Craters of the Moon

"10 seconds until we are live, people!" screamed her producer.

Jeannie steadied herself, knowing in 10 seconds that life would never be the same. As she waited for the green light to flash and a thumbs-up signal from her producer, she was in shock. All Jeannie could think of was trivialities: who would pick up her dry cleaning if she couldn't leave the house due to paparazzi? Should she have rescheduled her DMV appointment? Why were the hosta shrubs in the front yard turning brown?

6 months earlier, Jeannie had landed the senior meteorologist job at WPOC-TV, the leading local news channel out of Pocatello, Idaho, broadcasting to 50,000 viewers.

Never could she have dreamed that she would be at the center of a scandal that could rock the entire country — maybe the whole world? What she observed could fundamentally change our lives.

Jeannie wanted to wait a few more days. She tried to gather more scientists, climatologists, and doctors' opinions before she officially reported her story, but a few details had already leaked online, and the conspiracy chatter ensued.

The station manager insisted she had to go live and on the record as soon as possible before speculations and misinformation spiraled out of control.

Jeannie was ready, even though this would be career suicide.

The words "EMERGENCY BREAKING NEWS" splashed up on the screen as the station's theme song played.

"Cue Camera One!" shouted her producer ... and 3-2-1…."

*THE GREEN LIGHT STARTED FLASHING*

Deep breath!

"Hello, I'm Jeannie Witts for WPOC-TV, and this is an emergency broadcast. I know many of you have heard rumors in the last 24 hours regarding the unfolding situation at Craters of the Moon National Monument, but I'd like to tell you my experience in my own words," she said stone-faced.

About 3 months ago, in the dead of summer, Jeannie and two of her fellow meteorologists traveled to Craters of The Moon, a dormant volcano and state park located about 90 minutes from the TV station. They had been invited by a group of five local scientists to observe the annual upgrade and installation of the on-site seismic monitors. These particular monitors boasted the latest in technology and had been imported from overseas somewhere.

Since then, both her fellow meteorologists and all five scientists had become blind, deaf, completely paralyzed, and comatose, and the cause was unknown – at least to the public; only Jeannie knew the whole truth.

She began to calmly explain, "I participated in a seismic monitor installation in July this summer at the Craters of the Moon National Monument with both of my colleagues at WPOC–TV as well as several scientists from the National Weather Service. What I am about to tell you may seem unbelievable, but it is the truth, and because I took an oath as a journalist, I am compelled to share my story no matter how absurd it may sound," she said.

"As we cleared the peak of the volcano and entered into one of the craters, the scientists started distributing the monitors in a circle about 20 yards wide and turned them all on. Everything seemed normal, but then we began to hear a high-pitched sound – a barely detectable wavelength. Slowly the sound got louder – a lot louder. Thankfully I had my noise-canceling earphones in my broadcast go-bag and grabbed them immediately, but the others fell to the ground in agony, bleeding from their ears."

She explained, "then the sound started beating in a pattern. I raced from machine to machine to try and turn the monitors off, but none of the switches worked. Just then, the ground began to rumble from the thumping sound, and as it did…" (she paused to take a breath), "hundreds of porcupines emerged from behind the rocks. We were surrounded on all sides."

Jeannie looked up from the camera momentarily to witness the spellbound expressions on the faces of the studio crew. She continued.

"And as if in unison, the porcupines began to blast their quills into the group," she said. A scared cameraman nervously snickered under his breath. Jeannie bravely continued.

"I'm not sure why I was spared. It was so humid, most everyone was wearing shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. But because they were already low to the ground, they were hit in the face and eyes by the piercing quills," she explained. Thankfully I was still standing and was only hit in the ankles and shins, but luckily I was wearing my rain boots from the weather van because I had forgotten my sandals at home. My skin was protected."

She started to tear up. "It was all happening so fast, and I had nowhere to go as they closed in; I didn't know what was happening or what nightmare I was living in," she recounted. "As I watched everyone writhe in agony, I could tell there was a pitch shift in the sound being emitted from the monitors. All at once, the porcupines scampered away … but then hundreds of rattlesnakes began to emerge from holes in the ground and coil themselves around everyone's bodies. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing! Eventually, I was able to fight off the snakes trying to bite me with my travel umbrella. I leaped over the crater's edge and ran down the hill as fast as I could to get help."

"Cue Camera 2," her producer whispered from the control room.

"Because of injuries to their eyes and ears and the snake poison in their systems, they've all been paralyzed. None of my colleagues have been able to convey the actual events of that day and will probably be too traumatized to even try if they ever recover. I am the sole survivor," she sobbed.

"And go!" he whispered. The camera zoomed in on Jeannie's face.

You could hear a pin drop in the studio as jaws gaped and eyes widened.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, while I may be laughed out of this studio, or worse yet, be killed for doing my job, what I think I have witnessed is a mass weaponization of our wildlife through sound. My colleagues and I found ourselves in the middle of some kind of terrifying desert experiment. I do not know how far-reaching this is or the 'who what, when where, and why.' I will leave that to the authorities and the politicians. All I know is that I'm lucky to be alive," she gasped.

"I want to assure you that the top scientists, doctors, and law enforcement officials are looking into my experience and allegations. We urge you to stay away from the park until there is more news to report. As for me, I'll be taking a leave of absence effective immediately. This has been an Emergency Update from WPOC-TV. Jeannie Witts signing off!”

The screen went black, then to rainbow bars, and suddenly, an "Outer Limits Fun Zone" commercial began to play. The TV station's phone started ringing off the hook.