Kindle Edition
Amazon
Amazon
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10: 1519762283
Type: Fiction
Pages: 286
Copyright: Jan 22, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781519762283
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
In the style of Irwin Allen, the master of disaster, FRACKED: Earth’s warning!, puts Yellowstone’s Old Faithful at the center of a “what if.” Could fracking crack open one of the world’s largest super volcanoes? Follow geologist, Gary Hawkins, and a group of heroes as they struggle to escape unprecedented devastation.
Tap …
When the charred remains of a hiker are found at Yellowstone’s Solitary Geyser, no one wants to listen.
Tap, tap …
When geologist Dr. Gary Hawkins presents unparalleled evidence to support the effects of fracking and earthquakes, no one wants to listen.
Tap, crack…
When the Old Faithful basin tries to warn with its largest earthquake ever and animals are fighting to escape, no one wants to listen.
Instead, busloads of tourists arrive eager to capture Yellowstone’s power.
Only now the world’s largest super volcano is cracking open, ready to show its power … and it’s too late to listen.
Excerpt
By 8:30 pm, many of the boardwalks around the Old Faithful basin were vacant especially farther away from the geyser. With the sun down behind the caldera’s edge and the tree line, a chill spread across the area. One of the park rangers, just finishing a talk at the geyser area called Lion Group, walked past an elderly man. “Good evening sir, where ya headed?”
The tourist pulled up his collar and adjusted his camera strap. “Just going up to catch a glimpse of Solitary Geyser. It’s on list of geysers to visit before I leave tomorrow.”
“Where you from?”
“I just retired from teaching back in Ohio,” Jerry, a middle school band director of 40 years, answered proudly. “Yellowstone has been number one on my bucket list for years.”
“Well, be careful. We got a report of a grizzly around there a couple days ago. Just be sure to make lots of noise. Also you’ll be amazed at how fast it gets dark after the sun goes down over those mountains. Do you have any bear spray?”
“No?” I wish he’d stopping bugging me. I wanna check out this geyser before it’s too dark.
“Just be extra careful. Do you have a flashlight? Those trails have lots of tree roots and rocks sticking up. We don’t want you tripping and breaking an ankle or leg.”
The man pulled a key chain out of his pocket and proudly displayed a small LED flashlight dangling.
“If I may suggest, forget going up there now and go early in the morning. You’d probably see better and the geysers in the morning are just awesome,” the ranger said.
The man started walking and replied, “I can’t. I have to leave really early. I’m heading up to Glacier Park and I want to make it in one day. It’s a long drive. I’ll be fine. I better get going. Thanks and have a good evening.”
“Be careful,” the ranger said, resuming his walk back to headquarters.
Finally … now I have to make up the time, Jerry thought as he increased his pace going up the dirt path to the geyser. Dodging rocks and tree roots coupled with the increase of altitude, his breathing became strained, pausing once to bend over and catch his breath. Determined to see the geyser erupt, he attempted to sprint up the last stretch to the trail. He stopped a few feet before the outcropping of the thermal area. “Good, there’s enough light still. The book says this guy is supposed to erupt every four to eight minutes. I hope it goes off soon before the light gets too bad,” he said, glancing at his watch as he walked to the railing. He took out his camera and adjusted the settings, snapping off a few shots to check the exposure.
After ten minutes, only a faint dim light remained. He squinted at the darkness enveloping the descending trail back to the boardwalk. “Crap, I was hoping to watch this erupt. Wonder what happen to every four to eight minutes. Guess his schedule must be off. Not too faithful this one,” he muttered. As he turned to leave, he flipped on his LED flashlight. Nothing happened. “Crap, it probably needs–”
A sudden, violent upheaval of the ground caused him to stumble, trip on a rock pointing out of the dirt, and fall flat on his stomach, knocking the air out of him. “Shit!” As he tried to regain his breathing, he choked as his lungs inhaled a strong dose of sulfur as if the fumes of hell suddenly ventilated into the area. Sitting up, he examined his camera. “Damn, the lens looks like it’s–” Without any warning, a deafening roar resembling the sound eerily close to the low frequency produced by a Boeing 747 jumbo jet reverberated from Solitary geyser. He looked over his shoulder at the steaming geyser in time to see an enormous lava bomb the size of a Mini-Cooper spew out of the geyser’s pool trailing a stream of molten lava. Before he could stand, the projectile landed on his legs. The scream, he so wanted to unleash, never made it out of his mouth as the trailing lava stream found the rest of his body, blanketing him in molten rock. His camera rolled down the dark trail finding a resting place in tall grass.
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