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“I would say so. But I think a lot of this will vaporise as it hits the lava, cooling it down quickly. But yes, plan your defences,” Dr Shaken agreed.
“Anything else going to hit us?” Howser demanded.
“Don’t tempt fate!” Axel boomed.
???
Dr Shaken wasn’t wrong. By nine that night, the blocked Rapid Creek burst over the top of the cooling lava blocking it and spiralled down the valley. Due to the intense heat, Dr Shaken was correct; the lava cooled down quickly, forming a crust. But it also meant that it didn’t flood the downtown area like we’d expected. We were all thanking God for small mercies.
???
I wriggled in my seat, excited beyond belief. This was my first ballgame experience. It was two weeks since the eruption at Buzzard’s point. Beside me sat Serenity and Jodie, with Phoesitting next to Jodie. Around us was the entirety of Rage MC. A point was very clearly being made, and several times, we’d ended up on the screens they had.
We were at a rival’s ballpark in New York and the crowds were huge. The number of attendees shocked me. There was a great buzz in the air, and I was amazed at how big a section we took up. The brothers had flown out with their old ladies and all the kids, including the babies. We must have looked an intimidating sight as we arrived together, all wearing our tees with Carmine’s name and number on.
The media had gone into a frenzy on seeing Serenity, Jodie, and some of the others and had tried speaking to them. Only to be shoved away by hulking, glowering bikers. I didn’t realise that Rage held some pretty famous ladies.
A frightening thing was several reporters kept trying to talk to me, but Carmine’s brothers, Cody, Harley and Christian, sent them warning looks and, in some cases, blocked them with their bodies.
Now we were watching the rival ball team warm up as we waited for Carmine’s arriving on field. Carmine had left me three days ago, returning to his club as soon as the doctor had proclaimed him healed. He’d made arrangements for me to come out and stay for two weeks, which Susan had authorised.
I was starting work for her officially in four weeks’ time, something I was ecstatic about. I was going to be based in South Dakota and would be employed at EROS three days a week and the rest from home. Due to the events that had happened in South Dakota, Dr White had basically been told to quit and had slunk away. Dr Bagshaw had taken his place with Susan’s support and my parents had been reassigned to scut work.
Susan remained in control of EROS, which meant she could hire me. She was putting me in charge of the team that was going to study and monitor the Hills for further activity. As Carminehad promised me, everything had come right and now I was here waiting for him to play his first game since we’d met.
“This is intense,” I muttered to nobody in particular.
“It gets worse when they start. Carmine’s team needs to win this one,” Jodie replied.
“Why?”
“It puts them in pole position to win the NL and then they play the World Series,” Jodie said.
“But we’re in the middle of the season, right?” I asked.
“It ends the first week of October. The World Series would start three to four weeks after that,” Jodie answered.
“At the moment, Carmine’s team is ahead by twelve points. If they can extend their lead, at the top of the NL, they’ll go through to the Division Series leading to the World Series.”
Carmine had explained this, but a refresh didn’t hurt. I listened to Jodie once more explaining the game to me and asked pertinent questions. Jodie had just wound up when Harley handed us a tray of hotdogs and popcorn. Behind him, Cody handed us colas.
A cheer sounded as Carmine’s team appeared. To my amusement, Jodie and Serenity both leapt up, screaming their support. Carmine jogged out, and his searching eyes found us. I offered a shy wave, and Carmine broke into a grin. He spoke to a teammate and hurried over.
“Come here, sweet girl,” he called up to me. I was two rows away, and Serenity yanked me to my feet and shoved me down the steps to him. Carmine was laughing as I approached, and he grabbed and cupped my face.
“Wish me luck,” he murmured and kissed me. The surrounding crowd went wild as Carmine broke off and ran to his dugout.
I stood there stunned with a smile and then hurried back to my seat, blushing red.
“You and Carmine were on the Jumbotron,” Serenity giggled as I glanced up and saw myself on screen.
“Oh!” I cried, going even redder and hiding behind Serenity. The crowd laughed, and the screen swapped to the dugouts.
The opposing team batted first. I watched as Carmine pitched perfectly and was shocked when our side jumped up and cheered.
“Is that usual?” I asked Jodie when she calmed down.
“Yeah, a pitcher can strike everyone out in an inning, it’s a good sign for the game,” Jodie replied.
