In seconds, the Sea Knight was swept away by the convulsive force of the pressure wave. Zibrinski called upon all of her skills as a pilot in an effort to counter the now wildly pitching CH-46. It yawed to and fro like a drunkard, falling down and away from the slopes.
The huge pressure wave tossed Samuel effortlessly against the opposite wall of the aircraft’s cabin. He feverishly tried to regain his footing as the Marine medic could do nothing but hold Eli Turner down.
Although his arm was aching and going numb, Turner held tight and refused to let go. He glanced up to see the enormous mushroom cloud of the erupting volcano as it billowed skyward. He saw flashes of lightning within the dark, broiling tempest as it expelled into the atmosphere. Turner looked down at Maria and saw her transfixed on what was transpiring beneath them. Zibrinski finally managed to regain control of the Sea Knight, and she leveled it out above the black sand beaches just below the city of Puerto Naos, a city that had only seconds to exist.
The landslide predicted by Pencor and Osama had been successfully averted earlier, but the unbridled eruption caused by the destruction of the Scalar weapon changed the course of events. The ridge line along the Cumbre Vieja evaporated as it imploded into the massive caldera and interacted with the fiery magma.
The lower elevations well below the fault line were being held by the friction force of gravity alone. Now, suddenly free of the massive slab of land above, it released its tenuous grip on the surface and slid downward like a monstrous earthen avalanche, gaining strength and momentum as it swept through the city of Puerto Naos.
The city vanished in seconds under the onslaught of the rushing mass of earth and rock, leaving nothing left to indicate that it ever existed. The few looters who foolishly remained met with a sudden and violent death, being entombed for all time.
Turner stared in rapt horror as the massive, on-rushing thick slab of earth hit the ocean. The burst of energy moving at one hundred fifty miles per hour resulted in a gigantic splash of earth and sea. The tremendous displacement of seawater by the non-yielding mass of descending land created a huge upwelling of ocean, the likes few in recorded history have ever witnessed. As if a giant wave machine had been switched on, a towering wall of water over five hundred feet high was ejected out towards the open Atlantic Ocean, its height relative to the generally shallow waters of the Canary archipelagos.
Turner was suddenly jolted back to reality by the jarring motion of the electric winch being activated by Samuel, who had finally regained control. The two dangling archeologists slowly made their way to the doorway of the Sea Knight. Samuel, seeing the situation, raised Turner above the entryway and gave him the opportunity to take hold of Maria. He reached out, grabbed Maria by her belt and backpack, and pulled her swiftly into the safety of the CH-46’s cabin. He then lowered Turner and retrieved him inside the cabin as well. He fell onto the metal deck, in pain and exhausted beyond all comprehension.
“We’ve got them on board, Major,” Samuel said over the headset intercom. Let’s get the hell out of here!”
“I’m one step ahead of you. We’re on our way.” Zibrinski replied, happy to still be in one piece after the wildest ride of her entire career.
After catching his breath, Turner crawled over to his father’s side as the medic had just finished placing an intravenous line in his arm.
“I’ve done all I can for him here, sir,” the medic yelled over the racket of the rotors. “We’ll contact the Hazleton and have the hospital prepared for him when we touch down.”
“Thank you,” Turner yelled, nodding in understanding as he slid his arm under his father and raised him up so he was cradled in his arms. The Marine medic had stopped the blood flow from the wound, but the damage was done as Turner looked upon his father and saw him open his eyes.
Eli had regained consciousness and saw his son looking at him. This caused the elder Turner to smile.
“I knew you would come for us, Son,” he said weakly as Turner leaned closer to hear him. “Forgive a foolish old man and his wild eyed schemes. I—”
“Dad, save your strength. We’ll talk when you’re safely on the ship.”
“No Josh,” he said, coughing up blood as he spoke. “There’s no time. I want you to know that I’ve lived a full life and…” he paused, tears welling up in his fiery blue eyes, “I want you to know how proud I am of you, and that I love you very much.”
“I love you, too, Dad.” Turner responded softly.
“Follow your heart, Son,” he said, coughing again in spasms as Maria and Samuel drew near to their stricken friend. “And once you find what you want, never let it go,” he said, looking at Samuel and Maria, who also had tears in their eyes. “That is all I can give to you; all a father can give to his son.” He said, coughing a bit more as Turner, with tears in his eyes, smiled at him.
“You’ve given me everything I could ever ask for, Dad.”
“Never forget, Son, I will always be a part of you,” he said in a faint whisper as Eli Turner let out his final breath. The fiery light in his eyes was gone as they shut for the final time.
“Dad, no….” Turner said silently as he gently cradled his deceased father in his arms and silently wept.
“I’m sorry, Josh.” Samuel said as he placed his hand on his friends back and fought off his own tears.
The three sat silently for the remainder of the flight as the CH-46 Sea Knight headed seaward for the Hazleton. Physically and emotionally, they had nothing left. After twenty-four hours of fighting to survive, overcoming violence and death, and endeavoring to save the lives of millions of people, they were exhausted. As each of them shut their eyes, they reminisced of old times and good times with Eli.
After a long silence, Major Zibrinski finally contacted Colonel Sears in the attack Cobra. He had also been struck by the violent shock wave but, through sheer nerve and piloting skills, had averted the aircraft from certain destruction.
“Are you okay, Sid?” he asked over the radio, happy to hear her voice.
“Yes, sir, we’re fine here. It could have been a lot worse,” she replied as the two aircrafts flew over the frothing ocean, which was now blackened with debris from landslide. “Our number one turbine is still running a little hot, but number two has settled down. We’ll make it back okay.”
“I’ll fly as your wing, Major, until we reach the Hazleton. That is if they’re still afloat,” he said hesitantly. “I was able to get out a warning on the tidal wave to the Hazleton. I sure hope that she was in deep water.”
“Have you received any transmission from them since?” Zibrinski asked.
“They said they would contact us when it had passed, Sid. All we can do is wait.”
“I hope to God that I never see anything like that again, Colonel,” Sid confessed, shaken by the violent display of nature’s fury.
“I hate to think what’s going to happen when it reaches the U.S. coastline,” he said wistfully. Forcing himself back into the reality of the current situation, he switched on his comm- system.
“USS Hazleton, this is Cobra Alpha three, two-niner. Do you copy? Over….” Nothing but an eerie silence permeated the headset as the two pilots began fearing the worst.