The base sat along a bend in the river where an old highway bridge had once crossed the water.
The bridge itself had been partially collapsed during the Shroud winter, but the surrounding military complex remained intact. Concrete motor pools, reinforced hangars, and rows of long barracks buildings stretched across the floodplain beside the river.
It had become one of the strongest military nodes in the network.
General Roberts preferred it that way.
High ground.
Water access.
Clear approach routes.
Defensible terrain.
The river curved wide along the eastern perimeter before disappearing into the forest several miles downstream.
Vali stood on the outer observation platform watching the morning mist drift above the water.
"Quiet morning," he said.
Behind him Vidar leaned against the metal railing, arms folded.
Vidar did not answer.
He was watching the river.
Something about it felt wrong.
Not danger exactly.
Just… wrong.
Inside the operations building, Roberts studied a map spread across the command table.
Supply routes connected the node to three nearby towns and two smaller refugee camps. Convoys moved regularly between them, delivering fuel, grain, and construction materials.
The system was working.
Better than he would have believed six months earlier.
He rubbed his temples slowly.
The new ability still surprised him.
Strategic Foresight.
Shane had never explained it directly, but Roberts had learned to trust it.
Sometimes he simply knew things.
Convoys that should leave early.
Routes that suddenly felt dangerous.
Pressure building somewhere he couldn't yet see.
It felt like instinct sharpened beyond human limits.
And right now—
something felt wrong.
He looked up.
"How long has patrol three been out?"
A lieutenant checked the board.
"Three hours, sir."
Roberts frowned slightly.
"They should have checked in by now."
Vali stepped inside.
"Radio silence?"
The lieutenant nodded.
"Last contact was near the lower river bend."
Vidar finally spoke from the doorway.
"Water."
Everyone looked at him.
Roberts straightened.
"What about it?"
Vidar's voice remained calm.
"The river feels disturbed."
Vali raised an eyebrow.
"That's a new one."
Vidar did not respond.
He simply continued watching the distant tree line beyond the river.
Roberts made his decision.
"Prep two vehicles."
"We're going to look."
⸻
The patrol convoy rolled out twenty minutes later.
Two armored trucks followed the old service road that ran along the riverbank. Dust rose behind the vehicles as they passed through stretches of broken pavement and scattered flood debris.
The river moved quietly beside them.
Wide.
Slow.
Dark.
Roberts sat in the passenger seat studying the terrain as they drove.
His instincts kept tugging at him.
Something was off.
He could feel it building like pressure behind his eyes.
"Slow down," he said suddenly.
The driver eased off the throttle.
Vali leaned forward from the back seat.
"What is it?"
Roberts didn't answer immediately.
He was staring at the road ahead.
Then he pointed.
"There."
The first body lay half hidden in the tall grass beside the road.
The truck stopped instantly.
Everyone stepped out.
The soldier had been torn apart.
Not shot.
Not stabbed.
Something had ripped into him with brutal force.
Vali crouched beside the body.
"That wasn't a weapon."
"No," Roberts agreed quietly.
Vidar was already walking toward the river.
Another body lay farther ahead.
Then another.
The patrol had never made it back to its vehicles.
Blood soaked the dirt along the roadside in dark streaks leading toward the water.
Roberts felt the pressure spike again.
"Everyone stay sharp."
Vali scanned the tree line.
"This wasn't bandits."
"No," Roberts said.
Vidar stopped near the riverbank.
The water moved slowly past his boots.
He studied the mud along the shore.
Tracks.
Bare footprints.
Large.
Too large.
And wrong.
Vali stepped beside him.
"What am I looking at?"
Vidar pointed silently.
The footprints led straight into the water.
Roberts felt the warning hit him a second before it happened.
"Back!"
The river exploded.
Something massive surged upward from the dark water.
For a split second they saw it.
Gray skin.
Broad shoulders.
A human shape twisted into something monstrous.
Long sensory whiskers hung from its jaw like the barbels of a catfish.
Its eyes flashed briefly above the surface.
Then it dropped back into the river.
Gone.
The water churned violently for a moment before settling.
Silence returned.
Vali stared at the river.
"…What the hell was that?"
Roberts didn't answer.
His instincts were screaming now.
Strategic Foresight flared through his mind like a sudden storm of probabilities.
Ambush patterns.
Pack movement.
Water routes.
Something spreading through rivers.
He exhaled slowly.
"That," he said quietly,
"was not an animal."
Vidar watched the water carefully.
"No."
Vali turned toward Roberts.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Roberts nodded.
"Yes."
"This just became a bigger problem."
Behind them the river flowed quietly past the ruined patrol site.
But beneath the surface—
something else was moving through the water.
And it was not alone.
The river slowly returned to its calm surface.
For several seconds no one spoke.
Vali finally broke the silence.
"That thing moved like it knew we were here."
Roberts nodded slightly.
"It did."
He turned back toward the trucks.
"We're pulling back to the base."
Vali frowned.
"You don't want to track it?"
Roberts shook his head.
"No."
His eyes remained on the dark water.
"Not until we understand what it is."
Vidar remained near the riverbank a moment longer.
Watching.
Listening.
Then he turned and followed the others back to the convoy.
⸻
Back inside the command vehicle, Roberts closed the door and leaned back in the seat.
His mind was still racing.
Strategic Foresight was active now.
Patterns.
Pressure points.
Movement through waterways.
Something spreading.
Something that did not belong.
He opened the system interface.
A brief message formed in the command channel.
Roberts spoke quietly.
"Saul. We may have a problem."
The system transmitted the alert instantly.
⸻
Inside Sanctuary, Saul was already monitoring several trade reports when the notification appeared.
He read the message once.
Then again.
The description was short.
But it was enough.
Something large.
Humanoid.
Aquatic.
Extremely violent.
Saul leaned back in his chair slowly.
"Well," he muttered,
"that's new."
He immediately opened another channel.
"Cory," he said.
"You need to see this."
⸻
Hundreds of miles away along the Great Lakes shoreline, Cory stood on the dock watching a pair of fishing skiffs unload their morning catch.
The lake wind carried the smell of salt fish and wet timber through the harbor.
His system chimed softly.
He read Saul's message carefully.
Then he looked up at the lake.
"Karl."
The traveler turned from the supply crates he had been examining.
"Yes?"
Cory quickly scribbled down the message he had received through the system.
Karl read it silently.
His expression shifted only slightly.
"That is… concerning."
Tyr stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Cory gestured toward the water.
"Something killed a patrol near a river at one of the military nodes."
Karl finished reading.
"Humanoid," he said quietly.
"Emerging from water."
Njord, who had been standing near the shoreline, slowly turned.
"The water again."
Cory nodded.
"That was my thought."
Karl handed the note back.
"The distance between the Great Lakes and that river system is considerable."
"Yes," Cory said.
"But the pattern is uncomfortable."
Tyr folded his arms.
"You believe the events may be connected."
Karl considered the shoreline carefully.
"I believe we should not assume they are unrelated."
Njord stepped closer to the water's edge.
"The lake has been restless."
Cory sighed.
"Alright."
He turned back toward the docks where fishermen continued unloading nets.
"Let's not panic people."
"But we warn them."
Tyr nodded once.
"A wise balance."
Karl agreed.
"Yes."
Cory walked down the dock and called to the nearest boat captain.
"Hey."
The man looked up.
"What's up?"
Cory kept his tone calm.
"New safety rule."
"What rule?"
"Stay close to shore for a few days."
The fisherman frowned.
"Why?"
Cory shrugged casually.
"Let's call it a precaution."
The man nodded slowly.
"Alright."
Across the harbor similar conversations began spreading quietly among the boats.
No alarms.
No panic.
Just caution.
Njord continued watching the dark water.
"The deep currents carry strange echoes," he said quietly.
Karl glanced at him.
"You sensed something earlier."
"Yes."
"Before the damaged boats."
Njord nodded.
"The water does not like it."
Tyr studied the lake horizon.
"If these creatures exist elsewhere…"
"…they may eventually reach here."
Karl's voice remained calm.
"That possibility exists."
Cory folded his arms.
"Well," he said, "let's hope the military group or Shane's group figures out what the hell this thing is."
Far offshore the lake surface shifted slightly.
A faint ripple moved across the gray water.
And beneath it—
something turned slowly in the depths.
⸻
"If you enjoyed Shane's journey, please drop a Power Stone! It helps the Common Sense Party grow."