Evolution Shift (The New World Book 3) Read online

  Assisted by a mentoring alien species, Ross has led a band of recruits on a return to Earth in quest of restoring the dying human gene pool before extinction becomes inevitable.

  Twenty-six hundred years have elapsed on Earth since the asteroid apocalypse necessitated the Pilgrimage to ₹-593-Ԅπ-2-2, but Ross and his group have aged only eight years during that span. What mysteries of new Earth does the distant future hold for them, and will their assistance be welcomed?

  EVOLUTION SHIFT

  Copyright © 2015 Kurt Winans

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published by

  Coaster’s Quill Publishing

  Print edition ISBN numbers:

  ISBN-13: 978-0692487631

  ISBN-10: 0692487638

  THE NEW WORLD

  Pilgrimage

  (Book one)

  Second Moon

  (Book two)

  TRAVEL BOOKS

  College Football’s American Road Trip

  Left Side of the Road

  For those of you who have read the first two segments of this adventure, Pilgrimage & Second Moon, I thank you for returning to enjoy yet another installment of the ongoing saga. There are a few souls who deserve my gratitude for the assistance that they provided, as I would not have been able to complete this segment without them.

  Without any doubt, my wife Cathy stands above all the rest as the most important person in my life. Per her norm, she provided the strength for me to carry on with this endeavor when external forces seemed determined to prevent me from doing so. The unwavering faith and patience that she exhibited were an inspiration. Brian met with me regularly to listen, and offer suggestions, as to presenting the storyline within this segment so that it could provoke the intended imaginative thought. Renée was also once again involved in the process by reading through early drafts and commenting on the general shape and flow, as well as how they would be perceived. The polish that was achieved through the various insights of the aforementioned became an important aspect to this completed work.

  Thank you all for being there,

  Kurt

  His most recent battle had been extremely challenging for Ross, but Janet and Dr. Halley finally managed to break his stubborn high fever. There had been much concern for several hours, as throughout that time they had needed to pour nearly a dozen buckets of ice over Ross’s body before his temperature and vital signs returned to normal levels. Once Ross had been stabilized, and then drifted off to sleep, Gabriela, Janet, Aurora, Hank, and even Tori Nobles, took turns watching over him.

  Colt assumed the first watch after stating, “I swore a solemn oath many years ago to protect Ross, so respectfully, I will take on the majority of this task. I will not hinder any of you from providing comfort for him, but I must, as part of my own self-preservation, remain close by Ross’s side.”

  The subject was never debated when Janet added, “You know it will be of little use to challenge my husband on this matter. His training as a secret service agent has made him fiercely loyal to the oath of protecting my son.”

  For the remainder of the day, and then throughout the entire night, Colt never left the side of his former boss. He slept on a few occasions when someone else had relieved him, but never for more than an hour. For those who knew him, Colt’s actions came as no surprise. He had stood as a faithful sentinel for Ross throughout the years on ₹-593-Ԅπ-2-2, but the oath spoken of had occurred long before that on Earth. In all those countless times Colt had never showed any negative emotion, but this situation was different. When Janet came to relieve him for a break just after the first light of dawn, she reached up to wipe a tear from his cheek. Janet loved and admired the way Colt had always taken care of her eldest son, and knew that it was breaking his heart to see Ross in such a precarious state.

  A few moments later, after Colt had fallen asleep, Janet heard Ross moan ever so slightly. She moved to his side with a wet towel for his forehead, and then smiled while breathing a sigh of relief when she saw his arm move a few inches under the covers. Privately, Janet had developed an ever growing concern that Ross might never awaken, but kept that horrific thought from Gabriela and everyone else. In spite of his favorable vital signs, Ross had remained motionless while sleeping for over eighteen hours since the fever had broken. Fortunately, Ross’s slight arm movement had now made her concern moot.

  Suddenly, and with relative ease, Ross rolled onto his side facing away from Janet. Then he unexpectedly uttered, “Jessica, it’s time to wake up.”

  Janet was flabbergasted, and wondered if she had really heard Ross speak or was it simply a hallucination based on her own over exhaustion and wishful thinking.

  The answer to her internal question came quickly, as Ross added, “Jessica, wake up! We need to hurry, or we won’t have time for breakfast before Grandpa drives us to school.”

  Janet didn’t quite know what to do, so she rubbed her eyes for clarity sake and began to lean in closer.

  Then Ross, who was well accustomed to his little sister entering his room to wake him for school, became irritated. With no verbal response from her, Ross increased his tone and said, “Come on Jessica, quit fooling around and answer me. I want to tell you about a really weird dream I had last night.”

  Leaning back to her former position, Janet realized that she was not hallucinating. However, there was now a new cause for concern over Ross’s condition. Although pleased that Ross had spoken three times, with words that had expressed coherent thought, it was disconcerting to her that none of his statements had any actual bearing on the present reality.

  She sat motionless through several seconds of awkward silence, and then took a glance around the room to see if either Gabriela or Colt had been awakened by Ross. Neither showed any sign of consciousness, so Janet decided that she would take a chance. Leaning forward once again, she whispered a response of, “Ross, Jessica can’t hear you, because she isn’t with us.”

  Ross rolled back over toward the soft voice, and then his eyes instantly grew larger. While shaking his head from side to side, Ross closed his eyes again in the hope of clearing away his vision of Janet. Unfortunately it didn’t work, because when he re-opened his eyes, she was still there. Then Ross gulped and, much to Janet’s surprise, asked, “Am I dead?”

  Janet responded, “No you’re not dead, although it was touch and go at times during the last few days to be sure.”

  “Well if I’m not dead, then this must be some sort of hallucination.”

  After placing her right index finger upon her lips so that Ross would respond more quietly, Janet asked, “A hallucination, why would you say that?”

  “Because you can’t possibly be here, you died almost four years ago!”

  “Don’t be ridiculous Ross, I’m very much alive.”

  “That’s impossible. I remember the day in 1957 when dad told me about the car accident that took you away from us.”

  Suddenly Janet realized that Ross was correct. Because he apparently believed that he and Jessica were still children living in central rural Texas, he really was having a hallucination. She once again glanced around to see if Gabriela or Colt had stirred, then tried to ascertain the depth of Ross’s hallucination. Ma
intaining her soft tone, she asked, “You wanted to tell Jessica about a really weird dream that you had last night, would you like me to go get her?”

  Ross stared at his vision of Janet for a long moment, and then loudly asked, “Jessica, are you awake?”

  Once again there was no response, but the increased volume of his question had been enough to wake Colt. Shifting himself from fully horizontal to a seated position, Colt then stretched and inquired, “What’s going on?”

  Janet turned toward her husband, and once again used her index finger to keep the room quiet. Then she repeated her question to Ross of, “Do you want me to go get Jessica?”

  “I want to tell Jessica about my weird dream, but you can’t possibly go get her because you are not real!”

  While maintaining her best bedside manner, Janet said, “I understand Ross. If you believe that I’m a hallucination, then you should close your eyes until Jessica comes to wake you?”

  With that Ross closed his eyes, and Janet could see his body relax. Colt, who was now standing, shrugged his shoulders and inquired, “What’s going on with Ross?”

  Janet moved toward him and replied, “This last bout of fever must have triggered something within him, because Ross is having a strange hallucination. I’ll wake Gabriela and keep her out of his direct line of sight, but can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure, what do you need?”

  “We need a young girl who might pass for a childhood version of Jessica to determine the extent of this hallucination. Ross says he wants to tell Jessica about a weird dream that he had last night, so Kristyn could really help us out. Could you please go get her and Natiya as quickly as possible, and explain what is going on?”

  “All right, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Upon their return Janet instructed Kristyn on exactly what she needed her to do, and then moved close enough to Ross so that she could hear everything that would be revealed about the dream. Kristyn then began her task by softly pushing on Ross’s shoulder and continuously repeating the request of, “Wake up Ross, it’s time to get ready for school.”

  Ross opened his eyes and smiled at the sight of the young girl. For the moment anyway, Janet’s plan had worked. Ross immediately said, “Good morning Jessica, how are you?”

  “I’m fine thanks, how did you sleep?”

  “Great, but I had the weirdest dream.”

  “Was it scary?”

  “Sometimes, but mostly it was just weird.”

  “Well what happened?”

  “I dreamt that when we grew up, we were still best friends. I married Patty and then became an astronaut, and you were a lawyer. Then later on, when all three of us were much older, I became the President of the United States.”

  “You, the President?”

  “Yep, but that’s not the really weird part of the dream. When I was an astronaut on a moon mission I met an alien from outer space, and years later he helped some of us escape to another world when it looked like Earth might be destroyed.”

  “You’re right, that is a weird dream.”

  “There’s more. When we were old we got to see mom.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In my dream, mom didn’t die in the car accident. The aliens I mentioned had abducted her and kept her in captivity for a long time.”

  “They didn’t hurt her did they?”

  “No she was fine, and she didn’t get very much older while she was held captive either. She still looked as pretty as she does in that picture of the four of us next to dad’s bed.”

  “Well that’s good, what happened next?”

  “The aliens took us to live on a moon in a faraway solar system, and she came with us.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  “It was great and I’ll tell you more about it later, but for now we need to get ready for school.”

  Janet had heard enough, and dried the tears in her eyes before advancing to Kristyn’s side. Then she softly said, “Ross, everything that you just told Kristyn is true. It wasn’t a dream, all of that really happened.”

  Once again faced with an image of his mother Janet that he thought to be a hallucination, Ross became visibly rattled. Then he looked at the young girl posing as Jessica, and asked her, “Who is Kristyn?”

  “I’m Kristyn!”

  “No you’re not, you’re Jessica.”

  Janet moved closer to Ross, and said, “It’s true Ross. This is not 1961, and you are not a boy any longer.”

  Now looking even more scared by the current moment, Ross stated, “This is not happening. None of this is real.”

  Janet’s bedside manner was beginning to wear thin, so she took a deep breath to collect herself. Then she said, “Ross, if you don’t believe us, then just pull one of your arms out from under the covers.”

  After a reluctant moment, Ross complied with the request. What he saw instantly shocked him back into the reality of the present moment, as he was staring at the frail and wrinkled arm of an old man. After briefly scanning his surroundings for familiar artifacts that could perhaps refute the obvious, Ross returned his gaze toward Kristyn and said, “You’re not Jessica, who are you?”

  “I’m Kristyn, don’t you remember me?”

  Then Ross glared at Janet and said, “I’m an old man!”

  From her unseen position some fifteen feet behind him, Gabriela replied, “Oh my dear husband. You most certainly are an old man, and you have been acting as stubborn as always.”

  Janet breathed a sigh of relief when Ross exclaimed, “That sounded like Gabriela!”

  Moving to his side, Gabriela replied, “Yes Ross, it’s me.”

  The relief then took hold of Colt when Ross added, “We are all back on Earth, aren’t we?”

  Now firmly clasping his frail and exposed hand, Gabriela leaned toward her husband and kissed him. Then she replied, “Yes we are Ross, and it’s because of you.”

  While continuing his recovery, Ross eventually made his way over to the table with some assistance from Colt. Thirsty and famished, he then drank several containers of water and devoured a huge plate of vegetables. A moment later, Aurora rushed through the doorway, and said, “Hey dad! I just spoke with Natiya and Kristyn outside. They said you were awake.”

  Feeling somewhat stronger and revitalized, Ross turned toward his daughter and replied, “I am indeed, but I was quite surprised to learn that I had slept for roughly eighteen hours.”

  Gabriela continued to push containers of water toward Ross so that he could fully rehydrate, and then instructed, “Due to your most recent episode of high fever and hallucinations, I think it’s a good idea to test your memory.”

  Ross replied, “How do you plan on doing that?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, but there must be something we can think of that isn’t too ridiculous.”

  Aurora then intervened by asking, “Hey dad, why don’t you try to relive a specific event for us?”

  To which he curtly replied, “Such as…?”

  Hoping that he would recognize the difference between his previous time on Earth and the present, Aurora asked, “How about the first time that we rode on the shuttle?”

  Ross sighed and said, “That’s easy. You and I first rode on the shuttle nearly six months ago. Tori took us up less than an hour after the groups of recruits had all been shipped off to their various destinations.”

  “Very good dad, but can you expand on that thought?”

  As Ross began to weave the tale of the events that had transpired, Aurora nodded as a gesture of confirmation. She had also remembered the words spoken that day, and was relieved that her father’s memory seemed to be intact. Then Aurora drifted off into her own accounting of the event.

  Tori had led them both to a nearby unused shuttle, and after informing a crew member that she had some people to take on a short ride, the three of them ventured inside with him. Apparently, the pilot seated inside was accustomed to flying at or near full capacity, because he looke
d up from the instrument panel at the three passengers and asked, “Isn’t there anyone else coming?”

  Tori then placed her hand on the man’s shoulder, and softly replied, “No, it’s just the three of us and your crew.”

  After once again glancing toward the passengers, the pilot had then inquired, “Is this on your authority?”

  Without hesitation, Tori had answered, “Yes it is.”

  The pilot then said, “Alright, what’s the flight plan?”

  Tori shrugged her shoulders and responded, “Nothing in particular, but please take us up for about twenty minutes.”

  He had replied, “Alright, take a seat if you’re ready.”

  Seconds later the shuttle was climbing into the sky, and within minutes Ross had said, “The engineering and responsive maneuvering ability of this shuttle are impressive. It reminds me of the jet fighters that I used to fly when I was much younger.”

  Aurora remembered that at that moment Ross had flashed back to his years as a pilot in the Navy, as opposed to his time in the astronaut program with NASA. Although currently in a craft identical in classification to the three he had flown on during his stint with NASA, even Aurora was aware that there was little else in common with those shuttles.

  Ross’s comment had obviously intrigued the pilot, as he immediately asked, “You were a pilot? Would you like to sit up front with me for the remainder of the flight?”

  Aurora recalled in her memory that the question was rather foolish, but how was the pilot supposed to know that?

  After respectfully displacing the co-pilot from his seat, Ross then added, “Fortunately for the passengers and crew, this shuttle also possesses the style and comfort of Air Force One.”

  No one except Aurora had any clue as to his meaning, but she knew Ross was reflecting on a different time in his life.

  A few moments later, Tori moved up toward Ross and asked, “So, what do you think?”