GRID FAILURE RISK
TRAFFIC INFRASTRUCTURE ALERT
EMERGENCY SERVICES OVERLOAD
The countdown timer keeps ticking in the corner.
5:58:44
Every second feels louder than the last.
Boone pulls a chair beside me.
“You need to sit.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“Still fine.”
Adam walks over with a medical kit.
“Humor me.”
I roll my eyes but sit down while he cuts away the torn sleeve of my jacket.
The cold air hits the wound immediately.
“Yeah,” Russ mutters from the doorway. “That’s definitely not a scratch.”
“It’s superficial,” Adam says calmly.
“Hold still.”
I try to ignore the sting as he cleans the cut.
Instead I focus on the screen.
The cascade map has changed again.
More nodes are flashing now.
Idaho.
Utah.
Nevada.
The system is moving outward in waves.
Which means something is pushing it.
“Boone,” I say quietly.
“Yeah?”
“Come look at this.”
