{"id":820,"date":"2011-11-04T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2011-11-04T04:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=820"},"modified":"2011-11-06T00:07:32","modified_gmt":"2011-11-06T04:07:32","slug":"day-18-chapter-11-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=820","title":{"rendered":"Day 18 – Chapter 11 – 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019d heard the screaming while they were on their way back from the nursery and orchards across the road, but they hadn\u2019t quite realized what it was until they got nearer.\u00a0 That\u2019s when Tala and Greg had started to run, leaving the rest to follow behind them.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tala had asked him what he thought it was and all he\u2019d been able to say was that he thought it was bad.\u00a0 Now, his heart in his throat and chest aching from lack of breath, he knew<\/em> it was bad, looking at the carnage laid out before them.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. stood, facing off against one of the largest creatures still standing.\u00a0 Something tugged at the back of Greg\u2019s brain.\u00a0 There was something familiar about the creature, as if he\u2019d seen it before in a picture, or maybe a dream.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey look like something out of a horror movie,\u201d Tala panted next to him as they both got their bearings.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can see<\/em> them?\u201d\u00a0 He asked, looking at her in surprise.\u00a0 Thought she was still blind to it all.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re tearing our friends apart and that\u2019s all you have to say to me?\u201d\u00a0 Tala\u2019s voice came as a growl as she straightened fully.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Another shotgun blast echoed off the trees and shattered buildings.\u00a0 Greg winced, then blinked as he saw the effect the blast had on one of the creatures.\u00a0 Skin boiled away to black bones, which splintered and putrefied even before his eyes.\u00a0 The creature went down, screaming and twitching before it went silent and very, very still.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What the hell is in that shot?<\/em>\u00a0 His heart was back in his throat again, pounding away.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It took a moment to realize that Tala wasn\u2019t next to him anymore.\u00a0 She\u2019d rushed up to the nearest creature and clothes-lined it with an outstretched arm.\u00a0 She must have caught it off-balance, because it toppled with a snarl.\u00a0 Tala kept running, moving fast toward a knot of fallen people.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A quick head-count revealed that seven of the people they\u2019d left behind were still standing, and one of those was Angie.\u00a0 Not good.\u00a0 Really, really not good.\u00a0 Percentages are not good at all.<\/em>\u00a0 At least one stack of furniture had been reduced to kindling over near where J.T. stood.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cProfessor!\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn shouted.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He jerked.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTo your left, get down!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Greg glanced left just in time to see a Grey barreling in his direction.\u00a0 He dove, twisting sideways to avoid landing on his broken arm, and tucked around the injured limb and rolled.\u00a0 The Grey wheeled a few feet beyond where he\u2019d been standing and hissed at him, getting ready for another run.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The second time, Greg was ready.\u00a0 It came at him and he kept his crouch until the last possible moment, turning his shoulder to catch the Grey where he thought its ribs should be.\u00a0 He straightened quickly, grasping one of the thing\u2019s flailing limbs, and tossed it with as much strength as he could manage with leverage and one arm.\u00a0 The thing went flying into two of its fellows and they went down in a heap.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d\u00a0 He shouted to anyone who could answer.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t know!\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn shouted back.\u00a0 \u201cLeah disappeared, people went looking, and then as we\u2019re all comin\u2019 back, these things showed up!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA little help over here, guys!\u201d\u00a0 J.T. shouted.\u00a0 One of the shadow-creatures had him half bent over backwards, its claws gripping the claymore in J.T.\u2019s hands.\u00a0 He was holding his ground, but not for long.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn swore and started running toward him, but she never made it there.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The strange mists surged and screamed, wrapping around all of them and swallowing them whole.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019d heard the screaming while they were on their way back from the nursery and orchards across the road, but they hadn\u2019t quite realized what it was until they got nearer.\u00a0 That\u2019s when Tala and Greg had started to … 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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-de","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820","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=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}