Following the chilling success of their first collection, Lady Eckland, Glenn Riley, and new collaborator, Bella Darkwood return to guide you through the shadowy corridors of fear with their second compendium, *Whispers In The Dark 2*. These master...
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The sleek white corridors of the Elysium glided by as Nora made her way to the bridge. She nodded in greeting at the occasional passerby, receiving warm smiles from some and barely perceptible acknowledgement from others lost in thought.
Ten years into their assignment monitoring the dormant quasar, the small crew had settled into a comfortable routine tinged with the subtle isolation of knowing they were farther from Earth than any human in history.
The quasar itself remained relatively unremarkable, if such a thing could be said about an object with nearly unfathomable mass and energy. It had flared unpredictably in its early existence before stabilizing into quiescence.
Most days, gazing at the black hole greedily consuming stray particles gave Nora a sense of peace. Today, an unsettled feeling churned within. She quickened her pace.
The bridge doors hissed open and Nora stepped onto the spacious deck, greeting her fellow bridge crew.
“Morning, Captain,” said Raj, the ship’s pilot. He turned with an easy smile.
Nora nodded in return. “Status report?”
“All good here. We’re locked in a nice, stable orbit around the quasar. It’s been quiet. Too quiet, some might say.” Raj chuckled at his joke.
Nora smiled politely. Raj meant well, but his humor often fell flat after years trapped together. She turned toward the scanning dashboard where Lalitha worked intently.
“Lalitha?” Nora asked. “Anything on the feeds?”
Lalitha shook her head without looking up, strands of silver hair falling across her face.
“Nothing new. Background radiation levels are normal,” she muttered. “But...”
“But what?” Nora felt her pulse quicken.
Lalitha finally shifted her gaze up. Her green eyes held an intensity that gave Nora pause.
“I can’t shake this strange feeling today. Like we’re being watched.”
A chill crept down Nora’s spine. She opened her mouth to respond when sudden garbled static burst from the communication console. Raj spun with a startled curse.
“What the hell? Jakob, what is that?”
Jakob frantically adjusted dials and flipped switches, his face creased in confusion.
“I-I don’t know. We shouldn’t be picking up any signals out here.”
The static faded into a barely perceptible background hum. Nora struggled to steady her breathing, gripping the back of Jakob’s chair with white knuckles. The familiar bridge seemed to warp and contract around her.
Then, faint but unmistakable, a voice emerged from the white noise.
"...escape...must warn..."
Jakob scrambled for volume as the transmission faded in and out.
