I actually chose the first one. :) Hope you enjoy!
I wearily reached for my beer before leaning back in my seat. The past several hours had been grueling as Carlos, Elaine and I hammered out a more detailed plan of how to pass information throughout the Paranet. It seemed to me that Elaine was trying to make things more difficult than what they really needed to be since she continued to insist on hiding her considerable skill with magic from Carlos.
Carlos began a quick summary of our decisions with his usual flair. He didn't even have the decency to look as tired as I felt. Of course, he hadn't spent the previous night coaxing every last shred of mechanical life out his car to get to San Fransisco. Intellectually I understood that meeting there made more sense than Chicago since Carlos and Elaine lived there, but it didn't mean I had to like it and couldn't be a grumpy bastard about it.
I had just tilted my head back slightly to take a long, deserving pull off my beer when the shaking started. My eyes went wide as I sat up straight in my chair. Earthquake? Seriously? Couldn't I catch a break?
The others in the small tavern had already started moving to more secure spots to ride out the tremors. My companions and I stood as well, swaying slightly on our feet in response to the tremors.
A frown tugged at my lips as a roaring noise began to build to match the trembling. I pointed to the door and raised my voice to be heard over the din. “Somethings not right! I don't think this is an earthquake.”
Carlos and Elaine nodded their heads in agreement, then they moved as one to the exit. A strong wind that hadn't been present when we had met at the tavern whipped around us, causing my leather duster to snap sharply.
“What is happening?” Carlos said over the rising noise.
“Not sure.” I pointed at military personnel herding people away from the water. “But I bet it has something to do with the bay.”
“I know a place nearby where we can get on the roof,” Elaine supplied, gesturing down the street.
We followed her for a block before entering a four story building. By the time we reached the roof the noise was nearly deafening and it was getting harder to keep our balance. We could make out something disrupting the surface of the water, but saw nothing else.
I bit back a useless sigh. There was only one way to figure out what was going on, but I didn't really see any other options. I closed my eyes and ignored the rather large distractions around me and focused on a spot in the center of my forehead and opened up my Sight. I hated exposing myself to the unforgettable images, but we had to know what was going on and no one was supplying any better ideas, not like I'd be able to hear them at that point.
Bracing myself, I opened my eyes and got the shock of my life.
A city was coming in for a landing.
Seriously, I couldn't make this shit up.
A huge, freaking city was landing the San Fransisco Bay.
The geeky part of me that I usually try to keep hidden was jumping up and down in glee at the sci-fi wonder in front of me. The rest of me just couldn't believe it was happening.
Guess I wasn't heading back to Chicago any time soon.
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2012-04-01 05:25 am (UTC)I wearily reached for my beer before leaning back in my seat. The past several hours had been grueling as Carlos, Elaine and I hammered out a more detailed plan of how to pass information throughout the Paranet. It seemed to me that Elaine was trying to make things more difficult than what they really needed to be since she continued to insist on hiding her considerable skill with magic from Carlos.
Carlos began a quick summary of our decisions with his usual flair. He didn't even have the decency to look as tired as I felt. Of course, he hadn't spent the previous night coaxing every last shred of mechanical life out his car to get to San Fransisco. Intellectually I understood that meeting there made more sense than Chicago since Carlos and Elaine lived there, but it didn't mean I had to like it and couldn't be a grumpy bastard about it.
I had just tilted my head back slightly to take a long, deserving pull off my beer when the shaking started. My eyes went wide as I sat up straight in my chair. Earthquake? Seriously? Couldn't I catch a break?
The others in the small tavern had already started moving to more secure spots to ride out the tremors. My companions and I stood as well, swaying slightly on our feet in response to the tremors.
A frown tugged at my lips as a roaring noise began to build to match the trembling. I pointed to the door and raised my voice to be heard over the din. “Somethings not right! I don't think this is an earthquake.”
Carlos and Elaine nodded their heads in agreement, then they moved as one to the exit. A strong wind that hadn't been present when we had met at the tavern whipped around us, causing my leather duster to snap sharply.
“What is happening?” Carlos said over the rising noise.
“Not sure.” I pointed at military personnel herding people away from the water. “But I bet it has something to do with the bay.”
“I know a place nearby where we can get on the roof,” Elaine supplied, gesturing down the street.
We followed her for a block before entering a four story building. By the time we reached the roof the noise was nearly deafening and it was getting harder to keep our balance. We could make out something disrupting the surface of the water, but saw nothing else.
I bit back a useless sigh. There was only one way to figure out what was going on, but I didn't really see any other options. I closed my eyes and ignored the rather large distractions around me and focused on a spot in the center of my forehead and opened up my Sight. I hated exposing myself to the unforgettable images, but we had to know what was going on and no one was supplying any better ideas, not like I'd be able to hear them at that point.
Bracing myself, I opened my eyes and got the shock of my life.
A city was coming in for a landing.
Seriously, I couldn't make this shit up.
A huge, freaking city was landing the San Fransisco Bay.
The geeky part of me that I usually try to keep hidden was jumping up and down in glee at the sci-fi wonder in front of me. The rest of me just couldn't believe it was happening.
Guess I wasn't heading back to Chicago any time soon.