The river still glowed when morning came. Caleb stood at the window and watched the water move like liquid glass. The turbines beneath the floor turned slowly even though there was no power. He did not look at them for long. Every sound in the building now felt wrong. He found a backpack in the locker room, filled it with a flashlight, two bottles of water, a wrench, and a folded map. His phone was still dead. The batteries in the radios were drained. He tried one more time to start the generator. Nothing happened. The machine gave a single tired groan and went silent again. He told himself to breathe and to keep moving. If there were survivors in Rivermouth, someone would need help. He locked the plant doors behind him out of habit, though he knew it would not matter. The air outside was colder than it should have been. The forest along the ridge looked heavy with mist. The world felt empty, but not quiet. Somewhere in the trees, he heard a crack of branches and a sound tha

The forest seemed endless. The mist clung to the trees like smoke. Every branch that broke underfoot sounded too loud. Caleb led the way, moving slowly, watching the ground for roots and holes. The others followed close behind. No one had spoken for an hour. They had left the ranger station burning behind them. The smoke still rose far below. The hum of the river reached them even here, deep in the hills. It was weaker but constant, a low pulse that felt like it was inside their bones. Luke was the first to speak. “How long before we stop?” “Soon,” Caleb said. “When we find higher ground.” Dylan wiped sweat from his forehead. “You think the things can climb?” “They follow sound,” Nora said. “That’s all we know.” They moved again, careful, each step sinking into damp soil. The trees were thicker now. Moss grew on everything. The air smelled of rain and rot. After another mile, the ground dropped into a shallow valley. In the middle of it stood a truck half-buried in dir

The climb took most of the day.The sun hung behind the clouds, pale and cold. The forest had thinned to stunted pines and rock. Caleb kept his eyes on the ground, counting steps, listening for the hum that never truly stopped.They reached the hilltop near sunset. The observatory rose ahead of them, round and grey, half swallowed by vines. Its metal dome was split down one side like an open shell. A cracked road led to it, littered with rusted cars and pieces of broken fencing.Dylan stopped first. “The place looks empty.”“It’ll do,” Caleb said.They crossed the lot and pushed through the main doors. The air inside was dry and heavy. Dust hung in the light. Desks, monitors, and tangled wires filled the control room. Old coffee cups sat where they had been left.No bodies. Only silence.Caleb found a set of stairs leading upward. The dome above had collapsed, but part of the walkway was still intact. From there he could see the valley stretching south. The river glowed faintly, even

The road north started through a narrow pass. Broken rocks lined both sides, and the ground was soft from the storm. The group moved in silence. No birds. No wind. Only the steady hum seemed to come from under their feet. By midday, the light changed. The sun faded behind thick clouds. Caleb walked ahead, watching each step. He heard a deep crack before he felt it. The ground shifted once, then dropped away. He fell with the others. The noise of breaking stone filled his ears. Then everything went dark. When he woke, his head hurt. Cold air touched his face. He sat up slowly. A beam of pale light cut through a hole above him. Dust drifted in it like smoke. Nora was beside him, coughing. Dylan was farther back, pulling Luke out from under a piece of wood. Everyone was bruised but alive. They were standing in a tunnel. Metal rails ran along the floor. Pipes lined the ceiling. Water dripped from somewhere unseen. Dylan looked up at the hole they had fallen throu

They didn’t go far from the research site.The air was cooler in the trees, but the hum still reached them from below.It never stopped, not even for a breath.They set camp near a dry creek bed where the ground felt solid.Caleb built a small fire. The light made a circle around them that faded into the dark.The forest was quiet.Too quiet.No insects. No birds. Only the soft hiss of the wind moving through dead branches.Dr Hale sat apart from the group with the laptop he had carried from the lab.A cracked battery powered it, the screen faint but readable.Lines of code and numbers filled the screen.He typed slowly, whispering to himself.Dylan watched him. “You think he can still pull something useful from that thing?”Caleb poked at the fire. “He’s the only one who understands what’s happening. Let him try.”Nora sat with Luke beside her, wrapped in a blanket.The boy’s eyes were half closed.Every few minutes he looked at the sky, then at the trees, as if expecting something t