Ten minutes later, Eric and Emilee started across the freshly mowed lawn. Eric was pulling the green garden cart with a drowsy Chivas sprawled over the blankets, and Emilee was pulling the small plastic cart loaded down with an ice chest filled with Eric’s latest brewing.
The main topic for the evening was of course our adventure up on the Plains and Chivas’ injury. Mark reminded Eric that he would be by tomorrow to check on the puppy and to change her bandages. There were many questions for John about the mining accident, which he couldn’t answer because of the disclosure he’d signed yesterday.
“Has anyone heard any more about the Caribbean earthquakes and tsunami?” I asked.
“For as major of an event that it was, Allexa, and so recent, the news is just down to a trickle,” Bob answered in frustration. “And most of it is just a rehash, with very little footage, mostly what the island used to look like! It’s as if they don’t want us to know what’s going on.”
“I’d like to say that’s the new world we live in, Bob, however, it isn’t. The media and the government have been doing that to us for years.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my big black kitty cautiously approaching the wagon where Chivas lay resting. I’d been letting him out during the day to hunt for birds and mice, hoping to keep his dry food needs to a minimum. He sniffed at the puppy’s paw dangling over the lowered edge, and then smoothly leaped, landing deftly on the blanket. Tufts examined the bandages, and then in a surprising move, licked Chivas’ face, which caused the pup to breathe a sigh. The cat curled up next to the dog and rested his big black head on the golden shoulder of the injured canine.
In spite of the somewhat depressing conversation, it was a wonderful evening. The risotto was delicious and John grilled the steaks to perfection. There was enough chilled champagne for everyone who wanted it, and the rest had icy beer.
* * *
“I have a present for you, Jacob,” John announced just after dinner.
“What is it, Grandpa John?” Jacob looped his arm through John’s in a positive sign of affection. So many autistic children shy away from physical contact, thankfully, that wasn’t one of Jacob’s issues.
“Well, maybe you should open it,” John said, and handed Jacob a small package wrapped in old newspaper and tied with string.
Jacob squealed with delight when he held the book John had given him. It was an alphabet book in Swedish that John said had belonged to Sven when he was a child.
Seeing that book reminded me of the check hiding in my drawer.
JOURNAL ENTRY: July 15
I saw Mark’s little compact car across the road at Eric’s this afternoon. I’m guessing he was checking on Chivas. I must admit I find it very admirable that he would follow up on a puppy surgery. Chivas means a great deal to all of us. She’s become a sign of hope and a normalizing future.
* * *
CHAPTER 26
July 17
“John, look at that!” I pointed to the sky where thousands of birds were in flight. It was early in the day and we were working in the garden. He was picking green beans for our dinner and I was tending the sprawling tomato plants.
He looked up, as mesmerized by the sight as I was. I was used to seeing the geese in long Vs going north in the spring and south in the fall, but the geese were greatly outnumbered by the lower flying birds. It was difficult to separate the species, though I caught flickers of red and blue and yellow amongst the darker browns and blacks of the high flying flocks. It seemed that the cardinals and bluebirds, which were rare this far north, had joined their cousins in a strange mass migration.
I felt a distinct rumble under my feet. John had already stopped and straightened up, looking around.
“What was that?” I said out loud.
The movement in the ground was more of a vibration, like a really heavy truck had just gone by – even though there are no trucks anymore.
He looked worried. “I don’t know, but it felt like an explosion. Distant, but definitely an explosion.” I will always trust what he says in that realm, he was the expert when it came to explosives and the Earth moving. “It was much like what I felt just before the cave-in.” His confession surprised me. I’d never asked him about the mining accident, and I never would.
“Should I be worried too?” I asked. He glanced at me. “I can see the concern written all over your face, John.”
“I think for now awareness is prudent, especially of anything unusual. It might be cause for concern, it might not,” he stated a bit too quickly. He was right though; ignoring something out of the ordinary would not be wise, considering our situation. And this mass flight of birds was definitely out of the ordinary.
I paused, my hands still holding a wayward branch, heavy with green tomatoes. “What do you think it was, John?”
He looked around again before answering me. I knew he was choosing his words carefully.
“I really do feel it was an explosion of some kind…it felt very odd to me and it felt deep, maybe far away. I just don’t know, Allex, maybe another earthquake.” Then he frowned. “Maybe you should give Tom a call.”
“I will, maybe later. Information is slow to move around these days so he won’t know anything for a day or so, even if it is something important.” I brushed it off and tried to forget about it, but that rumbling underfoot kept creeping into my thoughts the rest of the morning.
* * *
Dinner was finished, dishes were washed and put away, and we were taking a leisurely walk down the quiet road when the next rumble hit us. I could hear my wind chimes clattering several hundred feet away and the chickens sent up a raucous clucking. I swayed slightly on my feet and clung to John’s arm.
“John…” I said with an unasked question.
“That was a quake, Allex.”
“Maybe I should try to reach Tom,” I thought out loud.
Just then my cellphone vibrated and the ringtone started: “Hall of the Mountain King”, a melancholy dirge of doom. It was Tom White. Uh, oh. I unhooked the phone from my belt.
“Yes, Tom?” I answered quickly, switching to the speaker so John could hear, too.
“Did you feel it?”
“Yes. Was it an earthquake somewhere?”
“How did you know? No, it doesn’t matter. It just came across the EM fax line. There was a major quake in Yellowstone this morning, a 7.4, and I’d say everyone is worried.”
Just then I felt another, more intense vibration under my feet. I reached out for John, not wanting to feel the panic that was rising inside me.
“Tom! I just felt another one! That’s the third one today.”
There was a long pause on his end. I could hear something printing in the background. “Third? Hold on, another fax is coming in.” He had set the phone down, leaving the line open, and I heard him swear. It wasn’t a good sound.
“Allex, I gotta go. The Yellowstone Caldera just erupted! I know that’s bad, though I don’t really know what it’s going to mean to us here in the UP.” There was an edge to his voice that I’d never heard before, one of disbelief, maybe even of panic.
“Tom, wait! I know what it will mean,” I needed to keep him on the line for some weather information. “Tom, can you get us some wind projections for the next few days from the weather service?”
“Yes, but what good will that do us?”
“It will tell us how much time we have………” I left the rest unsaid.
“What do you mean? Time for what?” He rightfully sounded confused… and worried.
“Just find out and call me back. Quickly, Tom, quickly!” I hung up.
John was staring at me. I don’t know when I’ve felt so scared and I couldn’t hold back the tears that were raging inside of me. He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. We stood like that until I caught my breath and the shaking subsided.
John was very serious and even he looked scared, something I’ve never seen before. “Okay, so tell me what you meant, A
llex, about how much time we have.”
“If the caldera has erupted we could be faced with a cascading effect plus a massive ash cloud, depending on the wind.” I took a deep breath as I picked up my walking speed back to the house. “That ash could kill everything that breathes: plants, animals… us.”
He stopped walking, bringing me to an abrupt halt. I tugged on his hand. “Come on, John, we’ve got work to do.” It was only 6:30pm, plenty of daylight left.
* * *
My next phone calls were to Eric, Jason, and Anna, in that order.
“Anna, don’t talk, just listen, okay?” I said as soon as she picked up her phone at home.
“Okay, Allexa, I’m listening.”
“I need you to arrange a town meeting for first thing in the morning, say around nine o’clock. Make this a mandatory meeting for everyone, and I do mean everyone, no exceptions! I’ll need a screen and a VCR.” I stopped for a moment to collect my thoughts; my mind was racing.
“What’s going on, Allexa?” Anna asked, and I could hear the worry in her quiet voice.
“There were at least two earthquakes at Yellowstone today, one this morning and another just a bit ago.” I took a breath before going on. “Then the caldera that’s below most of the park, erupted, Anna. It’s the largest known subterranean volcano.”
“That’s way out in Montana,” she protested.
“It’s mostly in Wyoming, but that’s irrelevant. Regardless of where it is, it’s huge and it’s to our west. The ash cloud it has produced will come this way. It’s just a matter of how soon. Now, please, Anna, just do it. I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, hanging up.
* * *
Eric and Emilee arrived first, of course, and I gave them a quick rundown of what was going on.
“Nahna, I’m scared,” Emi said with a quivering lip.
“That’s okay, honey, sometimes it’s helpful to be scared. It means you’re aware of what might be a bad situation, and that makes it easier to deal with,” I answered her, knowing I wasn’t going to sugar coat anything.
“What does this mean to us, Mom? And what do you want us to do?” Eric asked in his calm voice. I could see the anxiety in his clear blue eyes.
“So I don’t repeat myself, we’ll wait until Jason and Amanda get here,” I said. “You can start by driving each car up to Fram’s and topping off the tanks, okay?” I tossed him my keys.
I turned to John. “You know where I keep the cash pouch? Will you get it for Eric?” He nodded.
“How much?”
“All of it! Come tomorrow, cash might be worthless.”
That stunned all of them, even Emi.
* * *
By the time Eric returned from filling the second vehicle, his double tank pickup truck, Jason and Amanda had arrived, so we had a family conference. Just as we all sat down at the kitchen table, my phone rang. I set in on the table on speaker.
“What have you found out, Tom?”
“Right now the winds are coming from the northwest, as usual,” he said. “With the hotter air building up from the eruption, the National Weather Service is expecting that to shift, pushing further north, and bringing us the northern edge of the ash cloud.” I could tell by his calm voice he was reading. “So, does this mean what I think it does, Allexa?” he asked.
“Tom, I have you on speaker phone,” I warned him. “My family is here and I want you to listen to what I’m going to tell them, it might help you too.” I took a sip of water from the glass John had just handed me. “The winds coming northwest would push the ash cloud below us. A straight west wind could still take the cloud past us. However, a southwest current will very likely bring that cloud right to us, and the ash cloud is fine particles of pumice, which will turn to a thick sludge once it comes into contact with water. That isn’t as much of a problem as the fine shards of rock falling. It would be like breathing glass!”
All the information I had read in the past few years about what-ifs slammed to the forefront. I needed to get to my notes.
“This is all speculation so far, of course. Anything can change, but I’m not going to bet our lives on it. We have to start making plans and getting certain things done, and as quickly as possible,” I told them.
“How much time do we have, Allexa?” Tom asked quietly, voicing everyone’s concern.
“That will depend on how fast the wind is. Three or four days would be my guess, maybe less. I’m not an expert, so I just don’t know. Tom, if you can, please stay on top of the weather and keep me updated. I’ve got notes somewhere on someone else’s speculation, plus an old video that was done by one of the PBS stations as a fictionalized documentary. I’m going to play it for the township tomorrow morning.”
“What are we going to do to get ready for the worst case, Mom?” Jason asked.
“Think about what this will do. The cloud of ash will be just that: ash, and not breathable. Any living thing will suffocate trying to breathe that air unfiltered. Going outside at any time will require wearing a mask, no exceptions. All the wild animals are likely to die. It’s not the same as nuclear fallout. This is survivable. The first thing we need to do is think about everything that will ready us to stay indoors for an extended period of time. I’m talking perhaps weeks, not just days.” I looked at the stunned faces of my family. “As the ash falls and accumulates, it will smother everything else: plants, fish, and trees.”
“What about our garden, Nahna?” Emilee asked, with a touch of anger.
“We’re going to dig up as much as we can and put it in the greenhouse. Maybe we can save some of it,” I told her. “We have to work as fast as we can. There’s so much to do.”
I moved closer to the phone. “Tom, it might be good for you to stock as much food and water as you can and stay home with your wife and son.”
Tom was slow to respond. “They…they both died in that last round of flu, so I guess I’ll stay here,” he said in a soft monotone.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Tom, I didn’t know.” My heart ached for my friend. “You should still gather as much as you can, Tom, the city will need your guidance.” With that, he disconnected.
My family sat in stunned silence. I don’t know what was going through their minds, I just knew that mine was in chaos.
“Okay, here is our first plan of action. We need all of the vehicles filled with gas; Eric has already started on that. We need to dig up as many plants from the garden as we can and get them into the greenhouse. We use pots, buckets, anything, just get them indoors.” I thought hard, my mind racing. “Jason, there is more chicken wire out behind the garden. Will you close in under the grow boxes? We need to move the chickens too, plus their barrels of feed.”
“Okay. What else, Mom?” Jason asked.
“Amanda, you three need to move back across the street. I think we have to circle the wagons,” I laughed nervously. “Besides, the food is here, and once the cloud hits, there will be no moving about. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She nodded. I know that neither of them was anxious to leave their house yet again.
“I think that’s enough for tonight. If any of you have any concerns about something, please speak up and share. I think between all of us we just might come up with a solution.”
“I think I can handle filling the cars, Mom,” Amanda said. “I can pack the stuff we’ll need when we get home tonight.”
“I’ve already done Mom’s car and the truck, so it’s just your car and Mom’s old car and the gas cans,” Eric said, handing her the cash pouch.
When Eric mentioned the gas cans, those empty drums in the barn burned in my vision. “Oh, I wonder if we have time to fill those drums!” I exclaimed in frustration.
Jason and John exchanged a quick look.
“Ah, Mom,” Jason said, “they’re full. John and I filled them when you and Eric were shopping the other day. We wanted to surprise you, but I think you should know now so you don’t have to worry about that.”
I spun aro
und to look at John.
“But you said I could,” he pleaded.
“Yes, I did, and thank you,” I hugged him fiercely.
The rest of us started digging up the delicate plants in the garden as soon as Amanda left, taking Jacob with her for the ride. With the first batch of tomatoes and beans, I stayed in the greenhouse, quickly replanting what I could into the grow boxes to make more floor space for whatever else they brought in. They brought in pepper plants and cabbage, kale and chard. The root crops like beets and potatoes couldn’t be moved. I would have to start over with those.
It was dark by the time we were done digging and moving, and Amanda had filled their car and my old car.
“I’ll do the cages tomorrow, Mom,” Jason said, “I need some of my tools to make things go quicker.”
“Get some rest, everyone, and thank you,” I said as my family started to leave. “I’ll see you all at the township building at nine o’clock sharp!”
“Why do we have to watch the video, Mom?” Jason asked.
“Because you need to see what everyone else will, to understand the importance of what we’re doing and what’s possibly going to happen. Before you say you can watch it later, I also need you there to help me answer questions, okay?” Jason nodded, and he and Amanda took Jacob home.
I slumped in the wooden kitchen chair, exhausted. John came up from behind, set a glass in front of me. I tasted the amber liquid that slid around the ice cubes: the reserve stock of my spiced rum. It glided down my throat and I sighed as John started rubbing my shoulders.
The Journal: Ash Fall Page 19
