{"id":546,"date":"2011-08-24T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T04:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=546"},"modified":"2011-08-24T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2011-08-24T04:00:01","slug":"day-10-chapter-9-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=546","title":{"rendered":"Day 10 – Chapter 9 – 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A strange sound echoed off the ruined buildings, faint, and if it hadn\u2019t been so odd\u2014and if Carolyn\u2019s head hadn\u2019t come up so quickly\u2014they might have ignored it.\u00a0 J.T. saw her move out of the corner of his eye from where he\u2019d been standing along the hedgerow, watching the play of light and shadows across the trench graves.\u00a0 He could\u2019ve sworn he saw a pale gray mist twist out of the corner of his eye as he turned toward Carolyn, who straightened slowly from gathering up the tiniest bits of debris in the garden, left behind by the friends no one else could actually see.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid you hear that?\u201d\u00a0 She asked softly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI heard it,\u201d J.T. said.\u00a0 \u201cBut I don\u2019t know what it was.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced toward Drew, who shook his head.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t know,\u201d he admitted, arms crossed and brow furrowing.\u00a0 He stood sentinel near the opening in the hedgerow, mostly watching Carolyn as she drifted here and there, finding more tiny teacups and hats made out of buttons, platters made of bottlecaps, and other, once-hidden signs that this had once been home to something soundly believed to be mythical.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn glanced upward for a moment, then looked suddenly stricken, returning her gaze to the two men with her.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to get back, now.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s hurt.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shit.\u00a0 And I\u2019m out here watching grave gas in the sunshine while she picks up the last remnants of a fairy apocalypse.<\/em>\u00a0 J.T. headed toward Drew and the break in the hedges.\u00a0 Not where I need to be.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn jogged a few steps to catch up with him, touching his arm lightly.\u00a0 It tingled all the way up, but he was too perturbed to enjoy it.\u00a0 Her voice was quiet.\u00a0 \u201cLeah and Jac are still there.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know,\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cAnd it\u2019s not that I don\u2019t trust them, it\u2019s just\u2026\u201d\u00a0 His voice trailed away and he grimaced.\u00a0 They just don\u2019t have the experience yet.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to react in the clutch.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust that you don\u2019t trust them,\u201d Drew said with a wry smile, looking at both of them as he fell into step.\u00a0 \u201cAdmit it, J.T.\u00a0 I don\u2019t quite blame you for it.\u00a0 It\u2019s the experience thing, right?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what it is.\u00a0 It\u2019s the EMT in me.\u00a0 I\u2019m experienced with the triage and the less-than-ideal situations shit.\u00a0 Jac\u2019s getting better and quicker, and she knows some technical stuff I don\u2019t quite fully get, but she\u2019s got a lot to learn about the practical applications of everything she\u2019s learned in class.\u201d\u00a0 J.T. scrubbed a hand across his face.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019ll get it.\u00a0 Just takes time.\u00a0 Sometimes a little coaching.\u00a0 I sucked at it when I was in training, so she\u2019s already ahead of the curve there.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They were walking down the center of the plaza, amidst the wrecked buildings.\u00a0 It was sad, almost depressing.\u00a0 Any other year, there would be hundreds of students on the plaza, seeking out classes, working their way through Freshman Orientation, checking in with their advisors and trying to get into classes already full.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew shook his head a little.\u00a0 \u201cFive days and classes would\u2019ve started up again,\u201d he said with a measure of regret.\u00a0 It was the first time any of them had spoken about school, about what they\u2019d lost, in days.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn smiled wistfully.\u00a0 \u201cI was finally going to take an illustration class this semester.\u00a0 I was kind of excited.\u00a0 Heard the professor didn\u2019t suck.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe were going to do Henry IV<\/em>, part one for the Shakespeare Festival,\u201d J.T. said.\u00a0 \u201cI was up for Falstaff.\u201d\u00a0 He leered playfully at Carolyn and she laughed, elbowing him.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be awful,\u201d she teased, grinning.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. couldn\u2019t stop grinning back at her until he felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stirring.\u00a0 His mirth faded quickly.\u00a0 Drew went still next to him, and Carolyn went tense.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Something scraped against the ground behind them, like claws against concrete.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Almost as one, they slowly looked behind them, toward the source of the sound.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. couldn\u2019t see anything, but he knew that the sudden chill, the goosebumps, and the hairs on the back of his neck standing up all coupled with the sound wasn\u2019t good.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh hell,\u201d he murmured.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRun,\u201d Drew said.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They took off.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A strange sound echoed off the ruined buildings, faint, and if it hadn\u2019t been so odd\u2014and if Carolyn\u2019s head hadn\u2019t come up so quickly\u2014they might have ignored it.\u00a0 J.T. saw her move out of the corner of his eye … 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":[25,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-9","category-day-10"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-8O","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546","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=546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}