{"id":824,"date":"2011-11-07T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T05:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=824"},"modified":"2011-11-08T13:17:45","modified_gmt":"2011-11-08T18:17:45","slug":"day-18-chapter-11-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=824","title":{"rendered":"Day 18 – Chapter 11 – 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T.\u2019s head pounded at counterpoint to his heart as he slowly came around, sprawled flat on his back in the mud next to Thom\u2019s equally sprawled body.\u00a0 Rain was light on his face, but the clouds were black as night, promising that the rain wasn\u2019t going to be light<\/em> for long.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Constance\u2019s ghost stood over him, an army of others behind her fading into the mist as it dissipated into the rain and the dim.\u00a0 The ghost shook her head almost sadly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know if we can do that again, Jameson.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t need to do it this time,\u201d he said.\u00a0 His tongue felt swollen and he shivered, slowly sitting up.\u00a0 He could taste a little blood and hoped it was just from a split lip or a bitten cheek.\u00a0 \u201cWe were turning the tide.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere were more coming.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Her ghostly voice was distant, as if she was listening to something else, something far away.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. swallowed a couple of times, willing his heart to settle down.\u00a0 He felt cold all over, from the tips of his fingers down to his toes.\u00a0 \u201cHow many?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, now.\u00a0 You\u2019ll have time, though I don\u2019t know how much.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The ghost looked at him squarely.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll need to be careful.\u00a0 Forever.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He nodded mutely.\u00a0 Somehow, he knew that.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The statement, he also knew, had a double meaning.\u00a0 They would all have to be careful forever, but so would he in specific.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Her ghost nodded back.\u00a0 The mists slowly began to fade, the ghosts winking out of view one by one, carried away by the rain and the wind.\u00a0 Even hers began to fade from his vision.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Constance,\u201d he said quietly, just before she vanished completely.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He saw the ghost smile, and then she was gone.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The rain got heavier as he forced his way up to his feet, shaky at first. \u00a0He looked around slowly.\u00a0 The others were starting to come around.\u00a0 His heart began to pound again.\u00a0 Were they all still alive?
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shit.\u00a0 Marin.\u00a0 Thom.\u00a0 Kellin.<\/em>\u00a0 He spun to the side.\u00a0 Thom was flopping onto his side like a fish out of water, groaning and coughing painfully, face spattered with mud and rain, white from either pain or internal bleeding\u2014both things that J.T. would have to address as soon as possible.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Turning toward the pile of broken furniture, he could see Marin\u2019s fingers twitch feebly.\u00a0 A relieved breath escaped him before he stumbled forward and started hauling pieces of debris off of her, muttering curses under his breath to keep himself going.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs she\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 Thom mumbled, slowly starting to sit up.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlive, yes,\u201d J.T. growled, then waved for Thom to get out of his way.\u00a0 \u201cGo sit over there and try not to do any more damage to yourself before I can fix you.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom laughed painfully and crawled to a spot a few feet away, just under cover from the rain that was starting to fall harder.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thunder boomed and lightning crackled in the otherwise still and silent air, alive only with the sound of groans as people came awake to find themselves either hurt or wet\u2014in many cases, both.\u00a0 Carolyn appeared at his elbow and helped him clear the bits of broken furniture away from Marin\u2019s fallen form.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou look like hell,\u201d Carolyn murmured at one point, glancing at him sidelong.\u00a0 He almost laughed aloud.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The words just slipped out.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you look beautiful.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She blushed and he caught her hand for a moment, squeezed her fingers, then let go again and got back to work.\u00a0 Now, as ever, wasn\u2019t the time.\u00a0 It was never the time.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Together, they got the debris cleared away from Marin and J.T. reached down to gently lift her from the wreckage.\u00a0 She groaned softly, a dark bruise already forming on her forehead, above her eye, and a little blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs she going to be okay?\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn asked softly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTime\u2019ll tell,\u201d J.T. murmured, then turned to carry her toward the fire.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A crack of thunder sounded, so close and loud it shook everything, vibrated the very ground beneath their feet.\u00a0 It was as if that was the sound of the heavens tearing open, because the rain began to come down in curtains and sheets.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It washed away the blood and the signs of battle even as the survivors\u2014all of them\u2014scrambled for the cover of the tents that had become their home.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It might have been tenuous and temporary, but it was certainly home<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T.\u2019s head pounded at counterpoint to his heart as he slowly came around, sprawled flat on his back in the mud next to Thom\u2019s equally sprawled body.\u00a0 Rain was light on his face, but the clouds were black as … 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":[30,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-11","category-day-18"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-di","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824","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=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":832,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions\/832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}