by Tim Washburn
Walt rips open another package and pulls the plunger back on a 15-cc syringe before screwing it onto one of the ports. “That’ll work for now, but we need to get him on that chopper. There’s also a lady over there with a compound fracture, and she needs to be airlifted.” Walt gets to his feet and shouts for more rangers to come help.
Having depleted the supply of gurneys, the rangers load the injured onto roof decking and carry them to the helicopter. With five injured, plus the pilot and flight nurse, the helicopter is overloaded. The pilot takes off his headset and shouts, “I thought we were waiting for a burn victim.”
Walt moves away from the rotor wash and grabs his radio. He returns moments later. “The guy didn’t make it. Can you get airborne with all the added weight?”
“You bet your ass I can.”
Walt slams the door shut as the pilot claps on his headset and grabs the controls. After a painfully slow few seconds, the skids lift from the surface and the helicopter gains forward momentum, making a sweeping left turn over the geyser.
Walt watches the chopper depart. As the helicopter drifts closer toward the geyser, a tingle of dread shoots down his spine. He furiously waves his arms to get the pilot’s attention, but the pilot is busy at the controls and doesn’t notice Walt. In the next instant Walt’s fears are realized when Old Faithful erupts. The plume of water slams into the bottom of the chopper, tilting it sideways. Walt can see the pilot struggling for control, but the helicopter continues to lose altitude until the rotating blades slam into the earth, blasting shrapnel in all directions. With the engine screaming, the helicopter slams into the ground. Walt grabs for his radio as he breaks into a run. Before he’s made it ten yards, a massive explosion erupts, sending a blistering heat wave radiating in all directions. A wall of shrapnel follows the blast and Walt shields his face with his hands as the racing debris tugs at his uniform. He moves closer, hoping to find survivors, but knowing in the back of his mind that the possibilities are grim. Walt’s shirt begins to smoke as he pushes forward. Black smoke and red-hot flames shoot skyward as the odor of burning plastic and roasting flesh assaults him.
CHAPTER 17
Old Faithful Area
Tucker hears the urgent radio pleas. “Jess, keep pressure on Matt’s leg.” He pushes to his feet and limps through the outside door, where the searing heat sucks the breath from his lungs. It takes him a moment to process what his eyes see. The scene looks like something from a disaster movie, with a giant fireball shooting toward the sky and Old Faithful gushing water at an unprecedented rate.
Rachael pushes through the door behind him. “What happened?”
“The helicopter must have crashed.”
“How many people were onboard?”
“No idea.” Tucker and Rachael hurry across the loop trail and spot another ranger just ahead, trying to get closer to the scene. The heat from the jet-fueled fire is suffocating, and water from Old Faithful rains down like liquid fire. Tucker pushes up closer and grabs the back of the ranger’s shirt, pulling him away from the scene. He shouts above the noise, “There’s nothing you can do.”
The man turns with a wild look in his eyes. Tucker grimaces at the burned face of his old friend and longtime park ranger, Walt Stringer. Tucker grabs him by the hand and pulls him away. “Walt, they’re gone.” Walt allows Tucker to lead him to the other side of the trail. Ron hurries over and begins fumbling through his medical kit as Tucker helps Walt to the ground. “What happened, Walt?”
“The geyser knocked them out of the sky. They couldn’t have been more than a hundred feet in the air.”
Tucker squats down beside him. “But the geyser went off only moments before. Usually there’s a time lag of an hour or so before she goes off again.”
Walt nods toward the geyser. “I don’t know what to tell you, Doc.”
Ron hands across a handful of pills and a bottle of water. Walt feeds the pills into his mouth and chases them down with large gulp of water.
“Ron, how many people were onboard the helicopter?” Tucker asks.
Ron pauses before answering. “Seven.”
Tucker winces as he stares at the burning wreckage.
“Walt, you have second-degree burns over most of your face,” Ron says. “Let me see your hands.”
Walt holds up his hands and Ron inspects them. “You have some burning but not as severe as your face. We need to get that shirt off of you to see if you have any burns on your torso.”
Tucker helps Ron peel off Walt’s shirt. His skin is as red as if he’d spent all day outside with his shirt off. “You have some first-degree burning. It’s going to hurt for a while and may even blister, but you’ll live.”
“Unlike those on the chopper,” Walt mutters.
“It was a tragic accident, Walt,” Tucker says. “Nothing you could have done about it.”
Walt hangs his head. “I could have waved the pilot away from the area.”
Ron breaks the seal on a tube of ointment and gently applies it to Walt’s face. “It all happened too quickly. Tucker’s right. It was a tragic accident.”
Walt swivels his head to look at Tucker. “What’s really going on, Tucker? I’ve been a ranger here for a long time and I’ve never seen things this bad.”
Camp 43–Valdosta, Georgia
Interview: Mark from Marshalltown, IA—farmer
“We were headed south toward Old Faithful and came over a ridge to see a big fireball. We didn’t know what the hell was going on. I told Arlene to check the radio but we didn’t hear nothing about what was going on. We slowed down as we went past, but you couldn’t tell anything because of the smoke. I did see one mighty peculiar thing, but it was only later that I figured out what it was, after we heard what happened. Looked like a giant sword sticking out of the ground. Had to have been one of those helicopter blades. Damnedest thing I ever seen. We got down by the lake about the time one of them big earthquakes hit. I told Arlene we was leaving and, by God, we took off.”
CHAPTER 18
University Seismic Observation Lab
“Please keep the noise down,” Eric Snider shouts over the babel. The room grows quiet as he paces to the center of the room. “Josh, can we get the latest GPS data on one of the screens?”
Josh hurries to the audio-video room and logs onto the computer. He pulls up the UNAVCO Plate Boundary Observatory site, home to over eleven hundred Global Positioning System stations, including those in Yellowstone National Park. He punches up the feed and pushes out of the chair, returning to the conference room as a series of loud gasps echo across the room.
“Josh, are these the current numbers?” Snider asks, his voice full of disbelief.
“Kind of. The last data dump from the GPS units was an hour ago.” Josh glances up at the screen to see ground deformation numbers well beyond historic standards.
Snider wipes the sudden burst of perspiration from his forehead. “The time lag is killing us. Josh, call and see if they can provide us real-time GPS data.”
Josh retreats to make the call.
“Okay, people, we have an earthquake above five magnitude and uplift nearing a foot at both the Mallard Lake Dome and the Norris area,” Snider says. “I want data and I want it now. We need to know exactly what’s going on at the park.”
A surge of shouted voices erupts as Snider pulls his cell phone from a pocket.
He scrolls to the favorites’ list and punches the call button. The call is answered on the second ring. “Ralph, we’re experiencing some rather unusual anomalies.”
Superintendent Barlow pauses before responding, but when he does, his voice is laced with anger. “Not anomalies, Eric. This is a clusterfuck. I’ve got seven dead in a helicopter crash and half of the Old Faithful Inn lying on the ground. You need to get with Tucker and Jeremy to develop a plan. This is something beyond the usual earthquakes. I’ve got thousands of visitors scattered across more than two million acres. And every single one of them will be dead if that volcano
erupts.”
“I tried to call Tu—”
“Call his sat phone. Or contact him through telepathy. I don’t care. But I want a plan of action within the hour.” The phone clicks off on the other end.
Snider sighs and begins scrolling through his contacts for Tucker’s satellite phone. He glances up to see Josh hovering nearby. “What is it, Josh?”
“They’re not sure they can reprogram the GPS units, sir, but they’re going to try.”
“How difficult can it be? Jesus, can’t we have one thing go our way?” Snider pulls the glasses from his face and rubs the bridge of his nose for a moment. “Thanks, Josh. Let me know when you find out.”
Josh lingers. “Sir, can . . . I mean . . . why . . . can’t they just issue an evacuation order for the entire park?”
“They could, but it could be a nightmare with only five roads leading out of the park. Add in panic and you’d have a recipe for disaster.”
“Maybe they could evacuate the park in sections. That could work, couldn’t it?”
Snider waves his cell phone in the air. “Listen, Josh, I’ve got several more calls to make.”
Josh looks down at his shoes.
Snider sighs. “Why are you so concerned about what’s happening at Yellowstone?”
Josh looks up with tears shimmering in his eyes. “My mom, dad, and little sister are over there somewhere. I haven’t been able to reach them.”
“Christ. You know where they’re staying?”
Josh shakes his head and thumbs away a tear. “They’re camping. They could be anywhere.”
“They would have needed camp permits. Maybe you can track them down that way.”
Josh perks up and palms the tears from his cheeks. “That’s a good idea. If I can find out where they are, I could go up and find them.” Josh turns to leave, but stops when Professor Snider calls his name. He turns back. “Yes, sir?”
“Sooner, rather than later, Josh.”
CHAPTER 19
Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Nicknamed “Hell’s Half Acre” by Rudyard Kipling in 1889, the Midway Geyser Basin looks as if it belongs on another planet, as steamy contrails drift skyward from the multitude of kaleidoscope-colored pools of water. The basin is home to the Grand Prismatic Spring, one of the largest hot springs in the world. Tourists wind their way through the area atop a narrow wooden walkway for an up-close look at some of Mother Nature’s most unique artwork.
Among the tourists are honeymooners Seth and Harper Spaulding, who elected not to fly to the Caribbean for a week of sun and fun. Instead, the couple opted for a back-to-nature honeymoon and chose Yellowstone because of flight prices into Salt Lake City. Arm in arm, they sidestep an older, hand-holding couple who are advancing arthritically along the boardwalk. Harper leans in and whispers, “Aren’t they cute. Think that’ll be us in fifty years?”
Seth grins and gives her a quick kiss. “I hope we’ll be able to move a little faster, but yes, I signed on for life. You’re stuck with me.”
Harper graces him with a smile and hugs him tighter as they stroll toward the larger pool. A family with two small children in tow passes them, and they both watch their retreat.
“Are we going to bring our kids here someday?” Harper asks.
“Yep, all seven of them.”
Harper playfully slaps his arm. “I think seven is a little over the limit. I’d settle for three, though. Girls, boys, or a mix, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Seth reaches down and gives her butt a squeeze. “Want to go practice?”
“You have a dirty mind, Seth Spaulding. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”
The couple arrives at the edge of the spring—or as close as the walkway allows. The surrounding area more closely resembles a Martian landscape, only with water. The ground surrounding the large pool is barren of vegetation and the rim of the pool is an amalgam of orangey-rusty-colored earth with orange trails radiating out in all directions like the rays of the sun. The hot spring itself is a prism of colors, with a deep blue center that melds with green and yellow to form rings around the outer rim.
Harper pulls out her cell phone. “Let’s take a selfie with the pool in the background.” They two-step a tight circle and paste on big smiles. Harper extends her arm out and snaps a photo. “We can tell our children we went to Mars for our honeymoon.”
Seth looks up at the horizon. “Wonder why all those trees are dead?”
Harper tucks her phone back into her shorts. “I don’t know. Maybe the ground is too hot for them.”
“This place is eerie as hell. I bet that spring is a hundred feet deep.” He turns to look at his wife. “You know where the heat comes from?”
Harper takes her husband’s hand. “I guess from underground.”
“Sort of. Right now, we’re standing on one of the largest volcanoes on the planet.”
Harper sweeps her gaze from one side of the horizon to the other. “Where?”
“It’s called a caldera volcano. After the last eruption the ground sank into the crater.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“Google it. It’s all over the Internet. It’s supposedly due to erupt at any time.”
“Well, I hope it waits until we leave. And how do they even know the volcano is active?”
Seth points at the steam rising from the surface of the pool. “They say an eruption of this volcano could produce a worldwide volcanic winter.”
Harper shudders and tugs on his arm. “C’mon. Let’s work our way back toward the car.”
Seth laughs. “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly worried about an eruption.”
Harper laughs and pinches him on the arm. “No, I’m not afraid. I mean, what are the chances?” The couple strolls back toward the parking lot. “It would make a hell of a honeymoon story for the kids, though.” They both laugh and Harper leans in to kiss Seth.
With so many feet plodding along the boardwalk, Seth and Harper are unaware of the ground vibration occurring all around them. Until they come to a stop. “What’s that?” Harper asks, a furrow of concern creasing her brow.
“I don’t know. The whole area is shaking.” The tremors increase in intensity and a dull, constant thrum begins to sound. Seth grabs Harper’s hand. “Run!”
They’re still two hundred yards from the car when the ground beneath their feet explodes upward. Hot water rushes skyward and the boardwalk collapses like falling dominoes. People scramble in all directions, but their attempts prove futile. The screams of horror and cries of anguish are soon drowned out by the rush of scalding water. Seth and Harper have time for a partial “I love—” before the wall of water washes them into one of the simmering cauldrons of multicolored water.
Camp 46–Columbus, Georgia
Interview: Joycelyn from Junction City, KS—high school teacher
“Seth was the oldest of our three children . . . and the first . . . to get married. The ceremony . . . the ceremony was . . . was . . . so beautiful. He and Harper were perfect for each other. They dated for two years . . . You know they say opposites attract? Well, those two were cut from the same cloth. Both loved being outside. Harper’s apartment . . . was filled with . . . all types of plants. They were going to come back . . . to . . . to their perfect jobs. Oh God, it’s so awful. As a parent. . . you have nightmares about . . . something . . . happening. It took them . . . two . . . days to notify us. They traced the registration from their rental car. And it . . . lingers . . . you know. There’s just no . . . I guess . . . closure. Harper and my baby boy . . . are . . . are gone and we didn’t even get to have . . . a . . . funeral. Now they’re . . . buried . . . under . . . all . . . all of that . . .”
CHAPTER 20
Old Faithful Inn
Tucker, Walt, and Rachael walk back toward the Old Faithful Inn. A few of the less severely wounded are sitting in the shade of a large pine tree, receiving medical treatment. Medical personnel from all over the park ru
shed to the scene, and several tourists with medical training are pitching in to help out. Tucker stops to tell Ron about his brother needing stitches, then moves on. The parking lot is brimming with tourists, some watching on in horror as the helicopter continues to burn. To their credit, mass hysteria hasn’t settled in—yet. Walt’s face is a blistered mess but the pain pills appear to be working. As they make their way around the collapsed roof, Tucker’s satellite phone chirps. He answers and waves Rachael closer before putting the phone on speaker.
Superintendent Barlow’s voice is subdued. “Tucker, we have fifteen confirmed dead and several others with severe injuries. Mostly burns. There was a hydrothermal explosion at the Midway Geyser area.”
Tucker hangs his head. “Jesus, Ralph. We have seven confirmed dead here and a dozen or so injured. The helicopter crashed on takeoff.”
Silence fills the connection before Barlow says, “What the hell happened?”
“The helicopter was struggling to gain altitude and drifted out over the geyser area. Walt thinks they weren’t more than a hundred feet into the air when Old Faithful erupted.”
“Jesus. You know how many deaths we’ve had at the park since I took over as superintendent? Not very damn many. And now we have twenty-two dead, with several others just barely hanging on—all over a span of a couple of hours.” Barlow blows out a heavy breath. “I need some answers, Tucker. I’m not going to sit on my thumbs hoping the worst doesn’t happen. I’m leaning strongly toward issuing an evacuation order.”
Rachael speaks up. “Won’t that just create more panic? We could be creating a situation well beyond our control.”
“I’m open to suggestions, Rachael, but we need to act now. Tucker, are we facing an imminent eruption?”