{"id":480,"date":"2014-02-18T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T05:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=480"},"modified":"2014-02-17T20:40:44","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T01:40:44","slug":"thirty-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=480","title":{"rendered":"Thirty-Three"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Hell rained down on them,<\/h3>\n

A rain of fire, a rain of tears,<\/h3>\n

And o\u2019er all who lived there<\/h3>\n

Spread the desolation of murdered dreams.<\/h3>\n

— Olarius Kemp, On the Death of Karenis Prime<\/i>,c. 2013<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

19 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her head throbbed dully as she stirred awake in an unfamiliar bed–not the one she’d been sharing with Ezra, not the bed that she’d slept in alone for so many years, but somewhere else, somewhere unknown.\u00a0 The blankets smelled like her lover, though, and she shifted slightly, pushing them back and away.\u00a0 A hiss of pain escaped her lips as the tattered, wasted muscles of her arm spasmed, the ache bone-deep abruptly returning.\u00a0 She remembered taking something for the pain and something to help her sleep and falling asleep in their bed.\u00a0 Now she blinked blearily at her surroundings and found them unfamiliar.<\/p>\n

Where the hell am I?\u00a0 Where’s Ezra?\u00a0 <\/i>Alana rubbed sleep from her eyes as she sat up fully, the blankets falling away.\u00a0 “Ezra?\u00a0 Are you here?”<\/p>\n

No one answered.\u00a0 She swung her legs over the side of the bed–barely more than a cot, though a little more comfortable than a ship’s bunk or a soldier’s billet back in Compact space–and stood slowly, testing her legs.\u00a0 She felt a little shakier than she’d have liked, but straightened easily and looked around.\u00a0 “Ezra?”<\/p>\n

No answer.<\/p>\n

She exhaled through her teeth.\u00a0 It was a small room, non-descript with silver-gray walls and a few cots. Some kind of shelter, maybe?\u00a0 Shelter from what?<\/i><\/p>\n

Her arm hurt from shoulder to fingertips as she hugged it against her belly, cradled in her good arm.\u00a0 The sling she’d been wearing was nowhere to be found and she muttered a quiet curse under her breath.<\/p>\n

What the hell is going on?<\/i><\/p>\n

She could hear rumbles in the distance, the ceiling shivering slightly.\u00a0 Bile rose in her throat and she swallowed it back down.\u00a0 That\u2019s not a good sound.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the hell is my comm,\u201d she muttered to herself, already starting to poke around.\u00a0 The place didn\u2019t looked lived in at all, despite how neatly appointed all of it was.\u00a0 It felt sterile.\u00a0 Utilitarian.<\/p>\n

Alana swore aloud.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bomb shelter, a raid shelter.\u00a0 What the <\/i>hell is going on up there?<\/i>\u00a0 She coughed and cleared her throat.\u00a0 \u201cEzra Mason Grace, where the hell are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The next bang she heard was much more immediate, followed by the sound of Ezra\u2019s voice swearing heartily.\u00a0 The door at the far end of the narrow room swung open and Ezra appeared, lugging a crate of something along with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind what I\u2019m doing up.\u00a0 Where the hell are we and what the hell is going on outside?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShelter under the clinic,\u201d Ezra answered promptly, giving the crate a final shove.\u00a0 \u201cThe sirens went off and I got you moved down here.\u00a0 You were out like a bloody light.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been drugged up to my eyebrows since you started working on my arm,\u201d Alana muttered.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I\u2019m not grateful for it because it hurts like a bitch if I\u2019m not.\u00a0 Why did the sirens go off?\u00a0 What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hesitated and she swore, heading for the door.\u00a0 His hand instinctively shot out, grasping her shoulder to stop her.<\/p>\n

Alana howled as white-hot pain lanced through her arm, dropping to a knee.\u00a0 Ezra\u2019s hand snapped open.<\/p>\n

\u201cShit, \u2018lana, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 He scrabbled through an open medical kit set on a side table and pulled out an injector full of a pale blue liquid.\u00a0 She tried to push him away but found that the pain had consumed what little energy she\u2019d had.\u00a0 A second later, he\u2019d pressed the injector against her neck and released the drug into her system.\u00a0 Another few seconds after that and it had started to take effect, the pain ebbing.<\/p>\n

She looked up at him with eyes hazed by tears, tears she hated.\u00a0 There were some things that you didn\u2019t get used to shedding after you served the Compact and tears were one of those things.\u00a0 \u201cYou should be sorry,\u201d she whispered, her voice hoarse.\u00a0 \u201cDammit, Ezra!\u00a0 Just tell me what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re under attack,\u201d Ezra said quietly. \u00a0\u201cThe raid sirens went off.\u00a0 It was all I could do to get you down here.\u00a0 It was still early when they went off, not much of anyone out and about yet.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what it looks like above right now and I don\u2019t know that I want to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need my comm,\u201d Alana said, struggling to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cAnd my sling.\u00a0 Where are they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably upstairs to the first and definitely upstairs to the second.\u201d\u00a0 Ezra helped her stand, wrapping an arm around her waist and steadying her as she swayed.\u00a0 \u201cGet back in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people dying up there.\u201d\u00a0 Probably dying.\u00a0 Maybe dying.<\/i><\/p>\n

Ezra winced.\u00a0 \u201cI have to hope that most folks made it to shelter and are okay,\u201d he said quietly, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can do about that right now, \u2018lana.\u00a0 It\u2019s too dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay and your sister.\u00a0 Rachel.\u00a0 Where are they?\u201d<\/p>\n

Blood drained from Ezra\u2019s face and he shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI know that they were planning on meeting with some people at the council chambers today.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure they\u2019re fine.\u00a0 They\u2019d have made it to cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I\u2019d know if she was dead.<\/i>\u00a0 Alana swallowed against sudden tightness in her throat, lips thinning.\u00a0 At least, I have to believe that I would.\u00a0 She\u2019s blood, practically my little sister.\u00a0 I\u2019d know.<\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019d have to know.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cGet back into bed,\u201d Ezra said gently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to find out where they are,\u201d Alana whispered even as Ezra drew her back to the bed she\u2019d been sleeping in.\u00a0 \u201cEzra, I have<\/i> to know.\u201d\u00a0 Her throat tightened.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cJust settle.\u00a0 I dropped my comm somewhere between here and the stairs.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see if I can raise her once I find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPromise me,\u201d Alana said fiercely, even as she sank down onto the edge of the bed, cradling her bad arm tightly against her belly.\u00a0 \u201cPromise me, Ezra.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 He leaned down to kiss her gently.<\/p>\n

A shiver wracked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a bad feeling, Ezra,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got a really, really bad feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll all be okay,\u201d he murmured, actually sounding like he meant it.<\/p>\n

Maybe he does.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019s got the hope that I can\u2019t carry anymore.<\/i><\/p>\n

Ezra kissed her temple and left her there, perching on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at nothing as she hoped against hope that whatever Lindsay had seen all those weeks ago were dead wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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