Page 18 of Carmine

“But they’re saying—”

“There is cause for concern. That they have seen some volcanic activity that doesn’t make sense and are investigating it,” Dylan Hawthorne interrupted.

“Three years ago, this woman warned people and was laughed at. I heard that from the other doctor. He was calling her a crank and now it seems she’s not. Why was she mocked and sacked?” Austin demanded.

“Because some of my colleagues don’t appreciate things that don’t fit into their teachings and ideas. Because they are blinkered and idiots. And if something doesn’t align with their theories, they ridicule it rather than give it credence.

“Luckily, despite her rough treatment, Dr Balfour-Cherlyn kept at it instead of throwing in the towel. It would have been quite easy for her to sit on her heels, wait for whatever is going to happen to occur and come out and say I warned you, and you laughed at me. Dr Balfour-Cherlyn has done her very best considering the extenuating circumstances, and we owe her thanks,” Dr Jones-White replied. “Now, please. If you don’t mind, I must organise my department and get things moving. The sooner we have teams monitoring, the quicker we can figure out what’s happening.”

“Come with us, Mayor Austin. We need you to assist in coordinating everything,” Phoe ordered, taking his arm.

“I’ll stay with Doc,” Drake said as half the room began filing out. “Do you require people to record things immediately?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Can you show my brothers how to read equipment, and we’ll send them into the field?”

“Include Davies in that, he can organise Hawthorne’s to meet you there or here,” Dylan offered as he left. Another man stepped into his place.

“Davies,” Drake acknowledged with a nod.

“Drake. Dr Balfour-Cherlyn, show me what I need to know,” Davies said.

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather Dr Bagshaw show you so I can get started with Dr Balfour-Cherlyn,” Dr Jones-White interrupted.

“Fine with me,” Davies replied.

???

Hours later, I stretched, feeling the ache in my shoulders. Dr Jones-White had dissected my data and had come to the same conclusion I had. Only nobody was calling her a crank. I suppose when one of the most respected volcanologists out there says something is wrong, people listen.

Dr Stevens had called in groups from EROS, who were now boarding a private plane that had been sent to them by Phoe. Drs Dune and Bagshaw had headed into the Hills with my maps and were leading mixed teams to the areas I’d been monitoring.

The emergency evacuation meeting had wound up, and people were heading out there to ensure their roles were completed. Dr Jones-White had contacted the GS head office and torn my old boss a new asshole. And then she’d demanded help be sent. What we were seeing was something that we’d never encountered.

Despite the possibility of a false alarm, this was a new experience for us. And the truth was, we were now winging it. The protocols for volcanoes and other activities weren’t suitable, but they were all we had to rely on.

Dr Trevelyan from the university had returned to his post but was sending some of his students our way tomorrow. Even if it was to make coffee and fetch food. He’d decided this would be a good learning curve for them. And my hypothesis was new and exciting, according to him.

Phoenix had booked an entire local campground for two weeks that had cottages just off of Chapel Ln. Ground Zero, as far as I was concerned. I was certain the lava would flow in that direction. Despite how slowly lava moved, we only had a limited time to evacuate people.

The speed of the flow depended on the steepness of the terrain and also on which type of flow it was. For example, basalt moved slower than andesite flows. If it advanced at the average ten miles per hour, it would take twenty minutes to reach the outskirts of Rapid City. The evacuation of those neighbourhoods needed more than twenty minutes. If it travelled at five mph, we had thirty minutes.

It was a worry.

A bunch of women had brought food half an hour ago, and I was just breaking to eat. As Dr Jones-White and I took a plate and started helping ourselves, a tremor sent us staggering. I began counting out loud and hit twenty-three before it stopped. As soon as we were stable, we dashed to our laptops.

“That was longer than any recorded before and stronger,” I said as I typed into the database.

“Did you guys feel that? The seismic meter thingy says it was a three point five,” a radio shrieked.

“Got it, thank you,” I replied as I brought up the meters I’d been monitoring. “Confirmed, three point five measured, and itlasted twenty-four seconds. That’s the strongest we’ve had. It also confirms that these are escalating.”

“Apparently so. EROS has the same data you have. Interesting, it showed a minor quake of one point five, five minutes before the bigger one,” Dr Jones-White said.

“I see it now. That is far too close together,” I puzzled.

“Yes. And to jump that quickly. How curious,” Dr Jones-White agreed.

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