Not in Kansas Anymore

Subject: Not in Kansas Anymore Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:42 pm

After hanging up with Ingel I did exactly what I knew I would do. I moped around the apartment like a lost puppy and nearly drove myself insane with worry. The baby was even getting restless, which was no doubt a direct product of my anxiety. In the past few months I had been able to recognize the correlation between my own mood and the activity level of the baby. If I allowed myself to get stressed out about something or excited in any way then the kicks and somersaults increased in frequency. If I allowed myself to slip into a depressed mood or spent a day being especially lethargic… or really anytime I succumb to one of my famous crying spells… the baby’s activity decreased or stopped altogether for that frame. Since I was more worried, afraid, and stressed about Ingel being on the front lines of this latest attack than being upset about the city getting attacked again, the baby was flipping around like he was trying out for Cirque du Soleil or something. The kicks he would fire off, either toward the outside world where a noticeable bump would appear on my otherwise perfectly rounded belly or landing against the various organs in his reach namely my kidneys and bladder, were at least twice as powerful as they normally were… with the exception of the kicks he would usually greet Ingel with when he would rub my belly and talk directly to his son.

At some point, probably an hour or so after the call with Ingel ended, the as yet unnamed baby boy currently residing within my womb calmed down for no apparent reason. The kicks he would perform every now and then were centrally located at the top middle of my swollen belly, a sign my doctor told me to look for to signal when he was settling his head into the beginnings of the birth canal. Once this dawned on me, I looked down at my belly and fussed at the fetus aloud for the millionth time. “Oh no, you are not doing what I think you’re doing! There is no way you are going to get away with trying to come out while your daddy is off working for God knows how long. You better settle in and make yourself comfy, kid, because you are not coming out until the mess in this city is back under control, even if it means that I have to staple my vajayjay shut and glue my knees together.”

Having just chastised the unborn, I went into practical mode and climbed off of the bed. The ‘bag’, the one ready for whenever I might need to go to the hospital had been packed and put in the closet weeks ago. It not only contained a couple changes of clothes for me but some for the baby as well as an entire pack of diapers (since the newborn ones are so small and can be crammed rather easily) and anything else I could imagine needing during my three day stay in the labor and delivery ward. Pulling it out of the closet, I grab my cell phone and purse from the bedside table and head down the stairs to the ground level of the townhouse. Halfway down the stairs I feel the apartment begin to tremble. Grabbing onto the railing for dear life, I look around to see if I can catch sight out any of the windows from my position, which I can’t of course. I also can’t move fast enough to get to the bottom of the stairs and out the door in time if the building is about to collapse so no matter what the outcome, I am stranded for the duration halfway up the freaking stairs in my own two story apartment. Half expecting to see parts of the roof begin to crumble and fall around me, my last thought is how surprised I am that everything goes black first.
666

Subject: Re: Not in Kansas Anymore Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:18 am

When we were informed of the events happening throughout the city, security protocol demanded that everyone, no matter their level within the company, have their employee badges fixed to their person in plain view. This was not only to more easily identify any persons who did not belong in the building but to also aid in the process of identification should anything happen. Since I was already out of my office and gathered with the rest of the workers on this floor, my assistant fetched my badge for me. After clipping it to the lapel of my suit jacket, I settled in to wait for more information about what was really going on.

Hours seemed to go by before tidbits of information began to trickle in, though it wasn’t confirmed initially, eventually we were able to piece together what was going on outside our confining walls. Given the fact that nothing was affecting us, I figured now would be the best time to slip out and try to find some fun. With the elevators being monitored, the stairs were the best option to try and get out of the building. I knew Crystal would pick up on what I was doing if she bothered to look so I wasn’t worried about anyone freaking out that I left. Besides, it wasn’t like I was going far, just toward the action to see what was going on for myself. I probably wouldn’t even jump in, just watch from a discreetly safe distance.

I met no one on my way down the numerous flights of stairs, thank god I was walking down them instead of up, I would have died after six or seven flights. The lobby was practically deserted when I emerged from the stairwell door. Another part of protocol for this type of thing was to keep everyone contained behind closed doors, the lobby sealed, and the building locked down until the call for evacuation comes. This of course means that I would have to unlock one of the lobby doors to get out.. and wouldn’t you know, they didn’t leave the key in the lock to make it easy for me. Bastards. So my first stop after figuring that out would be the guard station along the side wall and then the receptionist’s desk should I need it. The desk was actually the better choice since the guards carry the keys on them. The receptionist hold the backups in case there is an emergency and the guards can’t get to the doors soon enough. Now with key in hand, I move to unlock the glass barrier so I can make my way to the parking lot and get the hell out of here.

Just as the key slides into the lock and I feel the bolt release the glass door to freedom, the ground starts to shake beneath my feet. The city is already under attack and now we get a fucking earthquake? How messed up is this damn place? Thinking that it was pretty much time to start considering available real estate somewhere not in a demon infested, terrorist targeted, and natural disaster attracted city, I move out of the glass doorway to barricade myself in the stone alcove. I didn’t want to try and make it to the car until the shaking stopped, it would be just my luck to get flattened by a damn tree if I tried that. Not long after the shaking began, I felt a strange sensation come over me just as my entire field of vision is washed over and blackened.
598

Subject: Re: Not in Kansas Anymore Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:01 am

After dealing with the overtly paranoid guard, I am almost forced to eat my own words about thinking everyone is a potential terrorist. How fitting that the city come under attack the very day one of my guards treated someone’s grandmother like she was wearing a pound of explosives as a girdle. Immediately after receiving news that there had been an attack elsewhere in the city, my team and I lock down the information center and launch a full sweep of the building. All non personnel in the building were given visitor badges with their names printed clearly and every employee was instructed to display their official badges somewhere easily visible until the threat level was lowered and word came that everything was safe and secure. We of course claimed that this was to ensure everyone in the building was supposed to be here but the truth of the matter was that it is to make identifying bodies easier should anything horrible befall us. Forcing away the incredibly morbid thoughts, I go about my duties following protocol and trying to keep everyone locked down in the building calm. Time inches by as we wait for word of our fellow city dwellers. Just when we think we will be stuck in the building forever it begins to shake and shudder as if we were being subjected to a sudden earthquake. The people scramble for any available doorways or areas where the building has extra frame support. The screams were ringing in my head so I closed my eyes for what couldn’t have been longer than a second but when I tried to open them again the world suddenly went black.

279