The Signal in the Trees

Every step comes back wrong. Then the masked figure appears—and the signal dies with one final click.

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.