Eruption

One

Date: August 12th, 2029

Location: Los Angeles, California

5 hours before the eruption begins...

Jade gave her wife Tori Vega a quick kiss goodbye, then Tori kissed Jade's stomach. "You can't wait to meet our little girl, can you?" Jade asked through her laughter. "Nope. It all kind of feels like a dream, that you're my wife and we've got a baby on the way," Tori said. "Yeah, I feel the same way sometimes. I'm glad it's not a dream, though," Jade replied, heading out to her car.

Jade had just gotten into a song on the radio that Tori had released when it was interrupted. "Oh, come on!" She said in frustration. "We apologize for the interruption of the music," one of the radio hosts began. "You damn well better be," Jade muttered under her breath. "The latest report from the USGS indicates that a significant seismic event may be about to hit Yellowstone National Park. Duna Nichs, a senior seismologist and volcanologist stated in an interview this morning that it was, quote, 'highly likely that the supervolcano beneath the park will erupt very soon, potentially as soon as next week.' We'll keep you posted on the situation as it develops," the host said, and Jade's phone rang at almost the same time. She checked the screen and saw that it was Duna, so she answered it. "Hey Duna. What's up?" Jade asked. "Jade, I don't have a whole lot of time. Yellowstone is going to blow tomorrow at the latest," Duna said rather quickly. "I thought the soonest it would erupt was next week," Jade said. "That was just to try and diffuse some of the panic while we formulate a plan. Get your wife and get as far away as you can, you hear me?" Duna asked. "What about you?" Jade asked with worry in her voice. "I don't want you to worry about me. I'll make it out of this somehow. I don't want to live knowing that I could have warned you and I didn't. Please, just do as I ask," Duna said. "Okay. Thanks for the information. See you soon," Jade said. "See you," Duna replied, hanging up on her end. Jade turned around at the nearest intersection and sped off back towards her house.

"Jade, what's wrong?" Tori asked. "We've got to leave," Jade said. "Why?" Tori asked, so Jade briefly explained what Duna had told her. "I agree with her. We need to get somewhere safe," Tori said as Jade received an alert on her phone. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit," she said, starting to pace around the room. "What is it?" Tori asked. "They grounded all flights due to the impending eruption. We're stuck here," Jade said. "Not necessarily. We can take the car and drive to Alaska or something," Tori said. "And what do we do when the roads become impassable because of evacuations, hmm?" Jade asked, putting her hand on her hip. "Then we take as many supplies as we can and make a run for the nearest shelter," Tori said. "You forgot one crucial detail about that," Jade replied, pointing to her stomach. "Shit, you're right," she said. "I usually am. This is getting really complicated, babe," Jade said, sitting down to rest for a few minutes. 

Location: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

4 hours, 53 minutes before eruption begins...

Duna's tail swished nervously. Things were looking dire, and she felt helpless for the first time she could remember. She couldn't stay still for very long without getting overwhelmed by the discoveries she'd made, and pacing had always helped to calm her nerves. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called her girlfriend, Alexis Xeron, to let her know about the impending eruption. "Duna, babe, relax. You're gonna overwork yourself again. Look, I know that what you're doing is important, but maybe it's time for you to come home to DC," she said. "I can't. I just got a call this morning from my boss. He said he wants me on-site to monitor everything," Duna explained. "He clearly doesn't understand what you know. Did you tell him that the volcano could erupt any moment?" Alexis asked. "I did, but he told me that I was overreacting," Duna replied flatly. "Duna, please. Come home to me, before it's too late," Alexis said, and Duna relented. "Okay, you've convinced me. I'm on my way to my car right now," she said before she hung up. "Listen, Josh, I've got to get home to my girlfriend. Can you handle things here?" She asked the lead volcanologist on the site. "Yeah, I'll be good. Look, in case this is the last time that we see each other, I just want you to know that I've always really admired your work. You are going to do amazing things, I have no doubt about that. Be careful, and stay safe," Josh said. "I've always looked up to you, Josh. I honestly don't know how you've managed to live on your own for as long as you have. If you can, try and send me some pictures of the eruption," Duna said, giving him a quick hug. "See you," he said with a wave. "See you," she replied, waving back at him. Just before she got into her car, she felt a short burst of strong wind blow past her, and she turned around to find that a minor eruption had occurred, probably VEI-3 at the most. Even so, the cloud of ash and smoke was immense, so she quickly decided to get into her car and leave before she was suffocated by the toxic ash. 

Location: Hogsmeade Village

4 hours before eruption begins...

"Harry, you can be such a weirdo sometimes!" Ginny called out to her husband Harry, who was dancing like he was alone. "I know. That's part of why you love me," he replied, and Ginny simply laughed. "Did you hear about that volcano in America? The one that's gonna erupt any time now?" She asked him. "Oh, you mean Yellowstone? Yeah. It's going to plunge the world into something that I think is called a black winter, and the ash from the eruption is gonna block out the sun for a year or two," he replied.

Location: Somewhere in California

3 hours, 45 minutes before eruption begins...

Jade winced and held her belly, not for the first time during the trip. "You gonna be okay, babe?" Tori asked her. "Mm-hmm. Damn Braxton Hicks contractions. I feel like curling up in bed and falling asleep, honestly," she replied. "I know, sweetie, I know. I'm surprised that there aren't more cars on the road, honestly," Tori remarked. "Yeah, we might actually make i- LOOK OUT!" Jade shouted suddenly, and Tori slammed on the brakes to try and avoid a large fissure in the ground ahead of them. Unfortunately, the front tires ended up slipping into the fissure, leaving them stuck. Worse, Tori had been knocked out after hitting her head on the steering wheel due to the sudden deceleration. "Damn. I guess I have to get all of us out of here, and fast," she said softly to her belly. She unbuckled her seat belt and managed to lean over to free Tori, whose seat belt was stuck. "Thank God I always carry a pair of scissors," she said, taking a pair of scissors out of her pocket and starting to cut through Tori's seat belt to free her. It took a few tense moments, but eventually she had cut through the seat belt, wasting no time hauling Tori out of the car, just before it fell into the fissure.

Location: Auradon

3 hours, 18 minutes before eruption begins...

Ben and Mal watched the coverage of the Yellowstone event on their television, their concern growing. Ben had already promised to help the United States as soon as it was safe enough to do so. "I'm relieved that we're not in America right now," Ben sighed. "Yeah, so am I. Too much chaos for my liking," Mal replied.

Location: Old Faithful Inn

3 hours before eruption begins...

Elsa had seen the entire event unfold from her hotel room, and decided to create a dome of ice above the hotel to protect it and the people staying there from the eruption, though she wasn't sure if it would hold, so she and the rest of the hotel guests and staff had moved to an underground survival bunker located nearby.

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Okay. I know this story is a bit all over the place, so I'm probably going to make each chapter about a different set of characters. Until next time!