PHOTO PROMPT © Ken Arnopole
“Daddy, do you think Mommy’s okay?”
My six-year-old daughter asked me the question I didn’t want to answer.
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” I said. We were watching the news on my phone. “Boise was outside the Yellowstone super volcano’s blast radius…”
“So, she’s alright?”
“Maybe. But the volcano will get everyone else.”
“What?”
“You know how the sky is always gray and we have to stay inside so we don’t breathe the ashes? That’s spreading around the world blocking the sun. Pretty soon, it’s going to be winter everywhere.
“Can we go home soon, Daddy? I’m don’t like Boston anymore.”
It’s Wednesday and once again time to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ May 2, 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image at the top as the inspiration for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
I’ve always been fascinated by the “super volcano” sitting under Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. I’ve visited there a number of times in my childhood and it’s only a comfortable 450 mile drive from where I live in Idaho.
Promotional cover art for “Haunted Places” volume 2
It hasn’t gone off in well over half a million years and it isn’t anticipated to erupt any time soon…maybe.
I used the articles What Would a Yellowstone Eruption Mean for North America? and Yellowstone volcano eruption DEATH ZONE: Millions stranded as volcano wipes out US for basic information and then made the disaster worse.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
My horror short story “Haunting Chloe” is now available in the ghost story anthology Haunted Places (universal link) by Blackbird Publishing. Pick up a copy, give it a read, and don’t forget to leave an honest review at Amazon and Goodreads.
poweredbyrobots.com 
A sad but not totally dystopian tale.
LikeLike
I read that even a “small” nuclear war, say between India and Pakistan, would result in years of winter and starvation, so it’s not so far fetched.
LikeLiked by 1 person
enjoyed your story and could imagine the little girl trembling…. also, interesting to learn that Yellowstone has the volcanic system rather than multiple distinct volcanoes and that ir is called a “super volcano” – I knew of the many geothermal features with geysers, hot springs, etc. and interesting to learn about the super volcano –
LikeLike
Hopefully, it will stay fairly quiet for a while longer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
we really never know, do we?
LikeLike
I did not know about the Yellowstone super volcano. Interesting tale.
Tracey
LikeLike
Thanks, Tracey.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seems like the beginning of a novel. I would want to read more?
LikeLike
There’s been a ton of disaster related novels, TV shows, and movies in that vein but thanks, Clare.
LikeLike
Natural disasters, like earthquakes and volcano eruptions are generally beyond our control. During earlier 2010 most of the air traffic across Europe was halted because of an eruptions in Iceland. Only a mad man would set off a nuclear war, and unfortunately there are lots of them ‘Mad Men’.
Great story to make us appreciate our existence.
LikeLike
Thanks, James. In “Superman the Movie” (1978), a mad man (Lex Luthor) set off an earthquake with a missile, so sometimes natural disasters (in fiction anyway) are not natural.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was just reading about that volcano the other day. A topical one.
LikeLike
Hopefully not too topical, Sandra. Thanks.
LikeLike
I am not sure I’d tell a small child the truth. Let them enjoy life while they can. Scary thought a supervolcano under Yellowstone. Maybe that’s how it will end…
LikeLike
I think that’s where “Dad’s” quandary came in. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to lie and say she’s okay and then, if the worse happens, she’ll know he lied to her. It’s tough.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gee. I had no idea about the super volcano just lying there under Yellowstone. It’s always a delicate balancing game of how much to tell.
LikeLike
All those geysers have to come from somewhere, Dale. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True enough
LikeLiked by 1 person
Put me in mind of Mt. St. Helens. Terrifying to think of a super volcano. An ordinary one is bad enough!
LikeLike
This one would make Mt. St. Helens look like a firecracker.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Life is certainly full of twists and turns – a thought provoking piece.
LikeLike
Thanks, Dahlia.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve read quite a bit about that super volcano, and it’s not the only one on earth. It’s at the same time frightening and comforting that nature cannot be controlled by us.
LikeLike
That’s a great story idea. What if all the super volcanoes on Earth erupted at the same time? 😀
LikeLike
We wouldn’t have to wait for eternal winter. The poisonous gases would probably kill most of us.
LikeLike
That’s a cheery thought.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a realistic fictional story. Very scary.
LikeLike
This is somewhat terrifying, as I was unaware of the Yellowstone super volcano.
LikeLike
Apparently, it’s not the only one.
LikeLiked by 1 person