Quantum Earth Read online

  101

  Quantum Earth

  by

  Julie Achterhoff

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright © 2011 Julie Achterhoff

  All rights reserved.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  The author reserves all publication, printing, distribution and selling rights. Anyone found guilty of illegal publication, printing, distribution or selling of this novel will be subject to prosecution.

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet, or via any other means, without the author’s legal documented permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only the authorized printed or electronic editions. Do not participate in, or encourage, the printed and electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Smashwords Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  This novel is fiction. All characters are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Places or events are either fictitious or are cited in a fictitious context. Any resemblance to actual events is coincidental.

  Apex Review

  When a series of increasingly deadly hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and other natural disasters begin ravaging the Earth, a team of metaphysical scientists launch a desperate investigation into the source of the crises. With humanity more at risk of extinction than at any previous point in world history, what could possibly be the reason? Is the Earth cleansing itself of mankind’s perpetual scourge? Or could it be that humans themselves – by their own collective thoughts and actions – are sealing their own fate? Regardless of the real answer, the scientists have their work cut out for them as they navigate their way through a host of difficult challenges in their valiant efforts to save all of mankind…

  A dramatic, eye-opening account of what could be, Quantum Earth is an intriguing suspense thriller. In her compelling page turner, author Julie Achterhoff successfully capitalizes on the current “2012 Doomsday” hype by presenting a very vivid picture of how an Earth quickly coming to a cataclysmic end would actually look. Also, by interweaving elements of romance and mystery within the overall framework of metaphysical fantasy, Achterhoff compounds the reader’s interest in her imaginative tale by fostering a deep-seated concern about the ultimate outcome of her unforgettable characters – not to mention the entirety of the human race.

  With gripping action and a strong central plotline, Quantum Earth is a riveting tale about the very real perils of a quite possible future. A thoroughly entertaining read.

  Renee Washburn

  Apex Reviews

  Dedication

  I would like to dedicate this book to my dear lost one, Jason. You will always live in my heart forever, my son.

  Prologue

  “If this life be not a real fight, in which something is externally gained for the universe by success, it is no better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will. But it feels like a real fight.” ---William James

  The sand was golden and fine, like salt. Seashells dotted the shore. You could hear the Palm trees' leaves rustling in the slight breeze. A small group of children were running up and down the tide line, when suddenly it began to recede. Several tourists sitting in lounge chairs and enjoying tropical drinks brought to them from the hotel bar by young boys began to notice the water going further and further away from the beach. Some dogs, probably just mongrels, started to bark.

  The children followed the water as it went out towards the horizon. A few of the native men and women walked out with the water, wondering at the lowness of the tide at this hour. More shells of unique structure were revealed as the water left the beach. Beachcombers began hunting them like small treasures. Even some of the people from the hotel and the other tourists who had been drinking their mai tais got up and walked out as far as they could.

  Something ate at the mind of one woman tourist who watched the scene from her balcony. The sea was going out too far and too fast to be a normal occurrence. She tried to explore her mind for an answer as a tingle of fire lit up her spine. Danger, she thought. This wasn't right. All those people down on the beach were in danger. Tsunami. That was the word that came to her mind. But what if she was wrong? She wanted to warn everyone to get away from the beach, but was scared to be thought a foolish woman tourist.

  An old native man was calling out randomly down the beach, screaming something she couldn't understand. The dogs ceased their barking and began to howl like wolves. The woman had never seen dogs act this way before. She called out to her friend back in her room to come quick. Something was happening to the ocean. Her friend arrived, having just gotten out of the shower. She had a towel turbaning her wet hair. The woman pointed out to her friend the way the ocean had receded now to perhaps half a mile offshore. “It's got to be only one thing then, hasn't it?” her friend replied. She was a strong woman and a quick thinker. She ran, towel thrown to the bed, out into the hallway, looking for the fire alarm. She found it several doors down and broke the glass. When the alarm began to sound she ran back into the room. “The only thing to do is get to higher ground,” she said. The two of them decided to take the elevator to the top floor. There was no time to get a car and get very far. They'd have to take their chances. Before they left the room the woman called the front desk and told the man who answered she thought there was a tsunami coming. He thanked her.

  Down on the beach, people began to become aware that there was possible danger coming. A man holding a small toddler ran away from the beach as fast as he could, calling out “tsunami!” A woman on horseback kicked her heals into the beast's flanks and headed away. She stopped when she saw a small child by herself, crying, and pulled her up onto the saddle in front of her and galloped away. There were at least a dozen people who had followed the water out as far as it went. People were scattered all along the area where the water had been only twenty short minutes ago.

  When the two women from the hotel reached the tenth and top floor they went to the beach side where there was a balcony overlooking the scene. “Oh my God!” said one. Words failed the other, for in the distance, about a mile out they could see a great mountain of water the size of which their brains couldn't comprehend. And it was building larger as it headed for the coast. They could still see several people way out who seemed oblivious. They began shouting at the top of their lungs, knowing even then that they wouldn't be heard. But maybe there was a chance still for those on the beach below. Many of them looked up at them and tried to understand why they were screaming. But some of the people had already seen the big wave coming fast and hurried away from the beach. Some were screaming themselves as they ran. But they could see many small children looking lost. Nobody was taking them away. They would surely be crushed by the oncoming waters. All at once the two women stopped their entreaties and could only watch as the horrific scene played itself out. The wave had already reached those who were the furthest out. Of course they couldn't hear the screaming, but they did begin to hear a low rumbling sound as the water came closer. It sounded like a freight train if you put your ear to the ground near the tracks.

  Then everything happened as if in slow motion. The tsunami seemed to e
at up the ground and everything or one in its path. It wiped everything clean. Now almost everyone on the beach was running and screaming. One of the women noticed a very old couple still holding hands together in chairs in front of the hotel. They just looked into each other's eyes. Tears prickled down the one woman's face as she realized they didn't have a chance and knew it.

  Produce was strewn about the upper beach where the vendors had tried to take their carts hurriedly with them. Soon others from the hotel had joined the two women on the balcony. “We'd better get back from this balcony if we're to survive.” It was hard to take their eyes from the destruction, but they all ran for the opposite wall down the hallway. One of them suggested the stairwell would be safest, and everyone agreed. They hunkered down as best they could, waiting for the impact. “God have mercy on us,” one of them said tearfully.

  Down on the beach the wave had already killed a dozen people. The great wall of water had arrived at its original tide line and plundered on towards the many buildings, mostly hotels, that lined the area. Trees were uprooted and boats were tossed around like playthings. The old couple was gone now. The water hit the hotel straight on with a huge jolt. The people in the stairwell heard screaming. Water rushed into the balcony, breaking the glass door with ease. Seawater rushed down the hallway towards the stairs and came at them up from the bottom as well. Several of them were crying and screaming and clutching at one another. Their clothes became soaked, but the walls seemed to be holding. Beneath them the wave kept going with the force of an atomic bomb. Nobody on the ground was safe. Old grandmothers died while holding little ones, trying to keep a hold of them as the water pulled them out of their grasp. Even the strongest of men was nothing to this body of water and was tossed around like a toy. A few people managed to grasp the tops of trees as they were floating past them. Clinging for their lives. One old man was carrying a small child while he kept them afloat on some jetsam. There were some horses desperately trying to tread water.

  The small group of people in the hotel stairwell survived with some scrapes and two broken ribs. They were lucky. Many more had not gotten away in time because there was no official tsunami warning in place in this very popular tourist getaway.

  In the end, thirty-two hundred people were killed on that island alone, mostly tourists. On a talk show not long after the giant tsunami took the lives of so many, a woman thanked Jesus that she had changed her travel plans at the last minute or she might have died too. Shauna Troy thought that was outrageous. Was it Jesus who decided?

  Chapter One

  It was pleasant being able to walk to work. Not like in the big cities where you either took your car and offered up a prayer to the parking fairy or took the bus if there was one, usually having to transfer a few times before reaching your intended destination. Shauna Troy loved being up here in the Redwoods on the Northern Coast of California. Humboldt County was a great place to live, especially if your work was a little off the wall. You were accepted no matter your color, creed, or religious beliefs. Another bonus was all the young people from the local university who were willing to work in their spare time to help you figure out conundrums such as the ones she and Dr. Mel Hawkins (“Hawk” to his friends) were up against. The field was unfathomed by any other scientists thus far. Some would say that a genuine scientist would never touch such a matter as this.

  Shauna adjusted her Asian silk scarf she had bought at a local boutique two days ago to warm her neck. There were as many imports and natural fibers here to last you a lifetime. That was part of the charm of the area. She was thinking of buying a house in the Redwoods, which the dotting of little towns were surrounded by. One could live simply in nature and still bike or hike in to work. Being from San Francisco, few appreciated the little town of Six Rivers as she did.

  Of course some would take issue with the fog, not to mention the cool summers, but Shauna even loved those aspects. The fog was to her, fine, and had an intense, ethereal beauty like none other. And she’d certainly had enough of the heat when she was ‘doing time,’ as she thought of it, in South Texas, while obtaining her degree. Trying to study while having your brain cooked seven different ways was serious torture. Her short dark hair swayed softly in the fall wind. She thought the fog would most certainly clear away by lunchtime, giving them a pleasant sunny afternoon. Maybe she could talk the guys into a beach trip for lunch. Everything about her work was casual, even what time everyone eventually made it in. Most of them did at least some of their work at home. When you were working with the metaphysical, anything went.

  Mel Hawkins saw Shauna strolling towards the old Creamery building they were using as their headquarters. Finding her as his head assistant had been the kind of luck that you know is more than just coincidence, it was synchronicity. When he started this project he decided that only the most incomparable people would do. He put out to the universe the exact kind of team he needed for this special kind of research, writing it all down in detail in his notebook. The team would be the most important aspect of this venture. He knew that. Finding Shauna Troy was like discovering a rare gem in the deep sands of the desert. She was bright, open-minded, sensitive, easy going, and tough. But the most significant aspect of this jewel was her intuitive sense. Hawkins smoothed his dark, wavy hair back from his eyes. The wind was blowing from behind him. He was thinking of his “luck” in finding such wonderful people to work with, Rob Van Hess, Susan Harvey, Peter Tolson, Fern Drake, Hutch Barber, and Noah Meade. They and Shauna were a team, and worked together like a highly tuned machine. They had to with what they were now working on.

  Natural disasters were now coming on like falling dominoes. Each hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, etc. was plotted and put into the highly sophisticated computer program and noted on a topographical map on the wall with different colored pins. The team had traveled in pairs during the summer doing interviews and assessing damage. Most of the local peoples, usually living in sub-human conditions to start with, were surprisingly open and shared their experiences with the team members, even though their questions must have seemed odd. What the team wanted to know was what had been the mental and emotional climate of the people in these devastated areas just before the disasters occurred.

  Shauna spied Hawk coming around the corner.

  “Hi there, Hawk. How are you this morning?” asked Shauna. She put her arm around him in a half-hug and kissed his cheek.

  “I’m doing just great, luv. How are you?”

  “Doing well, thank you.” she answered. The two of them walked into the building and up to the second floor where two of the others were waiting, Rob and Peter. They looked up and said their hellos. Rob was what one might call a handsome devil. He could have been on the cover of some men’s magazine, but looks meant nothing to him and he was somewhat shy. He had chestnut colored hair below his ears and baby blue eyes that could see right into your soul. Peter was more on the scrawny side with black hair and glasses. He had been the one person on the team Hawk wasn’t too sure of in the beginning, having just gotten out of rehab for drug addiction. Of course the use of drugs was heavy amongst highly sensitive people in this world, and that’s what Peter was. He could feel everything around him intensely. That’s what Hawk liked about him and had made him want to take Peter under his wing.

  “Well, half of us are here at least,” said Shauna, removing her scarf and sweater. She threw them over the back of a chair and sat down.

  “I was up all night again, Hawk,” said Peter. “I really could use some sleeping pills.”

  Hawk walked over to him and looked into his eyes, putting his hands on his shoulders. “Peter, I understand how hard it is for you, but you have to stick with the herbals and homeopathics. Did you eat any sugar yesterday? Have anything caffeinated?” Peter looked down at his hands. He also had a terrible sweet tooth.

  “Just a handful of chocolate-covered peanuts after dinner,” he said, squirming in his chair.

  “If you have to have something like th
at at least have it in the morning. You know how delicate your system is. I’m sorry, but no pills.” Hawk took a seat.

  Shauna said, “We love you, Peter, and don’t want you going down any slippery slopes. You’ve been doing really well, hasn’t he Rob?”

  “Hell yeah! You kicked that shit in the ass, my friend.” Peter smiled.

  “Okay, okay. No pills. You’re right as always. Thanks guys.” Shauna gave him a hug.

  “Don’t forget how special you are,” she said to him, leaving her hand on his shoulder.

  In walked Fern and Susan. They were chatting excitedly like two hens. Something must have been amazingly funny because they both began to laugh hysterically.

  “What’s so funny, you two?” asked Shauna. They couldn’t stop giggling for a minute or two, then regained their composure,

  “We went to the hot tubs last night, and ya know how you’re supposed to lock the first door so nobody can come in before you go out the second door? said Fern. “Well, we forgot to lock it and this drunk, dread-headed, naked guy comes in and doesn’t even notice we’re there till he’s halfway up the steps, ready to get in the goddam hot tub with us!” The laughing resumed, and both women held their sides and leaned on each other so as not to fall down laughing.

  “And let me tell you,” said Fern, “that guy needed a bath--pronto!”

  “Oh God, my face hurts,” said Susan, pulling off her jacket and folding in nicely over a chair. She was in her mid-thirties and had long blonde hair and blue eyes that showed her Scandinavian heritage. Fern was in her twenties and shorter with shoulder length red hair and freckles. It was well known that Fern had a slight crush on Rob, who was at least fifteen years her senior. Neither of them would ever think of getting involved while working together, though.

  Hutch walked in, having heard the tail end of the laughter. He was in his fifties, tall and slim, with a grey beard and mustache. He had probably been quite good looking in his day. Women’s heads still turned when he walked by. He thought of himself as distinguished.