The crew moved quickly to prepare for whatever was coming. They sealed the cryochamber and isolated the signal's frequency, but even with all their precautions, something was still off.
Kaelen couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Every corner he turned, every shadow seemed to move just a little too quickly. And then, there was the whisper again.
"You shouldn't have answered it."
The voice had followed him everywhere, always just behind him, like a shadow in his mind. Mira had noticed his behavior and pulled him aside, concerned. But when Kaelen tried to explain the whispers, she didn't believe him.
And that's when he saw it.
The reflection.
It wasn't his own. Someone—or something—was staring back at him from the mirror, wearing his face. The same scar, the same eyes. But the smile… it was wrong.
He whirled around, but there was no one there.
"Kaelen?" Mira's voice broke through the fog in his mind.
"I'm fine," he replied, turning away from the mirror. "We need to stop the signal. Now."