Something was wrong. At first George thought he was finally going crazy, but then he saw the animals running around nervously and making desperate squeals. [color=f26522]“Bob!”[/color] he yelled, jumping down from a watchtower. [color=f26522]“Get Edward and check the horses.”[/color] He was halfway to the barn when he felt the first tremor. He leaned against the truck to gain balance and sprinted towards the house. [color=f26522]“Anna!”[/color]

He could hear the child screaming and people rushing down the stairs. It was Ethan and the women, one of them holding the baby in her arms. [color=f26522]“Get into the basement,”[/color] he ordered and pushed them towards the entrance. The basement shelter wasn't really a shelter, but it should survive even stronger earthquake. The house was well built, but George was worried about the barn and the horses inside.

Once he was sure that Anna and the other women were safe, he went back outside. It was then when the second earthquake hit. George was just jumping down from the porch and the sudden tremor sent him tumbling to the ground. [color=f26522]“Fuck,”[/color] he gritted his teeth and got up to one knee. 

A strong hand pulled him up. [color=ed1c24]“Gotcha, mate.”[/color]

George nodded at Edward who was helping him get up. [color=f26522]“How does it look like?”[/color]

[color=ed1c24]“Not well, the horses are going crazy and one of the beams on the eastern side must have cracked, because the wall is starting to bend outwards. I don't know how much longer it will last. Bob is inside trying to calm the horses.”[/color]

George rubbed his forehead. [color=f26522]“If the east side falls, will the entire barn collapse?”[/color]

Edward just laughed desperately. [color=ed1c24]“Dude, my expertise in this area ends with building sheds out of planks and nails. I have no idea. Based on the layout of the beams inside it should hold, but I'm not a freakin barn architect.”[/color]

[color=f26522]“All right, go help Bob get the horses out if you can, but first sign of something falling apart or another earthquake you sprint for the gate, is that clear?”[/color]

Edward nodded and ran inside the barn. George circled it from the outside, to see the damaged wall. It didn't look extremely bad, the sheet metal on the side was bent and the whole wall had a weird angle, but unless there was another tremor, it should hold.

[color=39b54a]“Need a hand?”[/color]

George turned around to see Ethan frowning at the damaged barn. [color=f26522]“Why aren't you in the shelter?”[/color]

[color=39b54a]“Yea, Im such a delicate flower I need to be hidden away with women and children,”[/color] Ethan rolled his eyes. [color=39b54a]“We could use the long logs to build some improvised braces to support the wall.”[/color]

George nodded, the idea had also crossed his mind. Slightly relaxed that the shouts of men and horses from inside of the barn were getting more and more sparse, he and Ethan started to work on supporting the wall with heavy logs.

A few minutes later Anna showed up, bringing them some water. [color=a187be]“It’s Yellowstone,”[/color] she said with a serious face. [color=a187be]“They just said it on the radio. Supposedly a smaller explosion.”[/color] She sighed. How do you protect your family from something like that?

[hr]

[color=a187be]“I think we need to discuss our options,”[/color] Anna said, looking on George and her son.

Ethan nodded. [color=39b54a]“We should get as far away from Yellowstone as possible.”[/color]

[color=a187be]“That was my first thought when hearing the news as well, but we can’t. I mean in case it really does explode, there is nowhere to go in the US. North America will mostly be screwed and so will Europe, thanks to the ashes travelling high in the atmosphere. We could go south, but where? The flights are already cancelled and only place we can go by cars is Mexico. And with what’s happening right now, everyone will have the same idea. How long do you think it will last when the Mexicans close the borders and start shooting people trying to cross?”[/color]

George nodded. [color=f26522]“Yea, they aren’t really in a position to accept millions of refugees. Plus can you imagine what the roads will look like these days? Traffic jams everywhere, people fighting over last gallons of gas. It will be like Mad Max in the rush hour.”[/color]

Ethan laughed and shook his head desperately. [color=39b54a]“So you are expecting me to let my family sit 500 miles away from a supervolcano, possibly about to erupt and just do nothing?”[/color]

Anna placed her hand on her son’s. [color=a187be]“We are far away from the initial blast area, which means that if something happens, we will have time to react.”[/color]

[color=f26522]“Yes, and we will be prepared. We will be ready to load the supplies onto the truck, jump in the cars and get out of here at the first sight of trouble.”[/color] George tried to sound convincing to calm Ethan down, but he was worried. The plan was nice and all, but as all plans, it could go either really well or fail horribly.