The major tapped his pen. “We definitely think it is some sort of gas.”
Gene chuckled. “It was a gas alright.”
“What kind of gas?” Captain Grayce asked.
“Methane.”
The coroner nodded. “That makes sense.”
“No.” The major shook his head. “It doesn’t. Surely, people would have smelled methane.”
“And sure,” Gene said. “You are ignorant of the fact that the only reason people can smell methane, or rather natural gas, is because an odor is added to it for detection. Methane untouched is odorless, colorless. Deadly.”
“So methane gas was used in an attack?” the Major asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Attack? Maybe if you want to say Mother Nature had enough,” Gene replied.
The captain lifted his hand slightly. “You’re saying the methane came from the ground? Like a huge gas line leaker?”
“Have none of you noticed the giant hole outside of town?” Gene asked.
“The sink hole?” the major asked.
“It’s not a sink hole, it’s a release hole,” Gene explained. “Sink holes drop in. This propelled, you can tell by the dirt surrounding it. Ever make one of those pasta microwave meals? You put the little plastic lid on it, cook it, but it’s so thick that if you don’t catch it in time, the pressure pops the lid. Same thing here. The pressure built up and … pop. It released. This is nothing new. It’s been happening for years, decades.”
Susan finally spoke up. “Close to twenty holes appeared over a span of six years in the Siberian traps. Holes much bigger than this.”
Captain Grayce asked. “Did we have a warning we missed?”
Gene nodded. “I think we did in this region, but nothing no one would think would be a warning. It’s like one of those in hindsight.” He pulled his tablet forward. “There was some seismic activity around eight am. But … a short, very short spike sent the readout from two to four. Now it was so sure, it could have been read like an animal or glitch in the sensor. But that was at eight-thirteen.”
Susan added. “The cameras on the body shop showed the eruption of the hole at eight-fifteen. The men in the shop went to investigate. They died in seconds, so the gas was thick there, but … it took seven minutes to carry over a three mile radius.”
The captain’s face showed his shock. “So we’re talking less than a ten minute warning to evacuate a town.”
The CDC woman shook her head. “You can’t evacuate that fast. Oxygen is the best option. Hence, why our one survivor lived. He was on pure oxygen. But … Dr. Taylor, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t methane eruptions associated with permafrost in the artic region?”
“They are,” Gene answered with a nod. “But methane also builds up in the soil and oceans. But, for example, two hundred and fifty million years ago, it’s theorized that the Permian Extinction, the largest mass extinction, was caused by a methane bomb. You had an increased buildup of methane in soil, shelf sediments, oceans and permafrost and the pressure just … erupted causing a catastrophic biopic event. It found pressure release wherever it could. Just like here. I mean, maybe not like here. Permian extinction spewed it into the atmosphere. The fact that we only saw dead birds around the hole told me the birds sensed it and flew up. So the cloud probably lingered around a mile.”
“Okay.” Governor Luella waved out her hand. “A little extreme don’t you think. Mass extinction? Let’s pull in focus to the problem at hand. We’re talking here and now.”
“I think the fact we’re talking here and now,” Gene said. “Is indictive of something bigger and wider. We’re in Montana, far from the arctic or oceans, if a methane expulsion happened here, it’s building up. It’s building up big time.”
The major asked. “What do we do?”
Gene shook his head. “I don’t know if we can move fast enough. Right now I have probes going into about nine of these holes globally to get readings. We need readings from the oceans as fast as we can get them.”
“Then what?” the major questioned.
Gene just lifted his hands. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Again, if it happened here, it’s already built up pretty bad and is looking for ways to escape. If I’m correct in my theory, it’s already too late. It’s not a matter of could it happen or if it happens, it’s a matter of where and when. My answers to that are anywhere and soon.”
Gene’s words brought an eerie silence to the room.
FOUR – THE DAY
Denver International Airport
Controlled annoyance.
That was the best way Tom could describe the vibe he got from his oldest son, Owen. He didn’t get any airport vibe from Gabe, because Gabe was still outside.
Tom paced nervously over that. The whole airport experience was still somewhat new to him. Heck, Tom was still under the impression he had to dress up to get on a plane and was worried he didn’t meet the dress code when he choose to wear a nice pair of jeans and that white and black golf-looking shirt that still had the tags on it. Until he saw Owen. His oldest wore cargo shorts and a black, eighties band, faded tee shirt. Owen’s near shoulder length dark hair was still wet from showering, why he wore his glasses on the top of his head instead of his face, Tom would never know.
Tom stopped walking and looked at his watch. “Where the heck is he?”
“Dad, we made it through TSA in six minutes. He’ll be fine. He doesn’t have a bag to
