Dead Air

4342 words

Episode 5: Dead Air The comms room was a tomb of silence, save for the faint hiss of static bleeding through the speakers. Mira stood frozen, her boots rooted to the cold metal floor of Station Eleven-B, her breath shallow as she stared at the lifeless waveform on the cracked screen. The SOS signal—those desperate, looping pulses they’d clung to for hours—had vanished. Just… gone. Her fingers curled into fists, nails biting into her palms, the sharp sting grounding her against the hollow ache in her chest. “Cal,” she said, her voice low, almost a growl. “Tell me you can get it back.” Cal didn’t look at her. His hands moved over the console, frantic, flipping switches and twisting dials with a mechanic’s precision, though sweat beaded on his brow and dripped into the collar of his frayed jumpsuit. The air smelled of burnt wiring and stale coffee, the residue of too many sleepless shifts. A single overhead bulb flickered, casting jagged shadows across his face, hollowing out the bags under his eyes. “I’m tryin’,” he muttered, his jaw tight. “Signal didn’t just drop—it’s like somethin’ cut it. Interference, maybe. Or…” He trailed off, his fingers hesitating over a knob, as if saying it out loud would make it real. “Or what?” Mira snapped, stepping closer. The room felt smaller,...