{"id":975,"date":"2011-12-30T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=975"},"modified":"2011-12-20T14:15:34","modified_gmt":"2011-12-20T19:15:34","slug":"day-21-chapter-12-marin-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=975","title":{"rendered":"Day 21 – Chapter 12 – Marin – 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Thom and Phelan came late to dinner, but neither of them seemed overly grim when they joined us at the fire.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I hoped that would still be the case by the time Kellin and I were done talking, hopefully with some help from Drew, Rory, Greg, and maybe J.T. and Carolyn, who were slowly settling into their newfound abilities.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The sun was just starting to slip down beyond the horizon, crimson in the sky.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Sunsets had been beautiful since the end, at least the ones when it hadn\u2019t been pouring rain or overcast.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I smiled at Thom as he settled next to me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He smiled back, then his brows knit.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d he whispered to me as Tala handed him a bowl of stew to match the one already filling my hands.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ll see,\u201d I murmured, then kissed his cheek.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019ll see.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe not be happy about it.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>I looked past him to Phelan, who was smiling and thanking Tala.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I closed my eyes for a moment.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This was either going to go <\/span>very<\/span><\/em> well, or very poorly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kellin and Jacqueline decided that I should do most of the talking.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I wasn\u2019t sure <\/span>that<\/span><\/em> was a good idea, either.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Thom squeezed my arm.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Dinner went quietly\u2014seemed like everyone was too tired to talk much, but at least the hopelessness had vanished from most of our gazes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was starting to look more and more like we\u2019d survive.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe we would.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I picked at my meal, waiting until the rest were at least three quarters of the way through before I cleared my throat and stood up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>All eyes were on me within a few seconds.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I stared into the fire for a moment, coughed, then started to talk, uncertain of what I was going to say or where the words were actually coming from.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThree weeks,\u201d I said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFeels like longer, right?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Since everything change, and changed forever.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But we\u2019re still here, still together, and if we stick together we\u2019ll be able to take on anything that comes our way.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But that\u2019s what\u2019s starting to get hard, right?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The sticking together part.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s things that are getting weird\u2014things that not all of us understand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Hell.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I think most of us don\u2019t <\/span>completely<\/span><\/em> understand them, but we try to muddle through anyway.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s time for me to come clean about some things, though, and hopefully no one\u2019s going to run screaming into the night after I\u2019ve told you about them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ve lost too many already thanks to their fears\u2014fears of never seeing people again, fears of what might happen to them if they stay, fears of what\u2019s happening here, all of that.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t know that we can quite afford to lose anyone else and still function as a community.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Because that\u2019s what we are.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A community.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For what it\u2019s worth, anyway.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019re all each other\u2019s got right about now, and I\u2019m not keen on letting anyone else go if I don\u2019t have to.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut that\u2019s why I\u2019ve got to say what I\u2019ve got to say.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s been a lot of scary, weird stuff going on lately.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I won\u2019t lie and say I know what it\u2019s all about.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But this is what I <\/span>do<\/span><\/em> know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s more out there in the world than what we were always able to see and sense before this all happened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A lot of the stuff was always there, we just didn\u2019t know it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Things like the Grays and the monsters that have been attacking have always been out there.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They just never had the chance to step up against anyone or anything before.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019d have lost against modern technology.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut I think we all know that\u2019s failing us.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The generators are dead.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019re back in an era before electricity, back in an age where we have to rely on our own blood, sweat, and ingenuity to survive.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We can do that\u2014I know we can.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But we\u2019ve got to stick together.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I glanced at Kellin, biting my lip.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She gave me a little nod and I exhaled, lifting my chin a little as I continued.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe have gifts, gifts that would\u2019ve been called delusions in the twentieth century or witchcraft any time before that.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Some of us became painfully, acutely aware of those gifts in the past few weeks.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I know that a lot of you saw me fall over a couple weeks ago, when that storm started, before that big quake.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I <\/span>saw<\/span><\/em> something then.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s part of <\/span>my<\/span><\/em> gift\u2014to catch glimmers of what could be.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I glanced over toward Rory, who winced slightly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can hurt things,\u201d he murmured.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThings that can\u2019t usually be touched, I can touch them, hurt them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He elbowed Drew, who rolled his eyes.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI sense emotions, moods,\u201d Drew said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo cut the bewilderment, it\u2019s making me tired.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd I can sense <\/span>life<\/span><\/em>,\u201d Greg Doyle said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo before you start thinking your former classmates are batshit crazy, remember they\u2019re not the only ones who are realizing their talents.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I smiled at Greg and he smiled back, giving me an encouraging little nod.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I took a deep breath, glancing down toward Thom.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He was staring at his hands, head bowed. I couldn\u2019t see his face.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A hand wrapped around my heart and squeezed.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo, wait a second,\u201d Jack said, brows knitting.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThose little cairns out there that you built, with the plants and shit.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They actually <\/span>do<\/span><\/em> something?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes,\u201d Kellin said, voice firm.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd I\u2019d be willing to help you learn how to feel what they do, if you\u2019re willing to learn.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack rocked back slightly, blinking, then smiled a little.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy the hell not?\u201d he said quietly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I breathed a silent sigh of relief. He\u2019d been one of the ones I was worried about.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I glanced over at Davon, who was chewing the inside of his lip and looking like he was trying to decide whether or not we were crazy.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He finally seemed to make a decision and ladled more stew into his bowl.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I almost laughed in relief.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs that why you guys were all a mess the other day?\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Leah asked.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy the radio exploded, why it looked like a bomb went off up here three days ago?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes,\u201d I said before I actually realized what she\u2019d said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The radio?\u00a0 <\/span>Does this\u2026<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>My stomach sank.<\/span>\u00a0 What does the radio have to do with\u2014<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Then Thom took my hand and squeezed, and I stopped thinking about the radio altogether.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre we all in this together?\u201d he asked quietly, not of me but of everyone else.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Nods began in the firelight.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Fear reflected in some of their eyes, some of their nervous or grim smiles, but everyone nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>My heart lifted.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kellin and Carolyn both grinned at me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Matt winked and mouthed an I-told-you-so.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I exhaled in relief.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Okay.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>So maybe it hadn\u2019t been as bad as I <\/span>thought<\/span><\/em> it would be.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I glanced at Phelan. His eyes were shining with withheld tears.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For some reason, my breath caught.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Then he smiled and stood up.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I yielded him the floor as he announced it was time for him to introduce himself and began to tell the story about how it\u2019d taken him three weeks to get here after the world ended and a new one began struggling to be born.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom and Phelan came late to dinner, but neither of them seemed overly grim when they joined us at the fire.\u00a0 I hoped that would still be the case by the time Kellin and I were done talking, hopefully … 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-975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-12","category-day-21"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-fJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975","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=975"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":980,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}