Outland (World-Lines Book 1) (16 page)

Monica chuckled and blushed a little.

“Meanwhile,” Richard continued, “we’ll have to find another base. If there are more goons, they know about this place, and if we get these three back, you can bet they won’t just walk away. Matt, as of now we pull the controller cards when we’re not using the portals. They’re boat anchors without those.”

Bill piped up, “Listen, Richard, the assay services are only a risk because we’re bringing in raw gold. That’s unusual enough to get attention. But gold buyers bring in gold all the time, and I bet in pretty significant quantities. All we have to do is smelt the gold ourselves. I could set up a small furnace easily enough.”

Matt looked at Bill, looked around the warehouse, and said, “Hey, why not? You’ve already pretty much taken over.”

Richard grimaced. “Wish we’d done that in the first place.”

Monica went up to him. “Come on, big guy, don’t be so hard on yourself. None of us thought of any of this. It’s not like there’s a manual for this stuff.”

Richard sighed and smiled at Monica, before continuing. “Okay, let’s get this done. Bill, put up a sign on the other side. Matt, collect the other controller cards. I’ll start a search for another warehouse, as far from here as possible.”

“No active geology happening anywhere within a thousand miles of here, and yet, we’re actually looking at the result of a truly cataclysmic eruption…”

Mike Voorhies, paleontologist.

From Super Volcano: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Yellowstone National Park

July 26              Omni

Another move was complete, this one in the middle of the day, so they were glad it was Saturday. Both of the warehouse complexes were quiet, and traffic was light. They moved the kitchen, then all their purchased supplies and arsenal, then last of all the portal equipment.

They stood in the new warehouse, looking at everything that they had accumulated. The rented moving van was still parked outside the rolling door, waiting to have the last cargo run unloaded.

They had kept to their word and checked for several days at the old location, but the goons had never reappeared. At this point, everyone agreed that the goons were probably dead. This caused a certain amount of guilt, and there had been some talk of getting the police involved. Monica had squelched this by suggesting that they would call the cops once they came up with what they would say. It had taken more than an hour of ‘um’ and ‘er’ before everyone came to the realization that every explanation would put them in a thorough shit-storm of trouble, both with the law and with any potential associates of Mr Petrelli.

In normal human fashion, they had decided not to rock the boat. The goons would likely never be found, and they would not likely be missed. The group agreed that the cops would not be sorry to see them gone.

***

“Okay, we’re here,” Richard said. “And we’ve got this warehouse
not
registered in any of our names. As stupid as I feel saying it—I hate to sound like Bill—we’ll have to watch for tails when coming and going.”

“I’m just glad we hadn’t already started putting up the sheds at the old place,” Bill said. “Can we get going on that? I feel kind of stupid myself with all this stuff—” He motioned to the stacks of equipment and supplies. “—just lying around.”

“I’d be happier,” Erin added.

Richard waved a hand. “Okay, guys. Point taken. Plus we’ve been paying rental on the bobcat and backhoe and not doing anything with them. That gets me right in the wallet.” He grinned at them.

“Well I’m done for the day, I think.” Bill said, stretching. “What say we work on that tomorrow?”

No one argued. It had been a long, physical day, and everyone had had enough.

Matt rose from his chair with a theatrical groan, went to the truck and moved it inside the warehouse through the delivery door, and they locked up.

July 27              Omni

True to their word, the men met early Sunday morning at the warehouse.

Richard said, “Erin and Monica will be in later. Something about a shoe emergency. So meanwhile, let’s see about these sheds.”

They reviewed the instructions for the sheds. Bill and Richard renewed their argument, then eventually agreed to wait until the ground was set up and they were ready to build. Finally, they decided they could start work.

Matt moved the van back outside, through the delivery doors. Bill and Kevin unloaded a portal generator from the van and set up the truck gate inside the warehouse, while Richard and Matt went to prep the bobcat and the backhoe. As soon as they opened the truck gate, Richard drove the bobcat through and began flattening the area needed for two large sheds. Matt took the backhoe and started digging trenches for the walls, taking direction from Bill, who was laying out the location. Kevin, per standard operational procedures, stayed Earthside in case something went wrong with the gate.

Once they had laid the groundwork, they swapped the forklift attachment onto the bobcat. Matt began driving supplies through the gate, starting with the shed pallets. Bill and Richard started building the sheds.

They discovered, however, that the claim that the large sheds could be assembled by two people was barely true, and only if you had a lot of spare time. They drafted Matt and the bobcat to help with assembly. Using the forklift to raise sections sped up the work considerably. The men got into a routine, and before long they had one shed assembled and the second one laid out in preparation.

At this point, Richard called lunch break.

They shut down the equipment, stepped back Earthside, and Kevin turned off the gate.

With no pizza delivery on a Sunday afternoon, Matt and Bill drove out in Matt’s truck and did a pick-up order. Soon they were all sitting around the warehouse kitchen table, eating pizza and drinking beer.

“Can’t operate heavy machinery, now,” Bill said, holding up the beer.

Kevin snickered.

At that moment, Monica and Erin burst into the warehouse, out of breath. “Have you seen the news?” Erin exclaimed.

The men looked at each other in consternation, then at Erin. “No, what’s up?” Matt asked.

“Yellowstone. It’s become more active.
Very
much more active. It’s got more lava flows and almost constant tremblors. And there’ve been more hydrothermal explosions.”

“More what?” Matt replied. He reached over to the TV and turned it on. Monica, meanwhile, helped herself to some pizza.

“Lava flows,” Erin answered. “A lot of lava glooping out. Generally
you can walk fast and stay in front of it. Yellowstone had an episode similar to this about 70,000 years ago. That’s where the lava came from that fills most of the Yellowstone caldera today.

“However, the hydrothermal explosions are an added bonus. That’s what’s getting people agitated.”

“Well that’s unfortunate for the park of course,” Bill answered. “But does it affect us?”

“Hmm, as it is, maybe some ash, maybe some smoke, maybe even a big earthquake or two. Small potatoes. But if this is a precursor, it could be worse.
Much
worse.”

“Okay,” Bill said, “I’ll bite. How much worse?”

“End of civilization?” Erin replied.

“Oh wow…” Kevin said.

“It’s, the,
end
of the
world
as we
know
it…” Bill started to sing.

“SHUT UP!” five voices shouted in unison.

Matt tuned to CNN. The TV showed a view of a large fissure with lava flowing from it. The caption below it read “YELLOWSTONE LIVE”. The video was being shot from a helicopter with maximum magnification—it had that shaky, won’t-stay-in-focus aura so common in extreme-distance shots. Off-screen, a commentator described the scene and regurgitated quotes from the USGS and the Governor’s office.

“They’re too close,” Erin commented.

“What?” Monica asked.

“The helicopter. They’re too close if it erupts.”

“How far would be far enough?” Monica asked.

“Um…” Erin replied, “hundred miles minimum,” and turned away.

The group attempted to get back to moving equipment out of the van, but it soon became obvious that nothing was going to get done any time soon. Richard locked the van, and they all came to the kitchen and sat down to watch.

In the middle of an interview, one of the anchors interrupted the latest expert talking head. “We’re taking you back to Yellowstone, where our reporters have informed us that activity has dramatically increased.”

The view cut to the same uber-magnified view of Yellowstone, but there were now a lot more cracks and fissures opening up and oozing lava. In several places, explosions threw large masses of rock through the air. As the reporter tried to describe what the viewers were already seeing, there was a sudden blinding flash. The TV image saturated, while screams and curses were heard from the chopper. Then the feed cut out.

The station cut back to the news anchors, who were all staring off-screen with their jaws hanging. There was dead silence for several seconds before one of the women put her hands to her mouth and started to sob.

The camera immediately cut to another anchor, who said in a neutral voice, “We seem to have lost our signal. We’ll keep you informed as we receive updates.” He looked to the side and began to say something as the picture cut to a recorded interview with another expert.

How do you get food, how do you get supplies, how do you get in and out, even after the eruption?

Michael Rampino, Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences

From Super Volcano: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Yellowstone National Park

Aug 1

Richard

Richard turned to look at Erin, who was still staring wide-eyed at the TV. He could see everyone else staring at her, as well.

Monica was the first to speak. “Did what I think just happened just happen?”

Erin said nothing for a few seconds, blinked twice, and said, “What time is it, someone? Exactly!”

Matt looked at his phone. “2:32. Why?”

Erin replied, “We have—” She stopped and looked up in thought. “—between two and five minutes to get ourselves to a safe spot. There’s going to be an earthquake, and I think it’ll be severe!”

“How severe?” Monica asked.

When Erin didn’t respond, Bill piped up, “It goes all the way to eleven, man!” in a stoner voice.

“Not the time, Bill,” Richard said.

“Sorry.”

“He’s not necessarily wrong, though,” Erin said. “Think Japan, 2011 only more so. I’m hoping the distance will temper it a bit.”

“Okay, everyone up,” Richard said, once again taking charge. “Assume this building is coming down. If you have anything you need to save, grab it now. Matt, here are the van keys. Move the van to the middle of the parking lot. Everyone else,
run
to the middle of the parking lot.”

Everyone got moving. As soon as they were all out of the warehouse, Richard secured the delivery door, then ran to catch up with the rest.

Erin had her phone to her ear. She talked into it as she walked. “Mom and Dad, it’s Erin. Yellowstone has erupted. If you’re screening your calls, there’s going to be an earthquake within a minute or two. Be ready. Otherwise, when you get this message, pack necessities and get in the truck and get out. You have to be at least a thousand miles away from Yellowstone. If your passports are still good, go north across the border to Winnipeg then head west to Vancouver. That’s outside of the path of the ash. If you can’t do that, head east. Try for something on the shore of one of the Great Lakes. But do it fast. Bye. I love you.”

The van was parked near the center of the parking area, away from any light poles. The group gathered near it. “Let’s move away from the van, okay?” Richard said. “Things start bouncing around, you don’t want it on top of you.” Looking shocked, they milled around for a few seconds, then somehow formed a group decision and moved about a hundred feet from the van.

“Time?” Erin asked.

“2:35,” Matt answered.

“Okay then,” Erin said. “We’re now in the envelope.”

They stood, looking at each other. Then without warning, the ground
heaved!
Everyone went down with exclamations of fear and surprise. The earthquake continued for perhaps a minute, with the ground moving back and forth and a loud grinding and thudding sound assaulting their ears. Car and building alarms went off all around. Something exploded in the distance. Cracks appeared in the pavement. From the corner of his eye, Richard could see the van bouncing around on its suspension.

After what seemed like forever, the shaking stopped. A few alarms were still going off. In the distance, sirens began to wail. The group slowly picked themselves off the ground. They looked at each other. Everyone’s eyes were showing a lot of white.

“Everyone okay?” Richard asked. There were nods, a few grunts. Even Bill was silent except for a muttered comment about ACME earthquake pills.

“Well that wasn’t so bad…” Erin said. The looks from the others suggested she had lost her marbles. “No, seriously. Those were Raleigh waves, and they are slower than the P and S waves, so that’s about as bad as it’s going to get. I’d bet there’s a lot less damage overall than there could have been.”

The mention of damage brought things back into focus. “I need to check the equipment,” Richard said.

“I’ll check the warehouse,” Bill added.

Matt went with Richard to the van. The rest took off to the warehouse.

Richard unlocked the van and pushed up the rolling door, not sure what to expect. For a wonder, everything appeared to be still in place.

“Well, bless Bill and his engineering ‘anything-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing’ heart,” Matt said. “We always kidded him about packing for Armageddon.”

“Who knew?” Richard replied with a wry smile.

***

Bill

Meanwhile, Bill reached the warehouse with Kevin, Erin, and Monica right behind him. Upon inspection, the building did not appear to have any obvious structural damage. There were cracks, a couple of awnings had fallen down, and the outside lights were off, but the structure itself was intact.

Bill unlocked and attempted to open the delivery door. “Oomph,” he said as the door refused to budge. Erin moved to give him a hand, followed by Kevin and Monica. They managed to get their fingers under the skirt of the door far enough to get a grip. Bill said, “1, 2, 3, lift.” The door resisted for a fraction of a second, then rose with a squeal of rubbing metal.

They entered the now-dark warehouse. Emergency lights were on, but were only good for finding the way to an exit, not for getting anything done. Kevin went to the kitchen and retrieved the emergency flashlights from the electrical outlets where they had been charging. He handed one to Monica and turned his on.

They examined the interior of the warehouse. Again, it looked like they had been lucky. The pallets of equipment and supplies were in disarray, with many items having spilled to the floor. However, since nothing had been stacked very high in the first place, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for things to actually fall.

At that moment, the van pulled up to the warehouse door. The engine died, and Richard and Matt got out.

“Can’t believe that thing is still working,” Bill said, shaking his head.

Coming in to the warehouse, Richard said, “We need to have a discussion about what to do now. Erin, you’re the expert in this situation. What can we expect next?”

“First, do we have any communications or anything?” Erin asked.

Matt checked his phone, shook his head. “No signal.”

Kevin went and checked the TV. “Erm, the TV didn’t survive. Not that we have power…”

“Okay, then,” Erin said. “Assumptions: We’ve just had a supervolcano eruption. That’s a pretty safe bet. We can quibble about details like how big some other time. Now for the bad news.” She tried to smile but gave up after a moment. “The last couple of times Yellowstone erupted, this area was in or at the edge of the heaviest ash deposition. The jet stream goes east from Yellowstone, right over us. The eruption will put a minimum of a thousand cubic kilometers of crud into the air, and most of that will fall within a thousand miles downwind. That’s us. We could be buried up to ten feet deep.”

“They could clear it with snowplow equipment,” Kevin ventured.

“Sure,” Erin replied. “That’ll work, assuming they can figure out where to put it, right up until the fine dust in the air destroys the vehicle engines. My bet is they’ll run out of pistons before they run out of gas.”

She continued, “And that’s not to mention what the gas and dust will do to lungs. Mortality rates—animal and human—are going to be close to 100% for anyone or anything still in the zone with no protection.”

“Seriously? From dust?” Bill exclaimed.

“You should look up Marie’s Disease on the web, if we ever get the internet back, that is. It is one of the worst, most painful ways to die there is. It takes days to die, slowly asphyxiating in your own bodily fluids while racked with pain and almost completely unable to move. I’d rather be burned at the stake.”

This was a shock. Like most non-professionals, the others had thought of danger from volcanoes in terms of staying out of the way of the lava—and perhaps avoiding pyroclastic flows, thanks to recent Discovery Channel shows.

“One hundred percent?” Matt repeated in disbelief.

“Let me put it this way: everyone in town right now is dead. Period. Think Pompeii. Unless they have a working vehicle, and the freeways are still navigable, they’re all dead. Or they stay in their homes for weeks and don’t go out at all. The smart ones will be getting into their cars right now. There are no other options. Everyone’s got to breathe.”

“How long until the ash gets here?” Matt asked.

“One to two hundred miles per hour jet stream,” Erin said. “Seven hundred and fifty miles to Yellowstone. Average it out, it’ll be starting to come down by the time it gets dark. By morning you won’t be able to move out in the open.”

“Holy,” Bill said.

“Shit,” Richard finished.