When reason gives way to panic

Twitter Facebook

Working at several amusements over many years has introduced me to some very interesting people and left me with some very unusual experiences. However there is no story I like to tell more than the one that made me appreciate being alive.

Last year, I began working at Cedar Point for my 4th season in early March. My friend, whom I had worked with over the past seasons, was nice enough to let stay in his employee housing apartment. The apartment was on the corner of the building, on the second floor, right next to the last street that intersects Cedar Point Dr. before you hit the causeway. We each had our own bunkbed which laid parallel to each other and perpendicular to the wall with the window that looked out over the street.

I did not sleep well the first few nights I spent in the apartment. The noise made by each passing car would awake me until eventually I developed a tolerance for it.

One night I had fallen into a deep sleep and sudden awoke to the sound of an approaching siren.

"Ughhh...Ambulance." I whispered.

I rotated from on my back, to my side, and envied my roommate on the other bed who was still sound asleep.

I began to close my eyes, trying to fall asleep, though the oncoming siren got louder and louder. Now we all have an certain expectation of how loud a car siren is supposed to be. Even though the window to our bedroom was slightly cracked, this siren was much louder than any siren I have ever heard to the point I reopened my eyes and thought,

"Something is wrong."

I tried to calm myself by assessing the situation with some reason.

"Ok, maybe it's just a firetruck with a really, really, really loud siren."

But my anxiety and paranoia felt differently and it wasn't helping the once pitch black room was now illuminated with bright red strobing lights covering the walls. At some point, the sirens became so loud, and walls so bright red, that I full out felt I was in the middle of something much worse.

Paranoia-"IT'S THE BOMB ALERT! I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
Reason-"No, it can't be. It's just a firetruck. Sandusky doesn't even have a Bomb Alert."
Paranoia-"OR MAYBE THEY INSTALLED ONE THIS YEAR AND NOW TERRORISTS ARE ATTACKING CEDAR POINT!"
Reason-"No way, if that were true, your roommate who has lived here for 5 years would know about it and would..not...be...slee.

At that exact moment I noticed my roommates eyes were wide open looking back at me. I watched him jump out of his bed with a combination of fear and panic across his face.

"OMFG I'M ABOUT TO DIE! RUN FOR IT!!!"

My friend ran for the door and I jumped out of my bed right behind him. I started covering my face waiting for the huge blast that was about blow up the whole building. I actually considered diving head first into the bedroom closet, but felt my roommate must know where we could seek shelter, so I followed him to the doorway. Then he stopped. He looked at the window and looked at me with an expressionless face which then turned into a smile. Through all my concern, I had forgotten that my friend would ever so often sleepwalk. My shock turned into relief as I immediately defended my stupidity.

"I only ran, because you ran."

Suprisingly our third roommate, on the top of my bunkbed, did not run with us and remained sitting in complete bewilderment. We all went back to bed, and awoke the next morning in question if the event actually happened. I mean, it was just a firetruck.