Elena was in the community center when it happened. The woman's name was Miriam. She was one of the refugees, a quiet woman who had kept to herself since arriving. She had been sitting in the corner, staring at nothing, when she looked up and asked: "Where am I?"
The other refugees stared at her. Her husband, a tired-looking man named Daniel, knelt beside her. "Miriam? What do you mean?"
Miriam looked at him with empty eyes. "Who are you?" she asked. "I don't... I don't know you."
Daniel's face went pale. "Miriam, it's me. It's Daniel. Your husband."
Miriam shook her head. "I don't have a husband. I don't... I don't know anything."
Elena pushed through the crowd. She knelt beside Miriam. "Ma'am? Can you tell me your name?"
Miriam stared at her. "My name?" She blinked. "I don't... I don't remember."
Elena looked at Isaac. He had appeared from somewhere, his face grim. "This is the prion," he said quietly. "It's affecting her memory. It's spreading."
"How fast?" Elena asked.
Isaac shook his head. "I don't know. But I need to take a sample. Now."
He drew Miriam's blood. She didn't even flinch. She just stared at the wall with empty eyes.
By the afternoon, Miriam had forgotten how to speak.
She sat in the corner, rocking back and forth, making sounds that weren't words. Daniel held her hand, tears streaming down his face. The other refugees watched in silence. Some of them were crying. Some of them were praying. Some of them were just staring.
Elena stood in the doorway, watching. Her hands were shaking. She hid them.
Isaac was in the lab, examining Miriam's blood. He'd been there for hours. When he finally came out, his face was white.
"It's worse than I thought," he said. "The prion is attacking her brain at an accelerated rate. The memories are being destroyed. In a few hours, she might not even remember how to breathe."
"Is there anything we can do?"
Isaac shook his head. "I've tried everything. Nothing works. The prion is adapting faster than I can counter it."
Elena looked at Miriam. She was still rocking, still making those sounds. She didn't look like a person anymore. She looked like a shell.
"How long does she have?" Elena asked.
Isaac paused. "A day. Maybe less."
Elena nodded. She walked over to Daniel. "I'm sorry," she said. "There's nothing we can do."
Daniel looked at her with hollow eyes. "I know," he said. "I just want her to know that I'm here. Even if she doesn't remember me."
Miriam died at dawn.
She had stopped breathing in her sleep. Daniel was holding her hand when it happened. He didn't cry. He just sat there, staring at her, as if he expected her to wake up.
Elena found him like that. She stood in the doorway, not knowing what to say. What could you say to a man who had just watched his wife forget him, then forget how to breathe, then die?
"I'm sorry," she said.
Daniel didn't look up. "She didn't know who I was at the end," he said. "She looked at me like I was a stranger. I held her hand, and she didn't know who was holding it."
Elena felt her throat tighten. "She knew. Somewhere. She knew."
Daniel shook his head. "No. She didn't. And that's the worst part. She died alone, even though I was right there."
Elena didn't know what to say. So she just stood there, silent.
Isaac came in a few minutes later. He checked Miriam's pulse, then shook his head. "She's gone."
Daniel finally looked up. "Can I bury her? Here? She wouldn't want to be buried in a place she didn't know."
Isaac nodded. "We'll find a spot. I'll help you."
Daniel nodded. He stood up, still holding his wife's hand. Then he let go. He walked away.
Elena watched him go. Her hands were shaking.
Elena was burying Miriam when she heard the gunshot.
She ran. The shot had come from the beach. She found a crowd of refugees gathered at the water's edge, pointing at something in the distance.
A boat. A small fishing boat, bobbing in the waves. And in the boat, a man with a shotgun.
"Get back!" Elena shouted. "Everyone get back!"
The man raised the shotgun. He fired. The pellets hit the water, sending up a spray of white. The refugees screamed. They scattered.
Elena drew her weapon. "Put the gun down! Sheriff's department!"
The man stared at her. He was in his fifties, weathered, with a gray beard and wild eyes. "They're not human!" he shouted. "They brought the plague! I saw it on the news!"
"Put the gun down!" Elena repeated. "I won't ask again!"
The man raised the shotgun again. He aimed at the refugees. Elena fired.
Her bullet hit the water. She hadn't aimed at him. She'd aimed to miss. But the man flinched. He dropped the shotgun.
"Get on your knees!" Elena shouted. "Now!"
The man complied. Elena approached him, her weapon still drawn. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
"You just saved their lives," Marcus said. He'd appeared from somewhere. "Why?"
Elena looked at him. "Because that's my job," she said.
The fisherman's name was Bill. He was a local, born and raised in Tillamook. He'd seen the news reports, heard the rumors, and decided to take matters into his own hands.
"You don't understand," Bill said. "My wife died of cancer two years ago. She forgot who I was at the end. The doctors said it was the cancer spreading to her brain. But I saw it on the news. The refugees... they're bringing it here. They're bringing that disease."
Elena studied him. "You're afraid," she said. "I understand that. But what you did was wrong. You could have killed someone."
Bill shook his head. "I was trying to protect my town."
"By killing innocent people?"
Bill didn't answer.
Elena sighed. "I'm going to let you go. But if you come back here with a weapon again, I will arrest you. Do you understand?"
Bill nodded. He looked at the refugees. Some of them were still watching him. Some of them were crying. Some of them were just staring.
"I'm sorry," Bill said. "I didn't mean..."
"You did," Elena said. "But I'm giving you a chance. Don't waste it."
Elena found Isaac in the lab. He was staring at the blood samples again.
"The prion is mutating faster than I can study it," Isaac said. "Every hour, it changes. It's becoming more aggressive. More... intelligent."
"Intelligent?"
"I know it sounds crazy," Isaac said. "But I've been watching it. It's learning. It's adapting to its environment. It's like it has a mind of its own."
Elena felt a chill. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know," Isaac admitted. "But I think we need to warn the town. Before it's too late."
Elena nodded. "I'll make an announcement."
Elena stood on the steps of the community center. The town had gathered in the parking lot. They were angry. They were scared. They wanted answers.
"People of Tillamook," Elena began. "I know you're scared. I know you have questions. I'm going to answer as many of them as I can."
"You're protecting them!" someone shouted. "They brought the plague!"
Elena held up her hands. "The refugees are not the enemy. They are people, just like us. They are scared, just like us. And they need our help."
"They need to leave!" another voice shouted. "They need to go back where they came from!"
Elena shook her head. "They can't. The rift is closed. There's no way back. They're here, and they're staying."
The crowd erupted. Elena stood there, letting them shout. When they finally quieted down, she spoke again.
"I know this is hard. I know it's scary. But I'm asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to give them a chance. That's all I'm asking."
Silence. Then someone shouted: "And if they kill us?"
Elena looked at the crowd. She looked at the refugees. She looked at her hands.
"Then we'll die together," she said.
Elena couldn't sleep. She walked through the community center, checking on the refugees. They were quiet now, exhausted by the day's events.
She found Miriam's husband, Daniel, sitting alone in the corner. He was staring at the floor.
"Are you okay?" Elena asked.
Daniel looked up. "My wife died today. She forgot who I was, and then she died. I don't think I'll ever be okay again."
Elena sat down beside him. "I know what that's like."
Daniel looked at her. "You lost someone?"
"My son," Elena said. "He died six years ago. I watched him take his last breath. I held his hand. And I couldn't save him."
Daniel nodded. "It's hard. Watching them go."
"It is," Elena said. "But you have to keep going. For the people who are still here."
Daniel looked at her. "How do you do it? How do you keep going?"
Elena thought about it. "I don't know. I just... do."
The night was quiet. But Elena knew it wouldn't last. The town was scared. The refugees were scared. And the plague was spreading.
She walked to the window. She looked out at the ocean. The moon was hidden behind clouds. The water was dark and restless.
She thought about Miriam. She thought about Daniel. She thought about her son, Gabriel, and the day she'd held him as he died.
She thought about Maya. She thought about Ray. She thought about the refugees.
And she thought about what Marcus had said: "If you don't fight, everyone in this town will die."
She didn't know if she was ready to fight. She didn't know if she had the strength.
But she knew she didn't have a choice.
She looked at her hands. They were shaking.
She didn't hide them.