But before she could extract more information about the Alchemist, the 
building was jolted by a tremendous force that sent thin cracks racing through 
the old concrete. In the silence that followed, Nell could hear women screaming 
all over the building, and a crackling, hissing sound as dust and sand sifted 
out of a fissure in the ceiling. Then her ears began to resolve another sound: 
men shouting, "Sha! Sha!"