Q is for Quake

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy!





Quake



It starts off slow; tiny shakes, like someone is thundering up and down the stairs. A picture on the wall slips so it hangs lopsided.
The tremors deepen, and the whole house begins to shake. Ornaments fly off shelves, the sound of glass smashing fills the house.
We’re at the crescendo now, and it’s like the whole house is alive; furniture moves, doors open and close, cracks begin to form in the ceiling.
And then silence. Is it over?
No, there are still the aftershocks, though these pale in comparison to the real thing. A couple of surviving trinkets jump from their shelves, crashing onto the floor.
Finally all is still, silent. I move through the house carefully, stepping over broken things, making my way back to the bedroom.
Still you sleep, soft and warm in bed; no doubt you’ll be annoyed in the morning, when you find out you’ve missed another one.

Comments

  1. Rob Z Tobor20 April 2015 at 10:27

    I love Cake . . . . . . AH DAMN sorry Miss Laura.

    Rob Z Tobor

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown20 April 2015 at 12:51

    Must be a deep sleeper...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nick Wilford20 April 2015 at 13:03

    That was a great final line! How common are quakes in these parts?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alex J. Cavanaugh20 April 2015 at 13:16

    Who could sleep through that?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tasha Duncan-Drake20 April 2015 at 14:31

    I wouldn't believe anyone could sleep through something like that, but in the hurricane of 1987 my husband says he woke up in the morning with a tree just above his face where it had come through the window of his bedroom. He had slept all the way through it. :)
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sara C. Snider20 April 2015 at 15:53

    Hehe! This makes me think of my brother. I remember when we were growing up, and I'd hear his alarm clock going off in the morning. I'd march down the hallway and find he'd just be lying there asleep as the thing blared into his ear. Wish I could sleep like that. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Annalisa Crawford20 April 2015 at 16:10

    Wow, someone can sleep through all that!

    Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

    ReplyDelete
  8. i b arora20 April 2015 at 16:25

    last line is a bit of conundrum?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Keith's Ramblings20 April 2015 at 18:07

    Never witnessed an earthquake and I'd be sorely disappointed if I slept though one!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kate Larkindale20 April 2015 at 19:32

    Both my kids slept through the last big quake we had here. I always lie there, wondering if it really is an earthquake and whether I need to go and get the kids to safety. Then it's over before I do anything….

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sophie Duncan20 April 2015 at 20:52

    My family can sleep through mosts things - not sure about an earthquake, though :)
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
    FB3X
    Wittegen Press

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kern Windwraith21 April 2015 at 05:27

    Lovely unexpected twist at the end! It's amazing what people can sleep through. A friend of mine slept through an incredibly noisy fire alarm at a hotel once--the alarm was going full throttle, people were pounding on her door. She didn't wake up until someone actually entered her room and shook her.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Crystal Collier21 April 2015 at 14:36

    Ah! I love it. The ending is phenomenal and I want to hang out and read through all your posts...but a baby is calling. *sigh* Where did I misplace that time stopper?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tyrean Martinson21 April 2015 at 15:04

    I love the ending and how it just slips in after the wonderfully described quake! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jennifer Hawes21 April 2015 at 17:07

    My hubs would sleep through anything! Atomic bombs, earthquakes, etc. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Chris K.22 April 2015 at 01:13

    Hehe, yeah, those who don't experience the "excitement" build it up to more than those who've lived through it. That's always the way.

    Visit me at http://chriskelworth.com/blog/

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rena23 April 2015 at 03:38

    Ha! I do know people who would sleep through an earthquake, I'm just not one of them.

    ReplyDelete

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