{"id":453,"date":"2011-07-27T00:00:07","date_gmt":"2011-07-27T04:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2011-07-27T00:00:07","modified_gmt":"2011-07-27T04:00:07","slug":"day-7-chapter-8-marin-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=453","title":{"rendered":"Day 7 – Chapter 8 – Marin – 07"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019d piled three blankets over me by the time I was finally coherent enough to get undressed and bedded down.\u00a0 The rain continued to pound us, though the worst of the thunder and lightning passed within a few hours of sunrise\u2014or when sunrise should<\/em> have been.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t been the only one trapped under the tent when it collapsed, but I was the only one who hadn\u2019t been in a position to crawl out on my own.\u00a0 The untenable nature of our situation in these tents as a long-term solution had suddenly become abundantly clear.\u00a0 There had been more than a couple murmurs I\u2019d overheard, as I\u2019d been practically force-fed a hot drink by the fire, about moving into one of the less-damaged seeming buildings.\u00a0 The sounds of something collapsing not far away stopped those murmurings dead in their tracks.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Part of me felt like the blankets were suffocating me, the other half just wanted to burrow even deeper underneath them to get warm again.\u00a0 I was still shivering, even buried beneath them.\u00a0 My panic had mostly worn away, leaving only the cold in its wake.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure which was more unpleasant.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I finally decided being cold was worse, and burrowed deeper under the covers.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMarin?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I peeked out from between the folds of blankets toward the sound of Carolyn\u2019s voice.\u00a0 She had a blanket around her own shoulders as she sank down to sit on the corner of the pair of mattresses I shared with Thom.\u00a0 I caught a fleeting glimpse of Kellin and J.T. behind her somewhere, though they both vanished after a moment.\u00a0 I clawed some of the blankets away from my face and slowly sat up, holding the three heavy blankets tightly around myself as I did.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Care?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMarin\u2026what did I do?\u201d\u00a0 She bit her lip, staring at me.\u00a0 Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed in red.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Has she been crying?<\/em>\u00a0 My mouth dried up and my tongue tried to shrivel.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure, Care,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cKel might know better than I.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe said to talk to you,\u201d Carolyn said quietly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of course she said to talk to me.<\/em>\u00a0 I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and shook my head a little.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did it feel like?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just\u2026I knew I couldn\u2019t let that come down on your head, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 That you had to get out of the way.\u00a0 And I was waving my hand like this.\u201d\u00a0 She made a get out of the way!<\/em> motion with her hand.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then all of a sudden I felt something and you got knocked sideways and the tent came down on top of you.\u201d\u00a0 She caught her lip between her teeth.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m scared<\/em>, Marin.\u00a0 I know it was me, I just don\u2019t know how I did it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I laughed weakly.\u00a0 You\u2019re not the only one who has that happen, Care.\u00a0 Trust me.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be scared,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cYou and Kellin talked, right?\u00a0 About\u2026about things?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 She said that it could be a long time before any of us could figure out what I could do or if I could do anything.\u00a0 Something about air spirits and connections\u2026and practice.\u00a0 But how can I practice anything if I don\u2019t know what I did in the first place?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Good question.\u00a0 <\/em>I frowned a little, drawing my knees up to my chest under the blankets.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure what you did either, Carolyn,\u201d I said after a long silence.\u00a0 \u201cI felt something solid catch me in the side and knock me sideways.\u00a0 Maybe you\u2026maybe you pushed me.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut I was fifteen feet away.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 I watched her, waiting for the words to sink in.\u00a0 Her eyes widened as they did.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat was<\/em> me.\u201d\u00a0 Her lips thinned.\u00a0 \u201cBut how did I do it, Mar?\u201d\u00a0 She seemed shaken, but less shaken than I honestly might have expected.\u00a0 \u201cHow can I figure out what this is, what I can do<\/em>, if I\u2019m not even consciously doing anything?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I wet my lips and stared at her.\u00a0 \u201cHow did I figure that out when it comes to my visions, Care?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She deflated, slumping.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026sorry, Mar.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I shook my head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u00a0 I understand the feeling.\u201d\u00a0 Better than you realize, in fact.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cIf I were to venture a guess\u2014and I\u2019m just guessing here, really\u2014it was your need<\/em> that sparked it.\u00a0 Your desperation.\u201d\u00a0 It may be a long time before you\u2019ve got any kind of control, Care.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhich is why I don\u2019t remember how I did it.\u201d\u00a0 She frowned, hunching a little.\u00a0 \u201cThis isn\u2019t nearly as straightforward as I hoped it would be.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNothing ever is, is it?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cJAVA wasn\u2019t that bad.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We laughed.\u00a0 I caught a faint glimmer over her shoulder in the midst of our laughter, a glimmer I thought solidified into something more for a bare second, then was gone again.\u00a0 Must be my imagination.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cNo, the compiling software just took custody of everyone\u2019s souls, that\u2019s all.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn shook her head, grinning, then paused, reaching around toward the back of her neck.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust something tickling, that\u2019s all.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I saw the glimmer again, and frowned.\u00a0 Just a tickling, or something more?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn froze, looking stiffly toward her shoulder, eyes widening.\u00a0 I saw the glimmer reflected in her eyes and frowned.\u00a0 \u201cCare?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She stared, as if transfixed by something I couldn\u2019t see.\u00a0 Her jaw fell open and she looked quickly at me.\u00a0 \u201cHe wants to know if I\u2019m his human godmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019d piled three blankets over me by the time I was finally coherent enough to get undressed and bedded down.\u00a0 The rain continued to pound us, though the worst of the thunder and lightning passed within a few hours … 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":[24,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-8","category-day-7"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-7j","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453","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=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}