Kat.

So I headed down to see Kat. As I was walking, I heard a horrendous squeal of metal and smashing glass. Looking out the window, I could almost make out around the corner and barely visible, what looked like a city bus toppled on its side. Had those people just tipped that over? Jesus, is this like those riots you see on the news? Could this be happening everywhere? Looking at the mass of humanity and listening to the occasional scream or yell and being somewhat afraid to even go downstairs to the lobby with the big glass front doors, much less go outside, is all very surreal. It's impossible to explain, but there's just something in our guts that tells us going out there would be a bad idea right now. Hell, if it is just some strange riot gone out of control, we're smarter to stay indoors. Mob mentality can be a frightening thing.

I've heard some sirens in the distance from time to time, but really very little in our visible spectrum here. Kat was just sitting at her desk starting out the window when I got there.

Before I could say anything, and without turning around (we always could see one another in the glass, though) she says, "I just watched one rip someone's arm off."

"What?!"

"Well, it was a few minutes ago. Maybe a half-hour. Over there," she points to where the doors to the Metropolitan Square building reach the street. "Some people came out from there and as soon as the doors opened, they swarmed on them. There was a lot of yelling and I watched someone's arm get ripped off. I think it was a woman." She was still pointing. "It was lying right there, I swear it was." She turned now and looked at me. "Or am I going crazy? Is that what all this is?"

"I don't think so," I said remembering the guy from Starbucks. "I think I watched them kill someone. It's all such a blur, though."

"I know what you mean. I mean, it's dark now, it's been dark for how long and-- I don't know, it just seems like it just happened, you know. The fog and the explosions. But that was--that was hours ago."

We sat there, in the gloom for awhile, until we heard the sound of glass shattering behind us. We went back to the corner cube I'd holed up in. They'd shattered the display glass at Famous-Barr and were climbing in. "Jesus Christ," I muttered. "What the hell is going on out there." I looked at the heater vents. "And why hasn't it gotten in here yet?"

"Have you heard from Bryan about anything, yet?" I asked her. She hadn't and really we hadn't heard from anyone in awhile. There should be at least six people on the floor right now, besides Tony. Attempts to contact him have gone straight to voicemail, same as me calling Linny and apparently Kat calling her husband, too, from what she says. Besides me, Kat and Bryan, we should have Gregg, Elisabeth and Darek over here somewhere. Maybe they're all in Bryan's office. No, I think Darek is over in MetSquare, I'm pretty sure he went over there to check one of the Exchange Servers before it all went down. I guess, hopefully he's still over there; I don't see how he could've come back. But hell, I haven't heard from anyone in how many hours now? Maybe we're all just in shock.

Kat decides to go with me to Bryan's office. If nothing else, it will get us away from the windows. It's like looking at a car accident out there. You don't want to, but you feel so damned compelled.