KRONOS RISING - DIABLO: Something's escaped from Hell . . . and it's hungry. by Hawthorne Max

Author:Hawthorne, Max [Hawthorne, Max]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Far From The Tree press, LLC
Published: 2016-07-20T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

Nine miles away from Diablo Caldera, a submerged stratovolcano erupted with astonishing force, sending scalding clouds of seawater and ash over ten miles up into the atmosphere. The marine volcano’s bursting magma reservoirs – linked directly with those of the caldera – exploded into the surrounding sea in a searing mass of lava that killed tens of thousands of fish and marine mammals before cooling.

All but ignored by volcanologists on nearby Cuba, the two neighboring volcanoes had been stable for eons, their systems interconnected by vast, subterranean lava tubes. A thousand centuries earlier, the largest of these formed a wide fault line that collapsed part of the overlying stone that formed Diablo’s exposed slopes. It even managed to fracture the ancient caldera’s heavily eroded, lip-like shell, forming a visible crevice.

Far the larger of the two, magmatic pressure from Diablo’s growing reservoir had escalated until, finally, eruption was inevitable. The main eruption vent occurred not at Diablo, however, but at the submerged volcano, which had been slowly draining away the larger, older one’s magma reservoirs. The effect on the caldera, however, was dramatic. The remaining, crater-like depression, with vertical rock walls that towered five hundred feet above sea level, suffered a sudden loss of structural support as a result of the sudden removal of such tremendous volumes of magma.

In geological terms, the result was simple: With thunderous fury, Diablo Caldera started to collapse in on itself. Then, its already ruptured outer wall – the one closest to the neighboring volcano – split violently apart. In an instant, the ocean rushed in and, with tsunami-like force, inundated the bowl-shaped island’s Cretaceous-era lake.

After sixty-five million years, the sea had reclaimed its own.

***

Artek was running for his life. Despite the deafening shower of rock and stone, he could hear still hear the cries of his people as everything they knew and loved was destroyed by the unseen spirits. The dark forces were cunning and had chosen the funeral ceremony as the time to strike.

The god must have sensed its enemies’ intentions at the last possible moment, as it spun off from its attack on his mother just as it was about to consume her. Instead, the monstrous beast abandoned its meal and plunged powerfully into the depths, to face the tribe’s hereditary nemeses head-on.

Hidden from view, the titans were clashing with phenomenal force.

For Artek and the villagers, it was Judgment Day. The very walls of the caldera began collapsing in on them, burying their homes and anyone inside them under thousands of tons of searing rock. The section bordering the crevice had been the first to go. Before the shaman’s astonished eyes it split apart, forming an immense trough that extended all the way to the sea. The ocean needed no encouragement, and with a thunderous hiss came crashing in, eager to merge the lake’s saltwater with its own.

Artek uttered a pain-filled grunt as he was pitched sideways and ended up on a jagged pile of rocks. He clutched at his side and grimaced, cursing at the realization that the impact had cracked, or perhaps even broken, some ribs.

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