Outland (World-Lines Book 1) (18 page)

The students talked to others nearby, then about twenty of them scattered.

Erin heaved a tired sigh.
Unbelievable. I’ll have to get Bill to explain to me why this stuff is so simple on TV
.

The eruption was a ratings hit for local and network news. Throughout the Midwest, people hurried home to sit glued to their TVs. In the modern era, where so much violence and calamity happens on TV without any effect on the viewer, it was unsurprising that people took a concerned but casual attitude towards the eruption. Yes, the pictures were dramatic, and yes, there had been an earthquake, but that was over. And yes, experts were predicting a fall of volcanic ash, but there had been ash from Mt St Helen’s, Mt Pinatubo, and that unpronounceable Iceland volcano. The worst effect of those had been some cars needing a new paint job when owners unwisely tried to wipe the ash off.

So there were volcano house parties, volcano barbecue parties, and volcano cocktail parties. People invited neighbors over, set up the TV on the patio, and chatted, comparing notes. Officials continued to advise calm. Law enforcement continued to reassure. And many people, accustomed to listening to the voice of authority, took them at their word and stayed put.

Other people took the issue a little more seriously, but still viewed it as a hunker-down-and-wait-it-out situation. There were runs on banks and grocery stores. Weapons shops did a brisk business, especially if they were flexible about paperwork. Home-improvement stores sold out of dust-masks and respirators in record time. People made a point of refilling their water coolers and stocking up on spare jugs of water.

The smart ones got out right away. Families that threw the absolute basics into the car and headed for the highway would make up most of the survivors.

The model shows that the fallout from a Yellowstone super-eruption could affect three quarters of the US. The greatest danger would be within 1,000 km of the blast where 90 per cent of people could be killed.

BBC— Science & Nature. “Supervolcano: The World’s Biggest Bang.”

Aug 1                            Monica

Bill, Matt, and Monica were busy for most of the afternoon. They had amassed a lot of equipment and supplies over the last few weeks.

Monica was scrupulous about her guard duties. She made frequent use of a pair of binoculars to scan the area for movement. And of course she got plenty of practice spotting local wildlife.
Which isn’t a bad thing,
she said to herself.
Herd of deer grazing equals no goons or predators nearby.

Matt and Bill were having a great time with the bobcat. In fact they were arguing constantly about whose turn it was to drive it and how long someone had worked with it.
Boys and toys,
she thought—while conceding that she’d like to have a go at it too.
Of course I’d never admit anything like that.

In late afternoon, the walkie-talkie started squawking, and they had an exchange with Kevin. The exchange went slowly because Kevin couldn’t keep the push-to-talk/release-to-listen concept straight, but eventually they determined that the university group was running behind and would have to do an overnighter.

Then Kevin started explaining about the livestock in the Animal Sciences Complex.

“Crap, we have to save the livestock if we can,” Bill said.

“And not only because we’re wonderful, caring people,” Monica added. “If we have to stay in Outland for a long time, livestock will be good to have.”

“True dat,” Bill replied. Monica faked gagging at him.

Matt said, “Y’know, I think we can make this work.”

We have received reports that an increasing number of merchants, closer to the location of the eruption, are no longer accepting credit cards. One vendor when contacted said, “Cash only. A bunch of information on a computer tape doesn’t put food on my table, especially if the mainframe goes down. I’ll take cash, gold, or barter. Nothing else.”

---

There have been unconfirmed reports of more explosions in Washington DC. Officials have commented that witness descriptions are indicative of terrorist-style attacks. So far, no group has taken responsibility.

---

Fundamentalist churches throughout the nation have declared the Yellowstone eruption to be the first volley in the final war of Armageddon. “The unbelievers, the atheists, the idolaters, are being punished. The only hope is through God,” said one pastor on a local cable broadcast. It is not clear however that the faithful are faring any better than the average person. Critics have been quick to point out that the southern, primarily fundamentalist states will be right in the path of the Ash.

---

Police are reporting runs on banks, food stores, weapons stores, and construction and home improvement retailers. There have been reports of violence in cases where weapons retailers have insisted on the legally mandated waiting periods before purchasing weapons.

There have also been numerous reports of looting, and police are receiving a steady stream of reported shooting incidents.

Aug 1                            Omni

“What about going and getting the truck gate?” Erin asked.

“In the van?” Richard replied. “It’ll take forever to go there and back in that thing. You remember the drive out here, right?”

Kevin walked up to the two, waving the walkie-talkie. “I think we have a way to save the livestock. I talked it over with the guys at the warehouse. They’ve about finished moving stuff across, so Matt has suggested driving the big gate over here in his pickup.”

“Well, hell,” Richard replied, “that thing can scale a vertical cliff in four-low. And he’s got the clearance to get over most of the crap I had to dodge. It’ll take him maybe twenty minutes to get here.”

“Matt said ten,” Kevin interjected.

“He may not know how rough it’ll be. Tell him to take it easy, and aim for twenty. What about Bill and Monica?”

“They’ll go through to Outland first, to guard the stuff and keep working on the sheds. Monica says we’d better all get there with the gates, or she’ll be right pissed.”

Erin smiled. “I’d be pretty pissed to be marooned on the other side too. Kevin, please tell Matt it’s a go. I’ll get things organized at this end.”

Erin went off to talk to the students who had originally brought up the issue of the livestock.

***

About twenty minutes, later Matt drove up to the group around the van. He turned off the engine and got out. “Hey guys. What’s the sit?”

“Matt, this is Dick. He’s the guy who brought up the whole thing. Dick, you’re up.”

Dick looked a little hesitant at first but got into it once he started talking. “Okay, I’ve sent a bunch of aggie students ahead to prep things. We’ll ride the horses, herd the cattle and sheep, we’ll put the birds in cages in the back of the pickup. We’ll have to release the pigs on the other side— they’re too much trouble to herd, and too much trouble to keep unless you already have a good, fenced-off area. We’re hoping they’ll go feral before they all get eaten. We might be able to trap some of them eventually
and build up an inventory again. Otherwise they’ll revert to wild type in a couple of generations. Not that that’s terrible, it’s just that they’re meaner.”

Richard stepped in. “We’ll give you an extra portal generator and six-foot gate so you can bring both gates through when you’re done. We can’t give you the generator, or we’ll have nothing, so you’ll have to hope the power is still on or there’s a generator at the complex.”

“They have several portables there, including a big trailer-mounted generator,” Dick said.

“Well, good. Let’s bring them over. Even if you don’t have room for them on this trip, leave them on the Outland side and tie a tarp around them or something. Erin’s pretty sure that the roof will come down before we can get back, so anything we want to save has to go Overside today.”

“One other thing,” Richard said. Handing Dick a stack of boxes, he continued, “Bill will be insufferable if anyone tells him, but these should be handy.”

Dick looked at the boxes labeled
Night Vision Goggles
and asked, “Who’s Bill?”

Richard shook his head. “Just go.”

Dick gave Richard a thumbs-up and looked to Matt. Matt gestured to the passenger side, then got into his pickup. A few seconds later, they were on their way.

As they watched the pickup drive off, Richard turned to Erin. “What’s that saying about
the best laid plans
?”

“The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley,” Erin replied in perfect Gaelic brogue.

Richard raised his eyebrows in appreciation at the performance and sighed. “I think I’m going to have that tattooed on my forehead. I
suck
at this.”

Aug 1                            Bill

Matt had just driven off with the truck gate, on Earthside, heading for the university. That meant that all three portal generators were on Earthside, with the others. Bill and Monica were now alone, the only human beings on an entire planet. If something were to go wrong, they would be stuck here.

The new Adam and Eve
, Bill mused.
It does have its upside…
He shook his head.
Nice movie script, but I’m not a teenager any more
.

Bill looked over at Monica, who was glaring at the piles and pallets of supplies as if she could intimidate them into order.

Bill sighed. It was going to be a long twenty-four hours.

They had sacrificed neatness in favor of speed when bringing everything over. Now they were faced with a disaster of disorganization. Somehow, they were going to have to get all this stuff under cover as soon as possible.

Bill looked at the second shed, which was still only half-finished. “Monica, I think we’re going to have to concentrate on supplies that will attract predators first.”

Monica turned to him, her glare softening to a friendly smile, and replied, “That, and items that wouldn’t react well to being left outside in the rain. Just in case.” She looked up at the almost cloudless blue sky.

They spent some time identifying the highest priority items and arranging them on pallets for easy transport.

Once that was done, Bill turned to the bobcat, only to find Monica sitting in it.

“Something you wanted?” she said, glaring at him.

Bill laughed and waved his hand in concession. “Fair’s fair, I guess. And I don’t know why I should be surprised. Have at it, Tank Girl.”

Monica grinned back at him, and started up the bobcat.

While Monica moved items into the shed, Bill set up a fence line around the front of the sheds. He had bought several stacks of modular construction fence panels. He dragged the panels into position and linked them up. When he was done, they had a fenced-off area that would keep most of the Pleistocene fauna out. The few species that could potentially jump the fence would be very visible when doing so, and could be taken care of with the shotguns.

Finally, as the sun was getting low in the western sky, Bill pegged the end panel down against the shed wall with a couple of pieces of rebar.

He waved to Monica. She turned off the bobcat as he walked towards her.

“Dinnertime?” he said.

“Cold pizza. Woo hoo!”

They grabbed a couple of beers and the box of leftover pizza. Although the fridge hadn’t been plugged in for most of the afternoon, the contents were still cold.

“We’re going to have to get a generator going soon,” Bill said, motioning to the beer still in the fridge.

“One thing at a time,” Monica replied. “First the pizza, then reality.”

They unfolded a couple of aluminum lawn chairs and settled back with paper plates, pizza, and bottles of Corona. The tension drained away as they as enjoyed their meal and the view.

“Not much of a sunset,” Monica commented. The sun was going down, and although the western sky had a bit of red and orange to it, the colors were very subdued.

“Not much dust in the air, I guess.” Bill motioned to the sun with his half-empty bottle. “Modern civilization has contributed a lot to the sunsets we’ve gotten used to. Here, all you have are buffalo farts.”

Monica grinned at him.
“Bison
farts. Geez.”

By the end of the second beer, the sun had set, and night was falling.

“Hmm, looks like we’d better find the flashlights while we can still see the shed,” Bill said.

They got up and dug out flashlights. They bagged their dinner garbage to avoid attracting predators, then set up sleeping bags inside the shed.

Finally, exhausted from a hard day’s labor, they closed the shed doors and climbed into their sleeping bags. They were asleep within seconds.