As Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", and "Harry Potter", were for people of all ages. "Edge of Tomorrow" will also excite the imagination with thought provoking unanswered questions about the origins of mankind, religion, and history, while taking the reader on one adventure after another. When an old friend asks a washed-up telepathic archeologist, Nathan Masterson, and his gifted dog Duke, to help unlock the mysteries of a very unique cave system along the British Columbia coast, a series of events would unfold that would open a vast subterranean tunnel system. A system filled with many unbelievable creatures and an ancient alien race, whose leader reveals the true origins of mankind. Then after returning home to northwest Montana, a local veterinarian, Patricia Smith, is attacked on Halloween. After Masterson and his family offer their protection they find out a Colombian drug-lord and tomb robber, Beltran Velasco is behind the attack and will stop at nothing to get his hands on the ancient medallion she has. After the FBI and CIA get involved, Masterson puts together a full exploration team and make their way to an ancient temple complex atop a mountain in northern Guatemala where Valasco's people have already zeroed in on. It is here the exploration team is sent on a quest through yet another underworld system, full of monsters, huge cities, and great adventures, far below Central and South America. Meanwhile the FBI AND CIA uncover a plot to kill the president after investigating the secret society the Velasco's are involved with".
Edge of Tomorrow
By Lyle D. WestbrookAbbott Press
Copyright © 2012 L. D. Westbrook
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4582-0626-8Chapter One
October 1 Remote Homestead outside Kalispell, Montana
It had taken two years and four months, but the new house was just about finished. Except for some special touches and a little paint here and there, everything was on schedule to be done by Thanksgiving. I hoped things would be a lot better in the coming year because the new house had a lot more room than the two-story log cabin that Nathan's dad, Leroy, had built back in the 1950s.
Nathan Masterson, PhD in archaeology had moved here to northwestern Montana about three years ago from Knoxville, Tennessee. When he had died suddenly of a rare cancer about twenty years earlier, Nathan's dad had left him the property in his will. Because he was so busy with this dig or that ancient ruin or traveling from one country to another, Nathan had been unable to move in until then.
Before we headed back to the cabin, Dad decided to take a walk around the island that he had made from the property Leroy had left him. The island was oval shaped and measured 2,400 feet long by 1,800 feet wide. It was just a little strip of land between two small rivers, not much bigger than creeks back when Leroy Masterson had bought the property in 1958. He'd built the ultramodern, five-bedroom log cabin as a combination hunting/fishing lodge and vacation home for his family and friends. However, his wife, Dotty, Nathan's mom, hadn't liked the idea of the cabin in the woods. So, except for just a few weeks a year and mainly by clients, the property was seldom used.
Dad, as I call him since he adopted me from the veterinarian clinic two years ago, talked as we walked and told me of all the changes he had made since he decided to call this place home. He had the riverbeds between the island and the mainland dug out to measure 480 feet across, at an average of forty feet deep after it was flooded on each side of the island. All the silt and rock was dug up and dumped on the island side and then spread out until it raised the elevation of the island to an average of two hundred feet above the mainland. Even the cabin had to be raised. Giant boulders lining the banks of both the island and the mainland made it look similar to a medieval castle with a moat. Dad had also installed some very high-tech defense capabilities into this island fortress.
Many trees had been planted around the island, such as ponderosa pines and cottonwoods. And, on the south end, five different types of fruit trees, at ten trees each had been planted to form an orchard. Flower gardens and little fish ponds with Japanese-style bridges built across them had also been put in. A rock-lined pathway circled the island on and just under the ramparts of the wall, while others zigzagged across and through the heart of the island.
The new house had been built on the north end, where the land rose about fifty feet higher than the rest of the island. It was constructed from large boulders, logs, and a strong but lightweight concrete that left very few right angles. In fact, the whole inside of the three-story structure made one feel as if he or she were in a giant cave system. But it was a very beautiful cave, and it had all the amenities of a five-star resort and then some. All the rooms were oval in shape with large, rounded windows and domed ceilings with skylights.
We stopped for a few minutes atop the rampart on the northernmost end of the island, where we took in the beauty of the blue-green lake, the green forest, and the mountains beyond.
"It's finally coming together, Duke," Dad said with satisfaction as he gave me a pat on the back. "And when the new house is finished, we will have a lot more room when family and friends come to visit."
"Yeah, it got pretty crowded last year with Anthony, Lynn, and all the grandkids," I woofed.
Just then, I heard the pitter-patter of little paws coming up the path, and I saw all four pups racing just as fast as they could go. It's hard to believe they were just four and a half months old and already as big as they were.
"Papa! Papa!" Molly yelped. "Mama sent us to fetch you and Grandpa for dinner."
"We're having Kibbles 'n Bits, and Aunt Dawn and Grandpa are having chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and peas," Rufus barked.
"Papa, can I have chicken?" asked Duke Junior.
"No," I replied, "chicken bones are not good for you."
"Hi, Papa," Lucy barked as she came over and gave me a little nuzzle with her nose. Then she went over to Nathan and said hi to her grandpa. He scratched her behind the ears and down her back and then gave her and all the pups a big hug.
All the pups were very loving, but Lucy was probably a little more so. She was the smallest of the four and seemed to want a little more attention than the rest. She was also the spitting image of her mother, Duchess. Duke Junior was the biggest and looked more like me. Rufus took a little more after his mother, and Molly resembled both me and her mother equally.
As we all entered the cabin through the kitchen door, Duchess came over and gave me a little lick on the nose. "Hi, hon. How was your day?" she asked.
"Great. We should be able to move over to the new house before Thanksgiving," I replied.
Dawn came over and gave her dad a peck on the cheek. "By the time you guys get washed up, dinner will be ready." She was the youngest of Dad's four human children, and she had lived with us since breaking up with her boyfriend six months earlier. At twenty-five, Dawn, a five foot six blond-haired, brown-eyed cutie with a little turned-up nose, had still not figured out what she wanted to be when she grew up. She did have a lot of artistic talent that Dad had tried to get her to pursue, but she was still sitting on the fence.
Dad had been married and divorced twice and had two children from each marriage. Anthony, at forty-one, was the oldest and lived in New England with his wife, Karen, and their little girl, Megan, age five. They had their own real estate business.
Lynn was the next oldest, at thirty-eight. She lived with her husband, Mathew Dawson, and two children, Paige, age eight, and Willard, age six, in the Seattle area. Mathew was a computer technician for a big corporation.
David was next, at thirty, and was an architect. His partner, Ken Amberson, handled the construction side of their business and did most of the work on our new house. David had a house on the west side of Flathead Lake, about thirty minutes south of Kalispell, Montana, where he lived with his ten-year-old daughter, Arista, and their little dog, Skipper. But since he lived so close, he stayed with us during the winter months and helped Dad work on the new house. Arista's school had a computer link set up so students in remote areas like ours could stay at home during the worst part of the winter and still get their lessons.
After Dad said grace over dinner, we all dug in. Dawn had put some chicken gravy on our Kibbles 'n Bits, which really made it delicious.
"Junior, you and Rufus quit gulping your food," Duchess scolded.
"Yes, Mama," they answered in unison.
"You guys know better than that," I told them.
"Honey, this dinner looks fantastic," Dad commented.
As we ate, I noticed Dawn looking at her dad with wonder. "With all you have been through in your life, Dad, how do you stay so young?" she asked.
"I don't know, sweetheart. Maybe I've just been lucky, or maybe it's just because the good Lord has blessed me with a healthy life," he replied.
Dad was sixty-one years old, and except for a little graying around the temples, he didn't look any more than thirty. He was six foot two, weighed just less than two hundred pounds, and had dark brown hair and eyes. He had an athletic build and was over twice as strong as most men half his age. And I guess as far as humans go, he was considered handsome.
"Mom called today. She wants me to have Thanksgiving at her house this year," Dawn said.
"Well, if that's what you want to do, but I could sure use your help around here. When do you plan to go?"
"If I go, it won't be until the Tuesday before, but for now, I haven't decided."
"I wonder if David is planning to be at your mom's as well."
"When I spoke to him last night, he was thinking about it because he doesn't get over to see her very often," Dawn replied.
Maggie was Nathan's second wife and the mother to David and Dawn. She was now married to a newspaper man and living in the Seattle area.
"Even if we do decide to go to Mom's for Thanksgiving, we'll be back before Christmas. Besides, it will give you guys some time to visit with Anthony and Lynn's families. They will be here for both holidays."
"Papa, can we be excused?" Junior asked.
"We finished all our dinner," said Molly.
"It sure was um-um good," Rufus chimed in as he licked his chops.
"Thank you, Aunt Dawn, for putting the chicken gravy over our Kibbles 'n Bits. It really made it scrumptious," Lucy woofed.
"There is a bit of a nip in the air tonight," Dad said, trying to change the subject. "We might be in for a real hard winter this year. Maybe we should go into town and get supplies sometime this week and take the pups in for their shots."
"I think that would be fun," Dawn replied. "Maybe we could stop in and see David and Arista while we're there."
"He's been real busy working on that Flathead Lake house. David told me the man's wife is extremely hard to please, but he thinks he is making some progress," Dad commented as he began to clear the dishes from the table.
* * *
After dinner, while Dad went to take a shower, I had to use the canine facilities. Dad and David had designed and built the doggie bath onto the cabin shortly after I was adopted as a pup. It had a toilet just like the humans use, except it was only raised about two inches above floor level. The bowl was about twice as big around, with a large domed button built into the floor to flush. A shower over a small pool provided a place to wash up. It was complete with automatic soap dispenser and built-in brushes that came out and scrubbed you all over. Then after being rinsed from a wall mounted sprinkler system, four large blow-dryers dried you off. They made a lot of noise but did a good job.
It took awhile to teach the pups how to use this room, but after they got the hang of it, they loved it. Duchess, being a golden retriever, took to it like a duck to water. I, on the other hand, being half timber wolf and half German shepherd, took longer to adapt to this modern marvel. However, it was better than going outside in the middle of winter and freezing your tail off.
After his shower, Dad put on a pair of dark blue sweats, a white long sleeve T-shirt, and his rabbit fur-lined slippers and then went up to the loft to check his e-mail. The loft overlooked the great room and had been turned into an office-library combination. Glassed door bookshelves made up three walls of this room. Leroy's old oak desk sat in the middle of this room, with the latest in computer technology on top of it.
A short while after Dad decided to move back here, he went through the old desk and found an envelope with his name on it. He had read this letter very carefully many times over the last three years, but he was still shocked, confused, and in utter disbelief of what it said.
Dear Son.
If you are reading this letter, I'm no longer in this world. However, there are a few things that you must know about me that I haven't told anyone, and you shouldn't either.
First of all, I have belonged to a secret association for the better part of my adult life, The Children of Light. This group is made up of dedicated people who believe in the preservation of humankind. They come from all walks of life—from the very rich to the very poor and from all around the world. These people are united in one purpose, and that is to stop the forces of evil from destroying the Earth and all that live upon it.
It is believed by many that the biblical prophecies written down in Revelations are upon us and the end of days is at hand. We must do everything we can to teach the truth to as many people as possible before certain dark secret societies enslave humankind.
As humans, we are supposed to be the most intelligent life form on the planet, and yet we destroy our air, water, and land at such a rate that it will be impossible to clean up. If that's not enough, we slaughter our fellow men in wars for one preposterous reason after another. Then our leaders try to justify these actions in the name of God or being in the right. But the real reason for all this killing is greed for money and power.
The forces of evil go by many different names, but their ultimate goal is to bring about the "New World Order." They are trying to do this by controlling the world's economy, and if they succeed, they will be able to literally rule the planet, or should I say the Antichrist will achieve his goal of world domination.
Son, when you were fifteen, you got very sick, if you remember. Your mother and I thought you were going to die. That's when we met Dr. Franklin. He was able to save your life by giving you a new experimental drug that changed your genetic makeup. This drug made you smarter and stronger and slowed the aging process. It also enhances your intuitive abilities and allows you to have telepathic powers. That's why you can communicate with certain animals and you seem to know things are going to happen before they do. This ability will also be passed on to your children and grandchildren for many generations to come. Your sister, Caroline, and brother, Lamar, also have been given this wonder drug, as well as some of your boyhood friends.
Dr. Ben Franklin is a geneticist who worked for the government for many years, but he became disillusioned with many of its corrupt policies. He resigned and put his talents toward a higher and more rewarding purpose. You might remember his son, Steve. He was your best friend when you were in junior high school.
Stay safe, my son, and always be on guard for the forces of darkness. The world just might need you in a critical way someday soon. I wish you all the best.
Love, Dad
After Dad had read the letter one more time, he just sat there and shook his head. He thought his dad had gone stark raving mad before he had died. What did this mean, the Children of Light and all this cloak and dagger stuff?
Just about then, a beep on his computer indicated he had mail. "Nathan, I need to talk to you soon. I have found something I think will be of great interest to you. Please see attached pictures. Steve." That was all the message said.
Dad hadn't talked to Steve in many years, not since his dad's funeral, and was somewhat surprised to hear from him now. Just how did he get my e-mail address? Dad wondered, as he scrolled down the pictures, which immediately piqued his curiosity.
"Hi, Steve. Good to hear from you. The pictures are interesting. You have my full attention. Where did you get them?" Dad wrote back, but there was no reply.
About then, Yap, yap, ruff, bark, garrrr, came from down stairs. Dad and I slipped down the steps and made our way to the family room to see what all the commotion was about. As we peeked around the door, we saw the pups lined up in front of the TV barking and growling with their tails straight out and their ears up. Dawn was sitting on the sofa eating popcorn, wearing her soft yellow sweats, and Duchess was lying at her feet chewing on a rawhide bone.
"What's going on in here?" Dad asked.
"Papa, papa, grandpa," all the pups yelped at once. "That bad man is going to bite the nice lady on the neck," Junior barked.
"I'll rip him apart," growled Rufus.
"What are you guys watching?" I asked.
"I think it's called Dracula Returns or something like that," replied Duchess. "It's just another one of those old vampire flicks."
"Papa, get that old mean vampire," barked Molly as she ran behind the easy chair.
Dawn was laughing so hard at the pups she almost spilled her popcorn.
Lucy ran over to Dad and jumped up in his lap as he sat down in the recliner. "It's okay, honey; I'll protect you from that old monster," he told her as he hugged her close.
* * *
Later that night, we went off to bed after saying good night to Dad and Dawn. The pups lined up in front of their beds with their little tails wagging, waiting for prayers, and then Duchess and I said good night to each one.
"Mama, why do Grandpa and Aunt Dawn look so different than us?" asked Rufus.
"Because they are humans and we are dogs, sweetheart," Duchess told him.
"But if we are dogs and they are humans, why do we call him Grandpa and you call him Dad?" asked Molly.
"Well, I guess in a way, you could say we are his adopted children, because he takes care of and loves us like he does his human children and grandchildren. But it is just as much our job to do the same thing for our humans," I told her. "We dogs have been taking care of humans since the beginning of time and that is a very important responsibility."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Edge of Tomorrowby Lyle D. Westbrook Copyright © 2012 by L. D. Westbrook. Excerpted by permission of Abbott Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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