“A-hem.” Dean cleared his throat rather harshly. “Folks, we’ve got company.”
The abruptness of a kiss stolen too soon stung her lips. But she was ready. Ready for the perfect moment to end—just as every other bit of happiness had quickly fallen to misery since that day the Super Summer flu had assaulted humanity.
A group of unarmed men and women approached. On impulse, Scarlett decided against drawing her weapon. As did her friends.
“Howdy,” Dean greeted cautiously, tipping his cap.
Scarlett’s friends huddled closer. It’s not that she felt threatened by these strangers, more like flustered, used to running for cover.
“Any weapons?” a tall, muscular man in dark sunglasses shouted.
“What’d you think?” Justin flaunted his trademarked smirk.
“Excuse us for trespassing.” Dean stepped up to the plate as their leader and chief. “We’re not lookin’ for any trouble.”
“This is private property. How’d you happen into our neck of the woods?” the man demanded.
“Dude, like the universe sorta just plucked us up and plopped us here,” Justin zinged. Ella and Mindy giggled.
“That fella sure sounds familiar,” Dean mumbled under his breath.
Great, they had stumbled upon an alcove of marauders from Dean and Luther’s Boom Town days. So much for finding paradise.
Still, no one seemed particularly threatened. Wary yes, like new neighbors moving in, not the murderous mobs of the End Times. One of the babies went into a crying fit. Justin and Ella went rigid.
“Heavens, a baby?” the woman in overalls cried out.
No one really knew what to say. Normally, guns would be drawn, followed by threatening posturing. People would die. Instead, the strangers smiled. Their heart chakras bloomed into spinning mandalas of vivid pinks and greens.
“May I see?” The woman edged closer.
“Sure.” Ella smiled. “Plug your nose. Baby Mateo needs a clean diaper.”
Then Mindy’s baby decided to start crying.
“Son of a—” The man in the sunglasses gaped. “Two babies?”
Before Scarlett knew it, everyone gushed over the babies. This must be Shambhala. She eyed Zac questionably.
Zac wrapped his arms around her. “This is it. The place I’ve been searching for—the one in my dreams. And I never would have discovered it without you.”
Twila had remained inordinately quiet. “Ooh, I see a girl over there.” Twila skipped around. “She wants to be my new friend!”
“You’ll have lots of friends. We’ve got almost a dozen kids here,” the man with the sunglasses said. “But no babies. Until now,” he added. There was something about the man’s smile.
She wondered why Dean wasn’t saying anything. His face had gone pale. A tear caught in the creases of his lined eyes as he choked out, “K-Kyle?”
The man’s head jerked in Dean’s direction. “D-dad—”
A second later, the two men were in each other’s arms, weeping. Like father, like son, Scarlett marveled. Dean and Kyle’s protective nature must be encoded in their DNA, unbeknownst to them. She couldn’t think of anyone who deserved happiness more than Dean.
“Wait—that’s Dean’s son? O-M-G!” Ella’s mouth hung open before she covered it.
“Twila, how’d you know about Time Entanglement and—everything?” Justin rambled. “I’m super sorry for being such a shit. I’ll never doubt you again.”
“You got some splainin’ to do.” Luther picked up Twila and held her high with brawny arms before setting her back down.
Twila giggled. “See, it was like a very, big cosmic puzzle. We each had a little piece, and it took all of us to finish it.”
“Works for me,” Zac said. “I’ll certainly never understand any of this.”
Dean and Kyle finally contained their emotional outburst and busied about straightening their clothes.
“Dude,” Justin said to Kyle, “it’s super cool to meet you. Did you time-warp here, too?” He pointed to the gnarly tree that no longer existed with the craziest of expressions sweeping over his face.
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
“You’re a riot,” Kyle said. “Long story short, I was stuck in Afghanistan for a while. My team finally caught a flight back to the States.” He turned to Dean. “Dad, by the time I got to the cabin, you had split. No note, no nothing—”
“Sorry ’bout that, son. Meant to get back,” Dean bemoaned.
Scarlett brushed away the sudden pang of guilt for all those times Dean had desperately wanted to return to his California cabin. Someone or something had always prevented it.
“It’s all my fault.” Ella took the blame. “I needed Dean. I never would have made it without him.”
“Anyhow,” Kyle continued, “I thought, where would Dad bugout to? See,” he announced to his friends, “Dad and I used to come here every summer.”
“Reckon, fate has a way of sorting out the chaos it creates,” Dean muttered.
“Any sickness here?” Zac inquired. “Zombs?”
“In the beginning we had to clear out the Infecteds. No problems after that,” Kyle informed. “We seem to be in our own protective bubble here.”
“And we’ve got gardens, dairy cows, and chickens,” Kyle’s wife or girlfriend said as she cozied up to him.
“But, what about the wild strawberries and fish Grandpa promised?” Twila’s lower lip pouted in disappointment.
“More than we can eat.” Kyle winked. “This is where my daddy taught me to fish.”
The bliss emanating from Scarlett’s heart had her entire body tingling with love, and even more amazing—hope for a peaceful future. “Silver Lady, if you can hear me,” Scarlett whispered. “Thank you for getting us here.”
A faint image of the Silver Lady flickered in the fringes of her inner vision. “My dear spirit warrior, your arduous journey has come to an end. Alas, enjoy this precious time, for this elusive plane of Time Entanglement shall not last—merely long enough to seed a thriving clan of the untainted New Hu.”
And poof, the Silver Lady vanished.
The End
Author’s Note
I hope you
