When the Tide Goes Out by PJ Bennett

Author:PJ Bennett
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
Publisher: UK Book Publishing
Published: 2015-10-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The Summit of Cumbre Vieja, La Palma

Day 3

As the helicopter carrying the professor and Maria hovered over the ridge, close to the summit of Cumbre Vieja, it was immediately apparent to both scientists what they were dealing with. From the gaping fissure which ran for several miles roughly along the apex of the ridge, lava was pouring out in vast quantities and in some places, presumably vents, it was shooting hundreds of feet into the sky and spraying countless lava bombs in all directions. As dusk approached, these glowing, bright red molten missiles hissed and arched their way across the rapidly darkening sky, leaving a pale grey trail of smoke and gas in their wake. Then they could be seen falling rapidly back to earth, their bright red hue quickly fading as the air cooled the molten lava, causing it to solidify and reform into dark grey rock. Whatever they hit on landing was either smashed into a thousand pieces if the lava bomb had reformed into rock, or instantly incinerated, if it was still in a molten state.

Rapidly rising columns of steam and gas were causing their helicopter to bob violently up and down, like a small boat on a tempestuous sea, and the acrid smell of the steam filled the Perspex bubble of the cockpit as their pilot fought to hover above the inferno which raged below them.

From their elevated position, Maria could see that the lava was moving in a series of elongated flows down the western flank of the ridge. Travelling faster than a man could run, and with their surface cooled by contact with the air into a black, wrinkled, almost skin-like crust, the lava flows looked like numerous dark snakes emerging from a nest, winding and twisting their way rapidly down-slope and devouring all that stood in their path. Occasionally, where the black crust had stretched and cracked, the red molten lava within would become briefly visible and it would send a thin shaft of light upwards into the darkening sky, almost like a war time searchlight scanning the sky for enemy aircraft.

Maria, with her mouth slightly agape, stared in awe and wonder at the raw destructive forces of nature which were at work below her. Isolated pine trees on the upper most slopes of the ridge were the first to succumb to these molten ribbons of death and destruction; the precise incineration point of each tree being marked by a small flare of brilliant white light, which would then rapidly disappear as the tree was swallowed and digested by the flow. Next in line for destruction were the vineyards and isolated farmsteads on the middle slopes of the ridge and Maria watched in silent horror as, one by one, people’s homes and livelihoods were ignited, incinerated and ultimately consumed. The villas of La Palma’s wealthier sectors of society, which had also been built on the middle slopes of the ridge so as to afford their rich occupants an uninterrupted view of the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.