by Chris Tucker
As he stepped out of his cabin and wiped the tears from his eyes, something even more disturbing caught his attention. Peering off into the distance, he noticed a heavy plume of smoke emitting from Mount Momotombo’s peak. He also noticed there was no more snow on top of the mountain.
***
A few hours had passed and the smoke coming out of the peak was getting thicker with each passing moment. Fearing an explosion of the mountain was forthcoming, Mackie summoned everyone back on board. He gave orders to the crew to repair the damage sustained during the earthquake, and then readied his ship for departure.
He sent one of his deckhands to retrieve the harbor master. When he arrived, Mackie said, “Mr. Quijano, I believe we both have the same notion of what is to come. A few years ago while I was in South America, I witnessed a volcanic eruption. We do not want to be onlookers if that’s what is to happen here.”
Quijano looked at him and submitted. “I wholeheartedly agree, Captain. What can I do to help?”
“Round up as many people as you can and get them on board. If we are to have any chance, we will need to leave soon. Please hurry. Time is very important right now.”
The harbor master understood. “I am most gracious for what you are doing for our people. I am forever in your debt.” With that, he hurried out the door and disappeared into the crowd.
Panic ripped through the countryside as the imminent explosion loomed. Mackie had rounded up and accounted for all of his passengers a few hours earlier. He was now scurrying people from the town aboard as fast as they could get on. By his estimate, he had on board an extra three hundred people. The ship was packed to more than the maximum load allowable. After ensuring all safety provisions were in place, he gave the order to untie the mooring lines and depart from the pier.
He estimated their travel time to the Pacific Ocean to be about an hour. That would give them more than safe range from the volcano when it decided to erupt. He gave orders to the crew and was set to head to his quarters when he remembered his First Mate was still lying in his bed. He wasn’t ready to look at Geoffrey again quite yet and decided to stay on the bridge with his crew.
It was only a few moments into their rush to escape when they heard it. The sound was deafening. As if in perfect harmony, all eyes on board the Alyssa Marie veered over to the mountain. The explosion was so massive it caused the entire southwestern face of the mountain to slide away, violently hurling a scorching mix of lava and pulverized rock fragments towards the vicinity of Tamarindo.
The passengers on board watched in horror as an eruption column rose seventy thousand feet into the atmosphere. Mackie knew there was no escape from the fiery onslaught heading their way. There was nothing he could do to save the lives of those on board. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his watch. Flipping it open, he looked at the picture of his wife and muttered, “I love you Lizzy. Always know that.”
The impact of the blow was instantly destructive. The ship was thrown into an upheaval as the river rose in a tidal wave almost a hundred feet above normal levels due to the force of the pyroclastic flow. The Alyssa Marie was slammed into the forest and shattered as if it were made from twigs. For those who survived the initial blow, there was no mercy for them in the upcoming moments. They were thrown violently into the forest, where their bodies were smashed against the tall forest trees.
As he looked around, Mackie could see that most of his crew and passengers were dead. The blood trailing from the gushing wound on his forehead trailed into his eyes, blurring his vision. Wiping the blood away with his sleeve, he looked up and saw the dark cloud barreling down on him. Knowing his end would come in mere seconds, he quickly composed himself. He then stood up with his head held high and proud as he had done for so many voyages. In his final moments, he recalled something his father once told him.
“The Captain is to go down with his ship with dignity and honor. That is the duty of any sailing Captain.”
Thomas Mackie stood tall on what remained of his ship and looked on as the volcanic ash cloud engulfed him and the rest of the surrounding jungle.
Over the coming days, ash and rock blanketed the area leaving no trace of the town, the river, or the once beautiful and magnificent Alyssa Marie.
1
Present Day
Emily Lundy was sifting her hands through the warm waters of the Apoyeque Lagoon. The well-deserved break had given her a moment to sit and take in the beauty of the volcanic caldera. Her sky blue eyes wandered around the enclosed complex, which formed a pyroclastic shield.
From her view at the center of the lake, she gazed up at the walls surrounding her, which rose about three hundred feet to the peak of the caldera. She looked over at her partner, Tony, and could see that he was testing some samples they had collected earlier in the day. She stood up to go over to him and see what he had come up with.
As she walked over, her slender frame seemed to gracefully slide over the terrain. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and was tucked underneath a red baseball cap with the letters USGS embroidered on the front.
Tony Morgan had worked with her for just over a year now. After college, he joined the United States Geological Survey hoping to make his mark on the environment in a positive way. As an Information Technology Specialist, he had a great respect for protecting natural resources and the people that depended on them. As he was gathering the last of his samples, he stood up and extended his six foot tall physique to an upright position. The unshaved beard on his face revealed a slight amount of gray, giving him a prominent look and making him appear older than he actually was.
She saw him as one of the best friends she would ever have in her lifetime and they had become close over the time they were partnered together. He was the older brother she never had and she looked to him for guidance from time to time, even though she was his superior. There was a mutual respect between the two that bonded them together and she was extremely grateful they had been brought together at this point in her life.
The death of her husband had been very traumatic for her. As a Navy SEAL, the circumstances regarding his passing were concealed as a result of his death occurring during a mission overseas. That made it all the more difficult for her to deal with him not returning home. There was an emptiness she felt by the loss and the only thing that seemed to mend the difficult months was her commitment to her work.
Tony never had the chance to meet her husband, but he could tell by the way she spoke of him that he was a good man and she loved him very much. He came to know almost everything about her in a very short period of time due to the close-knit working environments and field assignments that took them all over the world. It was a friendship neither of them took for granted.
After the death of her husband, she didn’t waver from her friendship with Tony. Instead, he was a warm shoulder to lean on and his companionship was more than enough to carry her through that difficult time in her life. He never looked at her as more than a friend, and she respected him tremendously for that. There was an admiring quality in him that gave him the trust of many.
They had been at the lake for two days now collecting data to help them research volcanic activity and the effects those hazards have on the natural resources in the area. After not showering for the past few days, Emily was ready for the comfort of a hotel room with a hot bath and a cozy bed.
As she approached where Tony was sitting, she engaged him. “Anything useful we can use?”
He answered, “Too early to tell, but I think what we’ve collected will be enough to tell us what we came to find out.”
“Good,” she said. “Let’s start packing up and head back. I could use a hot meal and so could you.”
He didn’t need any more encouragement, and was up and halfway back to his tent before responding, “First round's on me if you’ll buy dinner.”
“Deal,” she said with a big smile, turning to gather up her things.
She sat down in
her tent to collect her belongings. After packing all of her equipment, she decided to get in a quick nap before they headed back. She rested her head down on her pillow and was dozing within a few minutes.
***
The noise that woke her was unnerving. Emily sat up so quickly that her head was dizzy from the sudden movement. She was unzipping her tent when she heard Tony.
“Em, did you hear that?”
Still in a weary state, she replied, “What the hell was that? It sounded like gunfire.”
Tony agreed, “I think it was too. But where did it come from?”
She hastily replied, “I don’t know. That sounded like automatic fire though. Are they shooting at someone?”
“Do we really want to know the answer to that question? I say we get in the truck and go.”
As they were getting into the truck, they heard another burst of gunfire. This time, Emily was more alert. The sound seemed to be closer than before.
“Tony, we need to see where that’s coming from. What if someone needs help? We have to check it out.”
He knew he wasn’t going to win this battle with her and he submissively gave in.
“Okay Em, but if we get too close to something, I need your word that we’ll get out of there.”
“You have my word. We just have to be sure someone isn’t hurt. Then we go.”
They walked about a quarter-mile into the jungle and didn't see anything. About to give up and head back, Emily stopped in her tracks after hearing voices nearby. She glanced back at Tony and they exchanged looks. They knew to keep quiet while they listened for where the voices were coming from. After a few seconds, she heard the voices again and they headed off in the direction of the noise.
About two hundred feet away, they came upon the edge of a brush line. Tony put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her to the ground. She looked at him without saying a word and could see in his eyes that he saw something up ahead. She looked in the direction where he was staring and saw three men with rifles pointed at something. From her viewpoint, she couldn’t see what the men were aiming at, so she got up to one knee to get a better look.
She looked on in shock as she observed a group of about ten people lined up against the trees. Two of the men raised their rifles and aimed them at the group. After the third man said a few words, she clasped Tony’s hand as she realized what was to come next.
The machine gun fire echoed through the forest. Emily and Tony stood in awe as they witnessed the bullet-riddled bodies hitting the ground, covering it in blood. Knowing there was nothing they could do, Tony grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away with him. She was frozen in disbelief and didn’t respond right away.
He knelt down beside her and said in a quiet tone, “Em, we have to go. We have to get out of here. We need to leave now.”
She looked up and nodded her head in agreement, then lifted herself up and slowly started to back away. As she was backing up, she stumbled over a large rock on the ground and fell on her back. The ruffling of the foliage was loud enough to attract the attention of the three assassins. One of the gunmen shouted and pointed directly where the ruckus had come from.
At that moment, chaos ensued within the both of them and they knew they had no choice but to make their escape. Picking Emily up and pushing her to get running, Tony let out a yell. “Run, Emily! Run!”
She didn’t even think of responding. She was sprinting through the jungle as fast as her legs would carry her. Her many years of running track were helping her maintain her speed and endurance as she hurdled any obstacle in her way. The only indication that Tony was still with her was the trampling of footsteps she heard coming from the rear. The bursts of gunfire didn’t afford her the time to look behind to see how far back he was. Her eyes kept forward as the gunfire around them rattled in her ears.
They ran for what seemed forever, finally coming to a clearing. Emily went down to one knee, scanning the area before moving on. Tony knelt down beside her in exhaustion.
After a quick moment and a gather of breath, she pointed and said, “Our truck is right past that tree line. We can make it if we move now.”
Scoping the area quickly, Tony looked at her and responded, “Okay, let’s go.”
As they stood up to make the run across the clearing, a burst of gunfire rang out and Emily heard the muffled sound of flesh being torn apart as Tony screamed out in agony. She turned around to see her friend falling to the ground in pain and could see the exit wound of the bullet in his chest. His normally bright red polo shirt was now a dark crimson shade due to the massive amount of blood streaming from his torso.
She let out a yelp and ran to help him, but was quickly stopped in her tracks by the sight of a gunman who was standing at the end of the field. He aimed the barrel of the rifle at her and squeezed the trigger.
She didn’t feel the bullet hit her and thought at first that the assassin had missed her. It took her a few seconds to realize the weapon had misfired. Without hesitation, she was off again and ran into the tree line. She heard voices coming from behind and took a quick glance back to see if they were still following her. When she turned back around to face forward, there was a man with sandy brown hair and dark hazel eyes staring directly at her.
Fearing she was about to die, she screamed and punched the man who was grabbing her. He put his hand over her mouth and told her to get down. She was in shock so she did as she was told. When the man turned away from her, she thought of running, but her legs wouldn’t seem to move.
The man crouched down behind a tree and pulled out a handgun from his hip, aiming it in the direction where she had just come from. She recognized the pistol as an M9 Beretta because it was her husband’s weapon of choice. It was at this time she realized this man meant her no harm. A minute later she heard the three gunmen coming through the trees.
The first shot went off without her even seeing anybody there. Noting that her savior didn’t take a second shot, she presumed he had killed one of the assassins with the single round. There was silence for a minute and then gunfire from the rifles of the other two assassins could be heard as they fired in the direction of the sandy-haired hero. He crouched behind the tree and waited for the other men to expel their rounds before he got up and fired again.
He fired a few more rounds this time and she witnessed the bullets hitting one of the two remaining gunmen, killing him instantly. She finally allowed the sense of fear to leave her body as the panic subsided and she sensed this nightmare would be coming to an end soon. She looked at the man who had just saved her life and could see the will in his eyes. He scoped the canvas looking for the third gunman, never wavering in thought as he stared for any sign of the assailant.
Looking at him, her vision readjusted as she stared past him to the figure coming up on his blind side. The gunman took aim and had her hero in his sights. Before she could cry out to warn him, the sound of a bullet broke through the silence which had overtaken the jungle, bringing the frightening ordeal to an end.
To her surprise, it wasn’t the savior of the day who had fallen, but it was instead the gunman who had been sneaking up behind them. Without warning, another man came out from a spot where he had been hidden the entire firefight.
The sandy-haired man turned toward the direction of the unsuspecting visitor who had just emerged and said, “I was starting to think you were just going to let me do it all on my own.”
A voice finally came out of the stocky man’s mouth. “Well, it took you almost five shots to get the second guy and you must be getting old because you didn’t even see the third one coming up behind you, so I thought I would save myself the hassle of having to carry your corpse out of this jungle and take care of him myself.”
Emily just sat there and listened as the two men rattled back and forth, showing no signs of feeling the effects of the bloodshed which had just ensued. She was amazed that they could have just killed three men, but were so engrossed in their own banter, it was as if th
ey were sitting on a beach drinking Mai Tai’s instead of in the harsh Nicaraguan jungle.
The sandy-haired man approached her as she was still curled up next to the tree she was told to stay by. As he drew near, she could see a patch on his shirt that had the initials NESA on it. He extended his hand to help her up to her feet.
When she was upright, he very nonchalantly said, “And who might you be?”
“Emily. Emily Lundy. Who are you?”
He looked over at his comrade and said, “Well, my smart-mouthed friend over there is Pat Vigil.”
She looked into the mystery man’s hazel eyes and said, “And what about you? Do you have a name?”
He smiled as if he had something amusing on his mind to say, but simply replied, “I do in fact have a name. It’s Sean Mercer.”
2
Mercer and Vigil decided to take Emily back to their base camp in order to get her medical attention. The drive back had given the grief-stricken woman time to tell her tale of horror to the two men who had just saved her life. They listened in silence as the story was told. After reliving the ordeal she had just gone through, she decided to try and make a subject change.
“What line of work are the two of you in?”
Mercer took the question. “We work for the National Environmental Security Agency. We’re doing research on the Tamarindo River’s water pollution and the toll it’s taken on the soil and surrounding areas. The long term effects on the region are going to be catastrophic if we can’t resolve the crisis, so we came down from the States to look into it. We decided to take a day at the lagoon to swim in the lake and do a little hiking, and were about to head back to our truck when we heard gunfire. We were curious to take a look and see what was going on and that’s when we ran into you.”
Emily took in what he had just told her. “You don’t strike me as environmentalists. You killed those men as if you’ve had military training.”
