Chapter 33 – The Man Who Speaks in Static

I didn't go back to the motel after the broadcast.

I drove until the fog behind me broke.

Until the screams in my skull softened into murmurs.

Until the system whispered:

> [Warning: Transition State Active]

You are now between Nodes.

Proceed to your next Anchor Point.

Anchor point?

The system hadn't used that term before.

And then—

> [Message Incoming: Secure System Frequency]

Source: Classified

Display? [Y/N]

I hesitated.

The system never asked for permission.

This felt different.

I tapped Y.

And a voice came through my car's dead radio.

Not a scream.

Not a whisper.

But calm. Controlled.

With a slight buzz like an old TV tuned halfway to static.

> "You're not the first, Kai. But you might be the last."

I gripped the wheel tighter.

"Who are you?"

> "A survivor. Like you. Long ago. Before the system evolved."

The voice crackled, shifting in tone.

> "They call me Grist. I run what's left of the Dead Channel Network."

"What the hell is that?"

> "The ones who didn't break. The ones who refused to obey blindly. We track rogue signals, corrupted missions, system inconsistencies."

A pause. Then:

> "You're getting too strong too fast. That's why it noticed you. Why it's watching."

It?

"You mean the system?"

> "No. I mean what lives under it. What it was built to contain."

Static blared loud for a second, enough to make my ears ring.

Then the voice returned, colder now.

> "Listen. If you want answers… if you want to survive what's coming—get to Outpost Echo."

> Location Unlocked: Outpost Echo (Secure Zone – High Risk Access Required)

Objective: Reach the outpost. Learn about the system's origins.

Optional Questline: "The Gateway Protocol" – Initiated.

> Reward: ???

Warning: This path cannot be undone.

I slowed the car.

A sign barely emerged from the mist:

"Now Leaving: Miller's Crossing"

Beneath it, spray-painted in black:

"Trust no broadcast. Not even your own."

---

The system spoke again—this time colder, neutral.

> [Alignment Check: Path of Revelation – Triggered]

Warning: You are diverging from Controlled Route.

Threat Level Increase: Moderate → Severe

I pulled over and killed the engine. The world was too quiet. Like something was holding its breath.

I checked the rearview mirror.

And froze.

There was someone in the backseat.

---

A man.

Old. Face wrapped in bandages soaked through with dark stains.

Wearing an old broadcaster's headset and a suit two sizes too big.

He didn't move.

Didn't blink.

But I felt him watching.

> [Unknown Entity Detected: ???]

Affiliation: Neutral

Signal Residue: 93% Corruption

Sanity Hazard: Mild (Passive)

I turned slowly.

"You with Grist?"

The man didn't speak with his mouth.

The radio buzzed.

> "I was… until I spoke too loud. Heard too much."

Then, he handed me something.

A tape recorder.

Old-school. Heavy. Covered in carvings.

I pressed play.

And the voice that came through wasn't human.

It was me.

Screaming. Pleading.

> "I can't forget anymore—there are things inside me that aren't mine—DON'T OPEN THE GATE—"

I dropped it.

The man caught it without looking.

> "This was your future. In one timeline. One branch."

He leaned forward, unwrapping one layer of the bandages. Beneath it?

A speaker.

Bolted to where his jaw should've been.

> "Outpost Echo. Third signal tower. Ask for the Ferryman."

Then he disappeared.

Not walked away.

He glitched—like a broken file corrupting into air.

---

> [Memory Echo Triggered]

New Trait Gained: "Signal Scar"

You are now sensitive to fractured timelines and rejected mission threads. Occasionally hear versions of yourself that never survived.

Sanity -1

Mental Fortitude +1

I sat there for a while. Breathing.

Thinking.

Whatever Outpost Echo was, I was already knee-deep in it. And whoever Grist was, he knew what the system didn't want me to know.

That terrified me.

But also—

It gave me purpose.

---

I started driving again.

Toward the coordinates Grist embedded in the system feed.

And the terrain changed.

No more broken towns.

No fog.

Just long, empty highway beneath a bruised sky.

And in the distance…

Something vast loomed on the horizon.

Metal towers. Crushed buildings. Giant satellite dishes turned toward the stars.

> [Location Discovered: Outpost Echo – Restricted Zone]

Access Requires: Signal Key – "Hollow Frequency" → VALID

Entry Granted.

The gates opened by themselves.

And the smell hit me.

Not rot.

Not blood.

Wires. Oil. Burnt electricity.

I had arrived at the graveyard of old systems.

The place where the first version of this nightmare had been born.

And somewhere in there—

Was the Gateway.

Whatever it opened to…

I was about to find out.