The last Signal

Chapter 1 — The Signal

At 2:17 a.m., every radio in Ethan Cole’s house turned on at the same time.

Ethan woke to the sound of static.

At first, he thought it was his alarm. He reached across his desk, knocked over an empty glass, and stared at the glowing numbers on his phone.

2:17 A.M.

The static continued.

It wasn't coming from his phone.

It was coming from downstairs.

Ethan sat up.

His room was almost completely dark, except for the faint blue light coming through the window. Outside, the town of Blackwood was silent. No cars. No streetlights on the road. Nothing.

Then the radio crackled again.

Ethan slowly opened his bedroom door.

"Mom?"

No answer.

He walked down the stairs.

The old radio in the kitchen was turned on.

Ethan stopped.

He was certain he'd switched it off before going to bed.

The radio hissed with static. Then, underneath the noise, Ethan heard something strange.

A voice.

He stepped closer.

"...seven..."

The signal disappeared.

Ethan frowned.

"Hello?"

Only static answered.

He reached for the radio and turned the volume higher.

"...seven... three... one..."

The voice was distorted, as if it was coming from an enormous distance.

Ethan grabbed his phone and started recording.

The radio suddenly went silent.

Then a single tone filled the kitchen.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Three seconds passed.

Then the voice returned.

This time, Ethan understood every word.

"Ethan Cole."

His entire body froze.

The radio continued.

"Ethan Cole."

He stared at it.

Nobody called him by his full name except teachers, doctors, and his mother when he was in serious trouble.

The voice spoke again.

"Can you hear us?"

Ethan couldn't move.

The lights in the kitchen flickered.

He looked toward the window.

For a moment, he saw something in the sky.

A tiny blue light.

Then it vanished.

The radio went dead.

Ethan stood alone in the kitchen, staring at the empty speaker.

His phone was still recording.

He slowly looked down at the screen.

The recording timer was moving.

00:47... 00:48... 00:49...

Then the phone vibrated.

A new notification appeared.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Ethan hesitated before opening it.

There was only one message.

WE FOUND YOU.

He dropped the phone.

For several seconds, he didn't breathe.

Then, somewhere outside the house,

something made a deep mechanical sound.

Ethan ran to the window.

The blue light was back.

Only this time, it was much closer.

And it was moving toward him.