Just Add Water

When the explosion woke me, I thought to grab two things before running. First, my com pack, of course, and second, well, in my haste to get out of our cave, the only other thing that I could think of to take, that I could carry, was the little painting that hung over Gin's bed. It's a view of the Appenines looking almost due north from Mt. Bradley. It was painted on Earth over a hundred years ago, when no one had even been to Luna yet, and if Tom is right about it, then it has some sort of value. He and Gin will want it, so I'll keep it for them.

I was the lucky one, sleeping four levels below the surface and at the south end of Dee hall, in a cave with two rooms and only two beds. I was lucky because it was my turn to sleep. Tom and Gin had Farms work, up in the big dome under the stars.

I work the night schedule there, and that's only for a few hours. So I was alone when the blast occurred.

I left without sealing the door and ran north up Dee hall, past the Auditorium, then west on the ramp down to E Plaza where a bottleneck of people were trying to get into lifts or onto ramps that led even deeper. Someone there said that the explosion happened in the Grand Plaza next to the Farms, up on the surface.

I followed the crowd down E and F ramps to G hall, where I ran into Sindara Karmanda (yes, you) who sits here with me now. She had been doing her day shift in E Plaza Park, and was just about ready to leave. She didn't hear anything, but felt the jolt. She was the first person that I found in the crowds that I know well. We have classes together at school. I've always liked Sindara.

We decided to team up and break away from the crowd. So, we cut around Hirosho balcony and went down the ramp to get further west and away from the panic.

Bighead City is supposed to be ready for anything, but it's been over an hour now and the news feeds are still confused and contradictory. Sindara and I have stopped in a garden just off of Jay hall and I've decided to keep this record because, one, I can use it for school, and, two, it's better than worrying. I'll drop in some news feed and do a visual or two. But mainly I want a verbal record. <JonGodwin/17:47.1.5.2081>

</feed> ...a complete loss of pressure in the Grand Plaza and the Farms dome, forcing a drop of seals at all accesses to Dee hall and above. All Main Drop accesses are sealed. Pressure steadily dropping in the lower Farms halls as more citizens are evacuated down. List of known Farms dead: ...Thomas Godwin, Virginia Godwin... <LunaID>

Sindara is holding me. Thanks Sind. You liked Gin, right? I guess it will hit me hard later on. I don't know. I was Gin's companion twin. Bought up from Earth when I was five. Paid for and delivered to Luna and I'm not too proud to say it. And unlike others, I'm happy for it, I love it here and I really liked Tom and especially Gin.

I mean, I knew my place. When Gin's mom died, Tom had filled the void by getting a companion twin for Gin. But even though we were born on the same day, and were supposed to be 'twins', I always felt that I was the outsider. Born on Earth.