Cataclysm

As Sara reached for a gallon of milk, alerts blared all around the grocery store.

"THE EMERGENCY BROADCASTING SYSTEM HAS ISSUED AN EVACUATION NOTICE FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF LASSEN AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES. YOU ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER. THIS IS NOT A TEST. YELLOWSTONE CALDERA IS ERUPTING".

Sara gasps and grabs a heart-shaped locket around her neck. With urgency, she leaves her basket behind and rushes to her car. Her grandma lived near the caldera. She was about half an hour drive away.

As she began the trip towards her grandmother, her phone rings. It was her mom. "Hello" Sara says. "Thank God you're ok, did you hear? The supervolcano is erupting", her mother replies. "And a tsunami is headed to the coasts of California".

In shock, for a moment, Sara is speechless. She gathers her thoughts and tells her mother, "Traffic is jamming up. I'm on my way to get grandma, will you let her know? I've got to focus on driving. When I get there I'll call you back." "Ok. Be safe and Sara, I love you", her mom says.

She hangs up and turns on the radio. "This is breaking news. An asteroid the size of a mountain has fallen into the Pacific Ocean fracturing the sea floor.", the announcer says. "According to NASA this enormous asteroid has been slightly ahead of earth's orbit, inching closer for years."

"Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have been triggered causing ripple effects across the ring of fire. An area on the rim of the Pacific Ocean, which contains 850 to 1000 active volcanoes. Where activity's been increasing in the past few years".

Flipping to another station for a local report she hears, "All who are in the area should leave immediately". Fallout from Yellowstone could reach a thousand miles or more.

People are in a state of shock and mayhem. She's concerned she won't make it and begins to pray.

Finally, she arrives. The ground is shaking. Having been in earthquakes before, she could tell something was different. "Grandma", she says "we've got to go, did you talk to Mom? "I did dear" her grandma replied. Sara says "Let's get in the car, we're headed to Mom's". As Sara grabs a couple of bags, her grandmother goes to retrieve something and returns. Sara calls her mom to let her know she's there and leaving now.

Traffic is horrible. Congested with everyone trying to leave. Taking some back roads, they're able to cover more ground. Sara's stomach is twisted in knots as the earth continues to rumble beneath them.

Putting about an hour and a half between them and Lassen county, a black cloud of smoke looms in the distance.

The radio news has confirmed the eruption of Yellowstone. Her heart sinks. She's full of disconcerted feelings.

Soon after, she could see a dark veil of ash spreading out and rapidly moving closer. Sara was doing her best to put her thoughts aside and push forward. She had to get them to her mom's.

Before long it began raining ashes. Like embery gray snowflakes floating down. Then it became even worse. The windshield wipers on the car couldn't bare the weight of the thick ashes that were now falling. Sara could no longer continue.

Picking up her phone, thankful she still had a signal, she calls her mom. "Mom", holding back her emotions. "We can't go any further, the ash is too dense. I can't see to drive. I'm frightened".

A hand touches hers. "Don't be scared," her grandma says. "There's nothing to fear. Just hold on to hope, faith, and love to guide you through."

Her mom had been listening. "Grandma is right, Sara. You are not alone. Just stay in the car until it's over".

Reminiscing, they sit and wait until hours had gone by. By this time the soot had surrounded them.

Keeping her phone charged and periodically talking to her mom, they ran the car as long as possible using the a/c, and listening to the radio. Eventually, the engine became corroded with the charcoal sediments and locked up. The longer they sat there the harder it was to breathe.

Reports are saying nearly 300,000 are missing or have perished in the waves that engulfed the west coast. The fallout from volcanic eruptions is still impending. No other devastation in the 21st century can compare. Sara can't believe what she's hearing.

Thoughts bring her to when she was a child. Running around her grandmother's yard. Playing hide and go seek with her best friend. Flying kites. Camping in Yellowstone. Roasting marshmallows with her dad at Bridge Bay, her favorite campground there. Summer trips to the coast.

Her phone is the only source of information she has. She reads..."The fallout has reached over half of the United States. An eruption of this kind has not occurred for more than 630,000 years, scientists have been warning of concerns over effects an event of this magnitude could have on the entire Earth."

Sara wondered how all of the chaos would change the world as she knows it. How geography would be altered. Where people would live? What would become of government and infrastructure for millions of people? Who and what would remain? Time would tell.

She kept a roadside emergency supply in the back of her car. "Grandma, I'm going to open the door and make my way to the trunk. There's some water and snacks in there. I need you to cover your mouth and nose". Her grandma did as she'd asked.

Protecting her face, she got out. Looking around, all color had been blanketed with a sea of gray covering every inch of the horizon. She quickly grabbed the items she needed and got back into the car.

Shutting the door, she glances over to see an adoration in her grandmother's eyes. There was a compassion, an articulation of love she hadn't been aware of before.

"Sweetheart," her grandma said. "Your actions show me how much you love me. Weekly dinner visits, flowers with roots and one's in bouquets. Leaving special notes or treats when you visit. The effort you've shown me has been enough. You didn't have to come for me. You could have saved yourself". "How could I leave without you Grandma?". "You're the reason I have hope. Watching your life gives me courage to believe. I've seen you give your last dollar to someone in need. You've taken your time and used it to care for those who were lonely or had a broken heart."

Once, you noticed a homeless lady that didn't have a coat. She was crying and shivering in the cold. You took yours off and gave it to her."

"I recall a day when there was a lady in the line in front of you at the grocery store. You saw she had children. It seemed she was struggling and you felt she could use some help. I remember her face when you paid for her groceries and gave her twenty dollars. Her eyes welled with tears. With a hug and thank you, she explained how she needed groceries for her kids and was using part of her car payment. Now she could make her payment and get her kids something they'd been asking for."

"You are the most thoughtful, generous being I have ever known. Your example has made me a better me and I love you. I would have never left you."

When I first heard the alert. My first thoughts were of you. The locket you gave me. What you mean to me." They continue a while sharing their deepest care for one another.

Sara's mom called and asked if they'd heard EMS were beginning search efforts. She'd already let someone know their location. "Try to stay calm and rest". It would be awhile but help was on the way.

Sara told her mom, "My phone is nearly dead, you may not be able to reach me again". They expressed their love to each other and their phones were disconnected.

Reassured she stepped out and did her best to uncover the layers of flaky ash off the car. Rescue workers would find them easier if the car didn't blend in, she thought.

Inside the car the air was becoming dense. The air they were breathing had a taste like a musty ash. In a deafening silence they waited.

After what seemed to be days in the darkness, they heard sounds of heavy trucks and voices. "Sara?",someone called in the distance. Not having much left in her to speak she gathers her strength and honks the horn. Aide rushes in.

FEMA had set up some temporary facilities just past the fallout zone. There were so many people there. All in a state of confusion. It was hard to believe.

After a few days Sara began to recover. The last thing she remembers were men in gas masks, and being separated from her grandmother.

Finally she talks to her mom. "Where's Grandma?" There's a moment of silence. "Sweetheart, grandma didn't make it". Grief stricken, she began to sob. "It's ok, Sara," her mother said. "Her love is inside of you".

Taking off her necklace, opening the locket, inscribed "It Is Well", and recalling the day it was given to her. A picture revealing a younger version of their relationship. She smiled, that photo session was a blast now etched in time.

Sara mourned the loss of her grandma. Pondering how an Infinitely Divine Creator used that special time with her in that car. A moment to build one last beautiful memory. One that will stay with her and for that she was thankful.

Consequences of these catastrophic events became more evident in the coming months. Hundreds of thousands around the world had been displaced or lost their lives. Shorelines changed forever. The beautiful Yellowstone now a burnt up, rocky wasteland.

The entire world was forever changed. Those that remained would face hardships never seen in the modern world. There was no more trading across seas. After supplies were gone, so were groceries and essentials.

With a new understanding, she was grateful that her dad forced her to watch hours of Discovery's survivalist programs. She felt blessed to have been given knowledge by Youtube Channels like Roots and Refuge and a few others that had taught her she was capable to grow food for herself and could indeed handle the tasks at hand. She began to realize a purpose in it all. For a time such as this. These days everything is about survival and this, well this was no episode of Survivor.

The east coast and states that had been the least affected faced their own aftermath. Spreading like wildfire, it was the beginning of cyber warfare. Gang violence. Drug cartels crossing borders. Riots and looting. White House protests demanding assistance.

There were reports of the UN making plans to send humanitarian and military aide. They were calling it, the Treaty of the New World. It was a turbulent hour. A season of great pandemonium. Sara was glad her grandmother didn't have to face this.

After a while, more order had been made. At least where they were. FEMA had now set up trailer and campground sites. Where fences kept everyone safe. So it was told. Everyone had jobs to do. You could go anywhere within the fences but weren't allowed outside.

That's where I met Sara. She and I became friends for life. Nothing is the same. There are rumors of world wars. The UN facing battles for power through various means of warfare. Our future is unclear.

I think, it's all part of a bigger plan. I believe these events became a resource for capital gain. I'm beginning to think I'm a prisoner stuck inside these fences, being told when and what to do. Knowing only what they want me to. What other choices are there anyways?

I'm a thinker though, and a thinker's gonna' think.