A Jehovah's Witness Needgreater Novel – The Road to Xakatul

Two Witnesses in a SUV called Hummingbird. Heading to a Branch project in Mexico. One puzzling phone call would change their lives forever. Justin’s father has disappeared…MEXICO…SIERRA MADRE…MOUNTAINS…THE YEAR…1597…The old dapple-grey stallion had been galloping blindly, mouth frothing, eyes bulging, fearfully fleeing a nightmarish vision induced by the rabies virus… For some time, two barefoot XimXime Indian boys, hunting spears in hand had watched…“He has the sickness,” the younger one said…“Yes,” the older one replied. “From the leather winged birds that fly at night. He is almost dead.”…The stallion was a descendant of the majestic horse herds brought to this land by the Spanish conquistadores. Now, he stood lathered with sweat, head hanging in exhaustion. With a final loud snort the horse shuddered deeply, dropped to his knees and then fell on its side with a solid thump and lay still… Just under its straggly mane, were two little bite marks…MEXICO…SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS…THE YEAR…1998…

Consumed by his quest, Archie Coleman had begun to neglect his appearance. Like some bushy bearded rock star from the 70's, his straw colored hair grown long, poked out from under the brim of a cap smashed down haphazardly on his head. The badge glinting in the glow from his flashlight read: U.S. Park Service. Archaeology…For months, Archie Coleman had searched the mountains for an entryway into the hidden valley before finally discovering an underground entrance. For the past hour he had followed a well worn pathway leading deep inside this dark subterranean cave. Now he stood puzzled to find the trail ended abruptly at the edge of a placid pool of water…He let the beam of his flashlight play over the cavern walls and stop on what looked like some cave paintings… Intrigued, he scrambled across the rough rock ground to get a better look. He rubbed dirt off the wall to expose the images. “What the…” Leaning shakily against the cavern wall he pulled a handkerchief from the pants pocket of his green uniform, vigorously polished his gold framed spectacles, and then like some myopic bird he squinted into the darkness.

…Numerous ancient drawings of stick people figures. The beam of his flashlight was growing weaker. Amazed by what he had found, he shook it vigorously and the light brightened briefly. “Unbelievable,” he muttered.

He saw ancient faded drawings of Eskimo men in kayaks.“Weelll! How did that get here?” Excited by his discovery, he pushed his cap further up on his forehead, leaned in for a closer look, and bumped his hat brim against a sleeping bat. The fluttering of leathery wings close above his head startled him…His flashlight swung upwards to reveal a squirming mass of bats hanging like grape clusters from the ceiling. Surprised, he lurched backwards and the flashlight fell from his hand landing hard on the rocks at his feet and winked out. Groping blindly in the darkness his fingers finally closed on the handle of the flashlight. He switched it on and off and shook it a few times. Nothing. It was dead…At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. A faint glow of light was visible deep within the pool…It took him no time to make his decision…A lifetime of exploration had brought him to this moment in time…He entertained no thoughts of turning back…All his research indicated the People of Xakatul lay ahead…Wadding in, Archie Coleman submerged under water and swam towards the light…When he surfaced, it was to spend the next twenty-three years of his life in a different world…MEXICO…SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS…TODAY…Overcome by the fever, Jim West closed his eyes and let his head drop forward to rest on the truck steering wheel…Sweat had soaked through the bandana tied around his forehead. Salty rivulets had run down across his dust-laden face to irritate the…two little bite marks on his neck…“Where are you Justin,” he muttered aloud…“I don't have much time, son.”