Page 30 of Escaping my Dragon

“You think I’m nuts.” My shoulders slumped.

“I think⁠—”

He never finished his sentence because the building began to shake, a quake bigger than the previous ones that led to him grabbing me and forcing us into a crouch where he covered my body with his own. Soon as the rattling finished, the walkie-talkie at his hip went off. “All personnel report to central comms.” An alarm went off right after, a strident shriek that demanded evacuation of the building.

“That can’t be good,” I murmured.

“Just protocol for any quakes above a certain range.” Noah drew me to my feet. “Grab your winter gear so you don’t freeze outside.”

“Is the building going to collapse?”

“Doubtful, but just case, everyone has to evacuate until it’s been checked over.”

We weren’t the only ones streaming down the stairs. People, all buzzing with excitement, and little fear, took their time descending. Guess when quakes are a daily occurrence, a bigger one than usual isn’t cause for alarm.

Or was it?

Once we streamed out the main doors, Noah leaned close to murmur. “Stay with the group until the building inspector gives the all clear.”

“Where are you going?”

“To do my job.” A vague statement that could mean a number of things.

My lips pursed as I watched him wade through the people clustering outside Building 155.

“Holy shit. That was a good one,” Joslyn exclaimed, suddenly appearing by my side. “Almost dropped my beer.”

“Perish the thought,” I teased. “Looking around, doesn’t seem like anyone is hurt.” No crying or screaming or panicked rush of people with med kits.

“That cute chef Norris banged his knee, but he’ll survive,” Joslyn laughed.

“Where’s Vernon?” The constantly moving bodies made him impossible to spot.

“That idiot ran towards the perimeter to see if the quake got the ice shelf singing.”

“You can’t be serious?” I exclaimed.

“I tried to stop him, but he told me to not worry, and he’d be back in a few minutes.”

Only he didn’t return in the next twenty, during which three more mini quivers happened.

Despite the order to stay close to Building 155, worry for Vernon led to me leaving the cluster of warm bodies.

I immediately regretted it.

While the sun might be shining, it couldn’t get past the heavy cloud cover that dropped a light snow. The cold wind that whipped it had my whole body tightening. Next assignment better be somewhere toasty warm.

Head tucked, I began trudging, not planning to go far. Noah’s previous warning of sudden whiteout conditions kept me wary.

I spotted a few folks out and about, two of them kneeling to examine something on the ground. A fissure, I noticed, as I slogged past. The snow began falling slightly harder and I debated turning back when I heard it. The singing. Not my first time hearing the wail, and yet for some reason, it sounded much more haunting than usual.

Visibility worsened, but knowing Vernon wouldn’t be far, I kept going, and sure enough, found Vernon, microphone out, recording the arctic melody.

“There you are,” I shouted. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Isn’t it beautiful?” he exclaimed, turning his shining expression on me. “It’s like you can almost hear words.”

“Are they saying ‘it’s cold, get your ass inside’?”