Silent Static

5869 words

Episode 6: Silent Static The air in the detention block was thick with the metallic tang of recycled oxygen, a bitter edge that clung to the back of Mira’s throat. She sat on the cold, riveted bench, her knees drawn up, elbows resting on them as she stared at the scuffed gray floor. The hum of the station’s failing systems vibrated through the walls, a low drone that never stopped, a reminder of how close everything was to falling apart. Across the narrow cell, Cal leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his jaw tight. Neither of them had spoken since Elrik’s guards shoved them in here an hour ago, the heavy door clanging shut with a finality that still echoed in her ears. Mira’s fingers twitched, itching to do something—anything—but there was nothing to fix in this eight-by-eight cage. No tools, no comms unit, no way to reach that lost SOS signal they’d been chasing for days. Her mind kept replaying the moment it cut out, the sharp hiss of static swallowing the faint, desperate voice. Someone out there, still alive, maybe. And now, nothing. She glanced at Cal, catching the faint sheen of sweat on his brow despite the chill. He felt it too—the weight of that silence. “You think he’s serious?” she finally said, her voice low, scraping...