Sink or Swim

Chapter 6 - Did The Earth Move for You?

As they got back to the sofas by the main desk there was a sudden rumble, Jessica almost fell and Paul caught her in his arms. "Are you ok?" he enquired holding her to him. Jessica beamed as their bodies were pushed close together. She could smell his lightly fragranced aftershave and felt the softness of his hoodie sweater top. Her body trembled as he helped her regain her footing.

"I'm fine, what was that?" Jessica asked. 

Paul replied, "Likely an Earth tremor. Happens quite frequently here in L.A. Some say you haven't had the whole Californian experience until you feel one." He went on to explain, "The earthquakes of California are caused by the movement of huge blocks of the earth's crust- the Pacific and North American plates. The Pacific plate is moving northwest, scraping horizontally past North America at a rate of about 50 millimetres each year. About two-thirds of this movement occurs on the San Andreas fault and some parallel faults- the San Jacinto, Elsinore, and Imperial faults. You get used to them after a while, they are nothing to worry about. The buildings and high rises are designed to withstand earthquakes so you really are safe...unless of course 'The Big One' hits - nobody knows what devastation that would cause."

Jessica smiled feeling a little more secure, but sensing her nervousness Paul suggested they leave the MacIntrye building and get some fresh air. The made their way across the office floor and called the private executive lift - this was used exclusively by the MacIntrye family and company executives . It took a few minutes until it arrived. There was a ping, a statement that it had arrived, the doors opened and Paul led Jessica inside.

The lift started its descent down towards street level when the building started to shake a second time. The lights went out and the lift came to a standstill. Jessica and Paul were trapped helpless somewhere between floor 14 and 15. When the building stopped shaking emergency lighting came on and Jessica was visibly shaken she had to now contend with the inevitable claustrophobia of being stuck in the small dark enclosed space.

"Well," said Paul putting his arms around Jessica to comfort her, "I could think of worse people to be stuck in here with."

Jessica felt more relaxed when Paul spoke. He was calm and in control. He picked up the internal phone that linked to Aarons security control centre - the line  was dead. He pulled out his cell phone - no signal.  Paul tried to force the doors - they faced a brick wall. "I could try and climb up out of the roof trap door" he suggested, "but I don't really want to leave you hear." 

Tears had formed in Jessica's eyes, she was terrified. Paul sat her down on the floor, then knelt in front of her. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumb and brushed back her hair behind her ears. "Listen," he spoke softly holding her hands, "Jessica this place is safe, the emergency system prevents the lift from falling. You will not be hurt. I am here with you and won't let anything happen to you do you understand?"

Jessica nodded silently and Paul gently kissed her forehead. 'I just hope that a lift trapped alert has signalled in security' he thought to himself. 'It will be up to Aaron and his team to get us out of here.'

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At the Venice Beach boardwalk Abi was still feeling sore from the piercing and was waiting for Leanne to return to the bench where she was sitting with some refreshment. It was particularly quiet, the beach was almost empty probably as most people had left to check on loved ones after the violent tremors. "Was that an earthquake?" she said aloud to nobody in particular.

"Yeah," said a passer-by, "Happens all the time out here, two in thirty minutes is a little less usual though. Lucky you're outside in the sun. They are pretty scary if you find yourself in the mall or one of the 'scrappers downtown."