The Survivalist (Dark Days) by Arthur T. Bradley

Author:Arthur T. Bradley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: pandemic, survival, shtf, teotwawki, prepper
Publisher: Arthur T. Bradley

Once they cleared Sweetwater, it was smooth sailing west along Highway 68 all the way over to the Watts Bar Dam. They passed a small service road on the left that led down to the dam itself, but Tanner continued up onto a two-lane elevated bridge running over the top. To their right lay Watts Bar Lake, a vast body of water that spanned nearly forty thousand acres. And to their left was Chickamauga Lake, a reservoir along the Tennessee River that stretched all the way down to Chattanooga. With the heavy rains of the past several months, the water on the Watts Bar side was easily seventy feet higher than that of the Chickamauga side.

“Explain something to me,” Samantha said, studying the dam. “How in the world would a boat get from one side to the other?”

Tanner pointed to a narrow channel up ahead.

“You see that?”

She nodded.

“That’s a lock. It can be sealed off and either flooded or drained to raise or lower the boats.”

“Like a water elevator?”

“I suppose.”

She shook her head in amazement.

“With as smart as people were, how did we end up like this?”

“One of our smart inventions got loose. That’s how.”

“Because of Dr. Jarvis,” she said, referring to the scientist who released Superpox-99 upon the world.

He shook his head. “If it hadn’t been Jarvis, it would have been someone else. We were at the breaking point. He was just the one who picked up the hammer first.”

“Ooh, look!” she said, pointing to two towers poking above the trees. Their distinct hyperboloid shapes left no doubt about their use. “The nuclear plant. It’s over there.”

He nodded. “We’re getting close.”

Not yet having found a timepiece that suited her distinctive sense of style, Samantha leaned over to check Tanner’s wristwatch. There were no numbers on its dial, only luminous markers, and she struggled to tell whether it was time for lunch or time for bed.

He slipped it off his wrist and passed it over to her.

“Just wear it already. You need it more than I do.”

Samantha studied the watch. It was as unique as it was large. The Kobold Seal had a disproportionately thick case, with stubby lugs and a wide ratcheting bezel that made it look like a ship’s porthole. Everything about it shouted rugged and dangerous. Perfect for Tanner. Not so much for a ninety-five-pound girl.

“It looks expensive,” she said. “Who’d you steal it from?”

“Who says I stole it?”

Samantha tipped her head forward in a way that said “Who are you trying to kid?”

“It was what you might call an involuntary donation.”

“Involuntary because you took it after beating someone to a pulp?”

He shrugged. “Can’t recall at the moment.”

“Uh-huh.”

Samantha flipped the watch over. An inscription was carved into the caseback.

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