Flash Bang (Flash Bang #1)
Meghan March
September—Chicago.
A plane fell from the sky.
It was quite possibly the only interruption that could have dragged Rowan out of the epic pity party she was throwing herself. It was the kind of pity party one threw when a carefully planned life and decades of hard work were demolished by a complete and utter shit storm. And not demolition by a run-of-the-mill shit storm. A shit mudslide, followed by a category five shit hurricane. Rowan doubted anything other than the plane, the fifty-story building it toppled and the hundreds of lives that had been violently and tragically cut short could have pushed the thoughts of the lying asshole and blackballing bitch who owned his sad sack from her mind.
Rowan had to swallow back the bile that rose when what she’d just seen started to sink in. The loss of life ... What the hell just happened?
The symphony of honking horns that filled the Chicago streets died abruptly, right in time with the falling plane. For a single moment, the lunchtime crowds on North Wacker Drive completely stilled.
A beat of silence.
Then chaos erupted.
“We’re under attack!” a woman screamed. She was only three feet away from Ro, and her screech nearly ruptured an eardrum. Terrorists. Okay. That makes sense. Doesn’t it?
“Run!” a large man in a suit shouted as flames burst from the collapsing building.
Traffic stood still. The familiar sound of idling engines and car radios was eerily absent. Rowan’s gaze darted around frantically. The traffic lights and DO NOT WALK signs were dark. There were no fire truck sirens screaming toward the building that was quickly becoming a fully involved inferno. No ambulances were rushing to the scene to try to save potential survivors.
A greasy feeling of panic pooled in Ro’s stomach. Loud popping noises punctured through the sounds of chaos as the glass globes of the nearby light poles shattered before bursting into flames.
Without taking her eyes from the disaster playing out before her, Ro rooted around in her bag for her cell phone. Her panic spiked when she pressed the button and swiped her finger across the darkened screen. Nothing. It had been nearly fully charged when she’d unplugged it from the charger on her desk only twenty minutes ago. Ro’s continued furious pressing of buttons did nothing to bring it to life.
Her brain snapped into focus. No way. It’s not possible.
A firefighter crashed into her bistro table as he ran toward the burning building. Her uncapped bottle of iced tea toppled, spilling onto her lap. The splash of cold liquid freed Rowan from her temporary paralysis, just as three other firefighters ran past. Thank God help is on the way. In that moment, she made her decision. She reached down to yank off her pumps, swapped them for the ballet flats in her bag, and started to run.
The sidewalks were crammed with frantic people, and Ro veered into the road, running down the middle of two lanes of frozen cars. Dodging the doors that were flung open, she sprinted the five blocks to her condo, forcing down the bubbling fear that threatened to strangle her. Her building was still standing, and there was no sign of smoke or flames. Residents crowded the sidewalk in front of the building, some were yelling, but most looked completely bewildered. Ro shoved back the instinct to try to explain what she thought might be happening. They would all think she was crazy. As crazy as I sometimes thought dad was. She darted around the crowd and threw open the lobby door and headed for the stairs. Seven flights later, she bolted down the hall and jammed her keys into the lock.
Even though she knew her condo was going to be silent, it still felt unnatural. There was no hum from the fridge, and the displays on the microwave and stove were black. There was no annoying blink of 12:00.
As was typical when Rowan was alone, she started talking to the empty rooms.
“This isn’t happening.” She dropped her bag at the door and headed into the bedroom. “He couldn’t have been right. It’s just not possible. It should have been the opposite of possible.”