by Bobby Akart
For Ashby, nothing was what it seemed. She found herself questioning everything, including herself. For years, the criticism of others had taken its toll on her. Younger’s words still hung in the air as she recalled the number of times other scientists had whispered behind her back.
Donovan’s judgment is clouded.
She just can’t let it go.
Take her conclusions with a grain of salt, because, well, you know.
For years, she found herself having to prove her abilities as a volcanologist to anyone she came in contact with. Her false alarms in the past hadn’t helped. They came early on in her career and she’d learned important lessons from her mistakes. Her approach, beginning with Guatemala’s eruption, was to triple-check everything and be totally certain before she spoke.
She also tried to learn not to speak in absolutes. Seasoned scientists, like politicians, always gave themselves an out. They had a way of wording their conclusions that, if proven wrong later, could be later disavowed by using some minute detail.
Jake approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey, I’m no expert, but I can tell when a girl needs a hug.”
“Astute observation,” she said with a smile as she raised her arms to pull his hug closer to her. It had been a long time since she’d felt the warmth of a man’s touch. After a moment, she turned in his arms and looked into his eyes. “Jake, do you believe me?”
“No doubt whatsoever. Yes.”
“I’m not overexaggerating, I swear.”
He placed Ashby’s arms at her sides and took her face in his hands. This was the moment she’d been waiting for all her life—that moment when a man she’d fallen for was about to kiss her. Ashby closed her eyes.
Suddenly, Jake’s two-way radio blared from inside his truck, interrupting the moment. “All rangers, alert level raised to warning. Repeat, warning level. Evacuation protocols have been declared.”
“Ashby, come on!”
Jake grabbed Ashby by the hand and dragged her up the slope toward the cabin. As they reached the back porch, they heard the sound of the van arriving.
Ashby pulled away and then abruptly stopped. She ran back to Jake and kissed him. It was quick, but memorable.
“I’ll help them get the van loaded up,” she said. “Do you have to help the park?”
Jake paused before responding as he attempted to process their first kiss. The radio began to call on his comrades, which forced him to focus.
“They’ll be setting up an incident command known as the ICS. The ICS commander, my boss, will coordinate with Younger at the YVO to begin evacuations of visitors and nonemergency personnel.”
“What about the scientists at the YVO?” asked Ashby.
“The deputy scientist-in-charge would be designated the team leader to continue monitoring of the volcano.”
Ashby’s eyes grew wide. “There isn’t one. Younger hasn’t named a deputy yet.”
Jake gripped her by the shoulders. “Ashby, get loaded up. We’ll go down there and figure it out. Okay?”
She smiled sheepishly and nodded. In seconds, she was running around the front of the house, barking instructions to Dusty and Rita.
Chapter 62
YVO
Yellowstone
Maureen Burger now understood what left holding the bag meant. She’d just been designated the deputy scientist-in-charge of the YVO even though she was not a scientist. Minutes after the National Park Service raised the threat level to warning, on orders of the Department of Homeland Security, Younger frantically ran through the YVO ordering everyone out of the building. During the chaos, the head of the NPS arrived and asked Younger who his deputy was. Burger, who was one of the last to leave, was directly in Younger’s line of sight.
After he made the designation, he bolted for the door. She called after him to ask Younger where he was going, and his reply was Utah. I can monitor things from there, he’d said as he disappeared into the parking lot. Burger muttered, “Coward,” and then turned to the NPS head and shrugged.
“Ma’am, do you know anything about monitoring the caldera?”
Burger, who’d remained remarkably calm, shook her head. “No, I’m an accountant with a background in internet technology. I can show you readings, but I can’t explain what they mean.”
“Where do you live?”
“West Yellowstone,” Burger replied.
The NPS head furrowed his brow. “Ma’am, do you have family there? Is there anyplace else you can go?”
“St. George, Utah, where my brother lives.”
The man approached her and patted her on the back. “You need to go, now.”
“Okay, I will, I promise. I just need to get my things and I’ll lock up on my way out.”
“Please don’t delay.”
Burger thanked him for his concern, and after he left, she rushed back to her desk. She scribbled some notes for Ashby on a white legal pad. She advised her of Younger’s panicked exit and provided her a few additional comments regarding the water injections at Cave Falls.
Earlier that morning she’d eavesdropped on a phone conversation Younger had had while in the conference room. Burger had learned that the pipes, which injected the water deep into the magma chamber, were not properly sealed. The water, according to the geologist on site, was likely being diverted in any number of directions along the western rim of the caldera.
Burger didn’t know what that meant, but Younger’s reaction to the news prompted several panic calls behind closed doors. It was a few hours later that the increased warning level was initiated.
Burger paused as she approached the front door and looked around the empty building. She wondered what Dr. Peake would do, and then she came to the realization that, in a way, she was helping someone who Dr. Peake would’ve endorsed wholeheartedly. She thought of Ashby as she flipped off the light and pulled the door closed behind her. She couldn’t lock it as promised, because Ashby had her card key.
Chapter 63
Jake’s Cabin
Yellowstone
“Take cover!” shouted Jake as the earthquake began. The group had been frantically racing in and out of the cabin to load up their scientific gear and computers, while Jake filled the Expedition with food, medical supplies, camping equipment, hiking gear, and weapons.
The one-story cabin seemed to sway on its block foundation, causing anything on a shelf to topple and hundred-year-old dust to fall from the ceiling. This tremor was sustained and felt more powerful than the one the day Ashby arrived.
“We’ve got to get out!” yelled Ashby as a deafening roar could be heard from the front of the house.
Dusty raced out the entry door toward the van and immediately stopped. His voice was high-pitched, panicked. “The back! Go out the back. Mudslide!”
Jake grabbed a backpack and handed the other one to Ashby. They ducked their heads, as a hanging light near the back door swung wildly until it had detached from its bracket and was only hanging by its power cord.
Rita followed, and the group raced around the side of the cabin for Jake’s truck. When they turned the corner, they saw the source of the roar coming towards them.
Yellowstone had had record amounts of snow the previous winter. The snow had stayed well into April, insulating the ground and keeping it moist. As the snow melted, much of it soaked into the ground instead of finding its way to the streams and rivers of the park.
The swarm of earthquakes coupled with the recent rain at Yellowstone had taken its toll on the water-soaked surface. When this larger earthquake struck with its epicenter near Jake’s cabin, the weight of the heavy soil became too great, causing the slopes up the ridge to break loose, taking with it everything in its path.
They arrived at the Expedition just as the mudslide struck their van, pushing it toward the front of the cabin. The Jeep, which Dusty had attached to the tow bar on the trailer hitch, was being forced toward the house faster than the van, causing it to jackknife.
Rita pulled away from Dusty’s grasp and started toward the rig. “Our computers! Our research! Everything!”
“We’ll get it later,” yelled Jake as he waved them back toward the truck.
Astonishingly calm, Ashby looked at Jake over the hood of the truck. “Jake, there won’t be a later.”
Ignoring his warnings, she raced for the front of the van as it was slowly being pushed toward the cabin.
“I’m coming too,” shouted Dusty, who chased after Ashby with Rita close behind.
Jake’s fist slammed the hood of the truck in frustration before he ran up the incline to catch them. Ashby arrived first and crawled through the backseat to get access to the equipment and gear. She began tossing computer cases and backpacks containing their field notes to Dusty. He handed them to Rita, and she, in turn, passed them along to Jake. As the mudslide pushed them to the edge of the front porch, Ashby emerged satisfied that she’d grabbed everything they might need or want.
“Now, guys! There’s no time!” Jake saw the trees start to topple to the side of the cabin, which meant if they didn’t leave immediately, his driveway would be washed out and they’d be stuck.
The group raced for the truck, slipping on the wet grass but managing to load up before the mudslide took the cabin, which had stood on the hill overlooking Sentinel Creek for over a hundred years.
Jake navigated down the gravel driveway toward Grand Loop as fast as the deteriorating conditions would allow. The Expedition had a tendency to slip into the curves of the gravel surface, causing the passengers to gasp with each slide.
He was going too fast when he hit the pavement of the main road. The truck’s tires caught the asphalt, immediately giving it traction, which had the effect of turning the big Ford abruptly to the side. For a moment, Jake thought it was going to tip over.
After everyone checked their pants, Jake pushed the accelerator to the floor and the Expedition lurched forward. They hit eighty miles an hour as Jake raced through the many curves of the highway.
Dusty discovered that his cell phone had service, and he immediately opened up his MacBook to gain internet access via the mobile hotspot. He reported his findings. “Another earthquake swarm has occurred at Norris. The one we just felt was a six-point-five based upon the preliminary reporting from the Global Incident website.”
“It’s a ripple effect,” Rita calmly surmised. “The swarm at the western rim of the caldera triggered Norris. Remember Landers, California, in ’92? Same thing. Landers triggered Mojave, which triggered Big Bear. Here, the quakes are following the general direction of the caldera rim.”
Ashby looked at Dusty’s laptop and then angrily slammed her head into the headrest of her seat like a child throwing a tantrum. “It’s the water injection. Their drill sites are all at the edge of the caldera rim. As they dug deeper and increased the volume of water, the delicate balance underground between rock and magma was disturbed.”
Jake hit ninety miles an hour as he pushed the truck down the highway, dodging more depressions in the road caused by the asphalt melting. Blue flames of methane were seeping through the subsurface voids in the ground along the shoulder of the road. In the middle of the highway, the heat below was causing the asphalt to liquefy further, which could immediately melt the rubber on the truck’s tires if they came in contact.
As they rushed past Old Faithful, it was shooting high into the sky, reaching altitudes he’d never seen before. It was a spectacular display, yet nobody was there to see it. The park was devoid of visitors or personnel.
Chatter filled the truck as they approached Grant Village. With all the excitement surrounding the seismic activity, nobody offered a plan as to where to go. Jake wheeled the truck into the village and glanced to his right toward his headquarters. Several of his fellow rangers were in the parking lot talking back and forth. They were animated as their hands and arms gestured in all manners of hyper-overdrive.
“Look!” shouted Dusty. “The chopper is still here!”
Jake slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop, throwing gravel all over a sign that read Welcome to Grant Village. He quickly turned to the right and drove through the woods on a service road to the clearing where the Sikorsky waited. As Jake slowed the truck, the pilots emerged from the other side. Ashby jumped out to meet them before Jake pulled to a complete stop.
“Dr. Donovan! We were about to pull out per the mandatory evacuation order.”
Ashby shouted, “Hang on,” and rushed to greet them. After a minute, she rejoined the group at the truck.
“Change of plans,” she began, slightly out of breath. “Jake, guys, stay here and load all of our gear into the chopper. They’re our ride out of Yellowstone.”
“What are you gonna do?” asked Dusty.
Ashby reached for the manila envelope on the truck’s dash. “It’s time to shut Project Hydro down before it’s too late.”
Jake grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes. “Ashby, it’s already too late. There’s no time. We’ve got to go.”
Ashby forced her hand forward and picked up the envelope. “It will only take a second. By the time you guys load up, I’ll be back. I swear.”
Jake paused and then let go of her wrist. “Ashby, you have to hurry. If you’re not back by the time we’ve loaded up, I’ll come get you and then we’ll leave. Okay?”
“Promise!” she replied as she tore around the front of the truck and ran into the woods toward the YVO.
Chapter 64
YVO
Yellowstone
Ashby’s chest was heaving by the time she reached the front door of the facility. Sweat poured down her face, and her hands were shaking from anxiety. She fell with her back against the wall of the YVO and searched the envelope for the key cards to open the front door. They weren’t there.
Ashby began to panic. She realized she’d failed to close the clasp on the manila envelope during her race through the woods.
“Are you kidding me? How could you be so stupid?” She chastised herself for a moment and then pushed off her thighs to muster the energy to backtrack through the trail in search of the plastic cards.
She felt something. She tucked the envelope under her arm and rooted through her khakis’ right pocket. “Thank god!” She’d forgotten she’d placed the key cards in her pocket, where she knew she’d find them later. Ashby released some nervous laughter. That’s the way these things go.
The lighthearted moment allowed her to regain her composure. She wiped the sweat out of her eyes. She turned to the keypad and magnetic card reader next to the door. She swiped the key card.
Nothing happened. No ding. No green light. No click of the door latch.
Ashby looked at the other card, wondering if she had them mixed up. She swiped it, hoping for a different result.
Again, nothing.
“No! No! No!” she shouted as she looked skyward.
She tried the first card again, but the attempt yielded the same results.
The earth began to shake again, causing Ashby to walk toward the parking lot and look around her. She felt like she was failing. This was her opportunity to make a difference, to prevent a catastrophe like the one that took her parents’ life.
As the tremor continued, she turned toward the door and tried the key cards again, to no avail. Out of frustration, she pounded the glass door with the bottom of her right fist.
It budged. Ashby’s eyes grew wide and she shoved the door with both hands, causing it to swing open violently until it hit the safety catch and flew back toward her. She stepped back just in time to prevent her face from being smashed into the glass.
This second go-around, she pushed the door open more gently and entered the YVO. It was empty and deathly silent except for the hum of computers running throughout the cubicles. It was dark in the building except for a single fluorescent light in the center of the room.
She found her way to Burger’s computer and sat down in front of the keyboard. The n
ote was in plain view, and Ashby read it, shaking her head in disbelief as she did so. Using the notes provided to her previously, she navigated through Burger’s computer until she was in the program operating the controls of the water-injection system. Project Hydro’s graphics revealed the story.
Each of the four drill sites had been ramped up to maximum pressure and volume in a futile attempt to cool the magma chamber. Corresponding temperature readings revealed the magma’s estimated temperature had not changed. Either the injected water was seeping through the rock underneath the upper chamber or it was turning into explosive steam demanding a way to the surface.
Either way, this had to end. Now.
Ashby had studied the keystrokes and entries required to shut down the entire system on numerous occasions since Burger had turned over the paperwork to her. In her frantic state, however, she had to make sure to follow the steps precisely so that any type of internal security program didn’t lock her out.
She began the process, shutting down the first well without difficulty in just a few minutes. Likewise, she initiated the termination of the second injection site.
Then another earthquake hit, causing the building to shake on its foundation.
“Just like before,” she muttered as she continued making the proper entries. The sounds of coffee mugs sliding off cubicle desks to the floor could be heard. Picture frames, once full of images of smiling loved ones, crashed downward and shattered. The tremor continued for at least five minutes as Ashby worked through the process.
“Ashby! Where are you?”
It was Jake. He ran into the darkened work space and tripped over a rolling office chair that had found its way into his path.
“Over here!” she yelled back over the rumbling sound of the tremor.
“We’ve got to go! Now!”
