Trails: First Generation

Parkfield, California

Parkfield, California"Amber! Karen!"

The sound broke through the depths of sleep. A distant light flickered on.

"Wake up! Where are you?"

Amber rubbed her eyes. She wasn't in bed, or on the couch. Her eyes flittered open. The sleeping bag rustled with her movement. A light blinked on the hardwood floor. Her computer screen flickered not far away. She tried to sit up.

The light from the kitchen shone eerily into the living room.

Karen had crashed on the couch after helping crunch the numbers coming in from the field.

"Mom, I'm here." Amber yawned and stretched.

"Where's Karen?"

Karen groaned from a few feet away. "Sleepy."

"Hurry girls. We took a short nap at the research station. Go pack. We are leaving for New Mexico in an hour."

"How bad is it?" Amber sat up and unzipped the sleeping bag.

"They had a 4.5. Instability, and pressure is rising. They want us there as soon as possible. We'll need your help analyzing the data."

With quake clusters at home in California, New Mexico, and several other places around the world, it was no surprise top scientists like her mom and Brandon were being called to investigate. Excitement urged her awake and up the stairs.

The clock read 11:30pm. There wasn't enough time to search for clothes she might want. Stashed inside the closet door was a bag packed for an upcoming weekend hiking trip, to explore a new section of a little known fault. She grabbed a few last minute things she might need, and tossed them in on top of her "Ring of Fire" pillowcase. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she ran for the stairs.

"We'll be there in an hour," Amber's mom said into her phone.

Amber slipped down the stairs and slid across the floor to her shoes by the couch.

Karen sat nearby, waiting on her dad. "I don't want to go. The quakes might become worse."

"Karen, you need to come. Who will I talk with while mom works?" Amber pulled her shoes on.

Karen pulled the pillow tight to her chest. She glanced at Amber pleading, "Please. Someone has to stay and watch the houses. Taffy is due to have kittens any day now."

The pillow slid down to her lap. "What about school? I can email assignments and notes to you."

"Oh no, the science test Monday, it's almost half our grade." Amber's shoulders slumped. "Mom, this trip is a chance in a lifetime! Maybe Karen can set it up so you can watch me take the test online?"

Amber's mom nodded. "Karen, you've never stayed alone before."

"Please?" Karen begged.

"It's short notice, they might not set it up." Amber's mom looked at them both.

Brandon walked in the front door carrying his suitcase and an extra bag. "Karen, I brought some clothes for you."

Karen groaned and grabbed Amber's arm.

Amber's mom eyes brightened when Brandon walked in the room. Someday, they would marry, if Amber's dad never returned. Brandon was a nice person, as well as the father of her best friend.

"Mom, please." Amber said. "Karen needs to stay here for Taffy, and I can go with you. You won't have time to cancel the mail, or utilities. You've no idea how long we might be gone. Karen can come out later."

Her mom sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Brandon, I know we don't want to leave either of the girls behind. Karen wants to stay for school and Taffy."

Brandon dropped his bag on a chair. "Karen, please. Not now."

"Please dad. Someone has to keep our homes safe. I can take care of everything. Most teens our age are preparing to live on their own in a few weeks anyway. Think of it as a trial run. It's safer here than there right now, they have nuclear weapons." Karen begged with her fists under her chin.

Brandon sighed. "If you insist. Keep the doors locked when you are in either house. Be safe. Go to school, and come straight home. Keep in contact as much as you can." He walked up to his daughter and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't you run off now. Be careful." He hugged her close.

Tears in her eyes, she nodded. She picked up her bag from earlier in the evening. "You better be going. You have a plane to catch. I'll stay here until morning. Call me when you arrive." She ran to Amber and hugged her.

Karen pulled out a picture as she followed them out the door. It had to be of Jerry. Karen couldn't leave him behind. She loved him. And wouldn't dare risk her life, and their future together.

Amber waved as the car pulled away.

Karen waved back. The light from the open door shimmered behind her.

At the local private airport, her mom and Brandon showed their personal, and seismologist identification.

The clerk pointed toward the smaller waiting area. "The plane you are waiting on will be here in a few minutes. Coffee is available if you want."

Amber wandered over to the viewing area. The dust-covered windows were streaked with an oily shimmer causing moving lights to dance in unexpected patterns. Her finger traced the lines, as many others obviously had. Straight lines, that only broke across fingerprints.

Her mom and Brandon went to the coffee pot. Their whispered conversation lulled Amber into a dream like trance.

The night sky fascinated her. Landing lights at the main airport, a few miles away blinked on and off in the night, as planes landed and departed. It amazed her how the pilots could maneuver, and remember what each type and color of light meant. Piloting in daylight could be even more difficult at times, without the lights to guide and direct, in foggy, windy, or rainy conditions. Trying to line up a jet with a runway in the fog, or a thunderstorm, took a skilled pilot with plenty of support from their team. She'd seen examples on TV, and in their travels, of jets trying to land on quake ridden runways. Not a pretty picture.

"Amber do you see anything?"

"Not yet." Amber pulled her hand away from the window and sat in a nearby chair. She rested her backpack on the floor between her legs. Everything she owned that mattered was with her.

Everything except Karen.

Karen had chosen Jerry over her.

The wall window glowed and flickered as lights outside crossed it and travelled on their way into the distance. Jets ascended and descended at the larger airport. One set of lights turned in their direction, and didn't change course. "Lights are coming. They seem closer than the others."

"That's them," the clerk said. "You should be able to go out in a few minutes. You might want to use the restrooms before you go. Not sure if they'll take the time to refuel."

Amber followed her mom into the tiny women's room. The dim overhead light yellowed the walls, and hid dirt. Lack of light couldn't hide the stale odor of a place as old as her and her mom together.

Amber held her nose, and kept her backpack off the floor.

"Hurry." Her mom washed her hands and held the door open.

Amber pulled her bag closer and followed her mom and Brandon down the hallway.

A guard opened the door to the tarmac.

Another guard escorted them to a small plane.

The internal staircase rolled out of the running plane.

Amber took a deep breath. Once inside the plane, she let out the last Californian air she would breathe for some time.

Two young men reclined in the front seats. She walked back behind them; far enough to let her mom and Brandon talk privately to these other scientists. After all, she was merely along to help organize the data they found.

She pulled out her phone to turn it off for takeoff. No messages from Karen. Normally, Karen would have texted her. She wouldn't cry that her best friend had abandoned her for a boyfriend. Brandon and her mom had no idea how close Jerry and Karen were. If they knew, they'd never have allowed her to stay behind.

Amber ignored the murmur of voices as her mom and Brandon spoke to the two young men.

The plane rolled forward. The movement pushed her backwards against her seat.

She closed her eyes until the plane leveled out, and the jarring awareness of speeding through the air stopped. The clouds slipped by. The physics of flying was one science she would never comprehend. Earthquakes, and their aftermath, were easy to grasp.

"Amber come sit up here so we can discuss what information we have so far." Amber's mom said.

To stand and walk required balance beam skills, something Amber hadn't mastered. The seats swayed side to side as she stepped. She toddled forward unsteadily, and plopped down behind Brandon, who was on the aisle next to the two strangers.

"Hi Amber. I'm Alex, and this is Tom. What do you bring to the project?"

"I'm along to help mom and Brandon. I watch, dig, and crunch the numbers."

Amber's mom laughed. "Don't be so modest. You know almost as much as we do, and you can compute the information quicker."

"Relax Amber," Tom said. "We aren't that much older than you. Do you want to work with us at the volcano fields?"

"I haven't been to one in a few years. I study earthquakes, and how they affect the environment." Amber glanced from one to the other.

"Plenty of quakes occur near volcanoes. Maybe you tell us whether any we recognize are faults, or volcano growth?" Tom said.

Amber blushed.

"Your mom seems impressed by your map overlay skills," Alex said.

Amber closed her eyes and remembered the map, as easily as her embroidered pillowcase. "Creating it in my mind is easy. I know how to use the technology to make it visible for others."

Alex and Tom looked at each other.

"We need that on our team too," Tom said. "It's up to your mom."

"Well," Brandon said, "I think we'll see what new information they have for us on the ground when we arrive."

He reached over to pat Amber's shoulder and chuckled. "Wouldn't want Amber to feel torn between her family, and new friends."

Amber hid her face. She wasn't sure if they were friends yet. Alex and Tom might be nice; she'd have to give it time. The seat leaned back comfortably. A nap would prepare her for the coming day.

Alex and Tom discussed the latest reports that mom and Brandon had brought them. Apparently, Hawaii was experiencing stronger clusters than usual as well.

If they needed her, they'd wake her. Questions required rest to answer. She turned to one side and closed her eyes.

Chapter 4