Mammoth: A Disaster Thriller by Bobby Akart

Author:Bobby Akart [Akart, Bobby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown Publishers Inc.
Published: 2023-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY

Finn’s Cabin

Lookout Mountain

Mono County, CA

Sammy set up the third bedroom for Taylor and Mac while Tyler gave them a quick tour. Finn’s cabin had never been designed to be a full-time residence. It had been built as a vacation rental. The spacious interior resembled a lodge with a massive stone fireplace on one end of the A-frame structure, flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of Long Valley. There were three bedrooms. Besides Finn’s master, the other two rooms were equipped with two sets of bunk beds each. The prior owner was able to advertise the cabin as capable of sleeping ten—sardines.

As a bachelor’s pad, it was perfect. Finn had plenty of options to relax, from his large, leather easy chair to a massive sectional sofa. A wraparound deck afforded views of the valley to the southeast and Mammoth Mountain to the southwest. A rarely used hot tub sat on the westernmost part of the deck next to a propane-fueled grill.

Despite their exhaustion, the scientists were too hyped up to sleep. They even rejected Tyler’s offer of a beer, as they were afraid it might make them drowsy. Before they could relax, they needed to analyze their findings.

Finn relied upon DirecTV for entertainment programming and Starlink satellite internet. In a loft overlooking the living area, Finn had created an office with a library full of reference materials related to firefighting, paramedic duties, as well as search and rescue operations. He’d never lost his hunger for learning despite his temporary retirement before a change of careers.

Taylor and Mac set up shop in Finn’s loft, spreading out their monitoring equipment for easy access as they transferred data to their laptop computers. For the next hour, they compiled the information until they agreed they were ready to transmit both the raw data and their report to CalVO.

While they worked, dozens of emails and messages poured in from their teams in Santa Rosa and Bridgeport. In the last twelve hours, the earthquake swarms had increased in both numbers and intensity. The single tremor they’d experienced inside Crater Mountain was gentle compared to the seismic activity south and west of Mammoth Mountain.

“Mac, I wish I could erase everything I know about these volcanic systems,” began Taylor. Her voice reflected both her fatigue and her concern. “The assumptions we’ve always made regarding the caldera, Mono-Inyo, and Mammoth directly conflict with what we’re looking at here.”

“I agree. The data points to Crater Mountain being in impending danger of an eruption. Yet the seismic activity doesn’t support it.”

“Right. The seismic data supports activity at Mammoth, but there aren’t any of the other precursors.”

“Well, there was the one fumarole we investigated.”

“One being the operative word. Big whoop. There are hot vents opening and closing around volcanoes like Mammoth all the time. That doesn’t mean an eruption is imminent.”

“So what’s our next step?” asked Mac.

Taylor thought for a moment. “I think we’ve been looking in the wrong place. I’d like to return to Mammoth in the morning. Let’s start at Horseshoe Lake.

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