The Oblivious

Chapter One: Awakening

        The explosion sent out a shockwave reaching out several miles, blowing out windows and knocking down trees.  The crack of the loud boom and the violent gust of wind that followed was a warning to everyone to flee from their homes, yet thousands of people remained clueless.  In the upper Northwestern corner of Wyoming, the caldera that encompassed Yellowstone National Park had erupted.  

        The initial blast shot fragments of large boulders, some the size of small cars, into the sky.  An ocean of red ash spewed vertically into the atmosphere, like a reverse waterfall.  The volcano would leave the entire world in devastation, yet the chaos had a sequential order to it.  It first sent out sound waves of its explosion.  Then there followed a shockwave within the air, huge volumes of atmosphere being pushed out in every direction.  Energy moving through the ground traveled a slower speed and dissipated at longer distances, becoming a subtle rumble at the edges of the country.  More apparent would be the tsunami-sized wave of pyroclastic ash that followed, traveling at 70 mph and burning at 400ºF and spreading over the majority of North America.  Large volcanic debris stayed suspended in the atmosphere momentarily, carrying them even farther across the globe.  Gravity eventually pulled those boulders down, raining down burning sulfur on various locations around the world.

        Nathan knew he had to get to his family as soon as possible.  He rushed into his car and sped back to the cabins.  On the highway he watched cars drive over the median and turn around in the opposite direction.  His was the only car driving in the direction of the explosion.  Suddenly the car began to vibrate and then shook violently.  Nathan slowed down and parked the car in large ditch straddling between the two highway roads.  Sand and dust blew past and the car along with broken tree branches.  A strong gust of wind rushed through for about 45 seconds.  Nathan felt like he was trapped inside of a tornado.  As soon as it passed, Nathan got back on the road to get back to his family.

        It was only ten in the morning, but the closer he got to the cabin the darker the sky turned.  Nathan rolled onto the property and jumped out of the car.  The sky turned into a dark opaque gray.  He was able to look up directly into the Sun without hurting his eyes.  He ran up to his parents’ cabin and yelled out for his family.

        His older brother, Peter, walked out the front door with a solemn face.  He sat down on the steps and wrapped his arms around his knees.  Peter was about five inches taller than Nathan, with wide shoulders and a bulky form.  Peter had a broad chin and had a natural “tough guy” look to him.  So it was unsettling to see him on the edge of tears.

        “They’re gone,” said Peter.

        “What do you mean?” asked Nathan.  “Are they’re dead?”

        “No, they’re just gone.”

        Nathan rushed inside, crumpling over broken glass under his sneakers.  He saw several bodies on the ground.  Peter had laid them out in an orderly fashion, so as to prepare them for burial.  His mom and dad lay next to each other; Peter had folded their arms together so it looked like they were holding hands when they died.  His father had glass shards embedded into his face; he must have been looking out the window when the shockwave passed through.  The other bodies were unscathed, barely a scratch on any of them.  Nathan recognized every one of the bodies on his parents’ floor.  They were all close friends of his dad’s; people he called “aunts” and “uncles” when he was younger.

        Nathan looked for a pulse, even though Peter had already checked and double-checked each one of them.  Nathan jetted back outside to yell at his brother. “Peter, what do you mean ‘they’re gone’?  Their bodies are right there!” pointing back into the cabin.  “They’re not ‘gone,’ Peter!  THEY’RE DEAD!”