Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26 Why is she dead now?

Friday arrived with a sudden, heavy finality. Stepping off the plane into Felton, Joanna felt the city pressing in on her. Unlike the flat, open spaces of Aurora, Felton was a labyrinth of steel and glass, its skyscrapers blotting out the sky.

To anyone else, it looked like civilization. To Joanna, it looked like a slaughterhouse. Large cities seem to have promised safety for the apocalypse, but high density just meant a concentrated food source for the infected.

She leaned close to Jolie as they walked through the terminal, her voice dropping to a sharp whisper. “Don’t let your guard down. This city is dangerous.”

After renting a nondescript van, they drove straight to the local mall to kill time before their meeting with Rachel. Joanna needed a distraction, so she split them up. “Go see what the camping store has,” she told Jolie. “I’m going to check out the jewelry section.”

Joanna wandered into a high-end jewelry boutique, her eyes tracking the displays until they locked onto a specific piece. It was an emerald necklace-eight massive, deep-green stones woven into an intricate lattice of gold and diamonds.

The saleswoman glided over, wearing a practiced, glossy smile. “Beautiful, isn’t it? Good afternoon. Is there something special I can help you find today?”

“That necklace,” Joanna said, nodding toward the display case. “The emerald one. Can I see it?”

The woman carefully lifted the piece out, setting it onto a velvet tray. “It’s a masterwork, truly. It was actually a custom commission. Tragically, the client’s wife passed away suddenly in a hiking accident, so the husband canceled the final pickup.”

Joanna lightly traced a finger over the cold gold. Turning the pendant over, her breath caught. Engraved on the back in delicate script were the words: To my love, Megan Foster.

Megan Foster? Joanna’s mind raced, a chill settling over her. The Megan Foster? Assistant to Elliot at Nightshade Base? What are the chances? In the vivid dreams of the future that haunted Joanna, Megan hadn’t died in a hiking accident. She had survived, becoming Elliot’s ruthless, cold-smiling lieutenant. Nothing happened in Nightshade without Megan knowing.

Joanna forced her expression to remain perfectly neutral as she looked up at the clerk. “You know, I actually used to know a Megan Foster. I’d love to send a letter of condolence to her husband. What was his name again?”

The woman sighed softly. “David Foster. But I’m afraid we only have a P.O. Box on file for him. He paid for the commission entirely in cash.”

Something was wrong. If Megan was alive in the future timeline, why was she dead now? Joanna

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Chapter 26 Why is she dead now?

needed to find David Foster.

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Finished

“I’ll take a few of your uncut emeralds, please,” Joanna said, shifting tactics to keep the woman talking. As the clerk began packaging the loose gems, Joanna casual asked, “What will happen to the necklace now? Will Mr. Foster ever come back for it, since he already paid?”

“We tried contacting him after he left the message about his wife’s passing,” the clerk said, taping the box shut. “But unfortunately, he hasn’t returned any of our calls.”

Joanna smiled, sliding her hand into her purse. She pulled out a crisp stack of hundred-dollar bills and slid them smoothly across the counter, hiding them beneath her hand. “I know this violates store policy, but if you could give me his phone number, I might be able to take that expensive piece off your hands by buying it directly from him.”

The clerk didn’t say a word. Her eyes flicked down to the cash, and with a practiced, seamless motion, she swept the bills under the counter. She pulled out a corporate business card, scribbled a ten-digit number on the back, and slid it to Joanna.

Joanna memorized the digits, tucked the card into her pocket, paid for a few uncut emeralds, and walked out. She would have Jolie make the call tonight from the privacy of their hotel

room.

When she reached the camping store, she found Jolie standing at the counter, face flushed with anger, arguing with a heavily overweight manager whose massive belly pressed against the edge of the register.

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