The Midnight Signal

The Awakening

Escape

The room erupted into chaos as bullets ricocheted off the walls. Cole fired back, taking down two of the masked men, but there were too many of them. Elara and Emma ducked for cover behind the console, while Clara frantically tried to shut down the system.

“Get to the tower!” the voice on the screen shouted, even though the screen was now black. “It’s your only chance!”

Elara didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her toward the door, shouting for Cole and Clara to follow. They ran through the building, dodging gunfire and debris as the men in dark uniforms pursued them.

The group burst out of the building and into the night, the tower looming ahead of them. The air was thick with the pulsing energy from the antennae, and Elara could feel the signal resonating in her bones, calling her toward it.

They reached the base of the tower, but the entrance was locked, a heavy metal door that looked impenetrable. Clara quickly pulled out a set of lockpicking tools, her hands shaking as she worked on the door.

“Hurry up!” Cole shouted, firing at the men who were closing in on them.

The door finally gave way, and they rushed inside, slamming it shut behind them. The interior of the tower was dark and cold, the only light coming from the flickering screens on the walls, displaying more of the strange, incomprehensible images.

“We need to get to the top,” Elara said, already heading for the stairs. “That’s where the signal is strongest.”

They climbed the narrow stairwell, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the confined space. The higher they went, the more intense the signal became, and Elara could feel her heart pounding in sync with the pulsing energy.

They finally reached the top of the tower, a small room with a glass ceiling that provided a clear view of the antennae. The room was filled with equipment, most of it old and covered in dust, but the central console was new, its screens glowing with the same eerie light as the antennae.

Elara approached the console, her hands hovering over the controls. The voice had told them to stop it, but she had no idea how. The console was covered in symbols she didn’t recognize, and the buttons and switches were labeled in a language she couldn’t read.

As she hesitated, the door to the stairwell burst open, and the men in dark uniforms rushed in. Cole fired at them, but there were too many, and they quickly overpowered him, forcing him to the ground.

One of the men approached Elara, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from the console. “It’s too late,” he said, his voice muffled by the gas mask. “You can’t stop it.”

Elara struggled against his grip, but he was too strong. She looked around the room, desperate for something—anything—that could help them. And then she saw it: a small, red button on the side of the console, almost hidden from view.

With a sudden burst of strength, Elara broke free from the man’s grip and lunged toward the button. She pressed it just as the men in uniforms opened fire.