Only The Dead Don't Die (Book 3): Last State

by Popovich, A. D.

  Scarlett ran toward the woman running in her direction. The horde was dangerously close. And they were fast. It must be the new X-strain. The Enforcer trapped in the Hummer wouldn’t be saving any Zhetts. No, he was too busy trying to save himself.

  “Ella!” Scarlett ran for her. A creeper dove off the Hummer’s roof, aiming for them. She pushed Ella out of its way. The tire iron was faster than it. Slam!

  Another one landed next to Ella. Ella rammed it in the neck with the pointy end of an umbrella. Clever.

  “Run for the truck. I’ll hold them off,” Scarlett demanded.

  More creepers jumped for them. Slam! Slam! Scarlett knocked them to the side, merely trying to disable them for a few seconds.

  When Ella made it inside the truck, Scarlett didn’t waste any more time fighting them off. She jumped into the truck next to Ella.

  “Uh, wait,” Ella said wide-eyed. Ella held out her chipped hand and shook her head.

  It could only mean one thing. Ella was on the run. Without Justin. Is Justin all right? Shari caught on and handed Scarlett the switchblade snapped to her belt. She would rather use it than the bloodied one inside her jacket’s pocket.

  “This might pinch,” Scarlett warned. Ella turned her head away. “Done.” Scarlett held up the rice-grain-sized RFID chip.

  “I don’t want any more Enforcers knocking on my front door,” Shari warned. “Grab a steak. There’s only one way they’ll stop looking for her.”

  Scarlett nodded. “Exactly, if she’s an Infected.” For based on Ella’s chubby cheeks and large coat, there was absolutely no doubt Ella was pregnant. Ella had always been petite.

  Scarlett squeezed through the truck’s back sliding window, falling head first into the bed with the chip pinched between her fingers. A horde tailed them. She groped around the cooler until she felt the cold raw steaks Shari had traded for. She cut into a slab of meat with the knife, inserted the chip, and then dangled it out the camper’s back door.

  A rather motivated creeper raced past its fellow hordesmen and leaped for the raw meat. Scarlett let go. The creeper rolled about like a tumbleweed and finally unfurled only to bury its head into the steak before the rest of the horde could claim it.

  Scarlett bounced around the bed of the truck, darting to each of the camper’s windows, waiting for Enforcers and drones to close in on the horde. The horde gradually disappeared into the horizon. Shari stopped long enough for her to jump inside the cab. And then, Shari raced across the plains toward the lodge.

  No one uttered a word.

  Chapter 10

  Shari O’Hara drove in silence, scanning the rear and side-mirrors every few seconds. If Scarlett had warned them one minute later—Shari refused to dwell on it. Behind them, the market swarmed with people running for their lives. A helicopter swooped in, no doubt rescuing their Elites. It was the first horde attack since the Elites had started visiting the market.

  As a rule, Enforcers were overzealous in squashing out trouble, whether it be a simple bartering dispute or an Infected Incident. Security had been lax. Enforcers usually patrolled the aisles. Not today. This had the feel of a rebel attack. The resistance groups usually chose the fancy restaurants and spas in the ABC Zones. Why would they hit the market? They would infect more Zhetts than Elites.

  Seconds after Scarlett had released her from the invisible bounds slowly asphyxiating her lifeforce, Shari’s fleeting bliss had withered to utter despair. She had caught a glimpse of her future-self. She had witnessed her death—and wished she hadn’t. The Sight was as much a curse as it was a gift.

  Shari had outwitted the Super Summer flu, but she couldn’t outwit her fate. Criminy, now I’ve got another runaway wife. Had Spirit turned her into a guardian for wayward women? It was one surefire way to get thrown into Zoat. Still, she had never turned her back on Spirit even though it had abandoned her.

  She pulled into an overgrown weed-covered driveway of a dilapidated homestead from decades past. Why had Spirit summoned her this late in the End Times? Perhaps Spirit was strategically placing its remaining pawns, preparing for the final battle of good versus evil.

  Shari was ready for answers. She shifted the Ford into park and turned off the engine. She leaned forward in the seat to make eye contact with the two young women. Intuition told her they were good souls. “Ladies, I wasn’t born yesterday. If you want my help, better start talking. Otherwise—” Shari didn’t finish.

  Tears trickled down the Hispanic woman’s cheeks. Compassion poured from Scarlett’s lovely eyes. The Blue Pearl of Wisdom seemed to exude from Scarlett’s forehead. The blue pearl floated above Scarlett’s third eye and bloomed into a lotus. The vision wasn’t of Shari’s doing, perhaps Scarlett’s spirit guide had sent her the vision as a sign. That’s when Shari knew above any shadow of doubt: It was her fate to help them.

  “Do you . . . Believe?” Scarlett whispered.

  “What I believe is, someone opened Pandora’s Box. Evil is winning. And damned if I know what to do about it,” Shari huffed. “As in all things in nature, eventually there is a balance. Even if it’s just a speck of white light waiting to be rescued from the darkness. Right now, I’ve got an uncanny feeling that little speck of light is you two. If Spirit led us to each other—there’s a reason. So, tell this old blind prairie chicken what you see.”

  “Uh, my ability isn’t very reliable,” Scarlett said in an apologetic tone. “I usually don’t know if my insight is my own paranoia or actual messages. It’s starting to come in clearer since the quarantine.”

  “All the fluoride they intentionally poison the water with,” Shari seethed through a clenched jaw. “It’s an old trick the unnamed ones have gotten away with for decades. Fluoride calcifies the pineal gland and blinds our third eye abilities, turning us into mindless servants.”

  “Lately, the shadowy images hover beyond the periphery of my closed eyes. It drives me mad,” Scarlett flustered in frustration.

  “Let me guess, like a CB radio just out of reach?” Shari understood all too well.

  “Exactly,” Scarlett said.

  “I think . . .” Shari contemplated. “The evil entities are jamming our signals, so to speak. That way, they don’t have to waste their energies tracking down all the Lightworkers.”

  “The Ancient Ones have been tracking me since California,” Scarlett informed. “No matter what I do. They always find me.”

  “Shh.” Shari held a finger to her lips. A primordial fear grappled at Shari’s heart. “Never say their name. It gives them more power. Refer to them as the unnamed ones.” Scarlett must be a gifted Lightworker to have eluded the unnamed ones for so long.

  “I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” the Hispanic girl said with wide brown eyes as innocent as a doe’s. There was something almost angelic about her.

  Shari wished she could see her aura. She had a feeling she was missing out. “I take it you are on the lam as well,” Shari voiced her suspicion.

  “Oh, this is Ella,” Scarlett finally introduced.

  “I’m Shari O’Hara. Folks around here call me Shotgun Shari.” She gave Ella a quick smile before stepping out of the truck. She needed to put things in perspective. How had two Lightworkers found her after all this time?

  Scarlett and Ella joined her outside. They stood around the truck as if waiting for Enforcers to take them into custody. Would Zac be able to bail her out of this one? Several vehicles approached about six hundred yards away. Scarlett panned the perimeter with the binoculars.

  “Are they after us?” Ella fretted, fear flickering in her eyes.

  “Just people trying to escape.” Scarlett let the binoculars drape around her neck when the vehicles roared past.

  “We must beware of those who wish we no longer existed, eradicating our abilities. And us,” Shari cautioned. She suspected most Lightworkers had not survived. And the few who had may not be aware of their soul purposes, like a time-released message encoded in one’s DNA. Shari shielded her
thoughts even though she could no longer receive. What if they still heard her?

  “My mind is always in self-defense mode,” Scarlett said. “The whisperings of everyone’s thoughts drive me insane.”

  “Okay, so what is a Lightworker?” Ella’s brows knitted tighter. “I must be having another one of my loco dreams?”

  “Lightworkers are sent to heal this spiritual plane we call Earth. Especially during chaotic times,” Shari attempted. How could she explain it in a few words? It took years of living to assimilate it. “See, we contracted our specific missions lifetimes ago. The problem is, with all the chaos going on, we become distracted with the complications of everyday life. And we end up forgetting we were sent here to accomplish our missions. To heal the Mother Earth and hu-manity.”

  Ella gave her a questioning crooked-brow look.

  “I know, Spirit is tricky,” Shari admitted. It would be far easier if Lightworkers could access their missions once they arrived at this point in time and space. “Do you get tidbits of insight in your dreams?” Shari asked Ella.

  Ella nodded. “That’s why I’m here.” The younger woman unbuttoned her thick coat.

  Her slightly swollen belly was nothing short of a miracle. “Criminy! Preg—” Shari covered her mouth before she spoke it to all who may be listening.

  Shari thought back to the painful stabbings blinding her third-eye upon the pandemic’s inception. She presumed the unnamed ones were after Scarlett and Ella. She empathized with them, knowing their struggles would intensify. Humanity was up for grabs. Why on earth did Spirit give me such a momentous responsibility? Perhaps she had just answered her own question. If the unnamed ones considered her an old has-been waiting to die, it was the perfect cover.

  Shari’s aching muscles stiffened after the hectic day. She needed another dosage of Cure-All. She stretched her legs and contemplated the situation. It was time for deep soul-searching. It was apparent Spirit wasn’t done with her. She still had a purpose, for despite her foggy memories of the past, she had retained her knowledge of the mystery school teachings. Only her faith in mankind had waned, leaving her vulnerable to the negativity engulfing the Earth.

  Shari never had been one for beating around the bush. “Confession time. I’m a Lightworker who lost my abilities. But if Spirit led you to me, I cannot deny you refuge.” She knew better than to ignore synchronicity.

  Shari placed her hand on the Hispanic woman’s belly. “Three to four months?” The young woman was too young to be saddled with such a burden.

  Ella nodded slowly. “You’ll help me?” The mother-child pleaded with eyes brimming with love and light.

  “I always follow the lighted path,” Shari proclaimed to them as well as to Spirit. “The light in your eyes is that of starlight, taking me back to the birth of our universe.” Shari’s cheek dampened.

  “I need to get to Boom Town,” Ella blurted. “I’m supposed to meet Justin there.”

  Justin must be the baby’s father. “That’s Zac’s department,” Shari stated. “All I can do is keep you safe until Zac returns.” If he ever returned. Shari was starting to have her doubts.

  Ella turned to Scarlett. “She knows Zac?”

  Scarlett nodded. “I don’t want to put you in a dangerous position—” Scarlett started.

  “Of course, I’ll help. Tell me, why escape now that you’re with child,” Shari couldn’t help but wonder. “Last State has many great doctors from all over the country.”

  “They’re evil! They don’t want my baby to live,” Ella lashed out. “They only want the fetus!”

  The significance of Ella’s words ringed with undeniable truth. “That would explain the zero childbirths,” Shari said flatly.

  “Why would they allow such an atrocity?” Scarlett exclaimed.

  “My dream showed”—Ella stopped, forcing back sobs—“they preserve fetuses in jars of fluid. But I don’t get it. Why?”

  “There’s something,” Scarlett murmured through fluttering lashes, “in the stem cells or amniotic fluid. Oh, God! They’re working on a Fountain of Youth elixir. But I’m blocked from a clear image.”

  The mother-child grabbed the rosary beads around her neck and whispered a prayer in Spanish. Ella couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen. A puzzling stillness took over. In a déjà vu moment, the sensation of the Earth’s centrifugal force bore down on Shari. The Earth stopped. Then, it spun in the opposite direction, faster and faster as if erasing time—in both directions, past and future. She forced herself out of the disconcerting notion.

  Shari eyed the area suspiciously. “We’d better get back before the sun sets. Only smugglers and the unfortunate travel in Zhetto after dark. Scarlett, be a dear. Grab the cooler from the back. I could use some carbs.”

  Scarlett returned with the cooler. “Do you want me to drive?”

  Driving often induced the theta state, which was when Shari received sudden tidbits of insights. “That’s all right. You can make the sandwiches. Ladies, keep your eyes peeled for trouble,” Shari said, turning the key to the ignition. Don’t let us down. The truck responded with a click.

  “Criminy, meant to switch out the battery,” Shari muttered. The jalopy was on its last legs.

  “It’s the starter,” Ella said matter-of-factly.

  Shari and Scarlett turned to Ella, who sat between them on the bench seat.

  “How would you know?” Scarlett seemed surprised.

  “It’s just a light click. And I smell smoke,” Ella said.

  “Zac changed the starter before he left.” Shari turned the key again. A slight whirring followed.

  “It’s probably a rebuilt starter. It could be a dud. Papa used to have an old truck sorta like this. He always had to change the starter because there was a draw in the electrical system. It always fried the starter and drained the battery. Something like that,” Ella explained.

  Shari tried the engine again.

  “Papa had a trick.” Ella unbuckled her seatbelt. “Let me out, Scarlett. I need the crowbar.”

  Shari and Scarlett shared a moment of “this is interesting.”

  “How do you open the hood?” Ella darted to the front of the truck.

  Shari released the latch. “There’s a lever above the front grill.”

  The young woman opened the creaking hood. “Try starting it again,” Ella said with the crowbar in hand. She hit something under the hood.

  The engine whirred to a start. Ella slammed the hood shut.

  “Amazing,” Scarlett said as Ella scooted back into the middle.

  “It just needed help making the connection,” Ella said simply.

  “Hmm, a connection,” Scarlett mumbled. “From what I’m starting to understand, all life is about energy. And how we attract and repel the different energies.” Scarlett seemed to be thinking out loud. “Which brings us to the ultimate question. Why are the three of us here at this precise moment in time? I mean, think about everything we had to do to survive to this point, against all the odds. Yet, here we are. We found you, Shari.” Scarlett turned to her with a gorgeous smile.

  Shari thought about it, energies, connections, and timing, letting the theta state take over while driving the well-known route in auto-pilot mode. Her tidbit of insight finally found her. “I think we found each other because it was predestined for me to be your—teacher.” What else did she have to offer?

  Scarlett leaned forward and turned to Shari. “That’s it! I was asking for a teacher. My spirit guide isn’t always here when I need her. She’s off battling the Ancient—the unnamed ones. I need to learn. To understand.”

  “We finally met up with our future-selves,” Shari announced. “Before the End Times, I taught mystery school courses. I was told to share my knowledge, for one day it would reach the right ears.” Perhaps, her lifetime of accumulated esoteric knowledge had been meant to be shared with Scarlett and Ella. “I can teach you to enhance your abilities with the aid of meditation, crystals, and herbs.” Shari wa
s lost in thought, thinking of all the techniques she could teach them. It gave her a renewed zest for life in this dying world.

  “Remain invisible from those who wish to enslave the Hu-mans,” a mysterious voice whispered within. It hadn’t sounded like Scarlett or Ella. A new spirit guide? Intriguing.

  “Future-selves. Spirit guides. Crystals. This all sounds so cuh-ray-zee. Oh, I can’t wait to see Twila,” Ella elated.

  Shari jolted out of her theta state. Twila?

  “Is she—okay?” Ella asked in a wary tone.

  Scarlett’s face went blank. “Oh, shit.” Scarlett stared at the truck’s ceiling. “Uh, Shari, did I mention I have a little girl? That would be Twila.”

  “You—you have a child? Living with you. On my property?” Shari was astonished. “A healthy child?” It was turning out to be a day of earth-shattering news.

  “Extremely healthy. Although she’s prone to mood swings, tantrums, and occasional seizures. But she’s a sweetheart. I promise. She’s a rather strong-willed individual. And a devout vegetarian.”

  “Heavens,” Shari belted out. “I got a lot more than I bargained for the day you chased your ragtag hat up my driveway.” An intense wave of joy flooded into the lonely caverns of her soul, making her feel complete.

  They went into a nervous bout of laughter.

  Chapter 11

  Justin Chen sat in the minuscule control room and studied the monitors. He had volunteered to surveil today’s Zhetto Market. He had done it before, no problem, but today he was the only one of the three-man task force surveilling every stream of the market’s live feed, all three walls of it.

  Of all days, his co-workers had chosen today for the sick-out. The Think Tank’s Director had their Cyber Security unit working six twelve-hour shifts a week. The workaholic constantly extended his co-workers’ contracts without vacation days and denied all time-off requests. Working there was like cyber-prison. Everyone was exhausted and stressed to the max.