A warning alarm, complete with flashing red lights, went off just before she felt the first tremor. She had just put Greta back in the cage with the other capuchins. She secured the cage as tightly as she could. Following University protocol, she quickly walked into the corner of the room, crouched, and covered her head while the tremors intensified. The monkeys were hysterical and the cacophony of their cries hurt her ears. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she felt herself break into a sweat, despite the cool temperature of the lab: She was afraid. She had lived in California most of her life, despite her years at Harvard and abroad. She was used to earthquakes, but she had never been in the lab when one occurred. Thankfully, it was over fairly quickly. Immediately, she reached for her phone and sent a quick text to Sheldon. As per their Relationship Agreement, she was contractually obligated to check-in after natural disasters. He returned her text quickly, indicating that everything was ok in his office as well.
Immediately following the initial quake, as she was straightening fallen items in the lab, her friend Bert, a Geologist who worked just down the hall, popped in to check on her.
"Hey, Amy, everything ok in here?"
"Yes, I'm ok, and the monkeys are ok, if a little shaken up." She gestured to the cage, where the monkeys were clearly agitated.
"They sure are making a racket! How'd you like that 5.6? Pretty great, huh? We got some great recordings for our research teams! And the timing couldn't be any better! We just installed the tech that warned us about the quake in advance! We knew 29 seconds before the first tremor! Did you see the lights and hear the alarm?" Bert's genuine excitement regarding the shake was contagious, and Amy couldn't help but return his bright smile.
"Yes, very impressive." She nodded emphatically. Geologists and their rocks.
"RIGHT? Awesome. Well. I got a couple more labs to check on, you know, to make sure they saw the lights and everything, too! See ya around and be careful- there will probably be a few aftershocks."
Almost as if on cue, and before Amy could reply, a massive aftershock knocked her off balance, and she was pitched roughly to the floor. Instinctively, she put her hands out to catch herself, and as she hit- hard- she felt a searing pain up her wrist to her elbow. She cried out and felt the tears burn behind her eyes.
"Amy!" Bert rushed to her side, and easily pulled her up and held her steady. "There ya go. Are you ok?" He looked her over, concerned.
Cradling her arm, she looked down at her wrist. A bruise was forming, and it was already slightly swollen. She tentatively moved it in a circle, gritting her teeth at the pain, and let out a groan. "OOO, my wrist hurts pretty bad. I don't think it's broken, though."
Reaching out, with surprising grace for so large a man, his huge hand easily encircled her small wrist. He gently pinched in a couple of places and nodded his assent. "No, it doesn't seem broken, but we'd better get you down to University Health Services and have them take a quick look, just in case."
"Ok. Let me just put the room back together." With Bert's help, this task was accomplished swiftly. She saved her research notes and shut down her computer. Standing, she tucked her chair under her lab table. Bert insisted on accompanying her to the Health Station. Once there, though, she told him to get back to work and that she would be fine. There had obviously been a few other falls, as there were a couple of students and employees alike crowding the office. The nursing staff was efficient, but Amy was still waylaid for at least three hours. By 4 PM, Amy had gotten an X-ray, which determined that her wrist was sprained, just as she'd thought. Nurse Transo had given her some pain medication, wrapped her wrist in an air-cast, and sent her on her way with a promise that she return within a week to check the healing process.
Feeling frustrated, hungry- she had missed lunch- and tired, she updated her supervisor and notified him that she would be taking the rest of the day to recuperate. Making her way out of the office she noticed she had a text message from Sheldon, so she began a reply, but she received an incoming call from her landlord which interrupted her. Making her way out of the building and to her car, she answered with her usual efficiency.
"Mr. Pantalone, what can I help you with?" There was no need to waste time with formalities.
"Ms. Fowler, we have a situation here at the complex. I'm going to need you to head over here as soon as you can."
"Oh! Ok, I'm on my way, ETA 17-20 minutes, depending on the traffic on Tremont Boulevard."
"Please come directly to the office building."
"Will do." Stepping into her car, she sighed in exasperation. Looking carefully, she began to pull out, but stopped short as a car flew down the aisle of the parking structure. Her phone slipped unnoticed between the seat and the drive panel. "What a day!" she grumbled aloud, and began her drive over to the complex, the pain in her wrist already resurfacing. She just might have to take those pain meds.
