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I was vaguely aware of someone lifting me up and carrying me. Somehow, I’d fallen asleep at my desk. Tiredly, I opened my eyes, spied Carmine, and closed them again. He laid me down on something soft, undressed from his protective gear, before climbing in beside me.
“Sorry babe, I stink, but I’m too tired to shower,” Carmine said, yawning and within seconds, he was snoring lightly. I yawned myself and snuggled into him.
I didn’t care that he smelt of smoke and sulphur. Carmine was safe—and here. That’s all I needed.
Chapter Eleven.
Molly
When I awoke the next morning, Carmine had already gone back out. Tiredly, I headed for the showers and grabbed some pastries as I sought out Susan.
“Here. What do you make of these readings?” Susan asked, shoving some papers at me. Squinting, I peered at them and frowned.
“Is that the latest seismic activity?”
“Yes.”
“How did the flow’s speed react to them?”
“The increase was slight, then it slowed,” Susan reported.
“Interesting. In my opinion, the lava flow is slowing gradually, which means it must be close to emptying the excess,” I suggested.
“That’s what I thought. The seismic readings are also dropping.”
“Which means the waves aren’t getting the pushback they were before. What I’d love to understand is how long this was buildingfor. We need more information. Because now it’s happened once, it will happen again,” I said.
“Agreed. I’ve already put a team together. We have them looking at other places that don’t have active volcanos and yet are showing signs similar to what we had here,” Susan replied.
“Do we have a working thesis, though?”
“Yes. Yours. We can use the patterns you found and apply them to other states until we create a proper programme. But if this is happening elsewhere, the quicker I get a team out there, the better,” Susan said.
“Oh.”
“You look overwhelmed, Molly. Don’t be. Once we finish up here, I’d love for you to come work with me at Eros and formulate a plan for how to track these anomalies.”
Emotionally, I choked up at being offered such a prestigious role.
Susan patted me awkwardly on the arm. “Molly, you earned this with your dedication and determination to prove something was wrong. You certainly stood your ground because you knew you were right. As I told you before, take the accolades you earned them.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Did we lose much of Rapid City last night?” I asked, uncomfortably changing the subject.
“The updated map is over there. Please do check it out,” Susan said and turned to Chief Howser, who called her.
I wandered over, needing some quiet time, and checked out the map. I winced as I saw how much it had absorbed. From the SD-44, it had finally slowed down at Lodge Street. But it had split and rolled down Canyon Lake Drive when it reached Canyon Lake. That meant there were two lava flows, and I wondered if that was the reason it had become slower.
The lava had flowed up side streets, and I glanced at the TV and saw burning images of houses. Yes, damage had been done.The map I was looking at showed that roads from Lakeview Drive to 7thAvenue and Elmhurst drive were gone. The lava had flowed over and buried them. That entire section of Rapid City had now been evacuated.
Sadly, I shook my head at the level of destruction. It was shocking, but nothing I’d not seen before.
“You okay, Doc?” someone asked, and I looked up and saw a dirty Klutz.
“Hi!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I worked the night shift. I’m heading for the showers, but noticed you here and thought I’d come over.”
“No, you’re fine. I was just thinking how lucky we were. There’s been no loss of life, although the damage to property is huge.”
