{"id":373,"date":"2011-07-01T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2011-07-01T04:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=373"},"modified":"2011-07-01T00:00:41","modified_gmt":"2011-07-01T04:00:41","slug":"day-3-chapter-7-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=373","title":{"rendered":"Day 3 – Chapter 7 – 08"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They broke into a run, slipping along the bank until they reached the fork in the ravine.\u00a0 Drew cut right, heading for the wide expanse of meadow below what used to be the arboretum and central campus.\u00a0 The sun was slowly slipping lower in the sky, obscured by gray clouds that grew heavier as the day wore on.\u00a0 It was getting darker, almost looking like twilight despite the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not good.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He could see Marin, maybe a hundred yards away, scrambling back to her feet.\u00a0 Hazy figures surrounded her, half her size, looking as if they were made of fog and smoke.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShit,\u201d Rory cursed.\u00a0 \u201cAre those what they look like?\u00a0 I\u2019ve never been able to see them before.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Looks like only six of them, but something\u2019s allowing them to manifest more strongly…but not completely.<\/em>\u00a0 Drew swallowed bile.\u00a0 One of the diminutive figures lunged at Marin and she recoiled as if she\u2019d been burned.\u00a0 But completely enough.\u00a0 Damn.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cTake the left side, I\u2019ll take the right.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019re we going to do?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGet her the hell out of trouble.\u00a0 Go!\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t bother to wait and see if Rory was following; Drew just began to run, taking the right side and hoping Rory would head left, so they\u2019d flank the grays and Marin.\u00a0 Drew wasn\u2019t sure how they were going to shake the little buggers loose, but he hoped that they\u2019d come up with a plan sometime before they were all in deeper trouble.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marin yelped again as one of the creatures touched her.\u00a0 She jerked back, eyes going wide.\u00a0 Drew could feel her fear spiking.\u00a0 The creatures seemed to grow stronger, more solid as they struck at her.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Are they feeding on her fear, or just on her?<\/em>\u00a0 Drew didn\u2019t have time to overthink any theories.\u00a0 He barreled through the ring of grays, which hissed and recoiled as he blew past them.\u00a0 Grabbing for Marin\u2019s arm, he took a bare moment to count how many of them there were, realizing to his horror that more were coming from the left, across the marshy meadow.\u00a0 Damn.\u00a0 We\u2019re in trouble.\u00a0 We don\u2019t even know that we can get past them, get through them.<\/em>\u00a0 Getting a hand on Marin\u2019s arm, he yanked the younger woman toward him.\u00a0 Her hand was like ice and she was shivering as he pulled her against his chest.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo cold,\u201d she mumbled through chattering teeth.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew looked around them.\u00a0 The grays were closing, hissing angrily at him for his interference.\u00a0 He could feel their mischief turn to malice in a heartbeat.\u00a0 Marin shrunk against his chest, shivering more violently, dark eyes wide.\u00a0 Drew couldn\u2019t feel the cold that she clearly felt, but the way she was trying to scramble up<\/em> him to get away from them told him that just busting through and running wasn\u2019t going to be an option.\u00a0 He was running out of choices.\u00a0 How do we fight these things?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One of them lunged.\u00a0 Drew cursed and struck out with a fist.\u00a0 His hand passed right through the creature and it seemed to laugh<\/em> at him.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh shit.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And then, Rory came barreling into the fray, howling some sort of battle cry from either a bygone era or a fantasy novel.\u00a0 Rory dropped a shoulder and tucked his head down, striking one of the grays with the force of a charging linebacker.\u00a0 Drew half expected it to just laugh at him, too, the way he\u2019d been laughed at.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The gray screamed and dissipated into mist and smoke.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew sucked in a breath.\u00a0 Rory was wreathed in a faint red-orange glow, almost invisible to his eye.\u00a0 What <\/em>is that?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rory looked at Drew for about half a second before he punched another of the grays in the face.\u00a0 The creature recoiled, stumbling back, hissing at Rory as whitish smoke oozed from its mouth like blood or sputum, dissipating before it ever hit the ground.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t just stand there,\u201d he roared at the older man, \u201cget her the hell out of here and I\u2019ll catch up.\u00a0 Go<\/em>!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How the hell does he know how to do that?<\/em>\u00a0 One of the grays lunged toward he and Marin again.\u00a0 Marin struck blindly with a foot, crying out again as she made impact with the gray, frost coating the heel of her tennis shoe.\u00a0 Drew jerked her back again, holding her upright.\u00a0 It took him another ten seconds to get his wits together.\u00a0 \u201cCut us a path!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rory kicked one of the grays between the legs.\u00a0 It stumbled backwards, into one of its fellows.\u00a0 They both toppled, taking a moment to hiss again at the three friends before starting to rise.\u00a0 \u201cWill that do?\u201d\u00a0 Rory shouted.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew hoisted Marin up for the second time in three days, threw her over his shoulder, and ran like his life depended on it.\u00a0 He could feel the grays trying to give chase but heard the distinctive sound of Rory\u2019s four-inch pocket knife snapping open.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t think so, you bastards,\u201d Rory growled.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDrew, put me down!\u00a0 We have to help him!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s doing more against them right now than we ever could,\u201d Drew snapped as he hauled ass back toward the narrows of the ravine.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll catch up.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marin groaned.\u00a0 She was still chilled to Drew\u2019s touch, but he wasn\u2019t going to be able to carry her for much longer.\u00a0 He slowed and risked a glance back as they crossed into the ravine proper.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rory was running toward them now, waving them onward.\u00a0 \u201cKeep going!\u201d\u00a0 The grays weren\u2019t giving chase, but it looked like they might have been regrouping.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew set Marin on her feet, grasping her arm.\u00a0 \u201cRun.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have to tell her twice.\u00a0 At the sight of Rory following, she was off like a shot, headed for the spot further up the ravine where they could climb back up.\u00a0 The three splashed through the creek, heedless of water and mud, scrambling as quickly as they could.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They have to stop chasing us at some point.\u00a0 They\u2019ve got to.\u00a0 We just have to get back to camp.\u00a0 We outnumber them.\u00a0 Don\u2019t we?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He kept running.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They broke into a run, slipping along the bank until they reached the fork in the ravine.\u00a0 Drew cut right, heading for the wide expanse of meadow below what used to be the arboretum and central campus.\u00a0 The sun … 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-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-7","category-day-3"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-61","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373","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=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}