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3:48 pm, seven hours earlier
FOR ALASKA’S BIGGEST city, Anchorage looked tiny from this high up. Kennedy leaned toward the window of the plane. A full day of traveling, and she was ready to be on land.
Her junior year of college was whizzing by. Wasn’t it only a few months ago she’d flown into Boston for the first time, a scared little eighteen-year-old girl who could have never been prepared for all the excitement, adventure, heartache and growth she was about to experience at Harvard?
Her course load was easier now than it had ever been, especially after losing her job as a teaching assistant. She devoted her extra free time to volunteering for the afterschool club for students at Medford Academy, trying to get more involved at St. Margaret’s Church, and daydreaming with Willow about her wedding.
She couldn’t believe how fast the big day was approaching. She thought about the phone call she’d had with her dad this morning while she waited for her first flight to take off from Logan Airport.
“You still think it’s going to be safe over there, Kensie girl?” he asked.
Kennedy was certain that even from China he could see her roll her eyes. “It’s going to be fine. They’ve been talking about this volcano for weeks now. It’s not that big of a deal. And it’s nowhere near Copper Lake.”
“No,” he replied, “but it’s near Anchorage. When that mountain blows, the ash will cover the city in an hour, two at most.”
“It’s just a little dust, Dad.” What did he think? That a volcano a hundred miles away would rain lava down on them?
“It’s dust that’s going to clog up car engines, ground planes, and potentially cause a major panic. Anchorage isn’t Yanji or Boston, but it’s still a big city, Kensie girl. And worst case scenario, if something does happen there, even if you’re with the Winters already, that means no food trucks, no supplies being brought into the rural areas.”
“I can’t miss Willow’s wedding.”
He sighed. “Well, I won’t tell you what to do, but if you go, you’ve got to be extra careful. Like I said, if that volcano blows, you need to get out of Anchorage right away. Promise me that much, at least.”
“Yeah, I promise.”
“Good. So your plane lands around four, and then you’re driving with Willow to her home?”
Now it was Kennedy’s turn to let out a massive sigh. Did her dad expect her to recite every single calorie she planned on eating in Alaska too? “We’re spending the night in Anchorage. It’s already going to be dark by the time I land, and Willow has some shopping to do in town anyway.”
“I don’t like that plan,” her dad announced, as if that simple statement should be enough to change her mind.
“I already told you, if the volcano erupts, we’ll get on the road before the ash falls.”
“What if you’re asleep?” he demanded.
Then I’m sure you’ll find a way to call or text or wake me up, she thought to herself but instead just answered, “We’ll be fine.”
“It’s not only the volcano I’m worried about, you know. Those winter solstice guys, they’re all convinced that the end of the world’s going to start tomorrow.”
“They’re just a bunch of weirdos,” Kennedy protested. Her dad might be paranoid, but he certainly wasn’t so removed from reality that he gave credence to their ideas, did he?
“I know that, and you know that, but what about all the people they’ve got so freaked out? What’s going to happen when that volcano erupts and these internet junkies use it to fuel all the fear and chaos they’ve been creating? I just don’t want to see you in harm’s way.”
“Yeah, ok.” What else was there she could say?
“Yeah ok what?” he asked.
“I’ll be careful.”
“That’s all I can ask,” he replied with an air of defeat.