The news spread faster than anyone expected.
Inside the operations building at Sanctuary, Saul had barely finished reviewing the data from Arizona when the room began filling with people.
Olaf stood near the large map table.
Billy Jack leaned against the wall beside him.
Frigg, Gary, Emma, Vargas, Ivar, and several others gathered around the glowing projection Saul had activated.
Red markers pulsed across the continent.
Rivers.
Reservoirs.
Lake systems.
All potential pathways.
Saul spoke first.
"The facility in Arizona confirms it."
He tapped the map.
"These creatures originated from human experimentation."
Gary frowned.
"Genetic work?"
"Yes."
Saul enlarged the display.
"Catfish regenerative traits."
Emma folded her arms.
"Someone was trying to cure diseases."
"Correct."
Billy Jack exhaled slowly.
"And the cure turned into a plague."
Saul nodded.
"That appears to be the outcome."
Olaf studied the map in silence.
His eyes drifted slowly across the rivers.
Mississippi.
Colorado.
Ohio.
Snake.
Every one of them connected.
Frigg noticed the look immediately.
"You're seeing the scale."
Olaf nodded slowly.
"Yes."
He pointed toward the waterways.
"They travel through water."
Gary followed his finger.
"That means…"
Billy Jack finished the thought.
"Every river is a road."
Silence filled the room.
Saul looked toward Olaf.
"What do you think?"
Olaf straightened.
"The wild places must be warned."
Frigg tilted her head.
"You mean Ullr and Freyr."
"Yes."
Olaf turned toward the door.
"They guard the forests and mountains."
"If these things spread through the rivers…"
"…they will reach the highlands."
Saul nodded.
"That makes sense."
Olaf walked outside without another word.
⸻
The Courtyard
Sleipnir stood waiting beneath the tall pines.
The great eight-legged horse lifted his head as Olaf approached.
Olaf placed a hand against the horse's neck.
"We ride."
Sleipnir stamped once.
The saddle straps tightened automatically as Olaf climbed into place.
Before he left, Olaf turned toward the open sky.
"Heimdall."
The wind shifted.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then a faint voice echoed through the air.
"I hear you."
Olaf spoke calmly.
"Watch the realm paths."
A second voice answered beside the first.
Hermod.
"We are already watching."
Olaf nodded once.
"If you see the mountain guardians…"
"…warn them."
The wind stirred again.
"We will."
Sleipnir leapt forward.
Eight hooves struck the ground at once.
Then the great horse launched into the sky like a silver comet.
⸻
The Tribal Network
Far below Sanctuary, Billy Jack had already begun moving.
Daniel Red Elk and Raymond Torres rode beside him.
They stood at the edge of the plains where the rider corridor began.
Billy Jack studied the horizon.
"Time to wake the old systems."
Daniel nodded.
"Smoke signals?"
"Yes."
Raymond smiled faintly.
"And horses."
Within minutes the first signal fires were lit.
Columns of smoke rose slowly into the morning sky.
Hilltop to hilltop.
Ridge to ridge.
Messages moving faster than roads ever could.
Riders mounted up as the signals spread.
Each carried the same warning.
Stay away from water.
Something unnatural was moving through the rivers.
⸻
Military Node Network
Hundreds of miles away, Roberts read Saul's update.
The message from Arizona confirmed everything.
Vali leaned over the table beside him.
"So the lab caused it."
Roberts nodded grimly.
"Yes."
Vidar stood silently near the window watching the river outside the base.
Roberts turned toward the command staff.
"Send the warning."
The lieutenant hesitated.
"To who, sir?"
Roberts answered simply.
"Everyone."
He tapped the map.
"All nodes."
"Every convoy."
"Every town."
"Stay away from water."
The radio network lit up within minutes.
Military outposts began spreading the warning across the central states.
But Roberts knew something else.
Warnings rarely moved faster than people.
And people were already moving.
Arizona
The group returned from the research facility just after sunset.
Dust clung to their boots as they came down from the ridge above the reservoir. The wind had picked up slightly, carrying the dry scent of desert grass and stagnant water.
Behind them, the tribal hunters who had guided them moved slowly.
One of the men rubbed his arm where the mutant had bitten him during the fight inside the drainage tunnel.
Another had a deep gash across his shoulder.
Magni noticed immediately.
"You should have that looked at."
The hunter waved him off with a tired smile.
"Just scratches."
Freya frowned slightly.
"You don't know what those things carry."
The man shrugged.
"We've seen worse."
Thor glanced back at Shane.
"That didn't look like worse."
Shane didn't answer.
His mind was still replaying the laboratory.
The broken containment tanks.
The research notes.
The empty syringe clutched in the dead researcher's hand.
Someone had tried to stop the attackers.
But the attackers hadn't died.
They had changed.
By the time the group reached the tribal settlement, lanterns had already been lit along the valley floor.
The place was busier than it had been that morning.
New wagons.
New tents.
Children sitting beside exhausted parents.
Refugees.
Freya noticed first.
"That's new."
Johnny John nodded.
"More arrived while we were gone."
Oscar climbed down from the wagon and scanned the valley.
"How many?"
"Thirty families so far."
Thor whistled softly.
"And that's just today."
Shane walked up the small ridge overlooking the settlement.
The valley spread beneath him.
Small homes along the hillside.
Gardens carved into the desert soil.
New refugee wagons circling near the outer fields.
The earthquake had pushed people inland.
More would follow.
Freya stepped up beside him.
"This is going to get worse."
"Yes."
Thor joined them, watching the valley below.
"That's a lot of people."
Shane nodded slowly.
"And we cannot stop them."
Magni frowned.
"You sound like you're already losing."
Shane shook his head.
"No."
He looked across the valley again.
"But we cannot save everyone."
Freya studied him quietly.
"You already knew that."
Shane didn't answer.
The desert wind moved softly across the ridge.
Far below, the reservoir reflected the rising moon like dark glass.
⸻
Later
The group gathered around a fire near the outer edge of the settlement.
Food was passed around.
Water skins were refilled.
For a short while the tension eased.
Then one of the tribal hunters began sweating.
Magni noticed first.
"You alright?"
The man wiped his forehead.
"Just hot."
His breathing sounded wrong.
Shallow.
Freya stepped closer.
"Let me see."
She touched his neck.
Her expression changed instantly.
"He's burning up."
Thor frowned.
"That fast?"
The hunter tried to laugh.
"Probably infection."
But his hands had started shaking.
Another man beside him shifted uneasily.
"You don't look good."
The hunter suddenly jerked upright.
His back arched.
A harsh choking sound escaped his throat.
Magni stepped forward.
"Easy."
The man's eyes snapped open.
They looked wrong.
Freya stepped back immediately.
"Shane…"
The hunter lunged.
His teeth sank deep into the arm of the man beside him.
The scream cut through the camp like a blade.
Thor moved instantly.
He tackled the attacker and slammed him into the dirt.
"What the hell—"
The bitten man staggered backward clutching his arm.
Blood ran down his sleeve.
Freya stared at the wound.
Then at the man on the ground thrashing beneath Thor's grip.
Then at Shane.
"This spreads."
Shane nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Thor pinned the attacker harder as the man continued snarling like an animal.
Magni looked between them.
"You're saying that bite—"
Freya cut him off.
"It's infection."
Oscar stared across the valley.
Refugees were still arriving.
Wagons.
Families.
People packed together along the valley floor.
More bodies.
More contact.
More chances for the infection to spread.
Shane followed his gaze.
Then he looked toward the reservoir.
The water moved slowly beneath the moonlight.
Almost peacefully.
But now he understood what he was looking at.
The water wasn't just hiding creatures.
It was hiding an epidemic.
The man who had been bitten began trembling violently.
Freya watched him carefully.
"How long do you think?"
Shane didn't answer right away.
He studied the settlement.
The refugees.
The valley.
The reservoir.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Hours."
The bitten man screamed again.
Thor tightened his grip on the attacker.
Magni looked toward the dark hills surrounding the valley.
"How many of those things are out there?"
Shane watched the water ripple again in the distance.
"Enough."
He exhaled slowly.
Because he finally understood the scale of it.
This wasn't just an outbreak.
It wasn't even a regional disaster.
It was the beginning of a horde.
⸻
"If you enjoyed Shane's journey, please drop a Power Stone! It helps the Common Sense Party grow."