Of course it would flake out when I\u2019m up a ladder.\u00a0 Bloody radio.<\/em>\u00a0 The thing was probably older than I was\u2014or at the very least was half my age.\u00a0 It would start to get static-y often enough, though generally not the full on static I was getting right now.\u00a0 I started to fiddle with the tuning dial, leaning against the shelves inside the small space, chewing my lower lip.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember them saying that the fragments from that asteroid were going to screw with radio signals\u2014satellite, yeah, but radio?<\/em>\u00a0 I mumbled a few more curse words as I continued to play with the tuner\u2014static across the board.\u00a0 \u201cDamn it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The world exploded.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take a breath and wait to die.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take a breath and wait to die.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take a breath and wait to die.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take a breath\u2014<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I coughed hard, trying to roll onto my side, hacking, struggling to breathe.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t had visions in four years.\u00a0 No dreams that I could remember.\u00a0 Only little things.\u00a0 That was all\u2014little, inconsequential things.\u00a0 Nothing like that October day four years ago, when I was so sure that what I saw was real.\u00a0 My ribs hurt, my head rang, and I could still hear those selfsame whispers that I\u2019d heard before as I stood, staring transfixed at what I believed was a mushroom cloud rising just beyond the carillon tower at the university, out in the distance, somewhere across the lake.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take a breath and wait to die.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No!<\/em>\u00a0 I hacked and spat, struggling onto my side.\u00a0 The shelves had fallen onto me.\u00a0 All I could hear, now that the voice was gone, was the sound of blood pounding in my ears.\u00a0 No muszak.\u00a0 No nothing.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMolly!\u00a0 Terra?\u00a0 Anyone?\u201d\u00a0 I continued to try to struggling out from under the shelves, growling in frustration, wincing as I did.\u00a0 My bruises are going to have bruises.\u00a0 Should get hazard pay for this shit.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cUngh.\u00a0 Guys!\u00a0 I need help back here.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No one came.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure how long it took me to get the shelves off of myself\u2014it took me longer to catch my breath afterwards, stumble to my feet, force the door open. \u00a0Longer still for my head to clear as I found myself staring at a red sky, a dark streak trailing from somewhere off in the distance.\u00a0 My eyes stung, tearing\u2014probably from the dust, or from the chemicals that were probably leaking from the bottles I hadn\u2019t gotten up on the shelves yet.\u00a0 I tried not to think about those as I stumbled clear of the now open door, blinking blearily.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What the hell just happened?<\/em>\u00a0 I rubbed at my head.\u00a0 Was I dreaming?\u00a0 Hallucinating?\u00a0 I leaned against the doorframe until I felt it starting to waver under my weight.\u00a0 I stumbled forward in enough time to turn, watch the walls that had sheltered me collapse in on themselves.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDamn,\u201d I mumbled, scrubbing my hand over my face, frowning at the bright red streak of blood across it as I pulled it away.\u00a0 I explored with my fingers, finally finding a gash the length of my pinkie finger along my hairline.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Better deal with that.<\/em>\u00a0 I stumbled through the wreckage that had once been my store, struggling to come to terms with what had just happened\u2014struggling to sort out what had just happened.\u00a0 I stared up at the sky, watching a few meteorites streaking through the red, leaving bright trails in the sky.\u00a0 A rumble a few moments later heralded one hitting the ground.\u00a0 Smoke billowed in the distance, almost in the shape of a mushroom rising lazily against the horizon.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh god.<\/em>\u00a0 I sank to my knees.\u00a0 Oh god.\u00a0 Oh god\u2026<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take a breath and wait to die.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I had the music turned up that afternoon, loud enough to drown out the awful muszak that corporate seemed to think was the right kind of music for the store.\u00a0 Cleaning the storage closet wouldn\u2019t ordinarily be my idea … 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":[12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-day-zero","category-prologue"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-B","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","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=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}