Jacob shakes his head, because he's not hurt, he's not even bruised up. He'd ducked under a table as soon as the ground started shaking and hadn't come up for air until an hour had passed with no movement. It had seemed like the smart thing to do, truthfully, but now Jacob feels a little bit in shock. He's never been through an earthquake before in his life and he's not sure why it's made him feel so out of control.

Maybe because it's just another in the long line of things that happen here that he can't explain? Or maybe it's just that Jacob wants to go back to having a normal, boring life. Worse, what if the shock is because he just wants to do more and doesn't know where to start. "No, no, I'm fine," he insists, trying to make sure she doesn't fuss over him when he's okay. "Never been through an earthquake before, but I've been through some pretty heavy shelling."

And maybe, just maybe, that's it. Those old nightmares about the war that he's buried so deep, maybe the earth quaking below him like a shell hitting the trenches is enough to haul his history back around and make him think about lost friends, lost brothers.