by Akart, Bobby
“Nothing, really. I can hold some stuff in the front seat.”
Chapman nodded and rode back to the wagon. “Carly! Mom! Unload the cooking supplies and put as much as you can in the car.”
“Why?” asked Carly.
“We’re leaving the wagon. It’s too slow.”
Just as Chapman finished his statement, a wall of mud slid down the ridge and blocked the road behind them. Pine trees that had stood for a hundred years or more toppled like wobbly bowling pins as the earth hit the pavement of the road. He turned to his mother. “Mom, can you drive the kids to safety?”
“Yeah, but where?”
“I think the bottom will be better. Try to find an area away from these steep slopes.”
“Okay, but what about you all?”
Chapman turned to Carly. “Can you unhitch the horses? You and Levi will have to ride them down bareback.”
“We can do that,” said Carly. She turned to Sarah. “Please take care of our babies.”
Chapman helped unload the wagon into the Scooby van, and he told Isabella the plan. He and Tommy would lead down the recuperating mare and the donkey, while Kristi would lead down two healthy horses.
Within minutes, Sarah, Brooke and the kids were headed down the ridge, and the rest of the group was moving at a much faster pace, as the horses were able to use the shoulder of the road instead of the asphalt.
The mountain behind them continued to disintegrate as the temblors continued. Chapman watched as the ridge began to collapse further, devouring their wagon as it tumbled down to the valley. He’d never experienced the ground shaking for this length of time. It had been ten minutes since the tremor had been felt, and throughout that time, the earth shook violently for as long as thirty seconds before seeming to pause. Then the temblor started again.
“The mountain’s chasing us!” shouted Kristi, who was struggling with the horse and Wonky Donkey at the back of the group. Behind her, a mixture of trees, rocks, and mud began to cover the road. The weight put a tremendous amount of force on the roadbed until it too slid downward.
“We’ve got to move faster!”
Chapman rode back and took the reins from Kristi. She knew what he was doing.
“We can’t leave them,” she begged.
“We have to save ourselves. They’ll follow us. Now, Kristi!”
She glanced back at the two abandoned animals, and then without warning, she pulled her sidearm and fired it into the air. Both the donkey and injured mare reacted immediately. They raced between her and her brother in a rush.
“See?” asked Chapman as he pulled the reins on his horse and dug his heels into its sides. “Go!”
They took off down the mountain, and a minute later, the shaking stopped just as they reached the valley.
At the bottom of the hill, Sarah was waiting with the kids. They were standing outside the car next to a sign identifying the Wilderness Road trailhead.
Carly was the first to dismount as she ran into the arms of her children. The three of them cried as they dropped to their knees on the wet grass. Kristi hugged her mom while Isabella joined Chapman’s side. In the background, the sound of massive landslides could be heard—boulders crashing downward, trees snapping like twigs, and soggy earth rumbling across the ground until it found its lowest point.
Just as the group was catching their breath, the ground started to shake again. It was different this time. It sounded angry, growling until the roar became deafening.
The group walked to the edge of the road and looked down the hill toward the town. People were screaming, running in abject fear up the side of the mountain. They pushed each other over, sliding down the steep slope on the wet pavement.
And then the planet ripped open. A ravine started to appear before them, swallowing the forest. A deep fissure had formed, separating them from those below.
The panicked crowd was desperately trying to get away as the ground broke apart beneath their feet, swallowing them alive. Trees, rock formations, and the highway disappeared from view as the earth collapsed into an ever-widening chasm.
As the devastation unfolded, the Boones were held in place in utter shock until, finally, Brooke let out a bloodcurdling series of hoots and hollers that seemed to say, Run for your lives!
Chapter 45
Pinnacle View Road
East of Middlesboro, Kentucky
Sarah lost her footing and fell to the asphalt, ripping open the knees on her jeans. She struggled to regain her footing, but suddenly two strong sets of arms lifted her off the ground. Both Chapman and Tommy swooped by and hoisted her onto her feet. The three ran up the incline toward the cars and horses.
“Sarah! Ride with me!” shouted Isabella, who stood at the back of the van.
Kristi lifted herself into her saddle and rode around gathering up the reins of the riderless horses. Tommy jumped on his horse and helped Kristi gain some semblance of control.
The roar from down the mountain was deafening. Screams could be heard as if they were far off in the distance, yet the faces of their fellow man, in utter fear for their lives, could be seen through the rain.
Levi and Carly pulled open the doors to the Mustang and rearranged the supplies stuffed in every space to make room for the four of them.
Carly waved her arms and grasped ahold of Rachel’s hip to help her into the car. Levi was shouting instructions as he motioned for Jesse to climb in through the driver’s side.
“Hurry, kids! Get in the back—!”
His instructions were interrupted by Rachel’s voice. “Wonky!” she yelled.
The child pulled away from her mother and began racing back down the incline to retrieve Wonky Donkey. He’d wandered closer to the disintegrating road, seemingly entranced by what was happening.
“Rachel, stop!” shouted Carly. She reached for her daughter, but the button of her jacket caught on the Mustang’s door jamb, allowing Rachel to get a head start toward her grandfather’s beloved donkey.
“We have to save him!” she shouted as she picked up speed, running headfirst toward death.
“I’ll get her!” yelled Jesse as he too pulled out of the grasp of his father and gave chase.
The two kids were flying like the wind toward the donkey while the earth consumed everything in its path less than a mile below them.
“Yah!” Tommy dug his heels into the sides of his horse and demanded it gallop toward the kids. A second later, Chapman was doing the same. Horses and riders were dashing through the parking lot and down the road toward the running children.
Tommy passed Jesse and went after Rachel. He put a death grip on the horn of his saddle with his left hand and leaned over the side of his horse so his right arm could dangle. He snatched up the seven-year-old little girl, who like her mother, was small-framed at forty pounds. Tommy slung her over his lap and then pulled back on the reins.
“Whoa!” The horse struggled to slow itself on the sloping asphalt coupled with the sheet of rainwater that covered it. Tommy scooted deep into his saddle, using his weight to signal the horse to stop. He pulled on the reins harder. “Whoa!”
He was startled by a whirr that zipped past him. Chapman rode past Jesse, who’d given up the chase, and was leaning over the front of his horse, pushing the stallion toward Wonky Donkey.
The ground was disappearing, as was the humanity that fled the catastrophe. But Chapman kept riding until he’d circled Wonky Donkey.
Kristi sailed by on her horse, riding at full speed to join her brother.
Tommy set Rachel upright on the saddle and turned his horse to take her back to the car. Levi and Carly had arrived next to their son. Jesse was crying, overcome with emotion.
Tommy rode up to them and dropped Rachel off with her parents. The reunion was short lived as a devilish groan filled the air as more of the mountainside to their north crumbled into the widening gap in the earth.
Tommy shouted, “There’s no time. Go!” Levi and Carly rushed up the hill
to the car, dragging both of their kids by their arms. Tommy spun the horse around to assist Kristi and Chapman.
“He won’t budge!” complained Chapman.
“Pull him sideways!” Kristi said as she arrived by their side. It would take several strong men to push a donkey from behind to urge him along, but by pulling him sideways, he couldn’t brace his legs to resist.
Chapman grabbed his harness and pulled him to the side. Wonky stumbled somewhat, but at least he was broken out of his trance.
Kristi enticed him with an apple, his favorite treat, having been spoiled by Squire. “Wonky Donkey, here!”
He immediately responded.
“We’ve got to go, Kristi!” exclaimed Chapman. The ground’s disappearing act was reaching a crescendo. He could no longer see anybody running for their lives. Their act had come to an end.
As Kristi’s horse broke into a trot, she dangled an apple from her hand in front of the eyes of the donkey, who dutifully scampered along.
Chapman mounted his horse and caught up with her. He shouted ahead to the rest of the group, “Go! Go! We’re coming!”
Tommy waited for Chapman to make his way up the hill.
Then a thunderous boom filled the air, shaking the ground. It was followed by a gust of hot wind that swept up the slope and flowed over their bodies, thrusting them forward on their horses.
Kristi shrieked and then shouted her question. “What the hell, Chapman?”
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t—”
Lightning struck somewhere behind them. Wonky Donkey bolted ahead, and all three of their horses reared up on their back legs.
“Shit!” hollered Tommy as he struggled to control the riderless horses.
Another gust of wind consumed them. Hot. Filled with rain. Carrying an earthy smell.
Chapman glanced backwards at the sky. He’d never seen anything like it.
Chapter 46
Pinnacle Overlook
East of Middlesboro, Kentucky
An epic lightning show could be seen across the rain-filled skies as strobe-light-like bolts of electricity barreled across the Cumberland Mountain range. A seemingly continuous barrage of lightning lit up the clouds with a constant, violent flicker. The dazzling display chased the Boone party as they raced up Pinnacle View Road to the highest point available to them—Pinnacle Overlook.
The seismic activity gradually subsided although some of the ground continued to slip off into the deep valley created by the earthquake. The parking area where the Boones had gathered was gone. In its place was a steep cliff of granite where the Pine Mountain Thrust Fault had been created over two hundred million years ago.
The narrow two-lane road wound its way through the forest. Stately hardwoods and pines rose into the rainclouds, creating a tunnel effect. Eventually, the horses began to tire, and the Boones became convinced they’d escaped the cataclysmic event, so the riders dismounted. However, they didn’t stop as they led their horses on foot. They weren’t that comfortable yet.
Behind them, deep in the valley, the lightning continued, periodically striking the ground to cause a violent explosion akin to a bomb being dropped. The animals were agitated but too tired to act on it.
“Should I drive ahead?” asked Levi, who was inching along in front of the horse riders.
“I think we should stick together,” replied Chapman, who was riding along beside the car.
“I agree,” said Kristi before adding, “Besides, we can’t go back that way. It is what it is.”
They continued to wind their way up the two-and-a-half-mile road carved through the woods. Pinnacle View Road had been built by the National Forest Service to lead to the summit overlooking the Cumberland Gap.
The group gathered all their strength to continue. They rarely spoke a word as they climbed higher and higher through the steady rain. Their journey to the Cumberland Gap had been cut off by an enormous earthquake, which not only took away their road, but devoured an entire city as well. And now they were on a one-way highway to the top of the earth and into a sky full of angry lightning and crying clouds.
They rounded a bend and the road was abruptly divided by a median. Kristi excitedly shouted, “I think we’re at the top!”
Those walking their horses got the first look at the summit. Tommy, Kristi, and Chapman pulled their steeds to a halt in a grassy area with a handful of oak trees. They tied them off to the trunks of the smaller trees to allow them to lap up puddles of water and feed on the uncut grass. After securing Wonky Donkey and the other horses, they joined Sarah, Isabella, and Levi’s family, who’d parked in the center of the parking lot.
A single silver pickup truck with a camper on the bed was parked in a space near a trash can. Otherwise, Pinnacle Overlook appeared to be deserted. Once they were together, the emotions poured out.
Weeks of travel through one disaster and life-threatening event after another. Heading to a new home, at an unknown location that they’d identify when they got there. Some had nearly lost their lives. All had to live with the upheaval they’d experienced on a personal level, as well as in the world around them.
Tears were shed, and long loving embraces were exchanged. Even Brooke, the chimp without a home, was showing a sense of relief that the ordeal was over.
Or was it?
Chapman was the first to wander away from the group. The parking lot was spacious and flat, protected from a slight hill by a stone retaining wall. It would be a good place for them to rest. Maybe set up camp. However, he was unsure if they could make this place a home. The land sloped, gently at first and then at a much steeper decline. They would be starting with almost nothing.
He sighed and looked toward the sky for guidance. Then he squinted as a ray of light obscured his vision. He walked toward it, rubbing the rain off his face until there wasn’t any more.
Rain, that is.
The steady downpour had suddenly slowed to a drizzle and then a fine mist. The light grew brighter as the clouds began to thin. And just like that, within seconds, a steady wind blew across the mountaintop, pushing the cloud cover away, and a dazzling bright blue sky appeared gradually before them.
The spontaneous cheers of the group could be heard in the three states that shared a border near them. Tears of exhaustion and sadness exploded into shouts of joy, relief, and promise.
A simple pleasure. Sunshine, taken for granted every day, had returned to bask the weary pioneers in a warm glow.
“Everybody! Over here!” shouted Jesse, pointing to a sign marking a trail to the scenic overlook.
Rachel led the way, and the rest ran after her as the two kids made their way through the wooded trail. The kids were the first to arrive, followed by Brooke, of course, whose ability to knuckle-run always gave her an advantage in a race.
The nine members of the Boone party, plus Brooke, walked onto the flagstone overlook in quiet reverence at the beautiful sight that presented itself. The heavens revealed themselves in all their glory. White, wispy clouds moved slowly across the horizon, barely covering a gray-blue sky. The sun was shining bright, temporarily blinding the group, as their eyes had not experienced sunlight like this in weeks.
They fanned out across the crescent-shaped overlook built to jut out from the mountain. Each took up a position along the stone wall capped with a stainless-steel guardrail. Two signs were mounted on each end of the overlook, depicting a panoramic photograph of the visitor’s perspective. To the left was Virginia. Below them, Tennessee and the Cumberland Gap. And to their right was Kentucky.
Only, the view the Boones had was far different from the one depicted in the photograph. Certainly, the mountains were there. Those could be seen easily. What had changed was the Cumberland Gap, the vast valley through which Daniel Boone and his brother Squire had passed through centuries prior.
It was completely consumed by water.
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Table of Contents
Dedications
Acknowledgements
About the Author, Bobby Akart
Author’s Introduction to the Geostorm Series
Real-World News Excerpts
Epigraph
Prologue