Three teenagers land on the unexplored world Xara-7 and pick up a signal that should not exist. Something in the alien jungle seems to be calling them closer.
The Horizon dropped through the atmosphere with a violent shudder, as if the planet itself had caught the ship in its hand and shaken it once just to see what would happen. Evi braced herself against the cockpit wall and watched the radar bloom with a blue outline of land no human had ever walked on.
Leo stayed bent over the controls, jaw tight. Iza was already checking the scanners, her fingers moving fast across the glowing panels. They were fifteen, the youngest team ever sent through the Young Explorers programme, and none of that felt impressive now. It felt terrifying.
Xara-7 had been a blank spot on every map for years. The probes had sent back fragments of data, strange heat patterns, hints of life, then nothing anyone could explain. Now the Horizon was descending into the unknown, and Evi could hear the command centre crackling in her ear.
"First oxygen check, then visual sweep," she said, repeating the briefing like a spell. "Stay together. No rushing ahead."
Leo gave her a quick look. "You say that like you expect me to rush ahead."
"I know you will," Evi muttered, but there was no real bite in it.
The landing struts hit soft ground with a muffled thump. When the hatch opened, humid air rolled in, heavy and sweet, carrying a scent like wet stone and crushed leaves. The world outside glowed in shades they had no name for. The moss beneath their boots was springy and faintly silver. Above them, trees with dark, glossy leaves rose into a purple sky.
For a few seconds, none of them spoke.
Then Leo froze.
"Wait," he whispered.
He lifted the scanner higher. The display flickered, steadied, then filled with a repeating sequence of numbers and symbols that did not match any known planetary pattern.
Evi leaned closer. "Is that a malfunction?"
Leo shook his head slowly. "No. It's a signal. And it's directed at us."
Iza turned in a slow circle, listening. The forest was full of tiny sounds, soft squeaks and clear, musical clicks that seemed to move between the trees. Not random. Not wind.
"Those aren't birds," she said.
The ground gave a small tremor under their feet.
Every leaf around them shivered at once. Then the scanner changed again. The numbers vanished, replaced by a voice so faint it sounded buried under layers of static.
"Help me... please..."
Evi stared at the screen.
The three of them looked at one another, and for the first time since they had landed, no one had a quick answer.
Somewhere ahead, beyond the thickening trees, something pulsed with pale light. It was deeper in the jungle now, just visible between the trunks, as if the forest itself were breathing.
Leo swallowed. "Tell me I'm not the only one hearing that."
The scanner flashed again.
This time, the signal did not fade.
It pointed straight into the trees.