"Hey Alex. I'm going to get closer to Olympus Mons to see if I can make out any changes in the volcano's activity." I said.
"Alright Walter, just be careful going out there. Communication is spotty when you're out there." he said
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. But thanks."
With that, I headed off in the direction of Olympus Mons. The walk to where I could get a better view of if was not a very long one, only about two hours or so, then another two hours back. I brought a pair of binoculars with me so I could see it from a greater distance away, in greater detail, without having to get closer.
When I finally got to where I was walking to, I could not believe my eyes. Even from the distance I was at, away from the volcano, I could see what looked like black smoke billowing out from the top of Olympus Mons. I frantically grabbed my binoculars and looked through them to make sure I wasn't imagining what I was seeing, and to my disappointment, I wasn't. Black smoke billowing out of a volcano in the amounts that it was, could only mean one thing; this volcano is going to erupt, sooner, rather than later.
I began to make my way back to the base camp to inform everyone of this, and that was been, it happened. Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in existence, having laid dormant for nearly two centuries, has finally released all its fury into one, single, eruption. The ground shook so violently, I couldn't even stand. The force of the shock wave from the eruption finally hit me after a few second and it blew me back several feet, picking me up as if I were a leaf, in the summer breeze. Unbelievable amounts of molten rock and ash began spewing out of the massive volcano. At that moment, I knew that we needed to get off of Mars. Now.
To be continued...
