Chapter 1: Echoes in the Static The forest greeted them with silence — not the peaceful kind, but the kind that makes your skin tighten. Marcus adjusted his camera, the red light blinking like a heartbeat. Mia held the map that trembled in her hands. They were supposed to film a documentary about urban legends. Instead, they found the place where legends were born. Every tree seemed to lean closer as if eavesdropping. They walked for hours without finding the same path twice. When the sun began to fall, they saw the first symbol carved into bark — a spiral with eyes inside it. And then, the whisper came again. Not from the forest, but from their radio. “Welcome back.”