{"id":955,"date":"2011-12-25T00:00:33","date_gmt":"2011-12-25T05:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=955"},"modified":"2011-12-15T13:39:26","modified_gmt":"2011-12-15T18:39:26","slug":"day-21-chapter-12-marin-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=955","title":{"rendered":"Day 21 – Chapter 12 – Marin – 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t go to check on Kellin, or even to distract Jay when I left them together.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I headed for the cubby I shared with Thom to retrieve the cards.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019d been a birthday gift from Rory and Drew years earlier.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019d only taken them out once since the end, those first hours after shit had hit the fan.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A part of me was still afraid of what would happen when I spread the cards.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I told myself I couldn\u2019t keep denying the urge to read them, to use my Tarot deck for the purpose they were intended for, and now was as good a time as any.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t have anything to be afraid of.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I was probably lying to myself, but as I stripped out of my muddy clothes and rummaged around for clean jeans, a shirt, and the deck, I decided I didn\u2019t care.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>My mind was made up.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I had questions, and I would have answers.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Damn the consequences.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I shimmied into clean clothes and laid out the cloth that I used to wrap the box I kept the deck in. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I knelt down on the mattress in front of the cloth, the cards slipping through my fingers as I shuffled the deck, starting to concentrate.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There was something soothing, relaxing about handling them, though I could feel my fingers beginning to tingle as I kept shuffling them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I concentrated on Thom as I sifted through the cards, eyes lidding, fluttering as if I was dreaming.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The trance broke once I\u2019d laid the cards out before me, just three\u2014a simple spread.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I was too afraid of what a more complex one would tell me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A simple past, present, and future spread was better, less threatening to my psyche.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s what I thought, anyway.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I had to take a deep, steady breath before I could look down at the cards I\u2019d laid out, and I was glad I had.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>My lips thinned as I stared at the cards before me.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/span>\u201cThom!\u00a0 <\/span>Behind you!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I watched with growing horror, as if we were all trapped in slow motion.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The creature reared back with a massive paw, bigger than my head, lifting it to strike Thom from behind.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He spun, looking around wildly\u2014he couldn\u2019t see it.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/em>Oh god.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He can\u2019t see it!<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then, at the very last possible second, he stiffened, then dove.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>One of the thing\u2019s claws caught him over the shoulder, sending his dive into more of a tumble, but at least it hadn\u2019t broken his neck in one blow.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I shivered a little.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Whether or not he believed, whether or not Phelan convinced him, the damage to his abilities had already been done.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s a conversation for Phelan and I\u2014or Phelan and him\u2014to have at another time.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>My hands curled into fists on my knees as I stared down at the cards.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A new one lay across the top of the spread.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It must have slipped from the top of the deck while it was still in my hand, while I had my vision.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The Star.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hope.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There was always <\/span>hope<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I didn\u2019t go to check on Kellin, or even to distract Jay when I left them together.\u00a0 I headed for the cubby I shared with Thom to retrieve the cards.\u00a0 They\u2019d been a birthday gift from Rory and Drew … 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-955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-12","category-day-21"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-fp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955","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=955"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":967,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955\/revisions\/967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}