The Burning Dead

1

Are you ready for a tale?

A tale as old

as the hills themselves?

They say the mountain is alive.

It takes breaths

from all that is living:

The trees, the flowers,

the grass.

But the mountain

is also unforgiving,

and takes what it wants.

It gives back nothing,

not of its own choosing.

It gives back only what escapes.

But why, father?

Long ago,

the evil spirit

fought the good spirit.

The good spirit lost

and fled west towards the ocean.

The evil spirit hid here

in the mountain,

and never left.

The white man believes

the evil spirits

showed themselves in 1846.

The white man is wrong.

Evil spirit came

long before they arrived.

And while the evil spirits

quieted for many years,

they did not go away;

They slept.

We're almost there, girls.

Ah, still a long winter, I know.

We made it.

Camp will be glad.

You two did great.

Good girl.

We almost didn't make it.

Blizzard's bad.

Rations should last us

the winter.

Jacob?

Elizabeth?

Harriet?

What in God's name?

William!

What are you doing?

I have to say, I'm kind of

digging my badge.

Makes me feel important.

Were you excited when you

got your badge?

Well...

...certainly gets me

in the building,

and after seven years

of higher education,

I also consider it my "get out

of student loans card."

Wow, seven years?

I only went to school

for two years,

yet we have the same badge.

Staff-Bright did

give me 90 days

to try you out

and see if you're worthy

of working here

on a permanent basis.

I wouldn't worry about it, Eve.

In actuality,

everything constantly changes

on a geologic scale...

...and on my bathroom scale.

Maybe you should try switching

to something healthier

than burgers.

Hmm.

Well, that'd certainly be good

for my cholesterol,

but, I'm a carnivore,

not a herbivore.

Every now and then I need to

eat something red and bloody.

Reminds me I'm at the top

of the food chain.

Yeah, well, I'm a yogurt whore.

Reminds me that I don't like

to kill animals.

Then why do we have incisors?

I'd like to see you chase a deer

and take it down

with your incisors.

I don't have to.

We've evolved.

I can use tools.

Well, here.

Why don't you use

one of these tools.

You got a little...

I thought the volcano

was dormant.

It was, and now it's not.

Looks like we have the potential

for an explosive caldera.

A caldera?

From the Latin word "calderia."

Means cooking pot.

Sometimes it's referred to as

the English word "cauldron."

Witchin'.

What's in it?

Ignimbrite, rhyolite, tuff,

and other igneous rocks.

That's quite a brew.

When the gasses

are under high pressure,

which they tend to...

Yeah, a massive explosion

of magma.

...so please make sure

you take your pets with you

as well as any

necessary medications,

and shut off any gas lines.

The volcano eruption is expected

any time from next week on.

Again, this is not a test.

Please stay tuned in for

more news on the evacuation.

We will now return to our

regularly scheduled programming.

Hi, Mindy.

You okay?

Yeah.

Yeah, just...

...going through everything,

is all.

Never easy just packing up

and leaving, I know.

It's just stuff.

Well, most of it, anyway.

That's cute.

Well, look at this.

- Oh, hey, go Mountaineers!

- Class of 19...

Oh, don't say it, now.

People'll think we're old.

Hey, let me get that for you.

Thanks, Mike.

You, um-you move

your family out yet?

Uh...

Rita moved out a few months ago.

It, uh...

...didn't take a volcano warning

for her to go.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Yeah, well, uh,

at least she and Dillon

will be safe.

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