As the Light Dies

by M. D. Woodham

  “Whoa check out old carrot top,”said Gavin.

  Dean didn’t respond to his younger brother’s childish remark he just said,“Shush Gavin. Listen.”

  Shelly continued on screen.“Let me introduce Professor Andrew Gunn, lecturer of science and biodiversity at Edinburgh University. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us Professor.”

  “It’s quite alright,”he said in a mild mannered tone.

  “Firstly,”said Shelly,“what light can you shed on the suspected volcanic eruption in Norway? I saysuspected,because although some say it has to be an undiscovered or long inactive volcano, others are saying that in isn’t behaving like one.”

  “Well personally Istronglybelieve that this eruptionisfrom a previously undiscovered volcano like you said, or even perhaps a newly formed volcano. After all Norway was once alive with volcanoes. They’re all long extinct now,or at least they were!

  The north of the country was once alive with volcanic activity. You can find remains of volcanic lava fields all across northern Norway, in fact many of the countries northern islands were formed by volcanoes. So for anyone to say it’s geographically impossible, or unlikely orwhateverthere saying is simply ridiculous, and in fact blatant misinformation. In fact its scaremongering, because if it’s not a volcanic eruption then what is it supposed to be. If it was a bomb of some kind like some people are hinting at on the internet, it wouldn’t be emitting ash like it is, like I said, it’s just scaremongering!”

  “Thank you Professor. Now, how worried should we all be? We’ve all seen and heard the reports of the chaos caused across Europe, we know the site continues to erupt from satellite images and now it’s drifting our way. What I mean Professor is, what can we expect when we have scientists suggesting a repeat of 1816, theinfamousyear with no summer following the catastrophic eruption of Mount Tambora which caused a global climate anomaly dropping the earth’s temperature from blocking out the sun and in turn causing aglobalfood shortage. Do you think we could be about to witness another year without a summer Professor?”

  “Well,”said the Professor,“as much as it’s impossible to say at this point, I would say that that’s just more scaremongering. However I do think it’s safe to say that we as in Europe, are in for a rough time, how rough remains to be seen. The eruption could stop in ten minutes time and with the current westerly winds the remaining bulk of the cloud would be taken out over the Atlantic Ocean in a few days where it would break up and simply dissipate in to nothing. Even if it wasn’t taken by the winds but stopped erupting in ten minutes or so then I would expect that within ninety six hours the majority of the ash would have dropped from the atmosphere and settled, and the clean up process begun.”

  “And if the eruption continues?”said Shelly.

  “Well, if it continues to erupt at itscurrentrate for a few more weeks, then I think that Europe may well have its year without a summer, but not until then.”

  “Ok Professor thank you. Now what can you tell us about the increasing numbers of fatalities recorded so far? Why is it affecting so many people in such a terrible way?”

  The Professor took a deep breath and sighed.

  “Well,”he said,“sadly the fatality rate could well continue to rise due to the large amounts of poisonous gasses erupted from volcanoes....Shelly cut in,“And this is where we come back to the debate of whether or not it is a volcanic eruption, because the scientists studying the fallout near the scene in Norway reported that they hadn’t seen anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be immediately obvious,to them of all people,if this was volcanic activity from the fallout. Sadly of course they didn’t have time to explain their findings before two of them died and the remaining members of the group became increasingly hostile towards reporters and shut them out just before all communications were lost with them. What do you think they found that was so different Professor, and do you think that whatever it is could be behind the shocking number of fatalities and even the strange power outages across all of the countries blighted by the ash?”

  The Professor cleared his throat before answering.“First off, I think the hostility towards the reporters was simply brought on by the sudden loss of their colleagues coupled with the fact that they had very important work to be done, and I believe that they themselves were displaying symptoms of illness at the time.”

  Shelly nodded and said,“But wasn’t it in their best interests to get the word out on what they found that they thought was so strange and different to what they’d seen before? By getting the word out they could have helped others to better understand and prepare for what might be coming, if indeed it is related to the fatalities? Surly their first priority should have been to warn as many as possible, don’t you agree Professor?”

  “Yes, of Course I agree. But until we can communicate with them again after everything settles down, all anyone can do is speculate, and that’s no good for anyone, and that is whywe’rehere setting up our field laboratory. We’re here to find the answers everyone so desperately wants, and needs and onceweourselves get to examine the material, I’m sure we’ll come up with some much needed answers. As for the sad number of fatalities, I can tell you that history has shown and taught us that concentrated amounts of volcanic gas can be extremely toxic when inhaled, so I can assure you that there is nothing strange or unbeknown about the harmful effects from the fallout that we are seeing.”Shelly went to speak but the Professor kept on talking.

  “And I say volcanic gas because that is what I’m positive we are dealing with here. There’s nothing new or strange about it. It’s a volcano plain and simple, however what the Norwegian scientists found that they thought to be so out of place could be any number of things from ash temperatures to the type of rock they were finding being emitted, or the size of the rock, whatever it is we’ll know as soon as we start to examine the material. And as for the wide spread power loss that I’m sure is you’re next line of enquiry, I’m certain is a direct result from the vast amounts of ash and snow weighing down and overwhelming the overhead power lines. However I cannot comment on why the vehicles and machines, military or otherwise are losing charge in their batteries. That is quite strange, but again this is something that we need to examine further and gather facts on before I can comment further. I can assure you though that as soon as we find anything,unusual or otherwise,we will announce it straightaway.”

  Shelly nodded unfazed by his persistence to talk over her.“Ok. Thank you Professor, now can you please tell us what precautions you and the other scientists are taking to keep yourselves safe against any negative affects you might suffer from, from working in such close proximity with the ash. With the increasing fatality rate that were all well aware of and as we just mentioned, the deaths of the Norwegian scientists thought to be linked to their exposure to concentrated amounts of the fallout?”

  “We’ll be taking precautions just like we would with any potentially hazardous substance, we’ll all be wearing full body contamination suits at all times with our own oxygen supply. Were also setting up some airtight decontamination rooms both for observation purposes and for our own needs, rest, first aid and so on, so I’m afraid Shelly that if you want to report from the hot spot you’ll have to suit up with us as well.”

  Shelly rolled her eyes at the camera candidly.“I get all the good jobs,”she said.“Before you have to go Professor, can you give the viewers at home any information as to the best way that they can stay safe at home?”

  “Certainly,”sighed the Professor visibly eager to get on now.“I’d recommend that people stay inside and keep their windows and doors closed and only open their front doors for the absolute minimum amount of time needed when coming or going, to minimise the amount of ash getting in to your homes. Don’t hover on the doorstep, just get in or out quickly and get the door closed. And because not everyone will be able to avoid going outside, I’d advise that they keep a dust mask on at all times. If you can get hold of a good quality industrial dust mask
then great, if not then double up those little disposable paper ones being handed out from post offices and supermarkets, and don’t stay in dirty clothes after being outside. Get out of them as soon as possible, but while you do, leave your mask on while you do or you’ll only expose yourself to the ash dust that’s gathered on your clothes as you disturb it, and I think that’s about it for now.”He glanced behind him at the progress being made setting up the field lab, then back to Shelly.“Thank you Professor, that sounds like sound advice.”

  “Quite alright, now I really must get on, if you’d please excuse me.”

  “Yes of Course,”said Shelly and before she’d finished speaking the Professor had gone, disappearing off screen revealing the men in their orange suits behind him still busy setting up.

  Several computer monitors were now visible having been set up on the steel tables along with what looked like manual scales and test tube racks beside microscopes. Shelly faced the camera again.

  “I’ll also add that the government also advise that people stock up on essentials and be prepared to ration what you consume until an aid system is put in to place in your area, and also not to venture too far from safety in your cars once the ash starts to settle due to the previous reports from the military in Europe of their vehicles becoming stranded for some as yet unknown reason. Don’t put yourself in a vulnerable position, and finally be prepared for very loud and very bright thunder and lightning. It’s being caused by particles in the ash cloud colliding and rubbing against each other creating friction, it’s an occurrence often experienced during volcanic eruptions from all the particles of rock in the air.”

  Gavin looked up from the sofa and said,“You think it’s really gonna get that bad?”

  “Who knows?”said Dean,“I’m just glad I stocked up on food.”Then he reached over Gavin’s head and pulled the cord lifting the blinds. He raised both eyebrows in astonishment!

  “Holy shit!”he said,“look at that.”

  Gavin turned to look telling Dean that he’d already looked out his bedroom window and seen the snow earlier when he woke up, then he stopped dead.“Holy shit!” he said.

  The dirty mass of swirling cloud was thicker than ever! It was slowly engulfing everything in sight as far in to the distance as either brother could see like a never ending fog bank rolling in from the sea. The dirty cloud looked like it had mass; it looked thick and heavy, solid almost.

  To Gavin it looked like it had caught fire inside!

  High up in the middle of the darkness was a dull orange glow like a huge ball of fire burning in the middle of the cloud!

  The brothers watched in silence, mesmerised as the cloud rolled in like smoke around the giant fire ball! Sam didn’t like it, he barked at the window jumping up on the sofa.“Whoa boy,”said Dean,“it’s ok, it won’t hurt us boy!”

  Gavin asked,“Do you think it is some kind of new weapon, you know like a new mega nuclear bomb or something like that? I mean look at that fire ball!”

  “Nah,”said Dean,“that’s the sun disappearing behind the ash cloud. We’d know by now if it was manmade, some group of arseholes would’ve admitted to it by now telling the world how spectacular their new weapon was. But, I don’t think it’s just as simple as a volcano erupting either.”

  As Dean finished a wave of lightning flickered through the expanse of looming cloud almost seeming to reach straight out from the sun as it sank deeper in to the darkness, almost like the sun was trying to fight the darkness.

  Sam barked again before his bark turned in to a high pitched howl.

  Dean dropped the blinds back down again to calm him down, it seemed to work, for now.

  Dean saw that it was nearly eight o’clock.“What shift are you doing today?”he asked his brother as he sat down at the table.

  “Now that you mention it, I’d better get moving,”said Gavin.“I’m meeting Eddy in town after he’s done his school run, ifthere’sa school run! Then we do a couple of loops around town have lunch and then we got some new country run that the boys have all been moaning about. Apparently it’s a big figure eight or something so it shouldn’t be hard to learn but the boys all say that you don’t get enough time to do it all, so you’re always rushing.

  “Hmm, ok,”said Dean,“the driving conditions out there are gonna be crap, so you’re gonna be running late whatever you’re doing. And it’s pretty bad out there now, so God knows what it’s gonna be like when that ash starts to settle!”Then saying that Dean remembered the masks he’d taken.“Talking about the ash,”he said,“you got a mask?”

  “I’ll just use my scarf,”said Gavin,“I’ll just pull it up over my mouth you know.”

  “Not a chance. You’ll do that, as well as wear some of theseOK!”

  Dean took some of the disposable dust masks out of his pocket and made Gavin take them.

  “Make sure you wrap well as well, you heard the guy on TV.”

  “Yea, yea,”said Gavin rolling his eyes.“I know, there’s snow and shit so it’s cold and all that!”

  “Good, now get a move on and give me and Sam some peace, and I’ll see you later.”

  “Yea cool,”said Gavin sifting through his jumble of route notes as he disappeared down the hall.

  After Dean had eaten he let Sam out before going up to bed. He let him out the front door instead of putting him in the back garden in the hope that the view over Inverness would be mostly hidden behind the house. It seemed to work, Sam only let out a low grumble but he was still aware of the anomaly in the sky, he knew something was up and he didn’t like it. As he went about his business Dean scanned the other houses while he waited, more people up and down the row of houses were out, busy clearing snow while their cars idled quietly in their driveways sending up plumes of exhaust gas as they warmed up inside and cleared the windscreens.

  Back inside Sam shook the worst of the snow off then let Dean dry him with an old towel before bounding up to Dean’s room where he snuggled in at the bottom of the bed and waited for Dean to catch up. They both fell asleep; blissfully unaware while outside the snow began to change.

  It started to darken, it started to turn grey....

  CHAPTER 5

  THE CONRAN PORPOISE OIL AND GAS DRILLING PLATFORM: SCOTTISH NORTH SEA

  Steve Smith stood by a window on the top floor of the accommodation module, he was taking five after working his way along the whole level cleaning the cabins, changing the bedding and collecting laundry bags. He looked out the small window and marvelled at the ash. He’d never seen anything even remotely like it.

  He thought it was as though all the snow had been burnt in some Godly fire in the heavens above, and now it fell as ash.

  The snow mixed with the ash as it fell turning grey and black. The snow was dirty, there was nothing virgin about it anymore.

  At first, after they’d heard the news about the incoming ash cloud and the electrical problems it brought with it, members of staff just blew it off saying that it would never drift far enough to reach them, and then it did.

  Far off in the distance, the horizon began to darken. The darkness grew looking like an enormous tropical storm coming straight for them. Others said it was a storm and not the ash because of the thunder and lightning they could see and hear, but as it moved closer and it grew and grew, minds changed, and fast!

  Some said it looked like one of those giant dust storms they get in America. Others said it looked just like the fallout from a mega volcano that they’d seen on the Discovery channel. It swept towards them at incredible speed, a wall of bubbling, flowing, swirling dark greyish black ash full to its brim inside with deafening thunder and blinding lightning as far in any direction as anyone could see.

  Before they knew it they were in near darkness with thunder and lightning raging overhead!

  Steve looked down at the drilling floor from his vantage point; it was covered with the strange mixture of ash and snow like a thick dusty blanket.

  The men down below on the drill floor
were caked in ash. They were black, even blacker than usual. Young deckhands ran around doing their best to sweep the ashy snow overboard and keep the deck clear but they weren’t having much of an effect it was literally snowing ash faster than they could shovel it. Some guy on the drill floor, a supervisor, turned to one of the deck hands and launched a tirade of abuse at the poor guy. Steve couldn’t hear what was being said but he had a good idea going by the body language.

  Fuck that,he thought, I’d tell the guy to shove it, job or no job!

  The door at the end of the corridor flew open, slapping off the wall with a bang making Steve flinch and Katie March burst through in combat mode.

  “Break time Stevie boy, ya coming?”she called.