Alec was shouting Mark's name when he woke up, the ruins of the Berg were nearby and by the stiffness in his limbs he suspected he had been out for a couple of days. Alec had found a miraculously working workpad in the ruins of the Berg, he said he planned to use it to go and find these strange people, figure out what was happening.

When they got back to the village Trina was there to meet them, walking straight up to them and stopping a few feet away, she had a cloth covering her nose and mouth the same as they had. It had seemed a sensible precaution with the virus information, that and not to touch anyone or anything they didn't have to.

"What happened?" Mark asked her, he already had some idea but they needed to know the real facts.

"Everyone who got hit with the darts woke up then died within a few hours, anyone who had been near them or helping them got sick then died as well. Now random people are getting sick and dying within days."

"Have you caught it?" Alec questioned, "what about Lana? Misty, Darnell, the Toad?"

"Are all fine," Trina interrupted, "holed up someplace till this thing dies down. Just…keep your distance from all of us alright."

"Why?" Alec asked, "you're really sure you're not sick?"

"We're not, it's just really strange, going on what happened with everyone else."

"What're you talking about?" Alec demanded.

"Darnell got hit by one of them but it didn't seem to affect him, and you know how we were all in that hut when you turned up?" The soldier nodded.

"Misty and the Toad should have caught it from him, they stayed there once I left with Lana. Going on what happened with everyone else they should be dead or close, but they're fine, not so much as a sneeze." Trina continued.

Mark couldn't tell if that was good or bad. Their three friends should be dead, but they were fine, it was too bad he didn't know how viruses worked, maybe Lana did.

"Let's round everyone up." Alec grunted, "we need to leave before this gets any worse."

Judging from what Trina had said Mark wasn't sure how much worse it could get.

They found Darnell in a small hut on his own and the Toad and Misty on the second floor of a cabin at the other end of town. They were okay, all of them, but they seemed very worried about the virus. Despite what Trina had said about them.

Next they found Lana, sleeping by the river, she quickly started explaining what had happened after they left.

"The people that got shot with the darts woke up then convulsed and died in a few hours. Main symptom was intense pressure in their skulls, everyone who helped them too. Now people are saying their heads hurt, then in a few hours they start screaming and die. They're dropping like flies." Not at all reassuring, it was a slightly more scientific version of Trina's earlier overview.

"Pressure in their skulls, screaming, might affect the brain." Mark put in, Lana nodded.
"Whatever it is, it's very contagious and very deadly, we need to leave."

They packed supplies at the Shack and left quickly, keeping apart and not talking. Everything had gone wrong again.