{"id":842,"date":"2011-11-14T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2011-11-14T05:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=842"},"modified":"2012-02-13T08:54:16","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T13:54:16","slug":"day-21-chapter-12-marin-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=842","title":{"rendered":"Day 21 – Chapter 12 – Marin – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

I kept walking toward Thom and J.T.\u00a0 A few people paused in digging to wave as I passed, and I waved back, not quite seeing who they were.\u00a0 I was too focused on my quarry.
\n\u201cSo is he going to live?\u201d I asked, forcing a smile at J.T., who turned as I approached and gave me a brief smile.\u00a0 Thom came upright as soon as he heard my voice, then leaned back again, putting a hand to his side and hissing softly.\u00a0 I winced right along with him and reached for his free hand as I came close enough.\u00a0 His fingers slid into mine, cool and strong, and he squeezed my hand for a moment.
\n\u201cHow long have you been awake?\u201d he asked.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s been a pain in the ass without your moderating influence,\u201d J.T. said, giving me a wink and a smile.\u00a0 I laughed even though it made my ribs ache a little.
\n\u201cNot long,\u201d I said, shifting my weight to my steadier leg.\u00a0 \u201cEnough time for Matt to bring me shoes and give me a quick overview of everything I missed.\u201d\u00a0 I looked at J.T., irrationally needing further confirmation of what Matt had already told me.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone\u2019s going to be okay?\u201d
\n\u201cAs long as they all stop pulling stupid stunts, yeah.\u201d\u00a0 He crouched to start unwrapping Thom\u2019s ankle, making quick work of it.
\n\u201cIt did seem maybe a little stupid,\u201d Thom murmured, looking up at me and away from his purpled, swollen ankle.\u00a0 \u201cBut I did what I had to do.\u00a0 What felt right.\u201d\u00a0 His fingers laced more tightly through mine, as if he was afraid I\u2019d disappear if he didn\u2019t hold on with all his strength.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t lose you,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI was afraid I was going to.\u00a0 So I just moved.\u201d
\n\u201cYeah, well, you\u2019re stuck with me,\u201d I said with a grin, trying to make light of it.\u00a0 I really could<\/em> have been killed by that thing, and I knew it, but he was already scared enough as it was.\u00a0 \u201cNow stop doing stupid shit.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll try.\u201d
\n\u201cSucceed,\u201d I told him, still grinning a grin I didn\u2019t really feel, one that faded as I caught sight of Carolyn.\u00a0 She was coming toward the three of us, a look of relief mingled with worry on her face.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re awake!\u00a0 I\u2019m glad.\u201d\u00a0 She hugged me tightly, then rocked back against her heels, holding me at arms\u2019 length.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you feel?\u201d
\n\u201cWell enough.\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong?\u201d
\nShe smiled sheepishly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all over my face, isn\u2019t it?\u201d
\n\u201cYeah, a little bit,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0 Thom squeezed my fingers before I let go.\u00a0 \u201cGoing to tell me?\u201d
\nShe gave Thom a quick look, then took me by the arm and led me away from him, away from the digging and the tents, toward the ward lines.\u00a0 She kept her voice low as we walked.
\n\u201cAll the wards are completely destroyed.\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried to put them back together and get them set\u2014Drew and Rory helped\u2014but I\u2019m really no good at this.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any idea what I\u2019m doing.\u00a0 Someone had to do something<\/em>, though.\u201d
\nI felt a nervous little flutter in the pit of my stomach.\u00a0 \u201cHas anything happened since that day?\u00a0 Since the fight?\u201d
\nShe shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 But I went out as soon as I could to have a look at everything.\u00a0 Drew came, too, and he tried to help me but neither of us are very sure how effective we were, y\u2019know?\u00a0 Rory went out with the both of us later for a second look.\u00a0 Drew said it\u2019s been a long time since he tried to ward anything like this.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of ground to cover.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how much better I\u2019ll be able to do,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0 Nervousness continued to bubble up inside my belly, making me feel a little nauseous.\u00a0 I tried to tamp it down.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve never been able to do a whole lot with that kind of thing\u2014not without Kel\u2019s help.\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019s still out,\u201d Carolyn murmured mournfully.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m starting to really, really worry Mar.\u00a0 The scar and what Jac did and I\u2026I don\u2019t know what to make of it.\u00a0 She\u2019s got to wake up.\u201d
\n\u201cShe will,\u201d I whispered.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen too much to believe she won\u2019t.\u00a0 She will, and I know she will.<\/em>
\n\u201cBut when?\u00a0 She needs to eat<\/em>.\u00a0 Real food.\u00a0 We\u2019ve gotten some water into her and some broth but that\u2019s it.\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s terrible,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI just don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d
\nI shook my head quickly.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t have to know, Care.\u00a0 None of us know!\u00a0 We\u2019re all flying by the seat of our pants.\u00a0 Working together, though, that\u2019s going to get us through.\u201d
\n\u201cSometimes I\u2019m not so sure.\u201d
\nI smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes I\u2019m not sure, either.\u00a0 But we\u2019ll make it.\u00a0 That much I know for sure.\u201d\u00a0 I gave her a squeeze.\u00a0 \u201cC\u2019mon, let\u2019s have a look at the wards.\u00a0 Then I can eat something.\u00a0 I\u2019m starving.\u201d\u00a0 My stomach growled to punctuate my words.
\nWe both laughed and kept on walking.\u00a0 The sooner I had a look at those wards, the better\u2014and not just for my stomach\u2019s sake.
\nFor all our sakes.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0First<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Previous<\/a>\u00a0\u2022 Next<\/a> \u2022\u00a0Latest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I kept walking toward Thom and J.T.\u00a0 A few people paused in digging to wave as I passed, and I waved back, not quite seeing who they were.\u00a0 I was too focused on my quarry. \u201cSo is he going 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":[31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-12","category-day-21"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-dA","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842","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=842"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1077,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions\/1077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}