The Year Without Summer: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Read online

  The suspension on the truck dropped and bounced as one by one the team launched themselves into the back.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Did you not hear me?” Mark shouted.

  She shook her head.

  “Go!” Maria yelled.

  Rebecca slammed her foot against the accelerator and took off.

  The heavy ash beat against the window making it almost impossible to see. The usually clear, steady sound of the helicopter blades was now muddled by the onslaught of smoke, debris and ash. Tom was doing his best to navigate through low visibility and provide one final sweep of the area before they pulled out.

  “Where would you go?” Catherine kept saying over and over as if trying to know her son, and what he might do in this situation. Tom leaned over and muttered the words Logan knew were coming. He nodded and twisted around.

  “Catherine. We need to pull out now. We don’t want to get low on fuel and if we don’t leave now this ash is going to bring us down.” She sat there shaking her head unable to grasp that her son was lost.

  “Where would you go?” she said turning to Logan. “The mountains or the east?”

  He turned back and looked out the window, racking his brain. That’s when someone came over the radio. “Come in. Come in. Anyone.” Tom looked over at Logan.

  “We read you loud and clear. Who is this?”

  “We are trapped at a ranger’s station, or cabin just northeast of the lake. We need help. We have an injured ranger.”

  “Ask him if Jordan is there. Ask him!” Catherine said leaning forward in her seat.

  Tom posed the question and they waited for an answer. It never came. “Come in. Can you hear me?” Tom yelled.

  There was no response.

  “I know where that cabin is,” Logan said. “Turn the bird around, Tom. It’s less than two miles from here.”

  Tom shook his head. “Logan.”

  “Just do it. I’m not leaving a ranger behind.”

  Chapter 24

  Outside the cabin, devilish flames seeped through bulges and cracks in the ground. An earth-shattering quake rocked the area and tore the earth apart. Billy gripped his ribs and looked out at what remained of the porch. Most of it had disappeared into the ground.

  “It’s not working,” Wyatt yelled. “C’mon!”

  “I thought you were in contact. I heard them,” Billy replied.

  “The damn thing isn’t working. Come in. Can anyone hear us?” he yelled over the noise of the tremors.

  Billy turned to his friend. “Wyatt, we need to leave now.”

  Jordan was gripping the kitchen counter, his eyes bulging as every few seconds the earth would move violently beneath them. Wyatt slammed the microphone down and swiped the whole unit onto the ground. “Damn thing!”

  It was like the whole landscape was alive as the tectonic plates moved beneath. It felt like they were standing on watery ground. The floor of the cabin would move and rock and then settle for a few seconds before doing the same again.

  Billy was about to step out when the whole ground crumbled, and the yard divided. A wall of steam shot up forcing Billy back into the house. Another quake tore away at the house and what remained of the porch caught on fire.

  “Shit! Go. Out the back,” Billy yelled.

  They hurried towards the rear and flung the door open only to find a gaping gash in the earth full of fire and smoke. Billy started coughing as thick sulfuric smoke drifted into the cabin making it hard to breathe. Their eyes stung and the heat was becoming unbearable.

  “What now?” Wyatt hollered.

  Billy hurried to the east side of the cabin and looked out the window but they were cut off. The earth had crumbled around them and pulled apart, leaving a fiery moat. He sprinted over to the west only to find a wall of soil slammed up against the window. Slowly he backed up shaking his head.

  “Billy. Billy!” Wyatt said.

  He flung up a hand. “Shut up. Let me think.”

  His mind was spinning frantically but nothing came to him. They only had two options. One was to attempt a jump over a ten-foot gap with hot hydrothermal steam shooting out. The other was to climb up onto the top of the house and wait until it collapsed and hope to God that the house shifted sideways to form some kind of bridge. Neither of the options were good.

  “Up,” Billy said. “Get up on the roof.”

  “What?”

  “You want to jump. Be my guest,” he said motioning to the rear and front doors. Not wasting another second Wyatt climbed out the window on the east side, moved over carefully and launched himself onto the drainpipe.

  “C’mon, kid, you’re next,” Billy said.

  He shook his head and took a few steps back. “I can’t do it.”

  “Yes you can.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Listen, you don’t have another choice. It’s either up or down.”

  Tears streaked Jordan’s face and his hands shook. Outside Wyatt yelled to them to hurry up. More explosions erupted and trees disappeared into the earth in a steaming plume of smoke. Billy got in front of Jordan and grabbed him by both arms.

  “Kid. It’s okay to be afraid. Do you know after all these years of filming these insane videos, both of us still shit ourselves when we step up the edge of a mountain and jump off?”

  Jordan looked up at him. “Really?”

  “Every time. The only difference between you and me is that I refuse to let fear control me. Now get your ass out that window.”

  Jordan nodded and cautiously moved towards the window just as another eruption shook the house causing the floor to tilt sideways, and some of the planks to explode. Splinters of wood shot in every direction as Billy coaxed Jordan out to where Wyatt was ready to grab his hand and pull him up.

  “You got him, Wyatt?”

  “Yep!”

  Jordan disappeared in front of him and Billy made his way out. He stumbled in pain, gripping his side again. This time he lifted up his shirt and could see half of his body had turned purple and black. He coughed and blood splatter came out of his mouth. “Fuck!”

  He climbed out and made his way onto the roof. He coughed again.

  As soon as he was up he could see the extent of their situation.

  It was bad.

  For miles around them the earth had morphed into a hellish nightmare. The glow of red lines fissuring out illuminated the night. Steam shot up, and smoke made the air thick, humid and almost unbreathable. Jordan coughed and Billy reached into Wyatt’s backpack and pulled out one of their bandannas. He handed it to him and Jordan wrapped it around his face.

  “Now what?” Wyatt said.

  Billy looked up into the night sky, as dark clouds formed overhead.

  “Let’s hope he’s listening.”

  The house shook again and Wyatt stumbled back and rolled down the roof. Billy launched himself forward, grabbing his leg just at the last second before he went over. One hand clung to a small vent on top and the other held on to Wyatt for dear life. Wyatt hung upside down. “Don’t let me go.”

  “I won’t. Jordan!”

  Jordan scrambled down on his butt to help. He latched on to Wyatt’s other leg and together they pulled him back up. All three of them climbed up to the ridge and looked out as lava and flames seeped out through voids in the ground, devouring everything in their path. Even if they could have jumped that gap, where could they have gone? Newly formed fumaroles ejected boiling water into the air. The steady sound of hissing and whistling mixed with the crackle of flames was beyond unnerving — it was terrifying.

  The cabin shifted violently again and Billy clung tight, resigned to his fate.

  “Wyatt. I’m sorry for bringing you here, man.”

  “Shut up. I chose to come.”

  “No, I pestered you. Rita was right. You should have given up this gig a year ago.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes and handed him one. Jordan went to take one and Billy pulle
d it away. “Sorry, kid, not this time.”

  They lit up and stared out.

  “Man, if we could have got this on video. Can you imagine how many views we would have got?”

  Wyatt chuckled. “We would have gone to number one in trending videos.”

  They briefly laughed before their smiles disappeared.

  “It’s been a wild ride, my friend.”

  “That it has.”

  Another shake and Billy dropped his cigarette. “Damn it.”

  “You can have mine,” Wyatt said. “I should have given up that shit a long time ago.”

  “Hold on, did you hear that?” Jordan said.

  “The sound of death? Yeah, I heard it, kid,” Billy said before taking a large drag on the cigarette.

  “No. Listen.” Jordan stood up and squinted into the dark smoke that billowed around them.

  Wyatt cupped a hand to his ear while Billy laid back and looked up into the night sky. The next thing he felt was Wyatt tapping his leg. “Billy. Billy.”

  He looked up as a helicopter burst through the smoke.

  “Hey! Hey,” Wyatt shouted, as he and Jordan began waving their arms.

  The steady thump of its blades roared loudly, and wind whipped at their clothes the closer it got. The helicopter passed over them and circled back around, this time slowing down. The door on the side of the helicopter opened and a law enforcement ranger came into view. He reached for a steel mesh rescue basket and unhooked a latch. A heavy-duty cable attached to the basket began to lower. It made a whirring sound as it came down. The ranger shouted for them to put Jordan in it. It could only take one person at a time.

  “Remember what I said, kid,” Billy said as Jordan cautiously climbed inside it.

  The noise of the helicopter was deafening.

  Whump. Whump. Whump.

  It retracted up and within seconds they had him inside.

  “You’re next,” Billy said thumbing up.

  “No. You go, this place is about to drop.”

  Billy smirked. “Get your ass up there now. I’ll be right behind you.”

  They looked up waiting for the ranger to emerge.

  Another explosion and this time the cabin shifted hard to the left. Billy and Wyatt dove for the ridge as the foundation began to burn. Flames began to eat through the main cabin.

  “Come on!” Wyatt yelled.

  The ranger looked out and was yelling something as the mesh basket lowered. Wyatt couldn’t hear him but Billy did.

  “It can only take one person,” Billy said.

  “What?”

  “Get on it.”

  “No. We both go or none of us do.”

  “Listen, you stubborn asshole, chances are I’m not going to make it anyway.” He pulled up his shirt and showed him the damage to his ribs as he breathed heavily.

  Wyatt stared and shook his head. “No, we’ll get you to the hospital.”

  “You don’t get it, brother. That bird up there can only carry so much weight.”

  “Bullshit. It’s going to have to carry you too.”

  Billy smiled. “You’ve got two kids and one on the way. Get up there.”

  “I’m not going.”

  Another shake and both of them clung tightly, fear now getting the best of them.

  Wyatt stared back at him before waving off the ranger.

  “What are you doing?” Billy asked.

  “You go down so do I. It’s always been us.”

  “Stubborn asshole.” He sighed. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  They scrambled over to the basket and Billy told Wyatt to get in and he would hold on to the cable as it went up.

  “It can’t carry both of you,” the ranger yelled.

  Another explosion and the cabin shifted again.

  “What did he say?” Wyatt yelled.

  “He said…” Billy smiled. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

  Billy gave the ranger the thumbs-up and hopped off the basket. It shot up and Wyatt leaned over desperately reaching down. “NO!”

  It was too late. Billy looked up at him. Within seconds, the cabin gave way and Billy and the roof vanished into a gaping hole full of tongues of fire. The helicopter flew away, exploding out of the smoke as Wyatt stared back, his heart now in his throat.

  High above the treetops of Yellowstone, the four-seater Robinson R44 helicopter soared east over the scorched park heading for Cody so Tom could refuel. With the addition of the tearful stranger on board, it was carrying beyond the maximum weight allowance. Catherine clung to Jordan and ran a hand down his blackened face. Logan briefly asked the stranger what happened to the ranger but he just shook his head.

  “His name’s Wyatt,” Jordan said.

  Wyatt looked at him but said nothing. Few words were exchanged on the journey out of the park as all of them were in shock. Catherine stared out the window, grateful to have her son back in her arms and yet still concerned that the worst of it wasn’t over.

  Heavy flakes of ash fell like snow smothering the park like a gray blanket.

  Fortunately, four hours after refueling in Cody and continuing their journey east, her fears were soon relieved when the USGS team made contact and updated her on the situation. The conversation with Mark was brief and to the point as Rebecca was in no frame of mind to speak. “Over the past hour, quake frequency in Yellowstone has dropped off. Gas emissions are still high but we’re not getting the level of seismic activity as before. I’m not saying we’re out of the woods yet, but what we are seeing from the data is positive. It looks as if this was just a small eruption. Not the full thing. We’ll continue to monitor it closely over the next seventy-two hours.”

  “What was the magnitude of the last one?”

  “An M7.7. But like I said, the swarm has decreased and the last three have been 2.8, 2.1 and 1.6. Had it been over 8, I think we would have been looking at a full eruption. As it stands, we might have got lucky.”

  “You think NASA might have contributed to that?”

  Mark chuckled. “In more ways than one.”

  Catherine nodded and looked out. “Where are you now?”

  “In the air. We made it out of the park and headed to Billings to catch a private flight east. We’ll be working out of Maine if you want to join us there. What about you?”

  “On our way to New York. Any update on the death toll?”

  “Not so far. We’ll know in the coming week.”

  “Thanks, Mark.”

  “Look, Catherine, for what it’s worth I didn’t doubt you, and had I been in charge maybe this would have played out differently.”

  “I appreciate that.” She breathed in deeply. “What about Rebecca?”

  “Yeah, she’s in a bad state. She’s already handed in her resignation. She wanted me to pass on her apologies.”

  “A little late for that now.”

  “I know.”

  Silence stretched between them for a minute or two.

  “Maybe you should apply for her position.”

  “Me?” Mark asked.

  “You’re the best they have, Mark. And with Rebecca gone, they are going to need someone strong at the helm. “

  “We’ll see,” he said. “Look, stay safe and we’ll speak later.”

  After she got off the radio she walked back inside to join Logan, Jordan and Tom who were sitting in the lounge of a private airport just outside of Minneapolis.

  Epilogue

  TWO YEARS LATER

  The late September sun smiled warmly over the vast crowd gathered in Mammoth, Wyoming. Among the numerous people, Catherine, Jordan, Logan, Wyatt, Tom and Hayden stood outside the newly rebuilt Albright Visitor Center and Museum for a tree planting ceremony to commemorate the dead. Six thousand, four hundred and twenty-two visitors and workers died in the initial eruption, and another three thousand and seventy-eight from the volcanic ash fallout that spread further afield. Though extremely high in number, the toll was only a fraction of what it could have been had
it been a full eruption. Yellowstone had once again demonstrated its power, and its unpredictability. While over the past few years researchers and analysts had gathered at conferences to discuss the likelihood of another eruption, most were focused on learning from the past event. NASA and the USGS took the brunt of the criticism, as news and chat shows around the country pointed fingers and tried to turn it into something more than it was.

  Survivors from across the globe stood shoulder to shoulder as a sign of strength as the new superintendent, Michelle Douglas, thanked the newly appointed USGS scientist-in-charge Mark Bowman. He’d just finished giving a speech to discuss the lessons learned, and new technology they were working on to prevent a tragedy like this from happening ever again.

  “Thank you, Mr. Bowman,” Michelle said. “As all of you know, today is for us a bittersweet moment. While we will never forget the mistakes of the past, we learn and grow stronger because of them. However, that isn’t the reason why we are gathered here. We are here today to remember those who lost their lives, to celebrate who they were, who they could have been and to find comfort in each other. And let us never forget those who sacrificed themselves to save others.” She paused. “So, it’s with great joy that I get to unveil the plaque with the names of the fallen.” She stepped to her right and pulled away a white sheet that was attached to a commemorative wall near the visitor center. Behind it a gleaming bronze plaque had the inscriptions of thousands of names. There was a huge round of applause and then two minutes of silence followed.

  When the ceremony was over and the crowds began to thin out, Catherine told Logan and Tom she’d join them for coffee in a few minutes. Jordan had something he wanted to do first.

  She watched from a distance as her son walked over to one of the many trees they had planted that day. He stared down at it and removed a bandanna from around his wrist and tied it off around the Douglas fir. Wyatt walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think Billy would have appreciated that.”

  “You think so?”