Seeking Tierra Santa - Michael M. Pacheco (top 10 books to read txt) 📗

off on their evening of consummation, and all seemed well. However, at about 5:30 the next morning, they were awakened suddenly by a huge explosion that seemed to be right at the cave opening. The entrance lit up brightly as if the sun had magically popped up. My mother tells of a loud whooshing sound as she clung tightly to my father. They waited a full hour after the initial blast before daring to walk outside.
"The four couples shared their similar experiences as they returned to their village. What they found was devastating.
"Most of the Manso homes, built of strong adobe, were flattened. Many of the elderly were dead or dying. My grandfather was vomiting blood, and my grandmother had diarrhea. The place was a disaster.
"Within two days, the four couples approached the base commander asking for help. The tribe needed food, water, and medical care for the sick. They weren't their forefathers. Pride was not an issue.
"The base commander flatly refused, saying, 'You made your decision; now die with it.' As the Mansos left the base, a young captain stopped the four-car caravan. He stuck his head partially into the cabin of my father's car. 'I'll probably get fired for this, but I'll send some supplies out to you after it gets dark tonight.'
"My father tells me that in the next two days, they moved to the west side of the Sandias. Nine months later, my oldest brother was born, then two sisters, then me."
Bingo stopped and looked around at the nearly empty parking lot. The shadows were growing longer and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. He shut off the air and reached for the keys.
"Wait," said Landon. "Where do the walking ghosts come in?"
"The ghosts?" asked Bingo rhetorically. "That was my grandfather and grandmother and all the other poor souls who didn't die in the initial blast. They were condemned to eke out the rest of their lives with radiation burns, cancer, tumors, and countless other ailments. Some said they were more dead than alive. I got to know my grandparents for a short while. But all I remember is the wailing and the prayers for the constant pain to end.
"The Mexican boys we saw today. They had the same kind of burns. That bullet in their head was a blessing in disguise."
Landon slumped back into his seat. He felt the exhaustion of the day catch up to him as he whispered, "Good God, have mercy on us."

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Text: © Michael M. Pacheco 2011 ISBN-10: 1460998472 ISBN-13: 978-1460998472
Publication Date: 07-03-2011

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