by Larry LaVoie
As she untangled herself and took stock that she was not injured, Susan realized they would have to crawl on hands and knees to escape the flames and the danger of more falling debris. Taking charge, she used her flashlight to guide the rest of the people through the labyrinth of construction equipment toward the opening in the front of the building. They moved in a line under the bucket loader and dump truck, and around an overturned tractor. The fuel from the tractor was dripping and spreading out over the floor. If it reached the flames the entire building would be in flames. She pointed it out and found a path around it.
Wendy and the kids were near the end of the line. Susan stopped and looked back. There were two other flashlights bouncing along. She grew angry, seeing Blake was in front of Wendy and the kids. She crawled out of the building into frigid air and stood up. She counted noses as they emerged from the building. After they were all safely outside, she pulled Blake aside.
“I’m glad we all spent this time together. If we get out alive I’m going to do everything in my power to get Wendy out of your marriage.”
“What did I do?” Blake yelled, throwing his flashlight down.
“That’s just it. You don’t give a goddamn about anyone but yourself. My daughter married a coward.”
All heads turned toward Susan and Blake.
“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have anything to say about it. I’m going to take Wendy and the kids away and you and George are never going to see them again.”
Tyler poked his head around Wendy. “Grandma, what’s wrong?”
Blake walked over and grabbed Tyler from Wendy and took him aside. “You’re staying with me.” He saw Meghan was hiding behind her mother. “Meghan, you and your mom over here, now!” he yelled.
Wendy grabbed Meghan and held her tight. Mike moved close to Wendy to provide support.
“Susan, is everything all right?” Mike could see she was crying. He looked Blake in the eyes. “We don’t have time for this. We need to stay close together. Everyone, gather around. Keep your backs to the elements. Elliott should be here shortly.”
“Where’s Catherine,” Susan shouted.
Mike looked around. The snow was falling heavily and blowing. He had heard that there were times when it was too cold to snow. It must not apply to Yellowstone, he thought. He turned his light to the ground and shined it around. He knew Catherine had been ahead of him in the line. He had seen her emerge. “I know she’s out here,” Mike said. “I saw her come out.”
About twenty feet from them Catherine had collapsed in the snow. Mike knelt down beside her. “I think she’s exhausted.” He patted her face and removed a bottle of water from inside his coat. He put a little to her lips. She took a few sips and sat up. The rest of the group gathered and stood in a protective circle.
“Elliott is back,” Blake screamed trudging through the snow toward the headlights.
“What the hell,” Elliott said seeing Blake pop up in front of him. He stopped abruptly. He’s going to get himself killed.
Blake climbed inside the dozer. “The building collapsed and is burning, but I got everyone out. We’re all okay.”
Cody and George looked at each other and shrugged.
“Don’t get in too much of a hurry,” Elliott said. “I have to take on more fuel. Cody, do you feel up to helping? You know how to run the pump.”
“Didn’t you hear me, the building has collapsed and is on fire,” Blake said. “We need to get out of here.”
“Then we’re just going to improvise,” Elliott said, ignoring Blake who was becoming more and more animated. The dozer was facing the building and he could see the flames were at the far end. It appeared there was enough room to squeeze through the door and maneuver inside. The diesel fuel tank he needed was near the door. The three cans of diesel in the back of the dozer would only take him about fifteen miles. He wasn’t about to leave a thousand gallons of fuel sitting in a building while he risked everyone’s life trying to make Mammoth without enough fuel. They needed at least twenty gallons and his tank was on empty. He had hoped to keep the three cans in reserve, fill up before heading out to Mammoth and continue farther if it was necessary. He had no idea the tractor had turned over and fuel was spilling out, flowing toward the flames.
Elliott got out of the dozer and started barking orders. “Nathan, Chase, and Mike; I need your help.” He explained to them where the tank was and how to operate it. “I’ll run the pump,” Cody volunteered. “I know how it works. Is the generator still running?”
“It stopped when the roof collapsed,” Mike said.
Elliott was standing up on the tracks removing the fuel cap. “Chase, get a can out of the back and hand it up to me.” Chase pulled a can from a trunk at the rear of the dozer and with some difficulty set it up on a track next to Elliott’s feet.
“What do you think, Cody,” Elliott asked, “is there another way to get fuel out of the tank?”
“We could cut the hose between the tank and the pump. It would take two of us, but it can be done.”
“Why, two? We need to limit the number of people we send into a burning building.”
“Someone will need to bend the hose so it doesn’t leak. Once the hose is cut, it will be hard to control the flow. It will be all or nothing. I don’t think I can do it alone.”
“Okay. Who wants to help Cody? Chase, you stay with me. I need the rest of those cans up here and when they are empty they need to go with Cody.”
“I’ll help,” Mike said.
“Good. Grab an empty can.” They each carried an empty can back to the building.
Before they got on their knees and climbed through the opening, Mike pulled out a pocket knife. “I found this at the market and thought it might come in handy.” He gave it to Cody. “just a heads up, there is an overturned tractor just inside the door. It’s spilling diesel all over the floor. If it reached the flames it could get dicey.”
Cody gave him a, “why are you telling me this now,” look.
“I thought you should know.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” Cody said, patting Mike on the shoulder. “I don’t see another way.”
Inside Cody could see the spill had traveled about twenty feet and was moving toward the other end of the building. Cody checked and there was no way of stopping the spill. He shined his flashlight around. The roof had collapsed and was resting on top of the tank, but the legs holding the tank were starting to buckle from the added load. There was just enough room to stand under it and reach the black hose looping from the bottom and connecting to a pump on the floor. Another hose with a nozzle attached went up from the pump and was hanging on a bracket.
“Okay, Mike. Looks like we’re in business.” They removed the caps from the cans. Cody pointed to the place where he wanted Mike to bend the hose double to stop any flow through it. Even bending the hose, it would be impossible to cut through without spilling fuel on the floor. He started sawing through the hose with the knife.
As Cody cut through, he tried to keep the fuel from spraying on him, but the pressure in the tank was enough to make the fluid spray out in every direction. “Keep it bent tight,” Cody said. “I’m just about there.” He cut through the last bit of hose and diesel flowed from the cut end onto the floor. Cody grabbed the end and stuffed it in a can. “Okay let it go a little bit.” As soon as it was filled he grabbed the other can and filled it. He took the bent portion from Mike and held it tight.
“I’ll hold this while you deliver the cans to Elliott.”
Moving the full cans while he was on his hands and knees proved too much for Mike. He couldn’t scoot them along while he was on his hands and knees. “I can’t do this, they’re too heavy.”
“Mike, you have to do it. I’m holding the hose. Try taking them one at a time.”
“I’ll hold the hose, you take the cans.” Mike said.
Chase, on his hands and knees, called from outside. “Elliott wants to know, what’s the hold up?�
��
“Help Mike with the cans,” Cody called back. “We have two full ones.”
Chase brought in an empty and shoved it towards Mike. He grabbed one of the full ones. “Give that one to Cody and I’ll take care of these.
A few minutes later Chase showed up at the opening again returning the two empty cans. They traded and Chase disappeared on his knees dragging the five-gallon jerry can behind him.
“That guy’s an animal,” Mike said.
“We get these last two filled and we’re out of here,” Cody said. He saw a flare up and turned toward the back of the building. The pool on the floor had caught fire. “We got to go, now!” Cody yelled.
“What about the hose?” Mike asked.
“You get those last two cans on their way and I’ll take care of the hose.” Cody pulled the drawstring from his hood and wrapped it tightly around the bent hose and tied it off. He tested it to make sure it wasn’t leaking and left it dangling. Chase showed up again and helped by taking a can from Mike. As soon as Mike was outside, Cody pushed the other can out in front of him. Cody stopped at the opening just long enough to turn his flashlight back on the hose he had left dangling. He hesitated for a moment. “Shit!”
Mike grabbed the can as Cody shoved it through the opening, pulled it out of the way and extended a hand to help Cody to his feet.
Cody grabbed the can and dragged it toward the dozer. “What’s going on?” Mike asked.
“The tourniquet is slipping. Any second whatever fuel is left in that tank will be flowing freely into the building.”
“Shit.”
Cody lifted the can up to Chase. All the others were inside the dozer including Elliott. “Mike, get inside.”
“Chase, better wrap it up. We’re about to have a major leak of diesel inside a burning building.”
”No shit?”
“I mean it, we need to make like hockey players and get the puck out of here.”
Chase grabbed the can, dumped the contents into the tank of the dozer, and tossed it into aside. He tightened the cap and jumped down. Cody held the door for him.
“Get out of here, now,” Cody said.
Elliott looked at him, saw he wasn’t kidding and started the engine. He turned the dozer in a circle and the building exploded tossing a piece of sheet metal over the front of the dozer blocking the windshield. Elliott stopped and lowered the blade and raised it again knocking the sheet metal to the side. As he started to move again there was another explosion, this one rocking the dozer and its occupants. It shook the ground so hard the dozer started to sink. Elliott revved the engine, but the dozer was barely moving.
“Can’t anything go right?” Elliott asked.
Cody started to speak, but Elliott cut him off. “It was a rhetorical question. I bet you didn’t think I knew that word.”
Suddenly the tracks caught solid snow and the dozer lunged forward.
“You’ve got thirty-five gallons of fuel. Drive sensibly,” Cody said.
Elliott laughed and shook his head. “After that last quake, conserving fuel isn’t my main objective on this trip. We haven’t had a chance to talk. You want the good news or the bad new first?”
“You pick,” Cody said.
Chapter 24
The good news was the Sheriff had returned the call from Elliott’s former girlfriend who worked in the bar in Bozeman. The bad news was no helicopters were available to rescue them.
Cody said, “I guess we can consider ourselves lucky, I didn’t expect for her to call the Sheriff in the first place. So, we need to make it back to Mammoth, wait until the road is clear, and drive out like we own the highway.”
“That sounds doable,” Elliott said. “Even without power, we should be able to survive in the hotel. There’s firewood and fireplaces, plenty of frozen food, and we can make it without a shower for a few days. What the hell, we’ll all stink the same.”
Both of them were making light of the situation. “One thing has been grating at me like an itch that won’t stop,” Cody said. “The decision to evacuate Yellowstone couldn’t have been made without some high Government official convincing Jerry Adams there is a risk keeping the park open. Still, the evacuation came too late for us, and I’m betting several hundred others. When we get back to Mammoth, I’m going to call the Governor of Wyoming. So far, we’ve been dealing with Montana because it has the closest air service. The park is actually in the state of Wyoming. The Governor should have more information about why they evacuated the park, and why we didn’t get any warning.”
Elliott smiled and shook his head in disbelief. “The Governor of Wyoming. You’re going to call him on Christmas Eve? Excuse me, but I’ll pick up the first round of New Year’s Eve drinks if he answers and a second round if he doesn’t hang up before you get your name out.”
“I know Governor Evans,” Nathan said. Elliott and Cody hadn’t realized Nathan had been listening in on their exchange. He was sitting in the first seat behind Elliott and facing Cody in the first seat on the other side.
“Nathan, how do you know the Governor of Wyoming?” Elliott asked, still not believing.
“I sold Jacob his ranch back in 2017. Twenty-two hundred acres of grazing land butting up against the Wind River Indian Reservation. We became good friends… after I contributed to his last campaign. If he won’t take my call on Christmas Eve, he can stop calling me a friend.”
“That settles it, as soon as we get to Mammoth, you can make the call.”
“Why can’t he call right now?” Lisa asked. She had been listening in also.
“You said you took the call from the Sheriff on the satellite phone,” Cody said. “Cough it up. What are we waiting for?”
“Oh, that’s the other bad news. It needs charging. We have to find power and charge it before we use it again.”
“And you couldn’t have included that little tidbit earlier?” Cody asked.
“Hey, I figure, compared to the last twenty-four hours we’ve had, everything from here on out will be good news.”
Cody turned to Lisa. “The phone came from my office. I’ll pick up a backup battery as soon as we get into town.”
Every seat in the dozer was taken and the humidity was rising inside, fogging the windows. Many of them had ice crystals growing on them. The only light was from the dashboard and the headlights. It was crowded, uncomfortable, and a painfully slow ride. Everyone was exhausted and tempers were short. Arguments were breaking out for miniscule reasons. Wendy asked Blake to hold Tyler and that set him off.
“I’ll take him,” George said.
Susan, who had told Blake earlier what she thought of him, wasn’t having any of it. “You’re a rotten excuse for a father,” she said.
“And I can make sure you never see the kids again,” Blake threatened.
“What kind of man uses his kids as a bargaining chip?” George asked. “You should be ashamed.”
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Meghan said.
“You need to hold it a little bit longer,” Wendy said. “Cody, how much longer? The kids need to use the restroom.”
“Less than an hour,” Cody said. He touched Elliott to get his attention. “How are we doing on fuel?”
“Down to a quarter tank. We’ll be on fumes when we roll into Mammoth.” He paused for a few seconds. “Does it seem to be getting darker or maybe the snow is blocking the headlights?”
Cody looked out the front. Visibility was down to only a few feet. The flakes were several times larger than the last time he had looked. Elliott used the windshield wipers and the window became smeared. He stopped. “Cody can you get out and clean off the windshield. I think we got into some dirty snow.” He shined a flashlight on the windshield and it appeared gray and dull.
“Ash,” Cody said. “There’s an eruption near here. That’s not snow falling, it’s ash.”
“An eruption near here,” Lisa said grabbing Cody’s arm. “What does that mean?”
“We’re okay f
or now.” He tried to console her. “Contrary to popular belief, Yellowstone won’t blow up like a huge bomb. Before a super eruption, there will be several, maybe as many as twenty, vents that open up around the caldera. Those vents will release ash and some magma. Hopefully it will relieve the pressure and prevent a super eruption.” He thought for a moment before he continued. He held back, not telling them everything.
“The big one, if it ever occurs again, will only come after the magma pool is drained, leaving a huge void under the crust. Eventually the crust collapses from its own weight and causes the massive event that science fiction writers like to make you believe will happen again.”
“So, you’re telling us this is nothing to worry about,” Blake said.
“Exactly. We need to get away from it and under shelter… actually we need to get out of the park.”
“Well, I can’t see a goddamned thing,” Elliott said. “How the hell are we going to get out of here if you keep talking?”
“I’ll get out and clean the windshield. You may have permanently damaged it by using the wipers.”
“Dammit, Cody, don’t tell me that. We still have a long way to go.”
Cody got out and wiped the windows. The temperature was well below the point where he could use washer fluid or water. He stuck his head back in the vehicle. “I’ll stay on the hood giving you hand signals for direction.”
“Come back in, we can still see out the edges of the window where the wipers didn’t scratch it.”
Back inside, Cody squatted down near the right side of the dashboard. Elliott leaned to his left and they proceeded at a slower pace. “Elliott, we’re going to be lucky if we don’t clog the air filter with ash. That stuff is really coming down heavy.”
“You’re just a bundle of happy news,” Elliott said. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stop talking.”
“We’re coming up to the bend at Hot Springs,” Cody said ignoring Elliott’s last comment. “I say we go straight to the hotel. We can walk where we need to go from there.”
