{"id":3973,"date":"2019-05-27T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T04:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3973"},"modified":"2019-05-26T19:33:42","modified_gmt":"2019-05-26T23:33:42","slug":"sixteen-02-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3973","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Matt’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matt slung the hammer across his back and headed for the bridge.\u00a0 Thordin fell in behind him, barely half a step behind.\u00a0 Birds still chirped in the trees, a breeze still rustled leaves and branches above.\u00a0 Matt could feel the faint pulse of power that came off the wards\u2014not denoting anything amiss, simply the usual ambient magic woven into them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And yet, there was something that almost felt like screaming in the back of his head, something that felt like the shiver that went up his arm when he brought the hammer down against metal and the anvil wrong.\u00a0 The feeling in his arm usually dissipated after a few moments, though.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t showing any signs of abating anytime soon.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve never felt anything like it,\u201d Matt murmured, breaking into a jog as they got nearer to the edge of the wards.\u00a0 \u201cHave you?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe in a yesterday I can\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matt snorted humorlessly.\u00a0 The answer could apply equally to him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Their steps echoed hollow on the bridge.\u00a0 The unheard sound seemed to get stronger as they crossed, unmuffled by birdsong or the sound of the creek down in the ravine below.\u00a0 Something coiled in Matt\u2019s belly\u2014not quite dread, not quite fear, something else.\u00a0 Apprehension, maybe?\u00a0 It was a feeling without a name, something he knew he\u2019d felt before but could never quite quantify or fully describe.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thordin was abreast of him by the time they reached the far side of the bridge, and neither broke stride as they continued on, up the shallow incline toward the plaza, with its flaking blue archway and crumbling buildings.\u00a0 Matt\u2019s throat tightened, though not so much that it got hard to breathe, just enough that he noticed the sensation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Now I\u2019ve got a bad feeling.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They kept going.\u00a0 There was a strange play of shadows and light beyond the ruins of Superior, beyond the Shakespeare Garden\u2014near where the barrow lay.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matt\u2019s heart seized for a moment and then he began to run faster.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thordin said nothing, just kept up with him even as he picked up the pace.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Matt’s point of view.] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matt slung the hammer across his back and headed for the bridge.\u00a0 Thordin fell in behind him, barely half a step behind.\u00a0 Birds still chirped in the trees, a breeze still … 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":[299,320,14],"tags":[150,171,170,181,149,148,168,147,165,169,146],"class_list":["post-3973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-7","category-chapter-16-book-7","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-matthew-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thordin","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-125","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973","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=3973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3974,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973\/revisions\/3974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}