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CAVE RANCH:
The water gets shallower as they ride closer to the ranch, and forty-feet ahead, the gravel road is dry all the way to the house and barn, another three-hundred-yards farther.
Derek looks over at Robert and gives him a nod, thinking so far so good, but he’s still worried about the logjam.
They stop the horses in front of the porch where Derek gets off and loops the reins around the wooden handrail. He grabs Kristy off the saddle and sets her on the ground, then helps Jessica down from Robert’s horse.
Robert climbs down, loops the reins around the handrail, then sighs with relief that his family is safe.
Derek notices Kristy waiting for him and goes over to hold her hand as they walk up the steps. “Are you okay?”
Kristy smiles up at him. “I am now. I love you, Derek.”
“Yeah, love you too. You should change clothes. I’ll meet you out here when you’re done.”
“What about you? Your pants are wet.”
“Only up to my knees. They’ll dry in a little while.”
Jessica walks past Derek and sits on the porch swing, then sniffs her fingers and makes a sour expression. “I smell like a horse.”
Robert slips the reins from the porch railing. “I’ll take the horses to the barn.”
“Should we take the saddles off so they can dry?” asks Derek.
“That’s all right. I’ll take care of it.”
Derek spins around and leaps over the steps. “I’ll give you a hand.”
Jessica stands up. “Does it stink over there, too, Derek?”
“It smells like a barn, Jessica.”
Jessica walks down the steps. “I already smell like a horse, so I might as well go, too. I’ve never seen the inside of a barn.”
***
RANGER STATION:
Larry listens to Jamie explain how simple it was to open the dam. “I never thought about a brake.” He’s interrupted by the deep thumping of helicopter blades.
Wesley, Jamie, Larry, and Frank stare through the window at the dust billowing up from the parking lot, as the bottom of a white helicopter drops from the sky and gently touches down on the asphalt.
Carl sets the engines on idle, then climbs out and walks toward the people coming out of the building. A big man with shaggy hair steps forward and extends his hand. Only his eyes give the impression he’s smiling. He reaches out to shake his hand. “I’m Carl Gregory.”
“Wesley Patterson. I really appreciate this.” He steps aside and introduces the others. “Let’s go inside and I’ll show you where we need to go.”
Everyone follows Wesley inside and watches as he points out locations on the big wall map. “Up here is where the logjam is located, but we need to go southwest first to check the Cave ranch and find out if everyone’s okay.”
“I saw that area when I flew in from the west. Not much showing above the water on the east side of the town, but I didn’t pay attention to that area since I was headed here. Let’s go check it out.”
Larry and Frank follow the trio outside and wish them good luck. They wait while Wesley and Jamie climb into the rear passenger section of the helicopter, then step back inside when the rotors pick up speed and the helicopter leaps off the ground.
“Keep an eye on things here, Frank. I’m going up to check the dam.”
“Give me a holler and let me know what’s going on.”
“I will.”
Larry grabs a portable radio and walks out the door.
***
SPARROW VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL:
A few moments after the alarms stop ringing, Arnie sees Tyler walking back to the bleachers and hurries over to him. “What are you doing?”
“They’re not listening to them anyway, Sheriff, so what’s the point.”
Arnie spins around when he hears the cheers from the bleachers. “Damn it!” he yells in frustration. He puts his hands on his hips, trying to think of something else to motivate these people to leave the school. He knows that until something bad happens, no one will leave the track meet. “Shit!”
***
It doesn’t take long to reach Sparrow Valley by helicopter, and from the air, the town is dangerously close to the vast expanse of water covering everything south. Water is lapping at the front steps of the grocery store near the bridge before following the curve of the river southwest, away from the highway.
Wesley stares down at the high school and sees the crowd watching the games. “Oh, crap!”
“I see a house and a barn up ahead,” Carl hollers over his shoulder.
Wesley leans forward between the front seats and stares down at the ranch, but does not see anyone outside the house or the barn. “Is that area big enough to land?”
“No. That barn is in the way. I’m sorry.”
Wesley leans back and looks over at Jamie. “There isn’t anything else we can do right now.”
Jamie nods, slumps down in her seat, and stares out the window.
Wesley leans forward again. “Let’s go check out the logjam.”
Carl looks over his shoulder and gives Wesley a nod, then swings the helicopter back toward Mount Baker.
***
THE DAM:
Larry parks in front of the concrete building and climbs out of his SUV, He walks to the inside edge of the concrete dam and stares down at the water level inside the reservoir. It’s not even half-empty yet. He looks to the far end, six-hundred yards away, and sees the watermarks and green algae on the sides of the wide rock walls. He has no idea how much water will be racing down the canyon, or how much the dam can handle.
***
Wesley stares out the window at the partially empty reservoir. Carl brings the helicopter up the canyon another four-miles and hovers sixty-feet above the massive tangle of logs and debris. Wesley sees water pouring over the top, and rushing out from the bottom, but the massive body of water is still trapped behind the logs and debris.
Wesley’s heart sinks when he thinks about all those kids and their families enjoying the games. If the full force of the water lets loose, it will overwhelm the strength of the dam, and hundreds of people will die.
Geysers of water and splintered wood suddenly shoot through the air as timbers shatter and the pile splits down the center, releasing a torrent of water, mud, and trees that tear down the canyon.
Carl doesn’t wait to be asked. He swings the helicopter up above the lahar and follows it down the mountain.
***
Larry flinches when the sound of shattering timber echoes down from the canyon, then the air is filled with a multitude of crashing sounds as the lahar tears away everything in its path, getting louder by the second. He spins around and runs back to the SUV, jumps inside, and starts the engine. The car slides sideways making a U-turn, then races down the road.
Four-hundred yards farther, he turns onto the road going back up the side of the canyon, and stops at the lookout point above the reservoir. He shuts off the engine and climbs out, then walks across a few smashed aluminum cans and around a large fire pit, and stops at the edge to look down on the dam and reservoir.
***
SPARROW VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL:
The roar of the lahar gets everyone’s attention. Arnie spins around to the crowd, and most of them stand up on the bleachers, staring up the canyon, trying to see what’s going on. “Everyone out!” he yells.
The valley people heard about the possibility and begin running down the bleachers, trampling the stunned visitors from Darrington. Panic erupts on the school grounds as people desperately try to reach their vehicles, knocking each other to the ground in an attempt to escape. The visitors have no idea what’s going on, but are caught up in the throng of people running around the bleachers and the parking lot.
The crackling and snapping sounds fill the air as the lahar races down the canyon, only adding to the panic as car horns blare from frustrated drivers trying to get out of the parking lot.
Arnie knows it’s too late and does not try to enforce any type of organized exit from the school grounds. He resigns himself to the inevitable destruction that will soon destroy Sparrow valley, and just stares up the canyon.
***
THE DAM:
The roar of the lahar draws closer, and Larry watches a twenty-foot-high mass of mud and debris plunge into the reservoir. He sees the churning mass of sludge driving the clear water toward the dam, causing it to rise like a tsunami as it’s compressed against the concrete. He holds his breath, waiting for the dam to give way to the massive torrent of debris, then the water sloshes over the rim and over the banks of the reservoir. Trees are tossed around like toothpicks on the surface as it slowly calms down, and the water going over the dam slows until only a trickle runs down the face of the concrete.
Larry doesn’t realize he’s holding his breath, and lets out a long, slow sigh of relief. The road alongside of the reservoir is blocked by a tangled mess of branches and vegetation, but only a small section near the water is washed away. An accumulation of vegetation rises to the surface of the thick brown water. Near the bottom outside of the dam, a small stream of water gushes out from the lower part of the opening beneath the sliding block of concrete, as the debris temporarily clogs the outflow.
He looks up at the helicopter as it flies down the canyon and hovers above the dam. He smiles and waves at Jamie staring out the window. When the helicopter continues down the mountain, he goes back to his SUV and heads for the station.
***
SPARROW VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL:
The roar of the lahar is suddenly gone, but Arnie continues to stare up the canyon for several moments. The cars stop honking, and as he turns around, he sees the crowd of panicked people have started to settle down.
His shoulders slumped as he realizes it’s over, and that the valley is safe. He helps the injured get up from the ground.
***
RANGER STATION:
Wesley and Jamie thank Carl for his help and climb out of the helicopter onto the station parking lot. Once they are inside the building, they watch through the window as the aircraft takes off.
Larry is just arriving at the station and watches the helicopter leave, then parks in front of the building. As he climbs out of the SUV, Wesley, Jamie, and Frank walk outside, and he closes the door and leans back against the hood. “That’ll be something I’ll always remember.”
Wesley gives him a nod. “How does the dam look up close?”
“It’s a lot tougher than we thought. We’ll need a little roadwork done, but everything looks okay. The outflow has slowed down a lot, too, but it’s only temporarily blocked by debris. I’ll take Frank back with me to close the dam before the blockage is washed through the opening. The water in the valley should start draining in a little while.” He looks at Jamie. “Did you find your sister and the Cave family?”
“We couldn’t tell from the helicopter.”
Wesley holds his hand out to Jamie. “I need my keys so I can get my boat.”
Jamie looks over at Larry. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Don’t worry about it. Go take care of your family.”
Jamie wraps her arm around Wesley’s, and they walk over to his Hummer.
***
CAVE RANCH:
Kristy walks through the kitchen and notices Derek’s fancy phone on the table. She picks it up and stares at the buttons on the front. She remembers Uncle Alex said it could reach all the way to Alaska. One button says power, and she presses it, and the small screen comes on. She wishes she knew Uncle Alex’s phone number and remembers something he said about speed dial. She presses number two and holds it to her ear, hears it ringing, then hears a click. “Uncle Alex?”
“No, this is Wesley. Who are you?”
“I’m Kristy Cave, Derek Cave’s sister. Are you with my uncle Alex?”
“No, I’m up near Mount Baker. Is everyone all right?”
“Yeah. We got wet, but we got out of the water. I’m at my grandpa’s house.”
“Can you tell everyone that Wesley and Jamie are coming to get you?”
“Okay. Bye.”
THE CABIN:
Wesley turns off his phone and looks across the seat at Jamie. “They’re okay. They made it to the ranch, and will be waiting for us.”
Jamie is sitting on the edge of the seat and leans back and sighs with relief. “Thank goodness.”
When they approached the workshop, Wesley backs up to the doors, shuts off the engine, then looks over at Jamie. “Once we get your sister and the Cave’s back on dry land, how about letting me cook dinner for you tonight?”
“That would be nice, Wesley, but from what I saw in your refrigerator, I didn’t think you like to cook.”
“Actually I do, but I only did it for my wife. Now I’d like to cook something for you.”
Jamie smiles. “Thanks, Wesley. Does that mean you’re thinking about getting a haircut?”
“Don’t push your luck, Ms. Park Representative.”
Jamie smiles. “I didn’t say you had to do it.”
Wesley grins. “Fair enough.”