The Survivalist_National Treasure by Arthur Bradley

Author:Arthur Bradley [Bradley, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781975652043
Amazon: 1975652045
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2017-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

As Issa traipsed across Mount Weather’s compound, what struck her most was the stillness of it all. What had previously been a vibrant military complex now reminded her of a college campus over summer break. Formations of soldiers had been replaced by small squads rushing from one place to the next, as they struggled to cover the compound’s endless duties.

Mount Weather had been configured to operate as a small city, with cafeterias, water towers, fuel tanks, a motor pool, and even a medical center. With the bulk of the men away, the women and children were expected to cover the community duties, including retrieving water, cleaning quarters, washing clothes, and performing other routine jobs. And while they seemed to be managing, Issa couldn’t help but wonder whether Mother might have miscalculated in leaving so few of her soldiers behind.

The residents were an eclectic group that included doctors, lawyers, police officers, engineers, mechanics, and others from nearly every walk of life. Many had lived in the Washington, D.C., area when the virus hit. After surviving the infection, they had retreated into the tunnels to avoid the violence that followed. Driven by an uncontrollable rage to strike back at those who saw them as monsters, they had banded together under a common cause.

Others had come to Mount Weather after its liberation, thanks to word spreading across the country that there existed a place safe for the afflicted. Over the past six months, the population had grown to more than four thousand, nearly half of which had been conscripted into Mother’s army.

The inhabitants’ disfigurements were as varied as their professions, some suffering horrible deformities, others only swollen joints or patches of missing hair. Issa had been one of the decidedly more fortunate. Other than her eyes being the color of obsidian, she had suffered only a slight hoarseness to her voice and a few scars on her extremities from the blisters.

At one time, she had considered Mother to be a queen in the truest sense of the word, a woman that God had put on the earth to carry on their species. Why else would she have mutated in a way that allowed her to bring so much life into the world?

Now, however, things seemed different. Issa had her own family, not to mention an unborn child on the way. Despite Mother retaining a hallowed place in her heart, Issa would never permit her wishes to take precedence over those of her husband and children.

The image of Samantha clutching Tanner’s arm as the helicopter went down tried to push its way into Issa’s mind.

“No!” she breathed, shaking her head.

She would not allow herself to entertain such darkness. Instead, Issa focused on the task at hand. She believed that the best place to start her investigation was at the airfield. Not only would they know of the condition of the helicopter, they would presumably also have been the ones to have received the pilot’s last radio transmission.

The airfield was located along the western edge of the compound.

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