When the Volcano Awakens

It was the 99th time Tessa and I were supposed to get our marriage license. After a single phone call, she told me she had to take her uncle for a medical check-up. We’d have to do it another time. I was about to protest when a stream of text suddenly materialized before my eyes. 【Don’t. Just let her go.】 【In your past life, your girlfriend insisted on going with her uncle. You went back to the observatory alone and predicted that the dormant volcano next to Fenton Creek would erupt tonight. You intercepted Tessa and forced her to go back to the village, saving her grandfather.】 【Her uncle, Adrian, was diagnosed with terminal cancer during his solo check-up. In despair, he threw himself from the hospital roof.】 【After Adrian’s death, Tessa blamed you for everything. She laced your dinner with rat poison and killed you.】 … I froze, every muscle in my body locking up. As the text continued to flicker, a searing pain erupted in my abdomen—the phantom memory of being poisoned, so vivid it felt like it was happening all over again. Seeing me stunned, Tessa’s voice sharpened with impatience. “Sean, get out of my way! I have to get my uncle to the hospital!” I stared at her familiar face, a storm of emotions churning inside me. Could she really hate me so much over Adrian’s death? Enough to murder me? Tessa and I had worked together for years at the Volcano Observatory. Proximity had blossomed into love. But she’d always been honest about one thing: she’d been in love with her sickly uncle, Adrian, since they were children. Adrian was her grandfather’s adopted son, and her grandfather had strictly forbidden any romantic relationship between them. She never brought it up again, but her feelings for Adrian remained something more than familial, yet not quite a lover’s. She could never fully commit to us. I loved Tessa deeply and was still willing to marry her. I did everything I could for her, hoping my devotion would eventually win her heart. But it wasn’t long before she asked Adrian to move in with us. She gave him the master bedroom and relegated me to the guest room, claiming his poor health required round-the-clock care. I told myself it didn’t matter. They were just family. … “Are you even listening to me?” Tessa’s shrill voice sliced through my thoughts. I snapped back to reality and quickly turned to my computer. I pulled up the eruption forecast data, printed it, and shoved it in front of her. “Mount Vulcan is going to erupt at midnight. A VEI-4, at least. The mountain is right next to Fenton Creek!” Tessa snatched the report, her eyes barely scanning the page before she ripped it to shreds. She slapped me hard across the face, the force of it leaving a fiery sting on my cheek. “All you care about is getting that stupid piece of paper! You’d even make up a lie about a dormant volcano coming back to life just to stop me from taking my uncle to his appointment?” “That piece of rock next to Fenton Creek hasn’t moved in a thousand years, and you’re telling me it’s going to erupt tonight? Do you think I’m an idiot?” I fought back the rage building in my chest and explained calmly, “I’m not lying. The seismic activity under Mount Vulcan has been increasing. Even dormant volcanoes can reawaken…” She cut me off with a cold laugh, her eyes dripping with contempt. “Your data is garbage! I’m taking my uncle to the hospital, and if you say one more word of this nonsense, we’re through!” With that, she grabbed my car keys and left without a backward glance. After she was gone, I ignored the throbbing pain in my face. I emailed the report to my superiors and hailed a cab to Fenton Creek. I had to get her grandfather out myself. I had to make sure he was safe. The car had barely pulled out of my neighborhood when my boss, Evans, called. His voice was stern. “Sean, what the hell are you playing at? What is this report you just submitted? A dormant volcano erupting?” My heart sank. “Sir, it’s real—” “Real? Bullshit!” he roared. “Tessa already called me! She said she needed to take a family member for a check-up, but you were insisting on getting married today, so you made up this ridiculous story!” “Sean, have you lost all professional integrity? Not only are you treating your work like a joke, but you’re using a volcanic eruption as a punchline! I’ve already retracted your report. You need to take a good, long look at yourself.” “Evans, I’m not joking,” I said, my voice weak. “The data is solid. I’ve run the models a dozen times. There’s a genuine risk of an eruption tonight…” “Hello?” He’d already hung up. Frantic, I dialed the Director’s number, hoping for one last chance. But after I explained, his voice was like ice. “Mr. Evans has already briefed me. Sean, your actions are grossly irresponsible. As of now, you’re fired.” I stood there, stunned, the phone slipping from my hand. Fired? Just like that? Because of Tessa’s words, all my work, my professional judgment, was dismissed? I couldn’t believe Evans and the Director would ignore my data analysis and just take her word for it. Her grandfather had worked hard his whole life, raising a large family. He’d always been kind to me. I couldn’t let him be consumed by fire and ash. This was about more than just him; it was about the hundred-plus lives in Fenton Creek. There was no time to waste. I forced myself to calm down and called her grandfather. “Grandpa, the mountain next to the village, Mount Vulcan, is going to erupt tonight! It’s dangerous! You need to talk to the village chief and get everyone to evacuate now!” He sounded surprised. “What? Mount Vulcan’s gonna blow? That can’t be right.” “It’s true, Grandpa,” I pleaded. “Please, trust my expertise. Find the chief and get everyone out of there. Immediately.” He agreed, but a knot of dread remained in my stomach. Five hours later, the taxi finally reached Fenton Creek. The villagers were in the fields, working as usual. No one was evacuating. I found her grandfather and the village chief in the community hall, drinking. I rushed in. “Grandpa, why haven’t you organized the evacuation? I told you the volcano is erupting tonight! It’s already afternoon!” He put down his glass and shot me a dismissive look. “Evacuate? Stop spreading nonsense! Tessa already called. She said you were lying, just trying to scare people.” The chief chimed in with a cold snort. “Sean, you can’t go around doing things like this. Just because you’re a little jealous of Adrian, you pull a stunt like this? You know how much time and money it would cost to move everyone and everything? It’s not right.” Just like the Director, they didn’t believe me either. Before I could explain, her grandfather kicked me hard in the shin. The pain was so sharp I nearly collapsed. He pointed a finger at me, his voice full of scorn. “Get out of here! Stop embarrassing me!” I clenched my jaw, fighting through the pain in my leg, and tried again. “Grandpa, Chief, I’m not lying! Mount Vulcan will erupt tonight. I’m a researcher at the Volcano Observatory. I’ve run all the numbers. At midnight, the eruption will be at least a VEI-3, possibly even a 4!” The chief hesitated, hearing the conviction in my voice. But her grandfather just scoffed. “My granddaughter Tessa studies volcanoes too, so how come she says it’s not going to erupt? You think my own flesh and blood would lie to me? I told you, you’re just making this up because you don’t want her with Adrian!” I took a deep breath and dropped to my knees in front of the chief, my voice trembling. “Chief, I’ve loved studying nature my whole life. I majored in geology. I’ve been working at the Observatory since graduation. I’ve dedicated more than twenty of my thirty years to studying volcanoes. I am not wrong about this. If the volcano doesn’t erupt tonight, I’ll accept any and all consequences.” The chief frowned, seeming to waver. But then her grandfather let out a cold laugh. “You were just fired for filing a false disaster report! Don’t think I don’t know. Tessa got the notification and told me all about it!” Hearing this, the chief’s face hardened. “Get out of here! Go! Stop causing trouble!” I threw caution to the wind, pulled a card from my pocket, and held it out to him. “Chief, this is my debit card. It has over seven thousand dollars in it. It’s yours. Just please, use the money to get everyone out. People, livestock, valuables—everything. There’s still time. If the volcano doesn’t erupt, that’s more than enough to cover the costs. No one loses anything.” The chief stared at me, then at the card, his expression complex. Her grandfather grabbed me and started dragging me toward the door. I clung to the doorframe, my eyes wide with desperation as I yelled at the chief. “Chief! If I’m right, if it’s a VEI-4 eruption, Fenton Creek will be wiped off the map! Your parents, your children, your grandchildren, you—everything will be gone! Are you really willing to gamble everyone’s lives on this?” The chief stood up, taking the bank card from my hand. “I’ll trust you this one time, son. I’ll consider this a loan. But if nothing happens, Sean, you’ll have to answer to me.” Her grandfather watched, dumbfounded, as the chief left the hall. I let out a sigh of relief. “Grandpa, come on, let’s go home and pack!” He just cursed at me for being unfilial, for shaming him in front of the village. I endured his temper and followed him home. But when we got there, he shoved me outside and locked the door. I stood outside, yelling, pleading with him, but he completely ignored me. Hours later, my throat was raw, my voice gone. I tried calling Tessa, hoping she could convince him. The call connected, but before I could speak, Adrian’s voice, slick and smug, came through. “Tessa’s busy. What do you want?” I swallowed my fury. “Adrian, Fenton Creek is in danger! Her grandfather has to leave with me now. Put Tessa on the phone, or you call him yourself!” He just laughed. “Sean, stop with the drama. Tessa told me you’re a liar.” “Guess where we are now?” I had no time for his games. “We’re at a hotel next to the hospital,” he continued, his voice dripping with malice. “Tessa’s in the shower. Her appointment isn’t until tomorrow, but she insisted we stay here tonight. Said it would be… inconvenient with you at home.” “Haha, why do you think it would be inconvenient, Sean?” Then he hung up. I gripped my phone, my knuckles turning white. It was already past nine o’clock. I looked toward the dark silhouette of Mount Vulcan in the distance. The sky above its peak was glowing with a faint, ominous red. Time was running out. Fenton Creek was isolated, the only village at the foot of the mountain. Far in the distance, I could see the taillights of the last convoy of villagers disappearing. Now, it was just me and her grandfather. But that isolation was also a curse. The nearest town was dozens of miles away. If I didn’t leave by nine-thirty, I wouldn’t make it out either. I turned on my phone’s camera, pointed it at myself, and yelled toward the house. “Grandpa, look at the sky! It’s glowing red! If you don’t believe me, believe your own eyes—” Before I could finish, a heavy ceramic planter sailed through the air and crashed down on my head. Pain exploded behind my eyes. Warm blood streamed down my face, and my vision exploded in a wash of crimson. From inside the courtyard, her grandfather’s voice rained down curses, as if I were the devil himself. “How did Tessa end up with a lying piece of trash like you! My family has farmed this land for generations! That mountain has never made a sound! Why would it erupt the moment you show up? You’re just cursing me, wishing me dead, you bastard—” The blood was too much. I couldn’t stand any longer. I stopped the recording and stumbled toward the village entrance where the taxi driver was waiting. When I got in the car, he stared at me, horrified. “What happened to you? You’re bleeding everywhere! Hey… don’t get that on my seats!” I managed a weak, bitter smile. “It’s okay, I’ll pay for the damages. Just drive. Get us to the next town.” “And don’t stop until we’re there.” The driver nodded and peeled out. I drifted in and out of consciousness in the back seat. I don’t know how long I was out, but through the haze, I heard it. A deep, distant, deafening, world-shattering roar. The volcano had erupted.