Isaiah leaned toward the mic again. “Without a doubt. And larger.”
As if this stranger had the power to make his words true, the floor began to shake beneath Sharon’s feet. She grabbed Jackson’s arm and turned to look at his face.
The shaking increased, causing complete bedlam in the room as everyone screamed at once and ran for the exits. People fell over one another as they fought to get out of the auditorium. Light fixtures broke loose and fell from the walls, the sconces landing on the hard wood aisles in a shattering of glass.
Sharon stood frozen, watching the scene around her. Several citizens fell to the floor after being hit by falling debris. Others had gashes on their arms and faces from the glass light fixtures. As she watched, a man literally stepped on an older woman unconscious on the floor in order to get by her. He didn’t even stop to help or glance down to see if she was alive.
“Sharon,” Cooper shouted into her head. “Jackson.”
“Cooper,” Jackson responded. “What’s happening? How big is this quake? Where are you?”
“It’s not just an earthquake.” Cooper’s voice trailed away for a moment, leaving Sharon freaked out.
“Cooper!”
“Get out of the auditorium. Round up as many people as you can to head into the mountains. Every person living or hiking or vacationing outside the city must be reached. They need to take only what they can carry and get off the mountain.”
“Cooper,” Jackson said, “what do you mean it’s not an earthquake? We can feel it from here. The entire building is collapsing.”
The ground continued to rumble, the screams in the room growing louder. A creaking noise drew her attention to the ceiling. She prayed the load-bearing beams would hold the roof until everyone could get out.
As she focused her attention back on Cooper, a bone-chilling shiver raced down her spine.
“Volcano.”
That was the last word they heard from Cooper before he broke contact with them, or it was broken for him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Isaiah and Wyatt Arthur headed straight toward Sharon as she backed up to the outer wall with Melinda, Jackson, and Gene.
Isaiah grabbed Sharon by the arm the second he arrived. “You spoke to your mate,” he shouted over the din. “What did he say?”
Sharon stared at him quizzically. “How did you…? What are you?” She glanced at Jackson on her other side.
“No time to explain. Tell me.”
“He said it’s a volcano.” Sharon shuddered just repeating the words.
Melinda gasped.
Isaiah and his brother both nodded as if not surprised. What the hell?
The volume in the auditorium increased, and people ran in every direction. “We have to get word to the people in the surrounding areas. Does someone have a list of properties and work stations?”
“The mayor,” Sharon shouted over the screaming. “But there’s no way in hell we can cover much territory without hundreds of volunteers.” She threw her hands over her head as the crumbing ceiling rained down on her.
When she glanced back up, she found dozens of injured on the floor either holding on to an injury or unconscious. They needed help. Fast.
Wyatt grabbed Sharon’s other arm. “Ask Cooper how much time we have.” He pushed her closer to the wall to avoid the debris.
She stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Again she wondered what the hell these two men were. They certainly weren’t human. And they also weren’t wolves. How the hell could she not scent them? Now wasn’t the time to ask questions.
She closed her eyes and listened as Jackson asked the question into both her and Cooper’s heads. “Coop. How much time do we have?”
“Not sure yet. It’s impossible to predict whether or not there will be lava flowing from the rip in the earth or simply steam. I wouldn’t rule out anything yet. What I’m seeing from here is a series of fumaroles, basically holes in the earth’s surface where steam is spilling out. Several of them opened at once, and steam is shooting into the air from the locations of the fracking drills.”
Sharon turned toward Isaiah and Wyatt. “He doesn’t know.”
“Lava?” Wyatt asked.
“Not yet. It’s unpredictable. Something about fumaroles spewing steam.”
Wyatt nodded. “Okay. Let’s organize these people so that everyone takes a few addresses and makes their way up the mountain to warn others.”
The rumbling had subsided while Sharon engaged in this most peculiar conversation with two men she didn’t know who were obviously neither human nor shifters—or at least not wolves. She shuddered to imagine what that might imply. She grabbed Jackson by the hand. “We have to help everyone get out of this building.”