{"id":831,"date":"2011-11-09T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=831"},"modified":"2011-11-10T10:07:05","modified_gmt":"2011-11-10T15:07:05","slug":"day-21-chapter-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=831","title":{"rendered":"Day 21 – Chapter 12 – Marin – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My body felt like someone had stretched me out and tried to tenderize me with one of those mallets you use to flatten meat.\u00a0 There was a dull throbbing behind my eyes, but I was able to mostly ignore it as I started to slowly sit up.\u00a0 It was dark wherever I was, but I could hear the sound of people working\u2014digging and hammering, it sounded like\u2014somewhere near by.\u00a0 As my eyes slowly adjusted, I saw rough-hewn wooden walls and a dim light along the edges of a door.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They put up one of the sheds,<\/em> I realized after a moment, as my sleep-addled brain put the pieces together.\u00a0 When did they do that?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I could barely remember drifting in and out of consciousness for a couple of days since the fight, though I know that someone had been there to get me to eat and then let me sleep some more.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t been the only one, but I wasn\u2019t sure who else had been there, or where we\u2019d been sleeping, or when we\u2019d been moved.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A chill draft whispered in through the crack in the doors and I shivered slightly, drawing one of the blankets layered over me around my shoulders.\u00a0 I looked around slowly.\u00a0 The shed wasn\u2019t very large, but it was more than large enough for three of us to be stretched out comfortably in the center, heads to the back wall, and still have room to walk around each of us.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jacqueline was dead asleep to my left, curled on her side with a blanket hauled up over her shoulder.\u00a0 Kellin was on my right, flat on her back, chest rising and falling with each breath.\u00a0 Even in the dim, I could see a scar the width of my pinkie finger across her throat.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But she\u2019s <\/em>alive.<\/em>\u00a0 I swallowed hard.\u00a0 She was alive<\/em>, and that was more than I\u2019d ever expected.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I pushed away the blankets that were spread over my legs and rocked to my knees, looking around for my shoes.\u00a0 There weren\u2019t any to be found.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Guess they didn\u2019t think I\u2019d wake up and want to get out.<\/em>\u00a0 I swallowed a groan as I got to my feet.\u00a0 One leg almost folded under me, but I steadied after a moment.\u00a0 Damn, I <\/em>hurt.<\/em>\u00a0 I hurt more than I thought I did.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t remember anything after the Shadow Man\u2014I didn\u2019t have any doubt that\u2019s who Angie had been seeing\u2014had grabbed me.\u00a0 Cold had washed over me, through me.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then he threw me, and I didn\u2019t remember anything after that.\u00a0 It was like waking up in the ruined storage closet at the store all over again, except I was hoping to see something a little more heartening than devastation when I opened the doors in front of me.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The hinges creaked as I eased the door open and peered out.\u00a0 The sky was gray, but weak sunshine filtered down through the clouds, lending light but little warmth to the air.\u00a0 My flesh puckered almost as soon as the air hit me.\u00a0 I tugged the blanket tighter and stepped barefoot down onto a one foot by two foot slab of flagstone laid beneath the shed door.\u00a0 Beyond it was grass trampled down almost completely into mud.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They were digging ditches\u2014trenches, really\u2014to the left and right of the shed.\u00a0 Two more were already up, one on each side.\u00a0 Strings tied to stakes marked out what I guessed to be the spots where more<\/em> of the sheds would stand, each with about two feet of clearance between them.\u00a0 I eased the door behind me shut.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019re you doing up?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I jumped about three feet in the air and glared at Matt, who smiled sheepishly and put an arm around me.\u00a0 \u201cJesus H. Christ, Matthew!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He looked exhausted, deep circles under his eyes, but otherwise all right.\u00a0 The cut on his face was healing up, no swelling, no redness.\u00a0 Just a line of stitches down the side of his face.\u00a0 He grinned at me.\u00a0 \u201cI scared you, huh?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d I grumbled, leaning against him a little.\u00a0 He was warm, comforting, and his arm around my shoulders felt good.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe thought if we didn\u2019t put any shoes in there, you\u2019d stay put.\u00a0 Wrong on that one, huh?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJust a little.\u00a0 How long has it been?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThree days,\u201d he said, apparently knowing what I meant.\u00a0 \u201cJ.T. says you\u2019ll all live, which is good, because three people left that night after the fight, then two more after that.\u00a0 I guess random combat with things most of them can\u2019t see wasn\u2019t a good explanation for why a bunch of you were hurt and unconscious when they got back.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I swallowed some bile and shook my head a little.\u00a0 \u201cWe knew that could happen.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cWe just hoped it wouldn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 He squeezed me tightly.\u00a0 \u201cBut all of you are going to be okay, and that\u2019s what\u2019s most important to me at this point.\u00a0 As long as the core\u2019s together, we can make it through anything.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The core.\u00a0 Is that what we are?\u00a0 Maybe.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 I guess we are.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My body felt like someone had stretched me out and tried to tenderize me with one of those mallets you use to flatten meat.\u00a0 There was a dull throbbing behind my eyes, but I was able to mostly ignore … 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":[31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-12","category-day-21"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-dp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831","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=831"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":838,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831\/revisions\/838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}