Phoebe took another sip of tea. The conversation had turned to Mal’s life after her family moved to California- shortly after Phoebe’s parents died. She was in the middle of talking about her years in a community college when both of their cups began to tremble, and Phoebe felt her chair follow suit. It was another small earthquake.

She clutched the table for stability, though it didn’t do her much good. Everything was shaking. Mal grabbed their drinks to keep them from toppling over. Both of their ears bounced, making Mal’s earrings glint in the sunlight.

Image: Phoebe and Mal sitting at the table, shown from the waist-up. Phoebe is gripping the table while Mal grabs her drink. The whole image is shaking. End description.

Remembering the drills from school, Phoebe moved under the table for protection (it would, of course, be bad if she was killed by falling debris and then came back to life right in front of her friend.) Mal stayed where she was.

Pedestrians did their best to move away from buildings and power lines, though some took shelter under outdoor tables and benches if they were nearby. Cars in the street pulled over while the quake continued.

Image: A person with a Japanese serow aspect, a black shirt, and piercings stands in the road. They look uncomfortable and like they’re trying to stay balanced. Behind them, a person with a lizard aspect has pulled their car over to the side of the road and is leaning out of the window. End description.

But soon the tremor died down, and Mal sighed. There were trails of condensation where their boba had vibrated across the table. A chair had tipped over, and Phoebe thought she’d heard something hit the pavement off in the distance. The damage didn’t seem greater than that. She stood back up.

“Man, you really can’t escape this shit,” said Mal. “At least it was a tiny one.”

“There was one at Avernus a few weeks ago, too.”

Mal let out a small hiss. “I’d heard about an increase in anomalous tectonic activity around the East Coast. Wasn’t that train derailed by a quake? The one last month?”

Phoebe was tempted to correct her, but she stopped herself. Mal couldn’t know that she’d been a passenger. Instead she answered, “I think so, yeah.”



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10.30.2024
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I hope everyone who celebrates enjoys Halloween tomorrow! Also if you’re in the US, PLEASE VOTE! You can use vote411 to look up your ballot and polling places. There’s also Ballotpedia. Double-check your voter registration. Remember that there are also many House, Senate, and nonpartisan (school board, etc.) elections on Nov 5th and those are important, too. Please don’t let shit like project 2025 become a reality. If you don’t want to vote (or are voting 3rd party) because of the war in Palestine, I understand but Trump would definitely not improve things there or like. anywhere else.

Palestinian aid:
Gaza fundraiser/Gofundme campaigns
Operation Olive Branch
Boycotts
Buy eSims, 2
PCRF
Taawon
Life for Gaza