short story

With his new Ph.D in geophysics from the University of Wyoming and new job working with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory for the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Theodore Jones should have thought himself lucky. He told himself this as he finished connecting the ground probe to the new instrument pack out in West Thumb Geyser Basin to keep track of the massive magma chamber that powered the park’s geothermal wonders. It was but one of fifty set up since the earthquakes grew more frequent and that is what disturbed him on a deep level. The whole park sat in a caldera 34 by 45 miles wide left over from the last eruption 630,000 years ago. He knew all too well a 2013 study showed that the magma reservoir that fed the super-volcano was about two and a half times larger than previous estimates and the last six months of data gathering from more frequent earthquakes and fluctuating heat readings had shown something serious was going on that should not be ignored. Or at least that was his opinion.
      Any time he voiced his opinion he was immediately told not to call wolf from the scientists farther up the food chain. His anger boiled within him with the same intensity as the magma itself. Through lectures and outright protests, he was one of a handful of scientists that had tried to stop Dynamic Energy Corporation from starting two fracking operations fifty miles outside the park and another operation to start a geothermal heat plant right next to the park. It had already been proven that fracking in Arkansas and Oklahoma had increased earthquake frequency and intensity not to mention sinkholes. He had written his doctorate dissertation on the serious effects of fracking and backed up his statements with research.
      Thanks to a fascist anti-science president and his enablers in Congress scientific research had for all intents and purposes been banned through the slow cutting off of funding; the money, of course went to the fossil fuel corporations. To politicians global warming was a myth. Exploitation of all fossil fuels was good for the country. By executive order the corporation had been given the green light and both projects fast tracked. NASA was brought in on a project to drill into the magma chamber to release pressure and negate any possible problem from the fracking operations. All had been in operation for a year. And six months after all started operations the earthquakes up to magnitude 5 came in clusters every week more frequently than had been recorded in the last four years. Yet no one in academia complained.
      He was still smarting from the early morning reprimand Scientist–in-Charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Dr. Charles Russell had hit him with first thing in the morning on Skype. “Stop your letters, e-mails and complaints to your media friends before you are marked as a crack pot.”
      “But, the elevation of the Yellowstone caldera that had been rising as much as 2.8 inches per year has now risen 4.2 inches just these last two months. You know as well as I this is a result of increased magma filling the underlying chambers and literally pushing the ground upward thanks to that fracking operation shifting rock layers and…,” he started but was cut off.
      “And you know full well Yellowstone is one of the best monitored volcanoes in the world. A variety of sensors and satellites are always looking for changes, and right now, the super-volcano does not seem to pose a threat. We see interesting things all the time ... but we haven't seen anything that would lead us to believe that the sort of magmatic event described by you or your misguided colleagues is happening despite how tantalizing it might be. The odds of a major eruption happening in our lifetime are one in 730,000. We have a better chance of being hit by an asteroid. Your further insistence in this could lead to a separation from this institution regardless of your doctorate thesis and that paper on fracking and earthquakes that was published in Geology Today. Do I make myself clear?”
      And that was the end of Dr. Russell’s Skype tirade.
      Ted sighed deeply and straightened up. He gazed out at the green hills and distant mountains that looked so deceptively peaceful. Where there should have been elk grazing in the meadows there were none. They had started leaving the area last week. Though biologists were disturbed, the news never got to the media. After thirty magnitude 4 quakes on the weekend, the bison too had grown nervous and were migrating. This news managed to get to the local media thanks to him and on to other media outlets not taken over in a merger with a government supported media conglomerate that in reality was nothing more than a propaganda arm.
      He balled his hands in frustration. Then his eyes were drawn skyward by the distant raucous calls of many birds. He recognized several species of ducks, ravens and thick flocks of blackbirds all headed west. With the wildlife fleeing, he feared there would be no turning back from the geological reality. The thought sent a cold chill through him.
      He glanced down at the instrument pack as a light tremor hit. The ground under his feet shifted enough to just be felt. The lights flickered on letting him know the pack was working and transmitting. The tremor was exactly five seconds in duration. Then all was quiet as if the world was holding its breath. False alarm or warning? There was no way of telling. No one had developed a way to predict volcanic eruptions.
      His thoughts ran wild from there. If there was a full eruption it had the potential of becoming a civilization killer mixed with the disasters of the climate changes already happening. It could all be compounded if the Long Valley, California super-volcano near Mammoth Mountain ski resort east of Yosemite National Park was involved in a geological chain reaction. Statistics from the past showed that it was possible. Volcanoes around the “ring of fire” in the Pacific were one recent example from Kilauea in Hawaii to Heard in Australia not to mention other locations from South America to Indonesia for a total of 37 with others giving warnings. Many of his geologist colleagues seemed to forget Earth’s greatest mass extinction back in the Triassic 250 million years ago was caused by volcanoes.
      He breathed deep to slow his thoughts; tried his best to still the butterflies in his gut. But thoughts and grim statistics kept bubbling up. If Yellowstone erupted it could emit ash that would expand over a radius of 500 miles. Molten lava of more than 1,000 degrees oozing from an eruption might be less of a concern than the ash. Fine gray ash would likely cover the ground up to 4 inches, which would be detrimental to crops and livestock in the Midwest. Along with the ash, the super-volcano would spew toxic gasses, including sulfur dioxide, a gas that could lead to acid rain as well as global cooling as it reflected the sun away from the Earth. The ignorant climate deniers would throw that back in the face of science, but in no way would a volcanic nuclear style winter be enough to halt the change.
      His mind still raced on. The Yellowstone volcano’s explosion likely wouldn't wipe out all life, but it certainly would be destructive, especially to the western half of the US. Some estimated the kill zone would extend over most of Wyoming, Montana and half of Idaho with at least a death toll of 90,000 in the first moments of an explosion. Still with the ash fall no one would be safe, even the lucky few billionaires and government personnel hiding in bunkers. Starvation would eventually reach them as farming and the economy broke down. It was all because a few fossil fuel billionaires demanded to extract the last bit of energy from the planet they lived on and survival of Earth and the human civilization be damned. It was all about money and not the future of even their children and grandchildren. It was sick.
      Ted forced himself to concentrate on his work. He had one more instrument pack to check and it was twenty minutes away from where he had parked the jeep down the trail. He looked at his radio on his belt to make sure it was still functioning. The red light was on. He smiled. The mobile office in the van would call him if anything serious developed.
      His thoughts then took a darker turn. If the volcano blew when he was out checking instruments, at least his death would be swift. There would be no starvation and long suffering; just a quick trip to oblivion with maybe a few burned edges. It all made checking instrument packs a moot point; an exercise in futility. He began considering to simply walk off the job and go back to his family in Morristown, New Jersey and spend his last days there if he had half a brain.
      He headed for his Jeep hearing another flock of birds pass overhead twittering and compulsively looked up. It was a flock of blackbirds. Was it a warning of impending disaster or was he blowing things out of proportion? There had been minor lava seeps in the past accompanied by earthquakes and plenty of false alarms. Animals fled before all of the incidents. Conflicted, he kept walking. Soon he could see his silver Jeep Cherokee ahead where he parked it by a tall Ponderosa pine. All the while he walked up to it, his mind tortured him between cold hard science and a gut feeling he was trapped by circumstances in the first act of the end of the world in his lifetime brought on by human greed. He remembered something a biologist friend once told him – a shortened, snarky Darwin’s Theory of Evolution – “Stupid monkeys die.”

Ted had not slept well at his small rental apartment in Gardiner, Montana. He had been awakened several times by small clusters of earthquakes just enough to shake his bed. He had been told it was a common occurrence before he arrived on the project and that very few residents gave it a second thought. His first dose of black coffee in his small kitchen had done little to clear his morning fog. The rest he put in a thermos. He was to meet his immediate boss Dr. Grace Stevens, a middle-aged knock out along with the tech assistant, Allen Rose, at the mobile lab van out at Upper Geyser Basin to monitor a few of the instrument packs and hike out to get gas samples.
      He found the big white van easily its doors open to reveal enough instruments for a NASA operation. Allen was watching a satellite feed of a camera centered on Old Faithful with Dr. Stevens.
      As soon as he stepped out of his Jeep coffee thermos and three cups in hand, she glanced over at him and said, “Ted, you look like you’ve pulled an all nighter for exams.”
      “I feel like something the cat dragged in. Thought we could all use this,” he forced a smile.
      Dr. Stevens had just reached him with Allen climbing out of the van behind her when a quake hit. It was strong enough to send Allen tumbling out of the van and Dr. Stevens stumbling into Ted who almost dropped the thermos and cups as he caught her. When it stopped, all looked at the equipment in the van then there attention was immediately grabbed by an explosion and black smoke from over toward Old Faithful’s location beyond a low hill and trees. “Holy Shit!” Allen burst out. “Look!”
      He was pointing at the monitor that viewed the famous geyser. He and Dr. Stevens drew closer for a better look. A hundred yards beyond the geyser was a thin fountain of smoking lava shooting skyward about fifty feet.
      Ted could not take his eyes off it. It took all his will not to blurt out, “I told you so.” The comment would not be appreciated and it was the height of callousness to gloat over a budding disaster.
      The data came in thick and fast in the van. Earthquakes up to magnitude 7 were hitting the whole area. The fountain of lava continued. Old Faithful steamed away as usual. Dr. Stevens called Dr. Russell to report so he could advise on a possible evacuation of the visitor center, lodges and hotels in the immediate area.
      “You can bet the media circus will begin within the hour and Dr. Russell will have to call a press conference,” Dr. Stevens said as soon as she got off the phone with him. “I’m going to make the call of changing our schedule for the day right now. I don’t want us running around the geyser basin with this going on. We’ll stay here unless circumstances force us to move.”
      “You’ll get no argument from me on that,” Ted said.
      “Or me,” Allen added.
      Allen turned one of the other monitors to a local TV station to catch the news as they all kept an eye on the Old Faithful feed and kept checking instruments and other read outs on the panels. Looking at the still strongly flowing lava fountain that threatened to block Old Faithful’s vent and the constant tremors increased his feeling of doom a hundred fold by the end of the day. It encouraged him to put in a vacation request to go home to his family via e-mail to Dr. Russell. If it was refused, he planned on turning in his resignation. He was not going to stay a moment longer than he had to, he promised himself. As a precaution according to plans volcano watch teams were activated and he and Dr. Stevens were the first overnight watch at the van out in Geyser Basin. A news team showed up in time to watch the lava vent widen during a cluster of 14 quakes. Dr. Russell arrived to talk to the press first thing in the morning and gave him a sour look, warning him not to give his opinion. Dr. Russell’s interview was brief.
      He looked into the camera and stated, “Yellowstone is a very dynamic hydrothermal system. This event as impressive as it may look is a simple venting that sometimes includes lava. Another such venting had last happened some 7,000 years ago. There is no sign of anything…and I repeat … anything indicating a major eruption. To believe anything else will put you square in the box with the rest of the conspiracy theorists.”
      It was obvious he was trying to avoid a panic. For Ted it was like fingernails scraped down a calk board. He was sent home to get some sleep and was to return the next morning. As soon as he got home to his apartment he crashed on his bed from sheer exhaustion.

On his way to work the next morning, Ted found the traffic only a little heavier than usual. Apparently some people believed they should leave while they could. Deep down he knew it was an exercise in futility as he listened to the radio on his commute through the lush wilderness of land he knew could be turned into a burning wasteland for thousands of square miles at any time.
      The same radio station was on when he arrived at the van. He got out of his Jeep and walked over. The second he peeked in, Dr. Stevens caught his eye and waved him over to one of the monitors.
      “We don’t know how much longer the observation station will be functioning that is sending this, but Old Faithful is no more,” She said glumly. He stepped in for a look. His heart sank. A lava flow had smothered the area. Several white steam clouds billowed from a few holes in the lava, but the geyser was covered by chunks of lava that had been thrust up and over. He checked the temperature data; found several sensors at various locations had recorded a sharp raise in temperature, a major warning. He frowned.
      Without a word he went back to his Jeep, pulled out his laptop and typed up his resignation. When finished he copied it to a thumb drive and took it into the van to get a printout in case he would need one. He was just going to call Dr. Russell on Skype when he saw the man’s red Toyota Highlander headed at them from down the park road.
      Dr. Russell pulled off the road to park next to the van and got out. Ted walked over to him and instantly got the hairy eye-ball when he stopped to face him.
      “I know just what your first question is, Dr. Jones,” Dr. Russell said coldly. “No one leaves during this venting incident. We need all hands on deck in the field and in the labs with all the data coming in.”
      “Oh,” Ted said and immediately thrust his resignation paper at Dr. Russell. “I resign effective immediately. Right now, my family is more important.”
      Dr. Russell’s eyes burned. “You are running away. Don’t expect any recommendations from me.”
      “Frankly, I don’t think there will be many job openings for geologists after this plays out,” Ted shot back. He turned on his heels and headed for the van. He looked over his shoulder at Dr. Russell. “Oh, good luck. You’ll need it.”
      Dr. Russell’s venomous voice followed him. “You’ll live to regret this and be labeled a conspiracy theorist. Hope you like flipping burgers because that’s the only job you’ll be able to get.”
      Ted did his best to ignore the stinging words as he stopped by Dr. Stevens who was on her way over to Dr. Russell. He gave her his ID badge as Allen peeked tentatively out the van doors. Guilt hit. Was he just running away? He at least owed them a good bye. His throat choked with emotion he looked from her to Allen and said, “Good bye, all. You better leave, too. This is going to be a full blown eruption. Check the temp readings again. Then, get out while you can. No data is worth your lives.”
      They said nothing, but looked at him as if he was quite mad. Yet, he saw fear in their eyes as Dr. Russell strode over. Ted left quickly.
      Just as he was getting into his jeep, another quake hit making his knees feel like jello. It lasted only seconds and he guessed it to be a magnitude 5 or 6. The world was eerily silent after it. He felt it was only a matter of time before the earthquakes of 6 or above hit that would destroy roads and buildings. In 1959 the Hebgen Lake earthquake was the most powerful to hit the region in recorded history. It had caused structural damage, new geysers and made other geysers become turbid. What was coming would be far worse. Let them call him a conspiracy theorist, his thoughts raced unchecked. The wild animals had fled and he had a good reason to follow them. He drove away without looking back.
      Rout 89 traffic was heavier but moving along as he headed north to Gardiner. He turned on the radio to find an announcement for park guests to evacuate the geyser basin area due to the venting and lava seep. This was followed by his ex-boss’ interview. Propaganda repeated long enough became fact except for those like himself who refused to drink the Kool Aid.
      As soon as he reached his apartment he called several airlines only to find all flights to New York booked and none available until tomorrow afternoon. The volcano could blow before then. He decided to pack the car with a few valuables and clothing. Thankfully he had no pets as much as he liked dogs. When finished he Tweeted his brother, Frank in Morristown, NJ on his i-Phone.
      TED: Frank – leaving Yellowstone before things blow and by all indications they will. Just don’t know when. Heading to your house by car. Airlines booked through tomorrow. Can’t wait.
      FRANK: It’s that bad? Nothing much on the news here except your boss calling it a venting.
      TED : It’s going to be more. Wildlife has fled. The crust temp is rising. My comments to the media have been blocked. I resigned. FRANK: OMG!!!!
      TED: Hope to see you soon. Two or three days depending on traffic and the Earth. Will call or text before I arrive or if any developments. Give my love to all.
      FRANK: OK… Safe trip!
      Ted put his phone in the charger and started his Jeep. He drove out of the city limits of Gardiner down Rt. 89. Not far from the exit to Rt. 212 the road trembled beneath him bad enough to force him to pull over to avoid an accident. Some cars skidded and there were several fender benders. Horns blared. A man he knew was suffering from road rage, jumped out of his pick up and ran at him yelling about being cut off. Ted rolled up his window, locked his doors and drove away down the shoulder not about to get involved. The man ran after him for a moment, and then gave up. Ted headed down Rt. 212 that went through the northern part of the park intending on taking it to Laurel, Montana, pick up Interstate 90 to the Crow Agency and get back on Rt. 212 to go East. Immediately the news broke into the regular rock program on the radio. After a brief mention of the evacuation of the Geyser Basin area, the damaged buildings and accidents caused by the 6.8 magnitude quake, once again his ex-boss’ interview pronouncing it all a venting was repeated. It was getting old. “Go ahead. Keep drinking the Kool Aid,” Ted yelled at the radio, though he knew nothing could be done about the eruption but suffer through it and try to survive.
      As he drove to the top of a hill, he noticed a point of orange light in the far distance and figured he was looking at the lava plume over by what had been Old Faithful. His heart leaped to his throat. He was still in the kill zone if the volcano blew in the next seconds. He floored the gas pedal and shot past a few cars ahead as if he were driving in the Indy 500.
      He sped on for five miles through the hills before he slowed. Logic had broken through his blind panic. It would serve no purpose to be pulled over for speeding. It could very well cause his death if the volcano blew while a cop processed his ticket. He let up on the gas and dropped to just 5 mph over the limit.
      He drove on through the beautiful Beartooth Mountains. A deep depression hit over everything he viewed being lost along with the world he knew from childhood. His thoughts turned darker. He found himself wishing all the energy company officers that pushed fracking, suffer and die in the coming eruption like the rest of the population. What they had done was criminal. It all could be prevented if the fossil fuel lobby had been stopped while they were still pushing to drill, frack and create pipelines and demanding subsidies for their planet killing industry. It hurt to think his nephews would be inheriting an apocalyptic world especially if a geologic chain reaction started mirroring the Triassic Extinction Event when worldwide volcanoes created a climate change disaster few life forms of that time could survive. To vent his frustration, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “Safe technologies, my ass!” He passed the estimated border of the kill zone outside Boyes, Montana, but kept on driving to Spearfish, South Dakota. By then the gas tank was almost empty. He stopped at a convenience store that had only one working pump of three; the others had hastily scribbled notes “OUT OF GAS”. He filled the tank and went in to get a few sodas and sandwiches for the trip having decided to drive through the night to put as much mileage between him and the super-volcano as possible. He expected the price of gas to raise to the point only the rich could afford it assuming it was available once the ash fall started. The store had a big screen TV on a news channel spouting volcano statistics and showing the most recent videotape of what was now being called the Old Faithful Venting. As he paid the clerk, he could not help watching for a few moments.
      The lava fountain at the site seemed to have spread. Red lava oozed all the way to where the van had been parked. “You think it’s gonna blow?” the clerk asked him.
      “I’d bet on it. I’m a geophysicist and ex-employee of the US Geological Survey Service at the park. I hope I am wrong.”
      Then, he left the store without another word and headed down the road wishing it was just a venting of pressure like Dr. Russell insisted. He’d rather see his budding career destroyed than the super-volcano erupt. Either way now, his career was toast. With that thought he decided he’d better call his brother. Ted pulled to the side of the road outside of Spearfish. He punched in Frank’s number and waited. It was busy. Not wanting to sit and wait, he sent Frank a text: “Frank, I am beyond the estimated kill zone just outside Spearfish, South Dakota on Interstate 90. May reach you tomorrow. Plan on driving through the night.”
      He drove on wondering how much ash would be blanketing the very roads he was driving over; possibly in a matter of hours or days. There was no way to be sure; only a deep knowing within him that it was going to happen. All through the night his eyelids felt heavier. He became so tired of hearing his ex-bosses voice on various radio stations that he turned it off. By four in the morning he was in desperate need of coffee and stopped off at Ann’s Place, a 24 hour diner outside Montevideo, Minnesota, well beyond the predicted ash fall zone.
      The first thing he noticed was a big screen TV over by the counter with the Weather Channel on covering the venting. He sat down right by it at the counter, ordered breakfast and was immediately given coffee by a distracted waitress. On the split screen view he watched a live feed of the venting taken from a different vantage point in the park. A woman anchor was speaking on the other side of the screen over a caption that read: BOOM OR BUST? The voice was muted.
      Before he could ask if the volume could be turned up, the land in the live feed view literally exploded as if a gigantic bomb went off and the screen blacked out and filled with snow. The waiter behind the counter blanched and turned up the volume.
      It caught the anchorwoman in mid sentence. “… us make another connection. There seems to have been an explosion on the site …” She looked about disoriented putting her hand to her ear bud a moment. “More after a look at local weather.”
      “Oh, come on!” the waiter yelled at the TV, voicing Ted’s very thoughts.
      Ted knew the reality. How bad it was, he knew they would have to wait for news from survivors that filtered out of the area. At the same time an overwhelming sadness struck him a brutal blow. All his coworkers were gone in the blink of an eye along with as yet countless others as the destruction spread with the shock wave; a destruction brought by men of money that wished only to suck the Earth dry of fossil fuel to make more money consequences be damned.
      He swallowed the last of his coffee, paid his bill and headed for the door. He just put his hand on it when the floor shook and outside a hurricane force wind blew for just a few seconds, sending leaves and an empty garbage can flying. For the shockwave to reach Montevideo, he knew the devastation would be mind-boggling.
      On his way to his Jeep he wanted more than ever to be with his family. He pulled out his phone to call Frank.
      It rang once and Frank’s strained voice said, “Thank God you are alive! We’re glued to CNN.”
      “Figured that. Saw a little at a diner. I’m in Montevideo, Minnesota. Just felt a bit of the shock wave only moments ago. This is bad, Frank … very bad.” Ted did his best to keep his voice calm.
      “Now the news is just repeats showing part of the explosion. Basically a black out … Wait … Now it is showing a huge cloud.”
      “Hot ash or pyroclastic flow…”
      “How far?”
      “Depends on the winds. Maybe 500 miles. I better get going. So far traffic’s been okay. See you tomorrow.”
      “See you. Safe trip.”
      There was dead air.
      Ted stared at the phone. He felt like the world was crashing around him. Loss was close: a death watch for a whole planet. He drove into the new day and the unknown down the interstate.