by E S Richards
“You’ll be very impressed with our work down there, Linda,” Jerry smiled at his wife as he and Chase entered the kitchen. “Cleanest generator I’ve ever seen.”
“Excellent,” Linda smiled. “Thank you both.”
“What’ve you made?” Chase asked, leaning over his sister’s shoulder to look at the strange contraptions they’d created. “How do they work?”
“Aha,” Riley grinned and leaped to her feet, picking one of them up and holding it in front of her face. “Let me model it for you.”
Chase caught his grandma’s eye and saw her wink at him, a twinkle present in her expression. It didn’t take much to realize that she and Riley had chosen the more enjoyable task, even though he had appreciated the talk he’d shared with Pop in the basement. Turning his attention to his younger sister, Chase watched as Riley positioned herself in the middle of the room, looking very much like an air hostess as she began to model the breathing contraption they had come up with.
“I call this the Re-Breather 3000,” Riley started, giggling at the name she had chosen. “Designed and adapted to allow you to breathe fresh and clean air, no matter where you find yourself.”
Chase sat down at the table and rested his elbows on it, his hands covering his mouth to hide the smirk that crept across his face. He couldn’t help but laugh at the performance his sister was putting on. She’d always had a flair for the dramatic; any excuse to show off and she was the first in line. Grandma Linda smiled beside him, clearly having witnessed this presentation more than once in preparation for the big reveal.
Several prototypes lay discarded on the table in front of them, failed models that all led to the final design. Chase could see elements of them all in what Riley was holding: the finished product. It looked to be made of an old pillowcase or tea towel, combined with some stretchy elastic and some sort of filter. In all honestly, Chase had no idea how it was going to work.
“The first component of the Re-Breather 3000,” Riley continued, “is the inflatable sack.” Proudly, Riley held out the large pillowcase element, stretching it out so that everyone could see its full size. “This acts as the first filter that the air has to travel through, able to hold and process up to ten liters of air at any one time.”
Chase couldn’t help it. A chuckle bubbled out of his mouth and drew his sister’s attention. “Sorry,” he excused himself. “But ten liters? Where have you got that figure from?”
“I made it up,” Riley replied with attitude. “It’s my product. I’m the one that knows the most about it.”
“Fair enough,” Chase laughed and held his hands up in mock surrender. “Please, carry on.”
“Thank you,” Riley quipped back, flicking her hair over her shoulder in a dramatic fashion. “Now, as I was saying: the inflatable sack can hold up to ten liters of air and ensures that every mouthful you breathe is like it’s coming from your own personal oxygen tank. Hidden within it lies the second filter—the next line of defense for your lungs.”
At this point Riley paused again, looking around the room to make sure everyone was paying proper attention to her. It was obvious from the look on her face that she was loving the power and control she held over the group as she gave her little demonstration. It was nice that even with everything that was going on, they were still able to have a bit of fun and share a few laughs.
“The second filter should be affixed directly below your mouth, making sure that you always breathe through it. This filter is of a higher standard and, thanks to the elasticized strap, will attach to your face with ease and relative comfort.”
Chase narrowed his eyes and looked closer at what Riley was holding, inspecting the object carefully. It looked like the filter they used in their water jug, filtering the water from the tap and making it suitable for drinking. In a way, Chase supposed that would technically work and due to the way Riley and his grandma had attached everything together, it did look like it could be worn over the face pretty easily. All in all, they’d done a pretty good job.
“Can I try it?”
Riley looked at her brother nervously, holding her precious Re-Breather 3000 in her hands. “Okay,” she eventually replied, clearly not very happy about having to hand it over. It had been made for this purpose though, and they all needed to be certain it worked. “Just be careful!”
“I will be,” Chase laughed as he reached across the table, holding his hand out for Riley to pass him the Re-Breather. “Come on,” he urged his sister. “I’m not going to break it.”
Eventually, Chase had the finished product in his hands and he turned it over a few times to inspect it. Surprisingly, it was actually very well made. It didn’t feel too heavy or uncomfortable and layers of foam had been added to the hard plastic filter in order for it to sit comfortably over his face. It wasn’t something he would choose to wear all the time, but for its purpose it seemed perfect. Affixing it over his mouth and nose, Chase took several deep breaths, checking whether the Re-Breather 3000 was as functional as it appeared.
“Wow,” he mumbled in between breaths. “This actually kind of works.”
“Kind of?” Riley retorted immediately, jumping to her feet from the seat she had taken. “It works perfectly! You must not be using it right!”
“I’m kidding, Riley,” Chase replied more clearly, removing the Re-Breather 3000 from his face and placing it on the table. “It does work. It’s great. Well done.”
Riley beamed, ignoring the fact that her brother had managed to quickly push a few of her buttons with his teasing. The main thing was that it worked and using the Re-Breather would allow them to go outside without putting their lives in danger. Jerry’s cough was getting worse and worse every hour—that was no secret—hopefully with the use of the filtered breathing device, his health would stop deteriorating.
“Excellent,” Grandma Linda smiled, reaching over and giving Riley a congratulatory squeeze on the shoulder. “Now we just need to make a couple more and we’re all set.”
“That’s great,” Pop smiled, pleased with the effort that everyone was putting in. At the rate things were going, his family would be ready to bug out and embrace the disaster in no time. He had known it from the start: the Clarkes were prepared for anything. It was something he’d prided himself on for many years. He was always ahead of the game, always had one foot in the door and one ear to the ground so he was never caught off guard. That was something he’d tried to instill in his family as well and he was so pleased all his years of hard work had paid off. Even if he lost himself to his illness, he had confidence that he could still rely on his family.
Across the small kitchen table, Chase was having very similar thoughts. He was impressed with the breathing device, but as he looked outside, a part of him still doubted whether it would be enough. The weather was not letting up. The wind and rain were both relentless, banding together and howling through the farmhouse with an unforgiving scream.
The ash cloud also hung menacingly above them, like a dark blanket that couldn’t be thrown from the bed. There was no escaping it. Chase knew it was there to stay for the foreseeable future. Definitely several more days, probably a few long weeks, and maybe even for months. He couldn’t put a timeline on anything; he just knew things were going to be different for a long time to come. In reality, it could be forever.
The Cloud
The Escaping Darkness Series Book 2
Chapter 1
With her rucksack fully packed and the maps she spent hours poring over stuffed firmly in her back pocket, Mia was ready to leave. She’d scoured Helena Regional Airport for anything and everything that she deemed valuable and was as equipped as she would ever be to face the terrors that the Yellowstone supervolcanic eruption had inflicted on the world.
What she was about to walk into was almost certainly the most devastating event of her lifetime. Nothing like this had happened for hundreds of years, the natural disasters destroying areas directly around them, but never the whole world. Sh
e remembered watching the footage of the tsunami that had decimated Thailand when she was a child, seeing the houses it had brought to the ground and the hundreds of miles of devastation it left in its wake. She remembered the earthquakes that shook the country during her youth, one that had even woken her in the night as she slept in her bed just outside of Houston. She had run into her parents’ room with tears streaming down her face, begging for the world to stop moving.
As she got older, Mia visited the sites of many other volcanic eruptions. She’d documented the causes of them, the factors which had contributed to the pivotal moment, and the aftermath that had followed. She’d witnessed close to ten eruptions in total, but none of them had claimed more than a hundred lives at most. None had been newsworthy for more than a couple of days and none had changed the course of human existence.
This time, Mia knew that wouldn’t be the case. No one was going to be safe and no one was going to be able to escape what had happened. But, despite all the fears and reservations she carried, Mia at least knew she was ready. The same, sadly, could not be said for all of her companions.
Jorge was a valuable asset. Looking over at her fellow scientist, Mia nodded to him and saw that he looked extremely prepared. Patrick, father to ten-year-old Allie, also looked ready to take on the challenge. He knew he had to do what was best to protect his remaining daughter and as a result he was prepared to take on the world. The farther Mia cast her gaze around the airport lobby, though, the less organized the group became.
There were five more people who were now also a part of her team. The three college students Mia had previously thought would be an important addition didn’t seem to be taking the mission as seriously as she’d hoped. Jadon, Jesse, and Marcus had all agreed they wanted to leave the airport with everyone else, but while the others had gathered supplies and prepared themselves, they had found an old football and thrown the ball around with little respect for the magnitude of the task they were about to undertake. Mia didn’t care for that kind of attitude and could only hope that once they saw how real things had become outside, they would snap into action as they had when the lahars came.
For all her faulting of the three boys, Mia still prized their group well above Angelica and Michael. The two airport employees had offered little—except knowledge of where they might find things inside the building. They didn’t seem to care about getting ready to leave, both aware that their hometown would be the first destination on their route and only concerned about getting there. Mia could tell they were both scared, but it angered her that they weren’t acting as team players. They would be offered the protection of the group as they traveled to their hometown, but Mia was determined to ensure that they offered something in return.
Of everyone within the group, they had been the least enthusiastic when Mia had asked the question of everyone earlier that day, trying to determine who, if anyone, would be accompanying her.
“I think we should be ready to leave within the hour,” Mia had announced sort of out of the blue, unsure how to break the news that she was leaving. “It’s not safe to stay here and so Jorge and I are going to move out. Anyone who wants to come is welcome to, but I’m not going to force you.”
There was a pause for several seconds, people looking at each other with questioning eyes, uncertain of what to say.
“Where are you going?” Jesse had eventually asked. The fact that they couldn’t stay in the airport forever hadn’t escaped him, but he was also unsure how he would make it back to his family on the east coast.
“In the long-term, back to Texas,” Mia replied as nonchalantly as she could manage. She knew the journey was over two thousand miles and would take them several weeks to make. But no matter how ridiculous it sounded, she wasn’t going to let anything stop her. “But the route will take us through many other cities I’m sure.”
“Texas?” Angelica interrupted, her voice not masking how stupid she thought Mia’s idea was. “How on earth do you expect to make it there?”
“However possible.” Mia shrugged, doing her best to ignore the woman’s attitude. “That’s where my family is and I intend to make it back to them.”
“But you can’t just walk across the country,” Angelica argued. “Especially not after what’s happened.”
“I know that,” Mia replied, her patience slowly wearing thin. “But I’m going to plan a route and I’m going to find a way. If you don’t want to come, that’s fine; like I said, I’m not going to force you. But,” Mia paused, surveying the room, “I’d highly recommend coming with us if you want to survive.”
It was a carefully veiled warning, delivered in a way that made it sound threatening—something Mia was perfectly aware of. She wasn’t interested in messing around or trying to convince people. If they didn’t want to come with her that was their choice, but she found them foolish for not understanding she was their best chance for survival. Especially after everything that had already happened.
“We’ll come,” Patrick announced, gripping his daughter’s hand and stepping forward. “Do you think we could go somewhat close to Seattle? It’d be nice to go home after all of this.”
“Of course,” Mia smiled at Patrick, grateful for his cooperation.
“We don’t need escorting back home,” Patrick quickly continued. “But if we could even head in that direction somewhat that would be incredible. I know it’s the wrong way, but…”
“No, that’s fine,” Mia stopped the man, wanting to save his pride. “We can’t simply cut across country back to Texas, like I said, so looping through other cities will be necessary. I haven’t got the route completely planned out yet, but I was thinking of traversing the west coast anyway. As important as it is to get home, we also want to discover just how far this eruption has reached.”
“Thank you,” Patrick beamed, squeezing his daughter’s hand a little tighter. Mia could see how appreciative he really was and was pleased she was able to help. After watching his wife and other daughter drown in the lahars, she felt this was the least she could do for what was left of his family.
Looking further around the airport lobby, Mia’s eyes settled on the group of three boys. They were nudging each other and whispering quietly, quite clearly trying to come to a decision about what to do. Mia calmed herself and waited, giving them a chance to decide for themselves from the information she had already provided.
“Okay,” Jesse spoke up again once the whispering had stopped. “We’re in.”
“Great,” Mia grinned. “Where are you guys headed?”
“Wherever you are,” the young man replied. “Texas works for us. We’re all from places on the east coast, so that’s basically in the right direction.”
“Awesome,” Mia grinned again, “it’ll be good to have you on board.”
With five of the seven now coming with her and Jorge, Mia turned her attention to Angelica and Michael. While Angelica had argued against her idea initially, Mia could see the cogs turning in her head. Michael hadn’t responded at all, but he too had to be aware that the two of them had little hope if they were left in the airport by themselves. So eventually, and without any further words needing to be said by Mia, they both succumbed and agreed to take on the journey as well.
Despite being able to get everyone to work together, Mia still didn’t feel like she’d assembled a proper team. She found it strange and irritating that Angelica and Michael were so reluctant, especially as they both lived within a few hours’ walk from the airport. Their journey was going to be dangerous no matter how short it was though, and she wanted people around her that she knew she could trust completely.
Although she had spent her entire life working as a scientist—a career regarded as a relatively solo endeavor—Mia had always understood and valued the importance of teamwork and cooperation. It was something her parents had ingrained into her from a very young age, encouraging the strong and powerful relationship she had shared and treasured with her brother. They had nev
er fought—rare for two children so close in age. Instead their bond had been filled with nothing but love, something she still carried despite Brogan no longer being around. She knew she wouldn’t have reached the point in her life that she was at without his support, and the support of her other family members and friends. They were her team, and while she couldn’t be with them right away, she knew all she needed to do was rally her new team together and that would be enough to get the group on their way.
“You sure we can do this?” Jorge asked quietly as Mia moved to stand by his side, the appearance of their party not escaping him either. He may not have been as invested in teamwork as Mia was, but he was invested in his own survival and cared very much if he was going to be put at risk by the actions of others around him.
“We don’t have a choice,” Mia replied, placing her hands on her hips and sighing. “They’ll just have to learn to pull their weight or risk being left behind. We both have places to be and nothing is going to stop me from getting there.”
“Me neither,” Jorge nodded. “Let’s move out then. I’ll leave the big announcement to you.”
Mia couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly at her companion. She remembered him avoiding taking blame from time to time in the lab, always eager to make the positive announcements but shying away when something serious or negative had to be said. It wasn’t a characteristic she admired in the Spaniard, but she knew it wasn’t the time to broach the matter. If Jorge didn’t want to blow the starting whistle, she was more than happy to do so in this case. Anything to get her out of the airport and one step closer to reuniting with her family.
Coughing loudly, Mia cleared her throat in an attempt to attract everyone’s attention. Jorge, Patrick, and Allie were all already looking at her, and thankfully the three boys also turned their heads. Angelica and Michael were sitting farther away and whether they heard Mia or not, they did not turn their heads.