Age of Mystics: Saga of Mystics, #1

CHAPTER ONE

Adam Cross looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful clear blue dome over the city. It was also hot, but that is the way that things go in Colorado Springs in July. It was nothing like the sand, though, and for that he was grateful. Every day was pretty much the same, a horribly hot day followed by the afternoon showers that usually brought tornadoes to the plains. When he had been stationed at Fort Carson, on the south side of town, Adam had found the lightning shows of the everyday thunderstorms one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. But, on this afternoon, there was not a cloud in the sky. That meant that the temperature was sure to rise above one hundred degrees. As Adam walked toward the door of Pep’s restaurant, he was grateful to be working inside. The smooth hum of the air conditioner was something Adam had come to relish while deployed.

This was a new job. Adam had only been out of the army for about three months, having finished fifteen years. He had been a good medic, but after all he had seen in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria, he had decided not to pursue that career field in his civilian life. Even the blood on a steak could start up his memories of the injured men and women he had worked on in country. Immediately after his release from duty, he had begun training in the corporate restaurant manager training program for the national casual dining chain, Pep’s. Even though he was the newest manager, only out of training for 4 weeks, he was probably the most well-liked manager in the restaurant. Adam liked the people also, he liked the staff and he liked the customers. He did not like the work very much. While very good under pressure, he did not like being placed in what he considered unnecessary pressure. Restaurant companies have a way of heightening pressure on their managers that Adam found unproductive. He figured he would stay about two years, then find something more to his liking.

Holding the door for some patrons as he was headed into the restaurant, he waved hello to some regulars he saw at a table nearby. He was already known by customers in the short time he had been there. It made him feel at home.

Hi, Adam. The cute hostess, Sara, stepped in front of him. Adam had not been able to figure out how to tell her that he was too old for her, and she had been bringing the flirt on strong from the first day he had started working there. Sara wore tighter and tighter work shirts every time she worked with him and gave all the telltale signs of being interested. Had he been a different kind of man, he would have ended up taking advantage of the girl, but Adam Cross had no interest in using others.

Hi, Sara, how are you today? Pretending to see another guest nearby, Adam stepped deftly around the young lady. As he walked by, he couldn’t see the look of disappointment that covered her face, but he had seen it before and knew it was there. He walked into the back, stopping to greet all of the cooks on the line, and headed into the office to check the notes for the day. His cell phone dinged with a text, and he pulled it out to look at the message.

Ward: Hey Doc, was thinking of coming by 2mrw cool?

Adam smiled. Calvin Ward was a man for whom he had a great deal of respect. They had served together, including one difficult deployment in Iraq. He was also showing his age in his inability to properly text. SFC Ward had left the army a few years before and settled with his family on the north side of Colorado Springs.

Me: snds gr8 cu then Adam always tried to match Ward’s text in style, mostly because it was a hoot to see the older man try to be cool.

Ward: time?

Me: btwn 2 – 4

Ward: done

Adam put his phone back in his pocket and settled in for a ten-hour shift. It was going to be a long, busy night. But, it was going to be air conditioned, and that made it okay.

CHAPTER TWO

Jenny Martinez opened up her yoga studio and let in her usual practitioners, the collection of Moms, students and the elderly that had time to go to a yoga class on a weekday. Only twenty-seven years old, Jenny was probably the best-known yoga instructor in all of southern Colorado. Her signs appeared everywhere in town, and the new television spots had begun to appear on all of the local stations. She was becoming a celebrity in her own right and had even planned a yoga retreat for the fall to Thailand. She taught every day, appeared on a local TV morning show, and was in the process of writing a book. Things were going her way.

Jenny believed in intention. She believed in setting her goals and moving toward them with purpose. This is also what she taught to every person who came to practice yoga in her studio. Earlier that day, she had met with a Denver-based publisher who wanted her to put this particular teaching down in print. She owned her studio in downtown Colorado Springs, she was becoming a household name, she had set up retreats for various places around the world and now she was to be a published author. Her life was humming along with precision in all areas but one. Even though she was an attractive Latina woman, she could not find a date to save her life. She wanted to be loved but had no room on her calendar to make time for a mate. She also was not running into a lot of eligible men. Women were abundant in her classes, but the only men she saw regularly were either married or aged into their seventies.

She had been in a relationship with a woman for about six months just three years before and being a lesbian would probably give her more options. The problem was that she had discovered that she wasn’t a lesbian. Her girlfriend from back then, Karen, was a beautiful woman and a lovely person. Jenny loved hanging out with her, and still considered her a great friend, but Jenny was not particularly attracted to women. The saying is that love chooses, but preference is not a choice. She was happy for the experience, because she probably always would have wondered, but they had both figured out that Jenny was more interested in men and the relationship just didn’t work out. Karen and her girlfriend, Kelly, came in for classes a few times a week, but it didn’t look like they were coming in today. Her desk help, Peri, finally showed as Jenny was about to have to delay the class. Peri manned the desk as Jenny walked into the yoga room, turned the lights down, and the heat up, and began her class.

Take a deep breath and center yourself, Jenny began, Picture the tiny light that is the purpose at the center of your being. As each deep breath goes in, focus on that light. As each deep breath goes out, picture that light growing into your body, into your chest, your arms, your legs. Picture it filling up every part of your body. Maybe in a few years she would find love, for now she was pursuing her business with passion and intention.

CHAPTER THREE

The two men stood across from one another, completely encircled by the watching crowd. Ted Craven felt the sweat pouring down his back, under the thick black gi he wore any time he represented the martial art he had studied for his whole life. Across from him was his brother-in-law and oldest friend, Calvin Ward. They had history and a great fondness for one another. This sparring match was one of the most fun events he had participated in for quite some time. It was a demonstration to market the opening of Cal’s new dojo and they had quite a turnout.

That he would support Cal in this was both unsurprising and extremely gratifying. They had joined the dojo at the same time, around eight years old, in West Los Angeles. They had joined the army together, just out of high school, at the ripe old age of eighteen. They had married the two sisters they had met when both were stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They had served in combat together, both in Iraq and in Afghanistan. And they had both settled in the north side of Colorado Springs, Cal after leaving the service, and Ted after being stationed for his final post before retirement. This was his thirtieth year in the army, and his last. On top of that, Ted would do anything for Cal. Cal had saved his life.

Cal grinned at him and attacked. To the outsider, standing and watching this display, it must have been amazing to watch the speed and precision with which each man attacked, blocked, parried and countered. But these two knew each other so well, that they could almost dictate the next move of the other. Considered great practitioners of the martial arts in their own rights, together they were a force to watch. After an impressive sparring match that ended in a stalemate, as was the case any time these two squared off, the two performed an intricate kata – a martial dance – in unison. In their art, it was a manner in which they could meditate through movement. Both men had practiced this art for forty years.

As they finished, the crowd erupted in applause and kids came running up to ask them questions. He looked over at his wife, Kayla, and his sister-in-law, Kate, to see them forming a line to take sign-ups for the new dojo. This could not have gone better. Most people would not have noticed it, but when he looked at his best friend, he saw a shadow cross his face. As the crowd died down, he walked over to check up on him.

What’s up? Ted said as he closed in on him. They knew each other too well for deception, so it never crossed Cal’s mind to not tell his friend what was on his mind. However, he just shook his head.

I’m not sure. I felt something odd while we were doing the kata, the memories and flashbacks never really end, do they? Ted shook his head no; he knew just what Cal was talking about. What are you going to do? It will fade in time, I guess.

Ted took a long look at Cal. It was not wise to discard anything Cal said. Calvin Ward was uncommonly intelligent, had been a deductive prodigy as a child, and was a true whiz at predictive analysis. Though his statements were sometimes taken by others as psychic, Ted knew that when Cal spoke about matters, there was something he was analyzing, something real, something one could count on. It had saved their lives in firefights more than once. However, he had never seen Cal not know how to describe what he was perceiving. Can you describe it?

Cal looked up into his eyes and just shrugged. Not really. It was just a feeling like something wasn’t right.

With the demonstration, or the dojo, or what?

With the world, the tall man offered, I can’t explain it. It was just a feeling.

Ted was not perfectly comfortable with this explanation. Even in this intense heat, it sent a shiver down his spine. He knew Cal would tell him what was up when he figured it out. In the forty years Ted had known him, Calvin Ward always figured it out.

CHAPTER FOUR

Emma drove up the long winding road to what euphemistically was called the Mountain but was known throughout the world as the military base NORAD, built inside Cheyenne Mountain on the southwest side of Colorado Springs. The heat was a bit much right now, and it hit her as she rolled down her window to give the guard her ID.

Good afternoon, Dr. Pare, the guard said.

Though she had worked here for two years and had come just about every day, they were a secure base in the truest sense and the guards went through protocol to check her in. They knew her well, but these were professionals and they did their job. After receiving her ID back, she pulled into the parking spot she had pulled in to so many times before, got out and began to unload some plants from her trunk.

What kind of greens you got today, Doc? said a tech that walked by. You stocking up on weed for the end of time?

Dr. Emma Pare just laughed. That is something I should consider, I guess. Right now, I just need to make sure we have every plant in the lab.

Emma was a renowned botanist. She was a government contractor and most people assumed she was doing genetic experiments with the plants, but her job was much simpler and much more serious than that. Dr. Pare’s top secret job was to repopulate the earth with plants in the case of a thermonuclear war, or a meteor strike, or any other extinction level event. As such, she had to continually check on plants and replace those that refused to grow in the conditions provided. Most people heard Dr. Pare and confused her with her deceased husband Dr. Mark Pare, a geneticist who was best known for his work on the human genome project. Since they were both Dr. Pare, she understood the confusion. It had been three years since he passed, and Emma’s thoughts drifted to him at least every hour or so. Their love had been a deep and lasting one, unchecked by the stumbles that many marriages suffered. She wouldn’t have liked anyone to find out, but when it was just her and her plants, she sometimes talked to Mark as if he were there. She missed him greatly.

Emma had to present her ID again to get past the huge door and into the facility, then down two floors, across an entire floor and up three floors into the Mountain to her lab. She was well-liked and was greeted by a steady flow of acquaintances as she made her way through the maze of passages to her place within the giant facility. She had two labs really, one was the main lab, a huge room with watering features, misters, UV lamps and every conceivable plant and the other was up another two floors into an exterior concrete section with two one-foot holes that allowed air and light into a medium-sized garden. It was to this area that she brought her plants today.

The nature of the extinction level event could not be known, since it was hypothetical, so they had allowed her to maintain the two different environments. However, due to the nature of the facility, the outdoor garden had two solid feet of concrete on all sides, as well as the top and the bottom. The air/light openings also had steel bars that ran through them that would not allow anything larger than a mouse through. Emma had once mused that it would take years for someone to break through, but the truth is that she didn’t even know where on the mountain this garden came out. One could not make heads nor tails of location by looking out the holes and talking about such things was a red flag to base security, so she never asked. After planting the specimens, she had brought for the day, she did what she always did. She pulled out her tools, began her work in the middle of the garden, and thought of Mark. Then she began her conversation with him by telling him about her day.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ronnie Jones had been everything. He had been a thief, a scammer, an outlaw biker, and now he was a drug dealer. Ronnie supplied the entirety of Southern Colorado with Meth. From his house on the south of town, he oversaw the production and distribution of product for a cartel that included his biker brothers but was mostly a subordinate enterprise of the Mexican drug lords. Ronnie was good at what he did, and his life showed it. He did what, and who, he wanted. He was sanctioned to kill anyone that got in his way, but Ronnie was smart enough to not pull the trigger himself. He had more than thirty people who worked directly for him, and he was feared throughout the southern part of the state. Ronnie sold the best shit available, pure high, and he worked it like the multi-million-dollar business that it was.

On this blistering hot day, he had just come from a meeting with his supplier. This new batch was supposed to be amazing, but Ronnie had never used, and would never use, any of his product. He was careful and checked to be sure no one was watching as he opened a panel in his dining room that hid a storage spot for his dope. He packed pounds of it into the wall before locking it up. Ronnie didn’t like having product on hand. For one thing, it did him no good in his wall, instead of being sold on the street. Secondly, it was the time he was most vulnerable to the cops or someone coming to rip him off. It was also the only time he carried a loaded firearm on his person. Ronnie made sure his Glock was ready to go when he heard the sound of someone walking up his steps. A moment later, there was a light tap on the door.

Ronnie opened the front door to see Charlene, a local girl from down the street. She was a case that proved all too well why Ronnie’s product was bad. She had been a gorgeous High School cheerleader the year before and had been to a party that Ronnie’s boys had provided the product for. After bad choices, and progressive use, Char was a far too skinny girl with bad teeth and aggressive acne, who was known for her willingness to put out for a hit. Ronnie knew why she was there.

Not tonight, Charlene, he said as he started to close the door.

She blocked it with her foot. No wait, she pleaded, my friend here is looking to score.

Ronnie opened the door a little bit more and saw the young girl standing behind Char. She had to be barely eighteen, and she was hot. Ronnie opened the door wide and talked directly to the girl. You better have cash, because I don’t take layaway.

The girl looked at Charlene and then back at Ronnie. Do you take barter? she asked and pulled her top up to show her perky little breasts with no bra on.

Ronnie thought for a quick minute, stepped out and looked up and down the street, but no cops were there. He walked back and grabbed the girl by the hair. If you do well, you will get the shit for free and he shoved her into the house. Charlene smiled, showing her messed up teeth and ran inside also. Ronnie took one more look around and walked into his house, locking the door behind him. He knew the way this night would play out; it would be like all the other nights played out with all the other girls. He would make sure she was hooked, and then get her to do things she never thought she would do. It was the power that got him off, and he planned to work that power tonight.

DAY ONE

People are bright, but when push comes to shove, people will look out for themselves. It is the natural order of things.

Social Chaos, Kimberly Evanston

CHAPTER SIX

Adam saw Calvin walk in and was instantly happy to have his old leader around. He hurried to the front of the restaurant and, grabbing a menu for him, seated him in a small booth away from the rest of the patrons, where he felt they could talk without being bothered. They hadn’t even begun to chat when one of the servers, a gal in her mid-twenties named Erica, came over to get them started with a meal. After she left to put their order in, it was time to catch up.

How have you been, kid? Cal started, Are you liking the job? The civilian life?

Adam just grinned, no one but Calvin Ward called him kid. He was in his mid-thirties. The job is okay, though probably not for me long term. The civilian life is definitely for me long term. They both laughed at this. What about you? How are Kate and the kids?

Well, Kyle moved in with some friends, and he is at the community college. Natalee is in her senior year, and whatever you would normally expect from a girl of that age, that is pretty much who she is. Ted and Kayla just moved to town, he helped me with the opening of a dojo in the forest. You should go see him, he would love to catch up. He is finishing up his career at Carson.

Adam smiled. I hope your dojo is better than the shit show that the Major runs on base. I stopped in there on accident and thought I was going to lose it. I heard he opened one downtown as well. The Major was their former Executive Officer of the battalion in Iraq. He had been directly responsible for Cal’s leaving the army, and was the type of person who was scary when in power. Fiercely territorial, full of himself and a bigot as well, Major Eric Fine was everyone’s least favorite person they had ever served with. Most people knew it was worse for Cal and Ted, because they were known martial artists. Somehow, this brought on the Major’s disdain. The Major treated their accomplishments, their training, their martial art, and their leadership with the upmost disdain. He did so in front of everyone, all of the time. While Cal was the best leader Adam had ever seen, The Major was the worst, except possibly for Sergeant Meyer. He also insisted everyone call him The Major which was obnoxious in the extreme.

Cal did not take the bait to talk shit about the man though. I had heard he was still at Fort Carson, and still a Major, but hadn’t had the pleasure of crossing paths with him.

Adam was about to say something snarky about the use of the word pleasure, but the lights in the building suddenly went out. Adam looked around. He had been trained in what to do with power outages, as there were some things that became fairly dangerous in a restaurant with no power. I guess I better go deal with that. Be right back.

There were standard procedures to follow in the case of a power outage. Bringing that training to mind, Adam went to begin those procedures he had been taught.

Hey guys, he yelled back to the kitchen, Let’s turn the gas off and stay clear of the hot oil. Actually, as soon as you turn it off, let’s just sit out front and wait for the power to come back on. He opened the office door, but it was pitch dark inside. Does anyone have one of those flashlight apps on their phones? I can’t see shit in here.

One of the waiters, he couldn’t tell which, said, Hey, my phone isn’t working.

This was followed by a cascade of exclamations as each person realized that their phone was also not working. It is an amazing thing how much faith society places in the constant stability of technology. A minute without their cell phones and people lose all semblance of composure.

A bartender screamed out about accidents at the intersection right outside. Adam looked out the front windows at pile ups on the road. Wow, he thought, the power must be out at the lights too. Adam checked with a few people then grabbed his phone out of the office and found that it also was not working at all. He had been without worse things than a cell phone in his life, and adaptability was an asset. He walked back out to where his friend was. Calvin was standing up, his dead phone in his hand.

Calvin turned toward him. Adam, you need to get everyone out of here. The only thing I know that can cause widespread loss of electronic use is an electromagnetic pulse. I don’t think even the largest pulse would cause that though. He pointed out the window.

Adam turned to look and saw the cars stopped out on the street and people getting out of them with looks of confusion, and some injuries. Adam looked up and down the usually busy street and nothing was moving, no car, no truck, no motor vehicle of any kind. The traffic lights seemed completely off. He heard Calvin say in a low voice behind him, This won’t be fixed today. These people need to start heading home.

Adam nodded and headed back into the employee area. He trusted Cal implicitly and acted on his friend’s suggestion. Okay guys, I don’t think this is going to end soon. It looks like a major power outage. Let’s get everyone out and you can all go home. The staff loved that idea so much that they jumped right in to get everyone out. Within ten minutes, all of the patrons except Cal, and all of the staff had left. As Adam locked the front door, Cal walked up.

Kyle works not far from here at that big sporting goods store, he said, talking about his oldest child, I am going to see if he is working and then make sure that Kate and Nat are okay.

Adam nodded. How are you going to get there, it doesn’t look like cars are working.

Cal smiled a warm and reassuring smile. I am going to walk, kid. I seem to remember doing a lot of walking back in the day. Once a soldier, always a soldier. You want to join?

Adam thought about it for a minute and had no real reason not to. Sure, Sergeant, I am on your six. They both smiled and left the building. Just outside, they were confronted with the staff and the customers who had just left. Everyone was pretty upset, and some were heading back like they wanted to get back in the restaurant.

Ellen Harris, one of the servers, trotted toward them and Erica was right behind her. Our cars don’t work. How are we supposed to get home?

Adam surveyed the parking lot. I know this isn’t what you want to hear but walk. We are going north, walking, if anyone wants to join. I have always found that there is something about walking in a group that makes it easier. Any of you need to head north?

The only ones that were headed north were Ellen and Erica. Some people headed off in different directions, some just stayed put, hoping for a change of circumstances. The two servers, as well as Adam and Cal, walked north to go to the sporting goods store. It was only about two long blocks up the road. The girls stuck together, and Adam walked next to Cal. They took it slow, like they had learned in the sand. Don’t overexert yourself in the heat, it saps your energy and slows you down anyway. You might as well take it easy and get to your destination with a little energy left.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jenny looked around on the street and saw the chaos quickly taking hold. Cars had crashed into other cars and people were out in the street. She could tell this was more than a power outage, since she had never lost her ability to use her smart phone in a power outage. However, she couldn’t tell exactly what it was. Her assistant, Peri, had wanted to go home, so after Peri left, she locked her front door as her irrational fear and anxiety increased. There was no reason to be afraid of things one can’t control. She decided to just do a simple meditative yoga practice to calm her nerves and wait until this all got fixed. The yoga room was completely pitch-black right now, so she grabbed a mat and decided to just begin behind the counter. She sat and began breathing, picturing the tiny ball of light.

As she centered herself and released the tension, she felt she could see, in her mind’s eye, that glowing light. As she brought more peace, and more focus into her practice, the glow grew brighter and clearer, colors intertwined and moved, and a sense of warmth and calm came over her. She was a long believer in chakras and auras. For many years, and through many teachers, she had tried to learn the ability to read people’s auras with no success. On this weird day, with no power and no distractions, she was truly able to visualize the light that she talked about in every practice, but never truly was able to see. This was one of the best practices she had ever had, and it could not have come at a better time.

When she opened her eyes, shock about what she saw slammed her mind. She could see hazy auras around some of those who passed the front of her studio on the sidewalk. This man had a