I move slowly through the forest. Every step cracks dry branches under my feet—too loud in the silence. Then I hear it: faint radio static, unstable, like a signal trying to exist.
The echoes are wrong. My footsteps return delayed… but only sometimes. A sudden squelch cuts through. Then a laugh—short, broken, and way too close.
I look up. A figure stands behind a tree. A mask. Stillness. No breathing.
The static surges. Another squelch. The world dulls, like the signal is collapsing around me.
I look back.
It’s gone.
No wind. No insects. Just a low hum… and one last weak click.
Then silence.
