Read Online Seattle Quake 9.2 by Marti Talbott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Marti Talbott
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look at Max through the sound proof window. Max had on a paper party hat and his eyes were crossed.
The time was 4:23.
*
In the lobby of the Winningham Blue Building, the flower deliveryman waited for an elevator to take him up to the forty-third floor.
*
Less than two weeks earlier, the vertical shelf of the northern wall yielded to the hairline crack, and then shattered causing the 4.3 quake. On this day, it was again the massive northern wall that began to give under the unfathomable pressure of a continuously whirling world. A new, more profound -- longer and deeper hairline fracture appeared in the snag. Seconds later, the solid rock ledge fragmented, sending a multitude of fractures in all conceivable directions, until it abruptly disintegrated. The instant collapse of thousands of tons of rock created a massive explosion and sent the noise, and the first earthquake jolt on its way through 33 kilometers of earth – toward the water in the bay and the foundations of the city of Seattle.
*
Seely Ross was worried. Her nerves were on edge, the short hairs on her neck felt as though they were standing straight out and never had she washed and dried her hands so quickly. She grabbed her purse and headed toward the door.
A short three blocks away, the water in Elliott Bay began to swirl and churn. All over Seattle, birds took flight, dogs panicked and cats ran for cover.
Seely opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom. But her right foot took a fraction of a second too long to reach the floor. Instantly, she drew in a sharp, urgent breath and her eyes widened with terror. She filled her lungs and with all her might she screamed, "Jenna!"
Alarmed by the elder woman's scream, Jenna shoved the refrigerator door closed and ran out of the kitchenette into the hallway. Seely's face was filled with an unfamiliar, frightening expression and for a moment, Jenna hesitated. But as soon as she neared, the older woman grabbed both her arms, turned her and shoved her into the small bathroom foyer. "What…what is it?"
Seely's face grew ghastly white. Even so, she managed to close the bathroom door, brace her back against it, and then pull Jenna to the floor. Just as she began to answer, the sudden, colossal, heart-stopping explosion erupted from the bowels of the earth.
Suddenly, the city came alive with motion. The southern wall of the fault hurled its gigantic bulk upward ten feet. At the same time, it shifted twenty-seven feet away from the water – carrying with it the Kingdome, Safeco Field, Pioneer Square, the Coast Guard Museum, large and small businesses, the railroad station, the fire station, China Town, the southern end of the bus tunnel, the southern end of I-5, railroad tracks, four skyscrapers, and the Smith Tower. Like a row of falling dominos, the tops of the tall buildings leaned toward the water, and then snapped back with unthinkable cruelty, hurling everything within them against eastern walls.
The earth's horrendous discharge reached the 43 floor of the Winningham Blue Building at exactly thirty-seven seconds past 4:26 p.m. Instantly, the lights flickered and went off plunging Seely and Jenna into total darkness. A tenth of a second after the southern wall lifted and moved away from the water, the northern wall dropped, causing the other two thirds of the city to abruptly sink. At the same time it fell, the northern wall shifted thirty feet into the Bay -- and the foundation of the Winningham Blue Building moved with it.
The rapid motion caused the building to free-fall at an angle, and then come to a crashing halt. Impacted steel and concrete screamed in agony. Hundreds of windows simultaneously shattered, flinging lethal shards of glass outward, and then down forty-seven floors to the ground below. The bathroom door burst off its hinges and fell into the hallway taking Seely with it. Plastic covers over ceiling lights ruptured, the wall mirror exploded and water bounced free of toilets.
The time was 4:23.
*
In the lobby of the Winningham Blue Building, the flower deliveryman waited for an elevator to take him up to the forty-third floor.
*
Less than two weeks earlier, the vertical shelf of the northern wall yielded to the hairline crack, and then shattered causing the 4.3 quake. On this day, it was again the massive northern wall that began to give under the unfathomable pressure of a continuously whirling world. A new, more profound -- longer and deeper hairline fracture appeared in the snag. Seconds later, the solid rock ledge fragmented, sending a multitude of fractures in all conceivable directions, until it abruptly disintegrated. The instant collapse of thousands of tons of rock created a massive explosion and sent the noise, and the first earthquake jolt on its way through 33 kilometers of earth – toward the water in the bay and the foundations of the city of Seattle.
*
Seely Ross was worried. Her nerves were on edge, the short hairs on her neck felt as though they were standing straight out and never had she washed and dried her hands so quickly. She grabbed her purse and headed toward the door.
A short three blocks away, the water in Elliott Bay began to swirl and churn. All over Seattle, birds took flight, dogs panicked and cats ran for cover.
Seely opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom. But her right foot took a fraction of a second too long to reach the floor. Instantly, she drew in a sharp, urgent breath and her eyes widened with terror. She filled her lungs and with all her might she screamed, "Jenna!"
Alarmed by the elder woman's scream, Jenna shoved the refrigerator door closed and ran out of the kitchenette into the hallway. Seely's face was filled with an unfamiliar, frightening expression and for a moment, Jenna hesitated. But as soon as she neared, the older woman grabbed both her arms, turned her and shoved her into the small bathroom foyer. "What…what is it?"
Seely's face grew ghastly white. Even so, she managed to close the bathroom door, brace her back against it, and then pull Jenna to the floor. Just as she began to answer, the sudden, colossal, heart-stopping explosion erupted from the bowels of the earth.
Suddenly, the city came alive with motion. The southern wall of the fault hurled its gigantic bulk upward ten feet. At the same time, it shifted twenty-seven feet away from the water – carrying with it the Kingdome, Safeco Field, Pioneer Square, the Coast Guard Museum, large and small businesses, the railroad station, the fire station, China Town, the southern end of the bus tunnel, the southern end of I-5, railroad tracks, four skyscrapers, and the Smith Tower. Like a row of falling dominos, the tops of the tall buildings leaned toward the water, and then snapped back with unthinkable cruelty, hurling everything within them against eastern walls.
The earth's horrendous discharge reached the 43 floor of the Winningham Blue Building at exactly thirty-seven seconds past 4:26 p.m. Instantly, the lights flickered and went off plunging Seely and Jenna into total darkness. A tenth of a second after the southern wall lifted and moved away from the water, the northern wall dropped, causing the other two thirds of the city to abruptly sink. At the same time it fell, the northern wall shifted thirty feet into the Bay -- and the foundation of the Winningham Blue Building moved with it.
The rapid motion caused the building to free-fall at an angle, and then come to a crashing halt. Impacted steel and concrete screamed in agony. Hundreds of windows simultaneously shattered, flinging lethal shards of glass outward, and then down forty-seven floors to the ground below. The bathroom door burst off its hinges and fell into the hallway taking Seely with it. Plastic covers over ceiling lights ruptured, the wall mirror exploded and water bounced free of toilets.
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