It happened at 4.30am. Fast asleep. Then the rattling started. The heating pipes. At first, I thought it was those cars with loud boom boxes. But it seemed an unnaturally loud rattling this time, much louder than a normal boom box could cause. Then, it started. The bed began to shake, the ground vibrated, and the rumbling. The slow but purposeful moan of the earth, turning on its side.
Thoughts raced through after. Was it a meteor that hit nearby? Was it a bomb? Are we at war? Was it tanks driving through the city? Was it some monster that has appeared? Was it aliens landing? I could not totally sell myself to the idea that I had just been shaken by an earthquake. The very foundation under my feet were loosed.
The next morning, the morning show reported: 5.2 earthquake originating about 300 miles southeast of Champaign at 4.30am. Felt even in Chicago.
I am still alive. No one was harmed.