Chapter Text
It was his sixteenth birthday, and Tommy looked out the window, watching as ash fell from the sky and covered the ground.
Yellowstone had erupted only half an hour ago, and the ground outside was covered, the grass unrecognizable. It erupted only half an hour ago, yet the death toll is already in the hundreds of thousands, with more every minute. The explosion killed 90,000 people instantly, and thousands more died as the ash spread. It’s predicted to arrive in Europe in three days.
The news said that the ash would contaminate the water supplies, so fill sinks and tubs full of water. Tommy decides that they’re trying to curb panic. He knows what’s going to happen.
They live too close to the danger zone; he once read that Wyoming would have the highest death toll should the volcano erupt. He doesn’t think he truly understands that horror, but he knows enough.
Knows what it means that he’s already having trouble breathing. He looks over at his family, parents, brother, and friends. They think they might survive if they stay inside and ration their food and water.
But he knows the truth. He knows that Tubbo, who is sleeping on the couch, isn’t really “sleeping” and that Wilbur’s complaints about his chest burning aren’t because he ate too fast.
Tommy didn’t know what to do; they were too close to the eruption, and the ash was too hot, too thick, and spreading too fast. He doesn’t know whether to tell them, to let them panic, or to keep silent and let them die, unaware of what will happen until the last second.
They’ll know, eventually. It won’t be difficult to figure out when the ash inevitably fills their lungs. If they think it’s hard to breathe now, it will be nothing compared to how they will slowly suffocate. Maybe the ash won’t be hot enough to burn them, but Tommy doesn’t think that thirty minutes is enough time for it to cool down. Perhaps he should tell them, giving them a chance to prepare themselves for the inevitable.
But when he looked at his family, he knew. He knew that he didn’t have to tell them anything. They knew.
When it comes to surviving the end of the world, they never stood a chance.