The Ghost of Dome Rock Road

The End is the Beginning

As they reached the end of Havasu Lake Road and began to turn onto U.S. 95, Danny glanced again at the road sign, the one that was displaying the warning sign the day before. Nothing... nada... zip... just a plain old road sign. He pulled out his phone and swiped to the picture he had taken. Nothing... nada... zip. He thought, 'Thanks, Nani!'

"Danny, remember... We were camping out at Buckskin Park to watch the meteor shower. Ok?" said Lizzy. "No problem, Lizzy," Danny said with a big grin on his face. "What do you think your Nani meant when she said, "working together, you will become great spirit warriors - helping many desperate souls?" Jessie laughed. "You guys just don't get it, do you?" "Get what?" said Danny.

"Well, Danny... you can summon spirits from the afterlife, and Lizzy here can hear people's thoughts. I think that makes you sort of like superheroes in my book." Lizzy and Danny looked at each other with puzzled looks, then broke out laughing uncontrollably.

Jessie smiled and shook his head, "You laugh now, but watch. The day will come when you will be called upon to help some other poor soul. And... well... if my hunch is correct, my old pal Bud may be involved as well."

Danny and Lizzy hardly spoke again on the way back to Parker. Maybe they were just exhausted from the ordeal, or perhaps, just maybe, they began to ponder the ramifications of what Jessie just told them. 'Superheroes, really... Come on. I'm just graduating high school in a few months,' Lizzy thought. But she really loved Danny, and it wasn't hard for her to imagine spending the rest of her life with him. That was for sure.

Jessie pulled up in front of Danny's place. Lizzy and Danny thanked Jessie for driving them home."What about you, Mr. Gutierrez... What do you think about all this stuff?' Lizzy asked. "Well, I don't know about all that supernatural stuff, Lizzy. But I remember what Danny's grandmother told him in a dream. You know, what she said about the disturbance along the river after the flooding of the sacred Native American burial ground."

"We've trampled on the heritage of Native American life for a long time. I think I'll dedicate my free time to writing and lobbying the powers to be to turn some of that around - starting with the Chemehuevi burial grounds. I did some research, and they would only have to commit to keeping the lake two and a half feet lower to keep that burial site above water. Let's just say I start with that!"

Danny and Lizzy jumped in Danny's Prius and headed over to Lizzy's house. "Danny, can you stay with me at my house for a while? I don't feel like being alone right now. "My mom's been in Phoenix all day. She's bringing her boyfriend Damian back to our house to recuperate." "Her boyfriend now?" Danny asked. "Yeah, she really likes this guy. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time."

"Damian... isn't he the state trooper who saved that woman's life in Quartzsite when a gas truck blew up on the side of the road?" Danny asked. "Yeah, that's him. He was burned pretty badly and needed a lot of time to rehab. His parents wanted him to stay at their house in Scottsdale, but my mom convinced Damian's parents that she would take good care of him."

"Yeah, I read an article on my phone about him a little while ago. I think the article said he was going to get a medal or something for saving that woman's life," Danny said. "Yeah, my mom says he's working on some report about highway safety. Staying at our house will help him focus on finishing it," Lizzy replied.

"He's also working to bring down that shitty sheriff who caused my dad's death." "Sheriff Koontz?" Danny asked. "Yeah, him!" Lizzy replied. "Oh, I guess you haven't heard. The Sheriff committed suicide a couple of nights ago." Danny said. "What?" said Lizzy. "I guess it isn't in the news or anything yet, but my stepdad texted me the other day and told me. He heard from a friend that works at the Parker hospital. Sorry, I meant to tell you, but... with everything else that's going on... I forgot."

Lizzy looked stunned, but inside, she was gratified in a perverse sort of way. She tried not to let Danny see her glee over the pronouncement of the Sheriff's demise.

Back home, Lizzy Jankins felt a calm and serenity, unlike anything she had experienced in a very long time. Her dad had found his way to the afterlife, her mom found a new 'love of her life,' and she was with Danny. Life was good. Whatever adventures lie ahead? Well, that would be for another time and another place.