Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 1 opens 62 1/2 years after the introduction. The Aleutian Islands are a string of islands off of Alaska. In a small Coast Guard weather station are two meteorologists, who are watching the storm come in. One of the meteorologists climbs up onto the top of the weather station to fix an antenna. Inside a weather station, the second meteorologist watches as their pet Siberian Husky begins to froth at the mouth and then dies. The meteorologist on the top of the weather station returns quickly, in response to his colleague's cries, but succumbs himself to a painful death after gasping out that there is something in the air. Moments after he dies, his colleague perishes as well.

Meanwhile, on the same island, three scientists from the Center for Disease Control are investigating the mysterious deaths of sea lions in the area. They have paused...