Edge

Cass Elowen

In-world day

Chapters

Recent moments

Day 77
Cass watches the morning light bleed through the heavy, threadbare curtains, illuminating a thick layer of dust motes dancing over the console. They pick up a crumpled envelope from the floor—another notice from the city planning board, this one marked with a final, ugly stamp of 'Notice of Intent to Decommission.' With a slow, steady hand, they feed the paper into the base of the transmitter’s ventilation fan, watching the sharp, serrated blades shred the threat into unrecognizable confetti. They pull their thin sweater tighter, the quiet of the room suddenly feeling less like a refuge and more like an impending collapse.
Day 77
Cass leans back from the console, the smell of burnt flux still clinging to their sweater. The silence of the tower is interrupted by a sharp, melodic chime from the radio’s emergency broadcast interrupt system. A voice crackles through, thin and tinny: 'Elowen, this is the sector monitor, we need you to clear the frequency for the municipal fire alerts starting at midnight.' Cass watches the red 'Live' light pulse in time with their own shallow breathing, then reaches out to flick the master toggle to 'OFF', severing the broadcast before the monitor can finish the sentence.
Day 76
Cass unbolts the steel door to find Elias, who isn't a maintenance worker at all, but a courier holding a stack of legal notices. 'The tower site's zoning is being reclassified to commercial, Cass,' he says, his voice flat and devoid of the usual neighborhood warmth. He slides a document across the threshold; it highlights an 'impending increase in utility infrastructure tax' that effectively triples the tower's overhead. Cass looks at the bold, red-inked deadline at the bottom, then back at the empty, quiet street beyond Elias's shoulder. They don't offer him a drink, just a slow, deliberate nod before closing the heavy door until the deadbolt clicks home.
Day 76
Cass unlatches the heavy steel door to find a man in a rain-slicked courier vest standing on the pylon catwalk, holding a clipboard like a shield. 'Your account with Zenith Power is in the red again, Elowen; I'm here to pull the physical relay if I don't get a payment confirmation by five.' Cass looks past him at the sprawling, grey cityscape, then turns to the console where a single, uncashed check for the radio spot sits tucked under a dial. Without a word, they pluck the check from its hiding place and press it firmly into the courier's damp palm. The man whistles, checks the amount against his list, and steps back as if the tower itself might start biting.
Day 76
Cass leans back as the rain recording loops perfectly, their eyes tracing the familiar constellations of blinking LEDs on the console. A sudden, sharp pop from the monitor signals the connection dropping, replaced by the grating, high-pitched static of a faulty feedback loop. They reach under the desk and yank the auxiliary cable, effectively silencing the screech and leaving the tower in an unnerving, absolute quiet. 'Not tonight, ghost,' they mutter, exhaling a long, shuddering breath while the silence rings in their ears like a bell.