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Newworlddave Sample.Pdf THE ADVENTURES OF NEW WORLD DAVE CHRIS CERVINI DIVERTIR PUBLISHING Salem, NH The Adventures of New World Dave Chris Cervini Copyright © 2020 Chris Cervini All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, with- out prior permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Cover design by Kenneth Tupper Published by Divertir Publishing LLC PO Box 232 North Salem, NH 03073 http://www.divertirpublishing.com/ ISBN-13: 978-1-938888-26-7 ISBN-10: 1-938888-26-X Library of Congress Control Number: 2020941506 Printed in the United States of America ii Dedication This book is dedicated to the wonderful, warm, and resilient people of Mexico. iii iv Table of Contents Chapter 1........................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2...........................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 3...........................................................................................................................................5 Chapter 4.........................................................................................................................................19 Chapter 5.........................................................................................................................................23 Chapter 6 ........................................................................................................................................29 Chapter 7.........................................................................................................................................33 Chapter 8 ........................................................................................................................................41 Also by Divertir Publishing.................................................................................................... 49 v vi CHAPTER 1 History as we know it N THE SPRING of 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived at the shores of Mexico to conquer the Aztec Empire and claim its gold for the glory of Spain. Aiding Ihis effort was one of the greatest coincidences in history—the Aztec belief that, at the exact moment of Cortés’ arrival, their civilization was to be visited by Quetzalcoatl, the light-skinned and plumed Aztec god of wisdom. Mistaking Cortés for Quetzalcoatl was a fatal, civilization-crushing error. In slightly more than two years—and with support from local tribes weary of Aztec rule—Cortés and his small band of Conquistadors swept through the valley of Mexico, destroyed the Aztec Empire, and established a firm European foothold on the continent of North America. That’s what the history books tell us. But sometimes, right in the middle of the history we know, somebody goes and does something to change one important detail, and the world is never the same. 1 The Adventures of New World Dave 2 Chris Cervini CHAPTER 2 The account of Efraim Ramirez, written in May of 1536 YMASTER AND friend asked me to tell my story so that my children may know the truth about the incredible events that brought me to Mthese hills and this simple life of peace under the sun of a new god. It was Holy Thursday in the Year of our Lord, 1519. Wewere a proud group— the sons of Spain—brought together on a grand quest for new souls for the Lord Jesus Christ, for gold to fill the coffers of his majesty the King, and for eternal glory for ourselves and our commander, Hernán Cortés. In my memories, I can still feel my body shake with excitement as many of the men by my side worked quickly, eager to board our small tender boats and make landfall. From our ship, less than a league from shore, the jungle looked to be impossibly thick and forbidding. Thankfully, it appeared less im- penetrable than the tangled mangroves we had observed just weeks before on the shores of what the local Indios called the Yucatan. Commander Cortés was standing proudly on the forecastle deck of our flagship, the Santa Maria de la Concepcion, surveying the coast with his hand to his brow. He turned and whispered something to Malintzin, our Indio inter- preter, who was supplied to us by the Tabascans down the coast just a few weeks before. Malintzin pointed to a spot on the coast just north of us, and Cortés spent a few moments straining to survey the land in the midday glare. He smiled. This would be the place—the true beginning of our expedition into the heart of Mexica and the storied riches of the Aztec Empire. “This is where we land,” Cortés bellowed. “Send a signal to the other ships and prepare to disembark.” With his order, we hastened our work loosening the ropes on the tenders and preparing the ladders for our descent to glory. In less than an hour, we were aboard the landing boats with the sun blazing at the top of the sky. I carried with me a small satchel of clothes, a powder bag and shot, and my musket. I remember the sun baking me in my heavy metal breastplate and helmet. I was in the third landing boat behind Cortés, who stood tall on the prow of the lead tender in his moment of glory. The banners of our beloved Spain and the Church of Rome fluttered behind him. This was our grand entrance 3 The Adventures of New World Dave into the New World—an undiscovered place, a place that would someday bear our names. I remember I was laughing with Jose Acevedo from my home city of Granada when we noticed a peculiar line of white smoke streaking toward the Com- mander’s lead tender at an impossible speed. The streak connected with the bow of Cortés’ tender, and a vicious explosion opened a yawning hole in the front of his boat, sending splinters in all directions. I strained to see Cortés, wide-eyed and confused, clumsily trying to keep his balance on his shattered boat. He quickly turned to Malintzin, gesticulating wildly as if trying to demand an explanation. Malintzin appeared stunned by the blast, a red gash now above her brow. She shook her head violently and covered her ears as if indicating she had no knowledge of what had just happened. Weheard a loud crack come from the shore and beheld the exploding shoulder of Cortés, chunks of flesh ripped from his body. Cortés slumped as the crew members on his sinking tender recoiled at the blood and horror. Aquiet shock came over us; it would only last a few moments, as the air became filled with loud, repetitive cracks punctuated by dozens of speeding smoke lines hurtling toward our fleet. Jose screamed, and I looked over at him. He had two smoking holes in his armor—center chest and left belly. He crumpled to the deck of the boat writhing in agony. I jumped on top of him, trying to pry his chest plate from his body. Two more men on our boat slumped over, Rodriguez with a hole blown in his face, and Garza with three holes across his chest. Feverishly, my hands worked to free Jose of his armor, but his screaming began to ebb, and his life slipped away under my hands. I looked back on our fleet. I counted seven of our eleven galleons on fire, and the other four being consistently raked by the rapid-firing devil’s contraption on shore. One by one the men in my boat were killed by this terrible calamity— and one by one they either toppled into the surf or fell on top of me and Jose, blood emptying from their bodies. Sheltered from the violence by the weight of my dead comrades, the sounds of the massacre became muffled, save the hollow clunks of shot hitting bodies and the groans and screams of my dying friends. I squeezed my eyes shut, my body evacuating itself as I prayed to the Lord Jesus for my deliverance. 4 Chris Cervini CHAPTER 3 1999—in a new timeline created after the Aztecs miraculously defeated the Spanish on the shores of Mexica in 1519… The case of Santiago Villa De Esparza N HIS DREAM, David Aragon saw a city he knew well but had never visited before in waking life. Gray and cold, he approached it like he always did— Iin a large ferry motoring through a choppy harbor. Spires stretched up into the clouds. It was all in a dream, but he knew it so well that it felt undeniably real to him. His ship was called the TATEN—at least that’s what he saw imprinted on the gangway platform—and while that big, gray city across the harbor had no name, it was darkly magnificent. A swift elbow to his ribs snapped him back to reality. “Heads up, David,” Johnny said, “we’re on final approach.” Dave sat upright, shook off the sleep, and suddenly remembered where he was—on a jet airship flying into the forbidden Empire of the Aztecs. Coming into the Grand City of Tenochtitlan from the air was always an adventure. The bumpy updrafts caused by the high mountains and volcanoes that ringed the city made even the least pious flyers consider praying to their chosen gods or saints, depending on their persuasion. The triple engine Singh V airship pitched forward slightly as it came out of the mountains and began to coast on its final descent into Emperor Moctezuma XXI International Airport. Ding. “Good afternoon, and welcome to the Pan Aztec Empire,” came the soft, soothing female voice over the intercom, speaking perfect Spanish. “Please remember to have your immigration documents ready, and roll up your sleeves for your entrance immunizations.” Johnny Fiver, Dave’s partner on this assignment, shook his head as he began to roll up his sleeve. “Freakin’Aztecs, right? What makes them so clean that they gotta make us into pincushions just for the honor of being in their presence,” he whispered under his breath, but loud enough for Dave to hear. Dave smiled and showily unbuttoned his sleeve. Johnny was a crack, no- nonsense field agent for the Colonial Spanish Foreign Service, but Dave was learning in just their first few hours of being on assignment together that he had a habit of not being terribly diplomatic or culturally appropriate.
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