Tierra Sagrada — John Abeln

Three years after escaping Etiwanda, on the west side of the Rockies, Dave Clark was accosted by a visitor from his hometown Plaza, an old mate named Beut. Rasputin wants you to return. Come home. Now. The jarring threat brought back nightmarish memories from Dave's Etiwandan life. Existentially he grasped Beut was there to harm his family in Cripple Creek, Colorado if he did not return. At that moment the President of the University, with a sizable grant, expecting Nona, Dave's wife, to work on an Etiwandian study. Otherwise your staff may be trimmed. Why did the president demand a study on the toxic environment and infrastructure?   Are the two connected? The old friend's calling and the president's threat weighed heavy on Dave spurring him on to the dangerous journey. As expected Dave encountered the menacing Rasputin managing ZooCoo's sinister governance over Etiwanda. Help from his ex-wife, Causs the prophetess, convinces him to take a safer path home, traveling south where Dave found another outpost, Tierra Sagrada, that successfully fought off ZooCoo. On this journey, reunited with his crying body Goggle Eyes and her new mission giving sanctuary to the women that were being trafficked by Rasputin's thugs, brings another layer of complexity to understanding the origins of ZooCoo and Crying Bodies. What new truths does Dave uncover in Tierra Sagrada? More importantly, can he and Nona survive these calculated misadventures of Rasputin?