Chapter 221: You get meaner when you’re hungry

Chapter 221: Chapter 221: You get meaner when you’re hungry

Fear had started spreading faster than any sickness.

By sunset, people were whispering.

By night, everyone was watching the dark.

Swanly thought that would be the worst of the first day.

She was wrong.

The scream came after most of the cubs had gone to sleep.

Not a normal scream.

A human sound ripped so raw that Swanly bolted upright before she understood she was moving.

Kael was already on his feet.

Soren’s tail struck the floor.

"What happened?"

Another shout came from outside.

"RAKU!"

Swanly ran.

Kael grabbed her arm.

"Behind me."

They burst from the shelter.

People were pouring from doorways.

Torches flared.

Raku’s massive body disappeared around the northwestern path.

Swanly followed.

Then stopped.

A male stood beside the drainage trench.

Barefoot.

Motionless.

His back faced them.

His arms hung loosely at his sides.

Someone whispered his name.

"Darel?"

Nothing.

His mate pushed through the gathering crowd.

"Darel!"

Swanly caught her before she could rush closer.

"Wait."

"But that’s my mate!"

Something was wrong.

Darel’s feet were bleeding.

Not a little.

He had walked across sharp stone barefoot without reacting.

Dark footprints marked the entire path behind him.

Step.

Blood.

Step.

Blood.

Step.

Blood.

One toenail had been ripped half away.

He did not seem to notice.

His eyes were open.

But he was staring down into the drainage trench.

Raku approached from the side.

"Darel."

Nothing.

Raku waved one hand in front of his face.

No blink.

His mate started crying.

"What is wrong with him?"

Raku touched his shoulder.

Darel screamed.

Everyone jumped.

The sound tore out of him so violently his entire body arched.

His hands flew to his head.

"GET IT OUT!"

His mate shrieked.

"Darel!"

"GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!"

He slammed one palm against his temple.

Once.

Twice.

Raku caught his wrist before the third strike.

Darel fought.

Hard.

His heel slid through his own blood.

He nearly fell into the trench.

Raku dragged him backward.

Darel’s throat strained.

"IT’S CALLING!"

Swanly froze.

"What’s calling?"

His head snapped toward her.

For one horrible second, he looked fully awake.

Terrified.

"It knows we’re here."

Swanly’s stomach dropped.

Then his eyes rolled back.

His body convulsed.

His mouth struck together hard enough for blood to spray from his bitten tongue.

His mate screamed.

Raku lowered him before his skull hit the stones.

"Darel!"

Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

His injured feet twitched.

Then he went limp.

The crowd erupted.

"Rot!"

"Get away!"

"He’s turning!"

"No one touch him!"

A mother yanked her child backward so violently the cub fell.

Another male pulled a knife.

Soren’s voice cut through everything.

"STOP."

The entire path went silent.

He came through the crowd.

White hair loose.

Silver eyes cold.

Not panicked.

Not hesitant.

Ruler.

"Put the weapon down."

The male obeyed.

Soren looked at Raku.

"Alive?"

Raku pressed his fingers against Darel’s neck.

"Yes."

"Nahla."

"Coming!"

She shoved through the people.

Soren pointed toward the crowd.

"Back to your shelters."

Nobody moved.

His eyes hardened.

"Now."

People finally began retreating.

Darel’s mate refused.

"I stay."

Soren looked at her.

She was crying.

But she stood her ground.

"Please."

His expression softened by the smallest amount.

"You stay with Nahla. Do exactly what she says."

She nodded frantically.

Soren looked toward the bloody footprints.

Then the drainage trench.

Then Swanly.

She knew exactly what he was thinking.

Too many things were pointing toward the ground.

Later, after Darel woke, he remembered nothing.

Nothing.

Not walking.

Not bleeding.

Not screaming.

Not saying something was calling him.

When Raku repeated his own words back to him, the male went pale.

"I said that?"

"Yes."

"I don’t..."

His eyes filled with fear.

"I don’t remember leaving my fur bedding."

That was when Soren doubled the night guards.

No debate.

No delay.

"Two guards at every sleeping section. Nobody walks alone after dark. Any person found wandering is stopped before they reach the northwest side."

Raku nodded.

"I’ll arrange it."

Swanly was already thinking.

Names.

Symptoms.

Locations.

Food.

Water.

Sleeping places.

Old wounds.

She needed everything.

She found a flat piece of wood, charcoal and several scraps of treated hide and started writing.

By the time dawn began to lighten the sky, Swanly had barely slept.

She found Soren near the long stone table where he and Raku were reviewing guard positions.

Soren saw her approaching.

Then saw the records in her hands.

His eyes narrowed.

"You didn’t sleep."

"That is not what we’re discussing."

"Swanly."

"Something is happening."

That ended the argument.

She spread the records across the table.

Soren looked down.

Swanly pointed.

"Three animals stopped eating. One injured its own mouth. Several people have pain in healed wounds. Two reported hearing something underground. One fever. One sleepwalker."

Raku’s expression darkened.

"No common bite."

"No common food either."

Soren looked at her.

"What do you need?"

Swanly paused.

No argument.

No attempt to take the information from her and send her away.

Just:

What do you need?

She pointed at the names.

"Every shelter reports symptoms twice a day. Morning and night. Even if it seems stupid."

Soren looked at Raku.

"Do it."

Raku nodded.

"I want the hunting animals monitored too. Eating, sleeping, aggression, everything."

Soren said:

"Assign two hunters."

"I also want drinking water tracked separately."

Soren’s gaze returned to her.

"Why?"

"I don’t know."

She hated saying it.

But she forced herself to.

"I don’t know whether this is food, water, air, something underground, or something we haven’t thought of yet."

Soren held her gaze for one second.

Then nodded.

"Do it."

Raku leaned over the table.

"Different containers?"

"Yes. Mark where every container came from. Northern spring, western catchment, storage cave, runoff. Nobody mixes them."

Soren’s tail moved once.

"You heard her."

Raku left immediately.

Swanly exhaled.

Soren caught her wrist before she could gather the papers.

"Eat."

She blinked.

"What?"

"You haven’t."

"How do you know?"

"You get meaner when you’re hungry."

Her mouth fell open.

Soren released her before she could hit him.

"Eat."

"I am always mean to you."

"Yes."

One corner of his mouth moved.

"This is worse."

Swanly glared.

Then picked up her records and walked away before the snake became unbearable.

She waited until she was alone near one of the isolation shelters.

Then whispered:

"System."

Golden light appeared beside her head.

"What?"

"Scan them."

The System’s tiny expression changed when it saw the woman trembling under a hide.

It flew closer.

Golden light swept over her body.

Swanly waited.

A panel appeared.

ROT INFECTION: NEGATIVE.

Swanly frowned.

"Again."

The System scanned.

NEGATIVE.

Swanly’s chest tightened.

"Her blood?"

"Abnormal stress response. Elevated temperature. No known Rot conversion markers."

"Scan Darel."

They went to him next.

Golden light passed over his sleeping body.

His bitten tongue had swollen.

Both feet were wrapped in blood-soaked cloth.

ROT INFECTION: NEGATIVE.

Swanly stared.

"No."

"I scanned correctly."

"Again."

"User."

"Again."

The System obeyed.

Same result.

Swanly looked at Darel’s feet.

Then at the woman with fever.

Then toward the settlement beyond the shelter.

"No infection?"

"Not standard Rot."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Not standard?"

"Current markers do not match known infected progression."

Swanly’s mouth went dry.

In her old world, a positive result would have terrified her.

This terrified her more.

Because at least she understood infection.

Bite.

Blood.

Conversion.

Kill or cure.

This?

A male could walk until his feet tore open and remember nothing.

A woman could burn with fever and hear a heartbeat nobody else heard.

Old scars were waking up.

Animals were afraid of the ground.

And nothing matched Rot.

Swanly whispered:

"Then what the fuck is making them sick?"

For once, the System did not answer.

It simply looked at her.

Swanly’s tail slowly stiffened behind her.

That silence frightened her more than anything it could have said.

She turned and walked back through Ironwood.

People were already watching her.

A female pulled her cub closer as Swanly passed.

Two males stopped whispering.

Someone asked:

"Is it Rot?"

Swanly kept walking.

"I don’t know yet."

The fear on their faces worsened.

She hated that.

But she would not lie.

By evening, Swanly had made one decision.

Whatever this was, it was not touching her children if she could help it.

She gathered all five.

Kairo sat first.

Nilo settled beside him.

Miko arrived last with dried meat in one hand.

Sira noticed it immediately.

She stared.

Miko stared back.

"No."

Sira smiled.

Miko sighed deeply, tore the meat in half, and handed it to her before sitting down.