Whispers in the Static
I really needed answers, so we risked going
back to the edge of our land. Now that the
chip wasn't making my senses dull, I could
feel weak energy in the air, like radio waves.
Near where Finn had stood, I felt that same
quick, wavy feeling again, with a quiet, high
sound like static. I tried to tell Jax, but he
couldn't feel it. It made me feel even more
alone. Was this static a clue, or just my
stressed feelings? We moved slowly and
carefully, because danger could be anywhere.
The strange, repeating static was interesting.
The air felt like it had hidden
power, a quiet fight for our minds.
"We have to move," Jax said, his voice tight.
"That thing… it's hurting my head." Even
though he couldn't feel it like I could, it was
still bothering him. If it hurt him, how much
worse was it for my people?
"I know," I said, looking at the drone outside.
"But… I need to understand this static. I felt it
before, near Finn. I think it might be
important." My wolf feelings, usually clear,
were now mixed with a small hope about this
strange thing.
Jax looked at me, looking annoyed. "Important
how? It feels like it's cooking my brain. We
need to get away from it." His human way of
thinking was different from my focus on the
static. It made our strange friendship a little
harder.
I felt bad for focusing on the
static when Jax's head was hurting.
Even though Jax didn't want to, I really felt I
needed to go back to where I first felt the
static near Finn. It was dangerous, but I
needed to know. We moved quietly, hiding
behind bushes. The drone was always there,
watching silently.
As we got closer to the border, I could feel the
strong energy of their control system. It was
like a hum in the air. My senses, now working
well, felt so much of it. It was like a song of
control I couldn't understand yet.
The invisible power felt like a
wall, trapping my people.
And then, I felt it again. A small wave in the
air, the light changed for a moment, and I
heard that quiet, high static sound. It was
strongest near some trees where Finn was
standing before he turned against us. I
stopped, trying hard to feel what it was.
"Do you feel that?" I asked Jax quietly.
He frowned, rubbing his head. "Feel what?
Just a headache. That stupid buzzing." He
couldn't feel what I did. It made me feel alone.
I was feeling something that might help us,
but I couldn't really explain it to him.
I felt more and more alone. My
strong senses showed me things my only
friend couldn't see.
I tried to say what I felt – the wavy air, the
special sound of the static, a feeling like
something was… breaking. But my words felt
wrong. How could I explain something he
couldn't feel?
"It's like… their signal is breaking," I tried to
say. "For a moment, their control… stops
working a little." It was just a feeling, not
something I knew for sure.
Jax listened, but I could see he didn't really
believe me. "A flicker? Elara, we're being
chased by armored soldiers and werewolves
who aren't themselves. I don't think a 'flicker'
will save us." He was being practical, but it felt
like he wasn't listening to my gut feeling.
His human mind couldn't
understand the quiet way their control was all
around us.
Even though he doubted me, I had to look
closer. I went to the trees, being very careful.
The static seemed to come and go like a
heartbeat, but not a steady one. I touched the
bark of one of the trees and felt a small
shaking under my fingers. It seemed to
happen at the same time as the static.
Suddenly, I remembered something Lyra said,
her old fingers touching a drawing by Taina.
Taina thought that things in nature could
mess
with energy sounds. Could these trees… could
this place… be making the static?
That thought made me feel excited. If the
static meant their control was breaking, and if
nature made it stronger, maybe we could use
it like a weapon. But how? They had so much
better technology.
A little bit of hope started to
grow in the middle of our sadness.
As I looked at the trees, I saw some strange
moss growing on the bark. It looked a little
shiny, like metal. I remembered Lyra saying
there was a rare moss that could take in and
make certain energy sounds stronger. Could
this be it?
I suddenly wanted to touch the moss. When
my fingers touched its smooth surface, the
static around me got much stronger. The air
looked wavy. A sharp, high sound rang in my
head, so loud I pulled back.
At the same time, a howl came from the
woods nearby. It sounded confused and hurt,
not like the empty howls of the controlled
werewolves. It was Finn.
Finn walked slowly out of the
trees, his eyes wide and looking like his old
self for a moment. He held his head. The red
light on his head blinked strangely. For a scary
moment, he looked right at me, and I saw he
knew me. Then his eyes went blank again, and
he raised his weapon, making an angry sound.
The moss seemed to be doing something. But
was it helping them… or just hurting them
really bad?