“I really am a fool.”
He turned and looked back across the bridge. Brooke was gone, but for a brief moment he thought he could smell the faint scent of her perfume.
And then, just like her, it too was gone.
Chapter 21
The drive back to the Raines’ family cabin took Tanner and Samantha through Maryville, Greeneville, and Elizabethton. They stopped once to drain gasoline from an abandoned vehicle, but other than a few chatty wayward travelers, the seven-hour trip was uneventful. By the time they bumped their way up the long dirt driveway, nightfall had started to take hold.
To their surprise, the cabin was dark, without so much as the glow of a lamp or the flicker of a single candle lighting the front window.
Tanner shut off the truck and brought his shotgun forward. Samantha, too, seemed nervous as she readied her rifle.
“Where’s Issa?” she said, an anxious rattle in her voice.
Both of them knew that Issa’s eyes were much better suited to the dark than theirs, but neither could imagine her providing such a cold welcome home.
“Stay alert,” he said, heading toward the front steps.
Samantha fell in behind him, turning slightly to keep an eye on the dark woods surrounding the cabin.
The door was closed but unlocked, the way they kept it when no one was at home. While it made it a little easier for intruders to let themselves in, it was generally agreed that keeping it unlocked minimized the chances of damage from would-be thieves.
Tanner turned the knob and nudged the door open. It was dark inside, but there remained a faint odor of breakfast from the day before.
He listened.
Nothing.
“Stay here,” he whispered.
Moving room by room, he conducted a quick sweep. The cabin was empty. There was, however, a note tacked to the bedroom door. He pulled it down and carefully lit a lamp that sat on the kitchen table. Even though the note was only a few sentences long, he took his time reading it.
My love,
I have gone to tell Mother of our wonderful news. If you are reading this, it means only that I am slightly behind schedule. Please try not to worry. I will be home soon.
Yours forever,
Issa
P.S. Our baby takes after you. He’s already started to kick.
“What’s it say?” Samantha asked from the doorway.
Tanner walked over and passed her the note. She tipped it to allow the moonlight to illuminate the words.
“She’s gone back to Mount Weather?”
He settled onto the couch and said nothing.
“She’s probably fine though, right?” Samantha looked out toward the driveway as if expecting to see the blue Prius approaching. “Tanner?”
He closed his eyes and nodded noncommittally.
Samantha gently pushed the door shut and stood with her back pressed against it.
“Are you okay?”
He said nothing.
She walked over and sat beside him.
“You’re worried about her.”
“Of course I’m worried about her. But that’s not what’s bothering me.”
She studied him. There was a tightness about his mouth that she recognized.
“You’re mad.”
“Yes.”
“But you heard her. She needed to tell Mother about the baby.”
“I’m not mad at Issa. I’m mad at myself.”
Samantha was confused. “Why?”
“When a woman tells her husband that something’s important and he fails to act, what comes next is his fault.”
“But you told her that we would get word to Mother. What else could you—”
“It doesn’t matter.” His voice was louder than he had intended, and Samantha fell silent. He looked over at her and forced a tired smile. “Sorry.”
She placed her hand on his.
“It’s okay. You’re a new husband.”
“Excuse me?”
“You haven’t been married very long. Not this time, anyway.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Anytime you’re new at something, you’re bound to make a few mistakes. You know who taught me that?”
He grunted.
“You also taught me that nearly anything can be fixed if you try hard enough.”
“She’s gone. Nothing I do now is going to change that.”
Samantha tipped her head forward as if to say she wasn’t buying it.
“What?” he said defensively.
“You’ve explored ruined cities, led an army of mutant soldiers, and saved the world from nuclear sludge. Are you really telling me that you can’t find one pregnant woman?”
Tanner stared off toward the front door and pressed his lips together as he thought.
“Probably only a couple of ways up to Mount Weather.”
“And?”
“And we know what she’s driving.”
She smiled. “That’s more like it.”
Tanner stood up. “Get some sleep. If Issa’s not back by morning, we’re going to find her.”
Samantha yawned. “I’ll go to bed in a minute. I need to let the world slow down first.”
He patted her on the shoulder and headed toward his bedroom.
Just before he stepped out of sight, she said, “Issa’s going to be okay. You know that, right? She’s tough and almost as mean as you are.”
Tanner nodded and closed the bedroom door behind him.
Samantha sat on the couch and stared out the front window, not so much looking for Issa as reliving the past couple of days. People had died, some at her hand, but Duncan and the other operators were now free to live their lives. Even more important was that surrounding towns were now safe from the threat of radiation poisoning. There were undoubtedly many other nuclear plants all across the country, and perhaps some would face similar threats. But it was as Tanner had said. A man and his beautiful daughter could only do so much.
She smiled.
Tanner would undoubtedly point out that he had never used the word beautiful. But, hey, it was her memory.
An hour passed and Tanner had yet to fall asleep. He lay atop the bed, Issa’s absence so poignant that he couldn’t help but keep a hand resting on her side of the mattress. She was out there somewhere, alone and outside of his protection. Maybe she had reached Mother. Or maybe she had been forced to take a dangerous detour. Either way, something had gone wrong, and it was up to him to find her and make it right again.
As the night wore on, he eventually began to drift off to sleep. Tanner’s last conscious thoughts were of Malina’s cryptic prophecy.
“The Tower card represents a time of great turmoil and destruction, shaken foundations, and upheaval. Something big is happening in your life, and you are not even aware of it.”
He closed his eyes and muttered two final words.
“Damn gypsies.”
The Survivalist adventure continues with Freedom Lost…
201
Table of Contents
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
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Dark Days Page 26