The River

By Pernell Rogers

An accidental chemical spill contaminates the recreational waters of the town of Crystal Flats. Sheriff Begaye and Deputy Jameson have to deal with the aftermath, but they discover when man disrupts nature, nature has a way of striking back with a vengeance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pernell Rogers
• Release date: Jul 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370885640

Pernell Rogers

Pernell Rogers hails from Cleveland, Ohio. Reading was one of his first interests as a child, and he dove into it. The Apollo missions forged new interests in astronomy, UFO, the pyramids, and ancient cultures. Oddities about our world captured his attention.After traveling the world during his 14-year U.S. Air Force career, he became a civilian again working in Information Technology. His interest in writing blossomed from the removal of a lily pad from his backyard pond. In his eyes, it looked like something out of Swamp Thing with its massive, tangled root system. He imagined the root system coming alive, and that was the trigger. His first attempt at fiction writing was long, but not very good.After more years of reading and practice, he published his first story in the horror genre. Soon, his direction turned toward the supernatural thriller genre with hints of horror with some of his best ideas coming from the ideas and dreams of his friends.Visit http://pernellrogers.com to find more about him and his stories.

Book preview

The River

by Pernell Rogers

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2017 by Anthony Pernell Rogers

All rights reserved. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations

The River

Chapter 1

The pulsing alarm was deafening. Forty-seven-year-old John Pashow’s eyes popped open and his fingers dug into the arms of his swivel chair. His lungs filled with fear. His skin prickled with each pulse while his heart damn near beat through his chest. He wanted to dive underneath the control board, but resisted. His chest tightened and he was sure he was having a heart attack. The sneaky concoction the Sandman sprinkled over him minutes earlier was whisked away in an instant.

Where am I?

Within a couple of seconds, his question was answered. He was at work inside the Greenland Industrial Plant’s well-lit control room. He realized his high-carb lunch and lack of coffee caused him to doze off, something he rarely did. He took long, deep breaths to stave off an oncoming panic attack. Soon, he gathered his faculties and focused on the various red and yellow flashing lights on the panels around him, his eyes trying to adjust to the bright fluorescent lights overhead.

What’s happening?

That incessant alarm interfered with his thinking. He pushed back from the main console and the rollers of his chair carried him to a secondary console containing the alarm control switches. With a flick of his thumb, the alarm in the control room fell silent but the secondary alarms in the rest of the plant continued blasting away. He pushed himself back to the main console and read the black writing on the illuminated buttons. Goosebumps rose.

No, this can’t be…

The red lights indicated that two main pumps had unexpectedly started running. Something triggered them and he knew a disaster was underway. It was then that he felt the low rumble and vibrations from the pumps through the control room floor. Figuring out why they were running wasn't a priority at the moment, instead he needed to shut them down now. His mind jumped to the other shift workers, then returned to the tasks he had to perform. He could still feel his heart thumping in