As I walked to my car from my top-floor high-rise office into the semi-lit multi-level parking garage, EDC and keys in hand; eyes darting in all directions for the unknown, I note as I approach my vehicle that someone has placed an “advertisement” card in my car door window.  A little perturbed that someone would even be around my car I abruptly snatch the card out of the window and unlock my car. 

Suddenly a “weird” sense-thing came over me. You know that hair standing up on the back of your neck - thing?

I quickly got into my car threw the card on the passenger seat and locked the doors.  Once inside, I scanned the floor boards and looked in the back seat.  All clear.  But I couldn't shake that "feeling".

I started my car and eased out into garage traffic, circling round and round; exiting each level of the garage until I came to the automatic card swipe machine on the lower level. 

"Ah, home free." But that darn “feeling” remained.

I swiped my card through the machine and pull forward. Just as I am about to exit the garage and enter the highway, my eye catches two people off to my right running full speed down the sidewalk towards my car.

My first thought was these people were running to catch a bus or were late for a meeting. I had two options. I could pull out across the sidewalk to wait for an opening in traffic possibly causing them to miss the bus or cause them to be even later to their meeting, or I could wait and let them cross in front of me before exiting out. 

As is my natural, I chose the latter.

What happened next is kinda a blur.  The two people I had thought I was “helping”, I later learned had just pistol whipped and robbed someone at gun-point at an ATM Machine and were now attempting to car-jack my car for a get away. As they yanked hard on my car door handles, one at the front passenger door; the other at the back door, all I could focus on was the black guns in their hands and a brightly colored yellow bag.

The only thing I could think to do was blare down on my car horn and not let up.

It was five o’clock rush hour. The roads were already heavy with traffic and people were crowding the sidewalks from all directions to get to their destinations - pulling out was not an option.

I couldn't comprehend why no one was coming to help?  It would only be a matter of time before my car windows were smashed by the gunman and they would be in the car.

Thankfully, I hear in the distance the familiar downtown sound of sirens. In seconds I am surrounded by law enforcement - guns drawn. But not before the two hearing the same sound, ran to the back of my car and were once again on foot.

So, why the weird feeling?  Well, my guess is because I usually reserved locking my car doors until after I exist the garage and am out on the road.

Why would I do that?

Invariably, my car would be too far from the card swiping machine and I wouldn't be able to reach the machine to swipe my card through my window, so I would have to open my car door to reach it. My door doesn't open unless it is unlocked.  On that day my “gut” told me to lock my doors when I got in the car. And I did. 

What I was experiencing has been called a gut-feeling, an intuition. My body was telling me something was not right.  Gut-feelings are described as sudden, strong judgments that are triggered by a perception of something outside.

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason.

Or, simply put, a gut-feeling is a response to your subconscious mind after receiving signals from external factors, that your conscious mind hasn't pick up on yet. I found a card in my car window which triggered my subconscious to respond with a “gut-feeling” although I could not physically see any eminent danger.

Now, don’t confuse fear with your gut-feeling.  You can have both.  And you need to learn to use both of them.

Had I not used my “gut-feeling”, and instead continue with my daily routine of not locking my car doors until out on the highway, who knows what would have happened with those two desperate people? 

In a survival/disaster situation and especially when the poo-hits-the-fan, it will be imperative that you follow your gut-feeling because just as I have shared here, you will be encountering desperate people too.  Just sayin'.

- Survivor Jane

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