Chapitre 10: Mauna Loa

Seth decided to ignore the quakes that keep on shaking now and then. The quake was not strong enough to demolish the house, but as a precaution, they were staying outside in case something happens to the house.

"That's it, I am going in. The house can survive the quakes all this while. I am sure nothing will happen if we were to stay inside. " Seth's action to goes inside the house may put his life in danger, but he does not care anymore. He has waited long enough.

"Seth, wait!" Ben suddenly spoke up.

"I remember that there used to be an underground bunker that was built under the garage. My father in law, he spends a lot of money and time building it. He always said that this bunker that he built can even withstand an atomic bomb impact. None of us take him seriously at that time. When he passed away, we never enter the bunker again. Later Tiffany used that place as a storage area." Ben let out a chuckled remembering his late wife and father in law antics.

"That old man, I don't know what he used to work as, but I always heard his brag that he used to build bunkers for the Japanese army. Back in those days, he said his bunker survived the atomic bomb incidence in Hiroshima. So he built one here in Hawaii, probably because he still can't let go of his army lifestyle yet." Ben gave out a laugh suddenly.

Seth looked at his brother Ben. He knew that Ben misses his late wife, Tiffany a lot. His wife is a Japanese American, and they were married since they were in their twenties. After marriage, Tiffany decided to live with her father here in Hawaii.

"Come on, I will take you guys there. I hope the generator is still working. We need to ventilate the bunker first before we can get inside." Ben urges the family uphill to his family's garage.

"Ben, are you sure that we are not going to be buried alive instead?" Seth looks up to Ben while he jogged a bit to catch up with his brother in front.

Ben did not say anything, he just smiled and pat Seth on the shoulder.

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Lucy's eyes were looking around the garage in awe. She finally let go of Suzy's hand once she enters the garage. The garage looks just like any other garage on the outside, but the interior inside were all solid concrete with complicated gauge sticking out from the ground and there is a big fan inside of a big cylinder. There is also a huge odd looking generator inside the garage.

Ben picked up a long flexible pipe and insert them inside the diesel barrel. He then linked the pipe together with the generator and pressed a button.

Ah, how he missed refueling the generator. The memories of him hanging out with his late father in law surged through his mind.

After a few minutes, another gauge suddenly lights up and the huge fan inside the cylinder started to rotate. The sound it produced was loud enough and Suzy run in fright towards Lucy, hugging her.

The air ventilation is working.

"Come on, don't be afraid Suzy. Let me show you guys how cool the underground bunker is." Ben held onto Suzy's hand tightly and he took out a set of keys from inside of a can.

Lifting off a big worn-out cloth that is covering a trap door underneath, dust was sent flying everywhere.

"Cough...cough... Sorry about that, I have never entered this place again ever since my father in law passed away. So it should be very dusty, and musty inside." Ben explained to Seth and his family awkwardly.

Under the trapdoor, there is a stair that leads down to another door. It was quite dark and the air is a bit musty. Probably if the air filter is not functioning, they won't be able to enter the underground bunker at all.

Ben took the lead by going down the stairs first. As he steps on the ladder, a series of popping sounds were heard as the light was switched on one by one. The dark tunnel finally have a source of light lighting their way down the stairs.

Seth did not close the trapdoor back as he is sure he will need to go back into the house and brought everything into the bunker.

It must have been at least 5 feet since they have climbed down the stairs. On the left side of the stairs, there is a huge and heavy-looking steel door.

"Ben, is this door a blast-proof door? They are using hydraulics?? " Seth gave a surprised look at Ben. Seth never imagines that the bunker Ben's old man built would be this modern.

Ben laughed. "Yup, it's quite high tech isn't it? Didn't I tell you the old man spends a lot on his bunker? Wait till you get inside, you are going to love it." Ben pats his hand several times on Seth's shoulder.

"Boom, boom..!!"

A loud shattering sound was heard followed by a violent quake. Their surroundings were immediately turned dusty. Suzy, who is unable to stay balanced, falls on the concrete floor. Both Lucy and Suzy were screaming and they scramble towards each other.

"Quick, get inside!" Ben was shouting at the family of four. Nobody noticed when Ben opened up the steel door, all they knew is that they need to get in there before they were deaf from the loud sound.

As their ears were ringing, the family of four huddles up together. Inside the bunker, they no longer hear the loud deafening sound again. All they heard were only muffling sound and they felt safer inside.

They were hugging each other for about two minutes when the quakes finally died down. Seth looks up at his family and noticed all of their ears were bleeding. A trail of blood was seen on each of their ears.

They might have injuries to their ears caused by the loud sound that they heard outside. It took a while when the ringing stops and they finally can hear again.

Ben's face was pale and ashen as they look at Seth. Ben's lips keep on moving, mumbling things that Seth could not hear. "What did you say Ben? I can't hear you."

Ben looked up to Seth and said: "Mauna Loa has awakened."

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