"The class was supposed to teach you how to write thoughtful, objective comments your colleagues could learn from. A rolling schedule had been established. Checking my email I remembered I was taking the class today too. After Whelan settled in the office was quiet. I returned to my book. I took a bite of bagel with peanut butter and a sip of coffee. I liked to sip coffee right after and mix the salty and sweet and bitter flavors in my mouth. I looked at the clock in my desk phone – 8:45. I was nearing the end of the book and thought I could finish before nine. If not I’d keep reading. No one would tell me to stop. A moment later I heard a noise or a series of noises, loud booms. The floor trembled. I looked up. An image came to me of a giant crane tipping over. Was there construction on one of the towers and I hadn’t noticed? No, this was closer. It must be happening down the hall because Cal Leonard, a guy in accounting who had the office next to Frank’s, was now yelling and wouldn’t stop. OH MY GOD. OH DEAR GOD. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. I got a strange feeling and stood up. Another image came to me of a row of filing cabinets falling over. One of those big banks of filing cabinets fell over and crushed someone, I thought. Cal Leonard was still yelling. Whelan and Max were standing by Sylvia’s office staring out. I walked over and stood next to them. All I could see through the window were thousands of papers flying around. Some of the papers were burning. Hey, said Max, that building’s on fire. Whelan and I walked over to Ginny’s office and looked out. The papers were coming down in a wild flurry with orange flames on the burned ones and also a kind of thin gray haze. I went to my desk and grabbed my backpack. I walked to the hall by the elevators. A crowd had already formed there. People were shouting questions. The security guard was just standing up from his desk. What’s that now, he said, something happened to the other building? We stood there waiting. No one knew what had happened. I looked around at the group. Everyone I saw looked scared. I thought of Cal Leonard’s screams. We waited for an announcement. No announcement came. Someone said shit the fire warden’s not here, where the fuck is the fire warden? More people arrived. The area was jammed. Sarah was there, holding on to Blanca, her boss. Blanca was crying and wiping at her tears but more kept coming. Whelan asked if I’d seen Lila. I said no. He went to look for her and came back alone. She must not be in yet, he said. A few minutes passed. People argued about what to do. Some said evacuate. Others said wait. Some headed for the elevators. Others said no, if we’re gonna leave we should take the stairs. I was scared. I couldn’t talk. I wanted someone official to get on the intercom and say what was happening. Confusion mounted. I couldn’t make a decision. It was made for me. A door to a stairwell opened. It was packed with workers from higher floors already making their way down. Traffic was two-lane, shoulder-to-shoulder. I waited my turn. I looked at the little plate by the door that said 70 and took my first step. A woman from sales named Sue was next to me. Sue radiated ease and composure. Are you scared, Bryan? she said. I told her I was. I’ve never seen you like this, she said, usually you always have something to say. We walked down a few flights. Sue fell back. Whelan appeared on my right. I heard people talking. They said a plane hit the other tower. Details beyond that were vague. A woman behind me was saying she’d seen people jumping out of windows. I turned and looked at her. Her face was red from crying. Her eyes were crazy. She didn’t seem to see me. Descent was slow. We’d gone about ten floors. The loudspeaker crackled. The line slowed and then stopped. BE QUIET. HOLD UP. LISTEN. LISTEN. SHUT UP. There is a problem in building one, said a voice. Building two is secure. I repeat. Building two is secure. Please return to your desks and await further instruction. The voice repeated this message but didn’t specify the problem. But the voice was official and I was vaguely relieved. The mood in the stairwell lightened. A guy in front of me said fuck it, I’m walkin’ back up. He brushed by me and was gone. I turned to Whelan. What do you think? I don’t know, what do you think? he said. I paused for a second. Let’s check it out. All right, he said. We walked to the next exit and got out of the stairwell. We were on some strange floor in the fifties. All the walls were white. I didn’t see any offices. People crowded the halls. They all looked scared. They laid out possible next moves in voices pitched near total panic. The mood on the floor seemed at odds with what the voice on the speaker had said. A man walked by us shaking his head. He said bodies were falling out of the other building by the dozen. Some other guys heard this and ran to see. My feeling of relief vanished. Whelan this is insane, let’s get the fuck out of here, I said. Whelan agreed. We got back in the stairwell. We kept going down. A moment later a huge sound erupted. The building shook. I slipped down the stairs. I grabbed the railing. The tower pitched forward. The tower groaned. Then it stopped and rocked back in the other direction. The huge sound was still happening and then it wasn’t anymore. People around me cried for god. The tower swayed. It felt like it was going to break in two and fall to the street."

Bryan Charles on evacuating from the World Trade Center on 9/11 in his excellent memoir There’s A Road to Everywhere Except For Where You Came From.

(via perpetua)