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Chapter 28

Diana

As soon as I was back, I could feel the ground shake. I leaned against the wall from the sudden intensity. There was a crackle. Dust filled the tunnel. I coughed violently. History was trying to enter my lungs, and they didn't like that. The Nons shouted. The lights flickered. It wasn't a good time.

I waved the dust away. John was waving the dust away from me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "What was that?"

"I don't know. I was enjoying a nice sandwich on the couch when it happened."

"Where's Victor?"

"You rang?"

Victor coughed into his hand.

"Was that an earthquake?"

"It sure felt like one."

"That doesn't make any sense," I said. "Kentucky doesn't get earthquakes."

"I'm not an expert on seismic activity," John said, "but I'm pretty sure Kentucky isn't one of those states that has major earthquakes like California. That was, what, a four or five? Where did it come from?"

"I should get on the scanner," Victor said.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked aloud.

No one was injured, thankfully, but there were a lot of questions. Linda came up and asked me if I had contacted Adam.

"Not yet," I said, "but I'll see if Victor can get in touch."

She thanked me. I went straight to Victor.

"Can you get in touch with Adam?"

"His phone doesn't work," he said.

"Yeah, but what about his attorney?"

"I probably shouldn't. Dwight might get in trouble if she found out."

"Fine. Get Dwight to do it. Tell him we just had a freak earthquake. Something isn't right."

The phone icon rang on the screen. Dwight answered with video.

"Hey, man," Victor said. "We just had an earthquake up here."

"I can see that," he said. "The forums are exploding about it!"

"And you didn't think to call us?" I asked.

"Well, if you were alright, I thought you would check in. You did."

"Ugh, you're annoying," I said.

"I don't know what's going on," he said. "First, it was the moon splitting, and now it's earthquakes."

"Quakes? As in plural?"

"Yeah. It wasn't just Kentucky. The entire country felt it. There are even reports of shocks being detected from the Atlantic and Pacific. NOAA is asking oceanographers and meteorologists for answers to the phenomena. It's just a mix of theories right now. Nothing concrete."

I put my hands to my head.

"This is great."

"What's your theory?" Victor asked.

"I don't know. It could be a lot of things. The added gravitational pull from the second moon might have had tectonic interference. It's hard to say for sure."

"What is Shiva saying about it?" I asked.

"Nothing much, really. They don't seem concerned with the climate right now. Wait, hold on. An emergency evacuation was just requested from a station on the east coast. They've suffered structural damage and are afraid of... potential exposure."