Free Seattle Quake 9.2 by Marti Talbott Page B

yanked.  But the twisting, buckling walls made the door rapidly tilt this way and that; throwing it out of alignment and making it impossible to open. Collin froze. Wall and ceiling plaster cracked, and then crumbled to the floor and the dangerous swinging ceiling fan hung just over his head. Suddenly, the electrical rubber casing around the fan’s cord split down one side exposing blue, black and red wires.
    Objects fell off shelves and repeatedly bounced on the floor. A book slid forward, and then back and the horrendous roar in the earth seemed to be increasing. At last, he noticed a hand gripping his leg.
    Crouched just inside the sound proof booth, even Max's shouts were lost in the thunder. One arm protectively over his head, Max ignored the control room door relentlessly banging against his body, let go of Collin's leg and motioned him down.
    Reluctantly, Collin obeyed and sunk to his knees.
    "She's not down there!" Max shouted. But Collin returned with a blank stare.  Max drew closer and tried again, "She's not down there, man!"
    Finally, Collin understood. On all fours, he fought the ferocious arching of the building, inched his way into the control room and crept under Max's console. He was too tall, and the bouncing movement caused his head to bang against the underside of the table. He lowered his head, only to find his shoulders taking the blows. Collin leaned forward, wrapped his arms around a bolted metal leg and glanced back. Max was lying on his side in the fetal position with his hands folded over his head.
    More plaster plunged to the floor, its white powder sending clouds of choking dust into the air. The continuous rumble in the earth sounded like a high-speed freight train, no farther than an arm's length away. Finally, the phone booth-sized, teetering transmitter shifted and fell, hitting the console, and then crashing to the floor. Collin panicked and spun his body around. He shoved the equipment away with his feet and started out.
    But Max lunged for Collin's shoulders. He pulled him back under the console just seconds before the hanging light fixture dropped to the floor, sending exploding bits of plastic in all directions. "No, man, you'll die out there!"
    "We'll die in here!" Collin struggled, but Max held on. The heavy amplifier bounced, thrashed and slid closer. Something wet began pouring over the edge of the console, its liquid flowing at odd angles. More chunks of ceiling plaster fell from above, shattering on the transmitter before bouncing to the floor.
    And still the earth moved

CHAPTER 6
     
     
    Right before his eyes the huge fissure on Sam's golf course closed, trapping the two men between tons of earth. Four feet from it, another quickly opened spitting mud, sand and water fifteen feet into the air. And on the top of the waterspout was Sam's rapidly spinning golf ball.
    His sudden island measured ten feet by sixty feet and repeatedly rolled with the convulsions of the ground. On both sides, a patchwork of broken green slabs twisted and turned, sank and rose. On the edge of the course, trees danced, tipping one way and then the other while water in the pond surged north, only to surge south again. In the distance, a man attempted to run.  He fell, struggled to his feet and fell again. Stunned and still on his knees, Sam slowly lifted a hand and held on to his bright red golf cap.
    *
    During the initial earthquake, only forty seconds passed before the walls of the fault caught on another snag, once more binding the earth's unfathomable strength. Yet the quake sent out its violent waves for more than four minutes.  Finally, its overpowering roar decreased, but then it was replaced by another, more frightening sound – the sound of a billion rusty nails being pulled from age-old wood, as rock against rock ground to a screeching halt.
    *
    In the control room of KMPR, the rumbling finally began to subside and the retching heaves of the earth tapered into kinder, gentler rolls. Wood,