Caldera

by Larry LaVoie

  “There’s that much molten rock under there,” Montgomery said, as if understanding for the first time. “I read your paper, but quite frankly I didn’t understand most of it. I think I get the picture, now.” The general waved his hand and breakfast was brought in. “If this thing explodes, how do we protect our borders?”

  “I doubt that will be a problem,” Jason answered. “If Yellowstone erupts Canada and Mexico will be trying to keep the flood of U.S. citizens from seeking refuge in their countries.” Jason had the general’s attention and for the first time felt like the man understood what they were up against. He pushed his agenda hoping for agreement. “We don’t have to evacuate everywhere. If the two-hundred miles around the park are evacuated then the rest can evacuate as we see where the ash is falling. These things are impossible to predict, but two hundred miles is a minimum. That area will be obliterated by pyroclastic flows, boulders dropping from the sky the size of elephants and enough ash to bury the Empire State Building.”

  Montgomery said. “You’re exaggerating, aren’t you?”

  “If it’s anything like the last eruption, the breadbasket of the United States will be covered with several feet of fine ash. All the crops and all livestock will be lost for years.”

  Montgomery raised an eyebrow and chewed a mouthful. “No way around that?”

  “It doesn’t matter where this thing breaks; it’s going to be more devastating than anything this country has ever seen.” Jason stared at his fork balancing a bite of hash browns. The thought of all this was causing him to lose his appetite.

  By his watch it was late afternoon. Jason leaned back in the electric cart, Major Bradford next to him. It seemed like they had passed through miles of tunnels before they reached the massive underground arsenal of fighter planes, helicopters and, to his surprise, what appeared to be business jets. The size of the hanger defied comprehension. It appeared a plane could easily fly within the single room.

  With few words he boarded a sleek craft that he later learned was a Gulf Stream business jet. He hoped it was the last he would see of the mysterious facility. Inside he settled into a large glove-leather chair and looked at the windows. They were blacked out. A flight attendant asked him to fasten his seatbelt. They were about to take off. He felt the plane move silently, then the perception of an upward movement with only a slight whir of electric motors. Before long the whine of the engines told him they would be airborne any second. The next instant he was pressed back into the seat with breathtaking force. He imagined himself hurling through space in a cigar tube, not knowing where he was or where he was headed, though he’d been told he was returning to his motel in Billings, Montana. Behind him two black suits watched closely. It’s finally over, he thought. He tilted back in the plush leather trying his best to relax, but the events of the past day wouldn’t leave him.

  Where he’d been he still wasn’t sure, though he was beginning to speculate. He had examined the complex in detail every chance he got. What he saw made him believe the technology he’d proposed in his paper had come a lot further than he’d projected, though no one indicated it in the meetings. Most of the tunnels he passed through were a light-green glass that could have been made from melting mineral-rich rock under tremendous temperature. At first he’d assumed they were painted concrete until a rare moment when he wasn’t shadowed by a black suit. He examined a vent cut into the side of a wall in a restroom stall. It looked very much like vitrified rock.

  He set the timer on his wristwatch. At least he’d have a feel for how far it was from his motel. With a map and some detective work he might be able to figure out if his speculation was correct.

  The last words of the President still rang in his mind. “Mention of this meeting to anyone would be a serious breach of national security. The words national security had come up so often, at one point in the meetings he mused he was being inducted into the CIA.

  Jason thought about his sister and mother and knew they could be among the victims when Yellowstone erupted. If he warned them they would be saved. He thought about Carlene. She’d been worried before, now she’d be terrified. They had a difficult task ahead of them, but the general had promised help. Somehow they had to pinpoint the time of the eruption so that they could give warning to those working on the tunnels. They had agreed to evacuate the park, but he had not been able to convince them to abandon the plan to bore into the magma pool.

  Jason had two things in his hand when he got off the airplane in Billings, his thesis as it was originally written with all the outdated research data to back it up and his laptop computer that he was sure had been compromised. Where they got his thesis was still a mystery, he could only guess that it was from Dr. Bainbridge’s house before it burned. He checked his watch; he’d been in the air eighty minutes. At least 600 miles as fast as these little jets fly, he thought.

  Only one day had passed and his world had changed irreversibly. He was dropped off in front of his motel where he got into his Jeep and drove off not bothering to wave good-bye to his escorts. At least the government had picked up his motel bill and fed him. What more could a taxpayer ask?

  He had a lot of ground to cover in a very short time. The first thing was to check the calculations Dr. Bainbridge had used one more time. He hoped somehow the old man was right, that they had more time, but in his heart he knew it was wishful thinking. It might already be too late. He thought of Carlene sitting on top of the proverbial keg of dynamite. If it blew, she would barely feel the ground shake before it would be all over. He tried to put the image out of his mind, but it kept reappearing. He wanted to call her and tell her to get the hell out of there as fast as she could move, but he kept on driving, wondering if any of them would live to see their families again. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator, Yellowstone was still hours away.

  As the clear sky turned into night the thin mountain air seemed to cause the stars to sparkle with added brilliance. His life as a volcanologist had been spent in a quest to save lives through evacuation, now he faced a moral dilemma. He’d been asked to keep a secret from millions of people, and trust his government to do the right thing. It had been years since he had prayed and in the darkness heading along deserted Highway 89, he started to pray —— but he had his doubts it would do any good. If God was going to intervene by some miracle he wouldn’t have put the super volcano there in the first place. God put it there to show man how helpless he was. Like God himself, Yellowstone was too powerful for man to comprehend. It was there to belittle those too stupid to get out of its way. Damn this is going to be tough, he thought.

  Chapter 23

  South Eastern Nevada

  Joseph Talant turned his head toward Vladimir Mishenka who was hounding him for the answer to a question. Their boss wasn’t known for his patience and Vladimir was usually the person who made sure the leader wasn’t kept waiting. Vladimir, the fat bastard, had been on his case for a week and he didn’t have any answers for him yet. The hard drive from Bainbridge’s computer had taken him days to get into and now it didn’t have the information he needed. What little he could garner from Bainbridge’s notes told him Bainbridge thought there was increasing activity, but stopped short of predicting an eruption. He had stalled as long as he could; now it was up to him to gather the information himself and make an estimate. Talant brought up the Yellowstone Volcanic Observatory website. He knew any two scientists with the identical information would not come up with the same conclusion even though the technology had improved dramatically since he was an observer of volcanoes. Now he was the weak link in the plan and everyone was looking to him for answers.

  Vladimir shoved the tail of his wrinkled white shirt into his pants. His overhanging belly made it a formidable task. “At least give me something to give to Telska.

  “All right! Just to get you off my case, I think we have at least another week ... yes, tell Telska one more week, but I’ll have to get in the park and take some readings to verify.” He didn�
�t have the slightest idea if his estimate was anywhere close, but it would buy him some time. In his years as a member of the Nicolai organization they had monitored natural disasters and patiently waited for a cataclysmic event to occur. Talant didn’t want to blow it because some bureaucratic lard-ass needed to report in. He looked at the dreary surroundings, cold rock walls, barely enough fuel to keep the generators running, and food not fit for the freedom fighters. If it weren’t for an occasional jack rabbit the troops killed for sport they would have died of starvation. If only we could eat equipment and ammunition, Joseph Talant mused, that we have the plenty of. He brushed his hand over his gray beard. Soon it will be over and we’ll have everything we have struggled for.

  Vladimir considered the response, fingering his chubby cheeks into a fish face. “You go to Yellowstone first. I don’t want to piss off Telska with wrong information. By the way, there is a scientist there you can take care of while you’re at it.”

  Talant furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m a scientist. I don’t do your dirty work.”

  “You think what you do is any different. This guy is causing the government to rethink their position. If they evacuate the perimeter around Yellowstone the casualties will be considerably less.”

  “You want to kill someone, do it yourself.”

  “Very well Joseph Talant. I will take care of Jason Trask myself.”

  Talant was surprised by the sudden interest in Jason Trask. “I could use his expertise. Promise me you won’t hurt him.”

  Vladimir emitted a guttural laugh. “Joseph Talant, you are in over your head.”

  “I need more information, that’s all.”

  “Very well. I will accompany you. You can see for yourself how to do a job well.”

  Yellowstone Park

  Billy gave a handful of berries to Wendy. “That’s all I could find.” Wendy shared them with Becky. Dawn had broken in the valley, but they were still in the long morning shadows. He coaxed the girls toward a sunny patch of ground where they might warm up. He knew if they had to spend another night without shelter it would be all over. He looked up and saw a helicopter. “You see that,” Billy yelled. “They’re coming for us.” He took off his shirt and ran into the clearing waving, but it kept on traveling in a straight line toward the horizon. When it disappeared over the hills he put his shirt back on and sat on the ground. Wendy came over to him and put her arm around him. “I’ll stay with Becky if you want to go for help.”

  Billy was relieved that the girls had come to their senses. “I’ll run all the way. I Promise.”

  It was midnight when Jason parked the Jeep and unzipped the flap on his tiny tent. The mountain air cut through his thin jacket as he strained to keep his teeth from chattering. All he wanted to do was get some sleep, but he wondered if he could ever sleep again. A voice outside startled him.

  “Knock, knock.”

  “Carlene, you scared me.” He backed out of the tent into the chilly air. The hair on his arms bristled with goose bumps.

  “I heard you drive up. You must be tired.”

  “To tell you the truth, I’m dreading crawling into that ice cold sleeping bag.”

  “Why don’t you bunk on the couch in the motor home tonight? It’s warm and I could use the company.”

  “That’s the best offer I’ve had all night,” Jason said. “You got a beer?”

  “Only if you drink Coors.”

  “None other,” Jason said.

  Carlene set the beer on the table in front of Jason. “Billy is still missing. I was up in a helicopter looking for him today. I’m beginning to worry. He should have returned to his car by now. I left a note on his windshield. The ranger said the trail was washed out.”

  Jason reached his hand across the table and cradled her tiny fingers in his. He felt strength in her hands. They didn’t have the calluses of his, but he knew she wasn’t afraid to get them dirty. “I’m not sure how I can help,” he finally said. “I know the trail, but not as well as the rangers. Have they traveled the entire length?”

  “Were you listening? The trail is washed out. Do you think we could hike it from this end? He should be headed back by now.”

  “First thing in the morning,” Jason said. “I need some shut eye.”

  It was still dark when Jason felt something shaking the hide-a-bed couch. At first he thought it was a small earthquake.

  “Jason, are you awake?” Carlene asked.

  He rolled over. “I am now.”

  “I’m scared. What’s going to happen to us?”

  Jason reached over and flicked on the lamp. “We’re sitting on top of a geologic hot spot. We’re supposed to be scared.” He patted the bed for her to sit and wrapped an arm around her. She looked like an innocent child in her flannel pajamas. The top two buttons of her top were undone and as she leaned over he caught a glimpse of her breasts. At that moment his thoughts were not so virtuous.

  “Scoot over,” she said climbing under the covers next to him. “It’s too cold out here.” She snuggled against his bare chest under the covers. Suddenly he didn’t think of her as a little girl anymore. She was only three years younger than he, a woman by any stretch of the imagination, yet he knew she was scared. As much as he wanted, he would not take advantage of the situation.

  As Carlene cuddled up to him he thought of the last time he’d been in bed with a beautiful woman, six months ago in his apartment in Portland.

  Jennifer Bellingham Gray hated to be called Jenny, Jason’s favorite name for her. Bellingham was her mother’s maiden name that she’d passed along to her daughter. Jason and Jenny had been engaged for a year, but she’d kept putting off the date. He’d thought she might be looking for a better catch, but hadn’t been prepared for what happened that night. He had turned over and pulled her soft skin next to him. They’d made love earlier yet her closeness still aroused him.

  “Jenny, why don’t we set a date,” he whispered in her ear.

  You’d have thought he’d told her she was a lousy lay by her reaction. She pushed away. “I have to go. I wanted to let you down easy, but I’m not going to marry you, I’m engaged to William Bennington, a stock broker with Phyffer-Smith in New York.”

  Jason felt betrayed. His gut ached and his throat closed up so that he had to force himself to speak. “You call this letting me down easy! Is your way of easy to come over here and screw me so I’ll feel better about you running off with another man?”

  “Come on, Jason, you’re a big boy. You’ll get over it. I’m not nearly as important to you as those steaming mountains you worship.”

  She had been right, but he hadn’t seen it that way at the time. It was months before he even considered dating again. Later he’d realized it wasn’t Jenny that had upset him, but that she was right. No woman meant as much to him as understanding the volcanoes.

  To forget Jennifer he’d taken an assignment in Ecuador helping install a seismic-monitoring network, complete with satellite topographical monitoring and lateral land movement capability. The job was isolated, with little opportunity to meet others and that had been his cure. It was all over with Jenny, and he smiled at the mouthful of her new name. Jennifer Bellingham-Bennington. She was a liberated woman and would not give up her family name.

  The fluffy little bunny snuggled up next to him wasn’t anything like Jenny. She seemed too scared, too vulnerable. He tossed aside the thoughts that had been running through his mind. With what was going on in Yellowstone, it wasn’t the right time to get involved.

  He turned out the light and pulled Carlene close to him aware that the flannel pajamas and his boxer shorts were doing little to hide his desire for her.

  “It’ll be all right,” he said as much to comfort himself as the one in his arms. As he drifted off his last thought was she felt real nice.

  “I’ve got to review Dr. Bainbridge’s work over the past two years again,” Jason said to Carlene over coffee and peanut butter toast. “I’m sorry. It was all I had in th
e cupboard,” Carlene said. “They closed the restaurant yesterday.”

  “Finally. I hope to see a steady stream of traffic exiting the park the next few days.” Jason looked across the table at her blue eyes. There were a lot of minerals that were blue in nature, but the one he thought of was a rare find in the mountains of Idaho. It was a blue opal with a hint of fire when it was held in the sunlight. He couldn’t remember meeting anyone before with dark hair and opaline blue eyes. They revealed an intelligence that was hidden behind the pixie haircut and thin unblemished face. She looked perfect without any make up. Jason rubbed the stubble on his face. “Think I’ll grow a mustache and beard?”

  “Like Dr. Bainbridge. No way.” She filled his coffee cup. “On second thought you are kind of rugged with that unshaven look. You thought of doing commercials?”

  “For shaving cream?” Jason asked, getting up.

  Carlene’s eyes dropped to his butt. “No for jeans,” she said.

  Later that morning Jason and Carlene were stopped by a ranger at the head of the Lamar River Trail.

  “We’re closing the park,” the ranger said, approaching the Jeep.

  “But my brother and three friends are somewhere along the trail,” Carlene said.

  “We’ve already got a ground party on horseback searching,” the ranger said. “I’m sure they’ll find them.”

  Reluctantly Carlene gave in to the ranger’s authority.

  “I wouldn’t worry,” Jason said on the way back to the monitoring station. “They can cover more ground on horseback than we could on foot.”