For her part, Alexandria would have been able to commiserate with Joaquin's sense of disquiet. The longer the power was out, the stranger it seemed. Her neighbor was pleasant company, but she'd rather be having this conversation with the lights on, or better yet, after she'd had a chance to set her things down and get comfortable after a long day out.
Then, of course, she realized that under those circumstances, this conversation wasn't likely to have happened at all.
"There are -- not even just in LA. There are some very good venues in Orange County. I'm told there are great bands coming out of Long Beach --"
Alex's train of thought and speech halted entirely. Her eyes widened, her mouth remained open, and an awful cry escaped her before she fell to the ground, crumpling like paper.
It was not the most intense pain she'd ever felt, but it was close, and it was definitely the worst she'd experienced in adulthood. She bit her lip hard to keep from screaming as the knife-sharp spikes of pain shot through her.