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

by Popovich, A. D.

  A random voice invaded his mind. “Wrong way! She’s not in Boom Town!” He shrugged it off. The encounter with the crazy Voodoo lady must be playing tricks with his imagination.

  Once Justin made it out of the market, he rode toward the northern border to the shanty town where the gypsies and smugglers lived. It was the one place Enforcers didn’t bother with. Yet. They would be needing a labor force to build Zhetto Land. After it was built, project CLEAN UP would be implemented. They would bulldoze the shanties and tents. The panhandle would be used as valuable farmland.

  He rode northbound against January’s bitter-cold winds and made up a corny song to settle his edgy nerves. “Someone send me a smuggler dude.”

  Chapter 14

  Scarlett Lewis hurried through washing the dishes, anxious to check on Ella again. Yesterday still had her on edge. Scarlett and Shari had hiked to the riverbank east of the lodge to harvest more of the False Unicorn root. The bank where it had grown had been plowed over. Intentionally. Her inner vision had captured the thick cloud of dark energy wafting across the bank. Even Shari had detected the evil energy.

  Scarlett had quickly cloaked her and Shari in an intricate web of dark and light energies to protect them on the return trip to the cabin. It was clear. The Ancient Ones had destroyed the rare herb. They would stop at nothing. An unsettling suspicion had warned a significant event had just altered the Grand Plan to Save Hu-manity. And it wasn’t in humanity’s favor.

  She dried her hands and peeked in on Ella. She sat in the rocker, sipping the red raspberry tea Shari had prescribed. Unfortunately, Ella had used the last of Shari’s special tincture three days ago. Since then, Ella’s health had deteriorated day by day, her skin sallow, her breath shallow, her heartbeat erratic. Shari had said it wasn’t a good sign.

  Ella caught her stealing a concerned look. “Mijo’s feeling much better,” Ella said with a wisp of a smile as if trying to convince herself.

  Twila came bouncing into the cabin’s living room. “Ella! Ella! The Silver Lady just told me Luther has a special package for you. The magical tea!”

  “O-M-G, the magical tea!” Ella elated. “Archangel Michael answered my prayers.”

  “Are you flippin’ kidding me?” First the dark energy and now this. “Are you sure it was the Silver Lady?” Scarlett pressed.

  “Yes, I know her voice,” Twila insisted. “She told me to be very brave and to believe harder than ever before.”

  Scarlett didn’t know whom or what to believe anymore. She certainly didn’t plan to sit around and wait for the baby to die. Especially after Shari had informed her of the heartbreaking news. The mothers always died. Scarlett tuned into her inner vision. An image of a brown-papered package bound in string floated in front of her. The packaged opened. An ornate tin filled with the silvery powder glowed in her mind’s eye. Was it wishful thinking?

  Scarlett slipped on a rain poncho. It was pouring. February had hit the plains with scattered snow showers and plenty of rain.

  “You can’t leave now.” Ella gasped. “It’s storming.”

  “I need to talk to Shari.” She checked Ella’s pulse again. “Hang in there. Use your positive thought meditations.”

  Ella nodded.

  “Mommy, it’s all my fault. I’m supposed to be a healer when I grow up. And I can’t help her.” Twila kicked the sofa. “What’s wrong with me?”

  “Twila—” Scarlett scolded in a low tone. “Remember what Shari said about anger? It’s a low-vibe energy. Don’t let it take over the good energy.”

  “I know,” Twila said with downcast eyes. “But I can’t help it if it makes me mad.”

  “Twila, you are helping me so much,” Ella said sweetly.

  If the Silver Lady had contacted Twila, something must be happening. “Listen to the Silver Lady and be brave,” Scarlett encouraged. “Why don’t you skip your school lessons for the next few days. You can work with your crystals and send Ella extra healing energies,” Scarlett said with more faith than she felt.

  “Mijo would love that.” Ella rubbed her stomach.

  Twila nodded meekly. “I don’t want you to go to Boom Town. There’s too much scary-bad energy out there.”

  “I know how to shield myself. Be back in a bit.” She needed Shari’s advice. Twila’s words tore at her as she walked out the cabin. Poor Twila, what kind of normal life is this? She wanted to scream at the Silver Lady. Instead, she fought back the chill. She walked briskly under the cottonwoods’ gray, barren limbs. Their winter spindly sprays reached in vain for the sun-kissed life of spring. Which, was exactly how she felt.

  As Scarlett entered the lodge’s back kitchen entrance adjacent to the greenhouse, raised voices alerted her of a new crisis. The hairs on her arms stood straight up. Shari’s in trouble!

  “You’ve got more gold than that!” It was a man’s voice. An angry voice.

  “I swear on my mother’s grave—this is all I have. My husband takes it,” Shari’s quivering voice responded.

  “Ha, Zac? He’s dead, you old fool. Give me the gold,” the man demanded.

  What? Zac’s dead? No! Every muscle in Scarlett’s body went numb as if her soul had been unplugged from its lifeforce.

  “Zac’s not dead. I saw him this morning,” Shari countered. This time her voice didn’t quiver.

  Scarlett tiptoed across the kitchen. She grabbed a butcher knife as she passed the counter. Edging her way to the hallway, she peered into the front sitting room. Shari’s eyes flickered in recognition while Scarlett crept behind the intruder.

  The man cocked his gun.

  Shari grabbed the vase from the end table. She threw it at his head. Scarlett stabbed him from behind. The gun went off before crashing onto the hardwood floor. Shari grabbed it first.

  Scarlett straddled him. The flimsy butcher knife hadn't pierced through the man’s leather jacket. The man threw her off. And Shari shot him. In the heart. Just like that. Well, she would have done it herself if she had grabbed the gun first. For Scarlett had shot a man in cold blood for no other reason than he might have been a bad guy.

  “Quick! Get his feet before he turns.” They dragged him out the kitchen door. He sprang to life; its new life as a creeper. Shari seemed a bit disoriented. Scarlett understood. Killing, was a ghastly task. She took the gun from Shari’s pocket and then shot the creeper in the head. Shari and Scarlett held each other’s gaze for an uncomfortable moment. A shared moment of relief and regret.

  “Talk about good timing—” Shari shivered. “Help me drag him behind the storage shed.”

  “I’ll bury him later,” Scarlett said. “Uh, do you—did you, know him?”

  “Never seen the likes of him before. I came downstairs to find him ransacking the place. And don’t believe what he said, neither. Zac isn’t dead. But he must be in trouble. He’s never been gone this long.”

  “You lost your abilities—” Scarlett started.

  “Maybe I just lost my faith in humanity. Watching Ella struggling to give new life is giving me a renewed lust for life. And teaching those classes has reawakened me. But, Ella’s dying. Like all the rest of them . . . If only I had made more of the New Hu tincture.”

  “You’re going to think this is crazy. Twila says the monoatomic tea is waiting for me at Boom Town. A bizarre coincidence?”

  Shari gave her an arched-brow look. “Just bizarre enough to be a miracle from Spirit.”

  “Tell me, what exactly do you know about this monoatomic powder?” She wanted to know before she risked the trip to Boom Town.

  Shari went silent as if sifting through her years of acquired esoteric knowledge. “It goes by many names. Mono atomic gold, monatomic gold, Etherium Gold, white gold, ORMUS, Philosophers’ Stone. Even Mana—The Bread of Life from biblical times.” Shari paused. “From what they say, it regenerates the body on a cellular level, healing and upgrading the DNA, and nourishing the etheric body. A miracle food.”

  It sounded incredible. Was it legit or a mythic
al legend? “Did you ever try it?” Scarlett was dying to know more.

  Shari shook her head. “I never found a reliable source. How’s Ella doing today?”

  “Worse than yesterday.”

  “Cheer up.” Shari smiled. “I’ll grab my special crystals and grid Ella and her unborn son with my selenites, Brandbergs, and the black tourmalines I bought from an old Voodoo Queen in Zhetto. Twila can help me with the healing meditation. We’ll visualize the healthy birth of her son. It will be a good distraction for us. It might even work.”

  Scarlett’s inner vision captured the despair wavering beyond the older woman’s eyes. Funny, Shari had said son. Ella always said mijo, which was a Spanish endearment for my son. As she recalled, the Silver Lady had said Ella’s son would reborn in her womb at a later time. Was he really the same soul?

  “And why doesn’t the Silver Lady talk to me anymore?” Scarlett huffed.

  “To keep you safe. Everyone’s brain is connected to the cosmic consciousness. A cosmic connection can be hacked into like a Wi-Fi computer,” Shari cautioned. “Unless, you have proficient security.”

  “Hmm, but she talks to Twila,” Scarlett fretted.

  “I’ve been thinking about it as well. Twila must have access to a higher frequency than most of us,” Shari speculated.

  That would explain it. Scarlett would just have to work harder at blocking. “Shari, how do I get to Boom Town? I mean, isn’t it impossible to cross Zoat?”

  Shari pursed her lips and pressed a finger to her mouth. “You are right. You can’t leave.”

  They walked into the lodge’s kitchen entrance. Shari snatched a notepad from the kitchen counter. In a calligraphy script, Shari wrote FOLLOW ME. Shari toweled-off her wet hair and then grabbed an umbrella and the shotgun. Scarlett followed her across the soggy plain. They climbed down the muddy embankment to the creek.

  The creek was high, roaring from the recent rains. “The background chatter will help disguise our thoughts. Now, I want you to take long, deep breaths.” Shari led her to the edge of the creek. “Concentrate on the creek’s chatter. Ask it to drown out your thoughts from the unnamed ones.”

  Scarlett focused on her breathing. She listened, more like absorbed, the little babbles on the edges of the banks. Then she took in the roar as it gushed over the rocks.

  “Good. Imagine you are trapped inside Zoat, as horrific as it is to visualize,” Shari continued.

  Scarlett closed her eyes and imagined walking through a moat of creepers.

  “Let the image consume your mind,” Shari whispered. “Let the unnamed ones see you. Let them watch.”

  A whimper escaped Scarlett’s lips. The pain—unbearable.

  “Keep going,” Shari urged. “Visualize your death . . .”

  Scarlett’s heart skipped a beat at the request. And then she disappeared, the release sudden. She was free of the cord that had bound her.

  “Did you lose them?” Shari asked. “My intuition told me they followed us yesterday.”

  “I felt the release. Like a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.”

  “Just like you did for me at the market. It will only work for a while until they find a minuscule weakness and weasel their way back into your consciousness. Keep your shields turbocharged,” Shari warned.

  “Now what?” Scarlett questioned.

  “You’re going to Boom Town.”

  “How?” Scarlett wished she had as much faith in her abilities as Shari.

  “Why do you think Zac chose this particular strip of property with Zoat practically in our backyard? There’s a tunnel entrance that takes you right into Boom Town.”

  It was starting to sound like a plan. And Scarlett the planner, loved plans. “How long do you think it will take to get there?”

  “In this weather—hmm.” Shari tapped her index finger against her lips. “Six to eight hours if you follow the meandering creek. I wouldn’t risk traveling across the plains. You’re bound to run into trouble. Beware of drones.”

  “How big is this tunnel?” Dread took over while Scarlett paced the banks of Ghost Creek.

  “Big enough for mule trains to haul contraband. With this rain, you’ll need to watch for flash floods. The creek is more like an arroyo. It can fill up quickly.”

  “Where is the tunnel?” Scarlett had slipped back into worry mode.

  “Dear, you’re the one with the Sight. Have faith,” Shari chided. “I’ll lend you my lapis lazuli pendant. It stimulates the third eye and protects from psychic attack, allowing a peaceful journey when you dare to traverse the unknown.”

  She certainly could use all the help she could get. A horrible realization came to mind. “So, the tunnel goes under Zoat?”

  Shari nodded. “You’ll be fine if you tap into your inner-guidance. The tunnel should only take about fifteen minutes to cross. It butts up to the New Mexico side of Zoat—the back side of Boom Town.”

  Scarlett agonized over the decision. She analyzed everything Shari had said. Would it actually be that easy? Eight hours there. Eight hours back. She could do it in one day. Simple, compared to her five-month journey across post-apocalyptic America on a haggard horse. There was no decision to make. She dug the heel of her boot into the reddish mud. She had to save Ella. At least try.

  “Don’t over think it. You know it's your Soul Mission to save her,” Shari whispered as if channeled by the Silver Lady’s spirit. “I'll look after Ella and Twila.”

  Scarlett turned to Shari, telling her with a simple nod that she’d do it. “Does Zac have hiking supplies I can use?”

  “Oodles and oodles.” Shari headed toward the cabin.

  “I need a backpack and food. And a tent and bedroll in case I get delayed by the storm.” Scarlett checked off the items on her mental list. “And a first-aid kit. Do you have an extra rifle? And a handgun?”

  “We’ve got it all.”

  “Ooh, Onyx is excited!” Twila exclaimed in Scarlett’s inner hearing.

  ***

  After brushing down Onyx, Scarlett placed the saddle pad on his back, followed by the saddle, and then tightened the front and rear cinches. She readjusted the bridle’s bit. “Is this more comfortable?”

  Onyx nodded enthusiastically.

  With the rucksack slung over her shoulder, Scarlett walked Onyx to the cabin. She had already packed the saddle pouches with the venison and flatbread provided by Shari. She wasn’t looking forward to the wintery weather journey, but Onyx seemed to be.

  She tied the reins around the cabin’s front porch post. “We’re leaving soon.” Common sense told her to leave at dawn. Leaving at midnight was idiotic. Still, she worried Ella might not last much longer.

  It was time to disguise herself as a man. A lone woman in Zhetto would definitely arouse suspicion. Shari got away with it because Zhetts knew her. Besides, she was legally married. Scarlett tied a throw pillow around her waist with rope, giving her an oversized belly, which concealed her breasts. She slipped on the old jumpsuit she had liberated from the fairgrounds. She rebraided her hair and then stuffed the braids under a waterproof wool hat Shari had lent her.

  “Don’t forget this.” Twila handed her a jar of dirt from the bathroom’s medicine cabinet.

  Scarlett had it ready for emergencies. She made a muddy paste and smudged her face to hide her fair feminine complexion.

  She fiddled with the rucksack’s lumbar straps, getting it just right. The pack was similar to the trusty ALICE pack she used to have. She certainly wasn’t planning on camping out in the cold rain. After strapping the pup tent to the bottom of the pack, she rearranged the folding shovel, extra canteen, eating utensils, first-aid kit, and water purifier.

  She loaded her jacket pockets with a bit of everything, in case she had to ditch her pack for a fast getaway. One thing she had learned: carry food and ammo on her person along with a supply in her saddle and pack. Always be prepared for the unexpected. Sheena had taught her that.

  “Hurry, Mommy!”


  Twila’s words chilled Scarlett’s blood. The sad look in Twila’s eyes told her she couldn’t delay the trip any longer. Scarlett checked on Ella one last time. She slept in the extra bedroom surrounded with crystals, something right out of a medieval fairy tale. All she needed was the mysterious prince to arrive and cure her with true love’s kiss. Which reminded her, somewhere out there, Justin was searching for Ella.

  “He’s lost.” Twila crossed her eyes rather emphatically. “I’ll send him the directions again. But, he never listens to me.”

  It sounded like Justin. What would he think about all this metaphysical business? Surely, he would think they had all gone cray-cray. She almost laughed.

  “Sweetie, stay inside. Sit with Ella and meditate. And, don’t—”

  “I know, I know. Don’t answer the door. And hide if bad people come,” Twila finished.

  Scarlett opened the cabin’s front door. “I love you.” She hugged Twila.

  Twila stroked the stallion’s mane. “You must hurry, Onyx. Keep Mommy safe. Follow the creek to the secret cave.”

  Onyx snorted in agreement.

  Scarlett lingered on the front porch before closing the front door. Reluctantly, she slipped one foot into the stirrup. “Are you ready, Onyx?”

  The magnificent stallion whinnied and shook his silky black mane.

  The rain had stopped. In the pale moon’s light, Scarlett studied her surroundings, eyeing the horizon for the red lights of drones. She reached for the lapis lazuli pendant tucked under her jacket. The deep-blue stone speckled with the golden shimmer of pyrite reminded her of a starry night. She held it up to the moon and focused with closed eyelids. She willed the tunnel to reveal itself.

  Without warning, her mind thrust forward like a metaphysical rollercoaster. She soared over the winding creek, through its dips and turns, until she came to a wall of dirt.

  I don’t see the tunnel’s entrance.

  The tunnel’s entrance popped into her head, hidden by the sunken creek’s underbrush. She stared at it, memorizing its location. Then she pushed on with her mind. She soared into the tunnel. The stench of decay penetrated its dark, dank walls. The moans of imprisoned un-dead souls overpowered her. She pushed herself farther and farther, letting the tranquility of the semi-precious stone take over.