Chapter 7: Distorted Signals

#content-1

This entry is part 7 of 16 in the series My Stepfather Sent Me To Patrol A Forest Sector With Standalone Wooden Stairs, Then Erased My Coordinates From The Dispatch Server

My Stepfather Sent Me To Patrol A Forest Sector With Standalone Wooden Stairs, Then Erased My Coordinates From The Dispatch Server

Chapter 1: The Stairs in Sector Four

Chapter 2: The Unseen Foundation and Cut Connections

Chapter 8: The Ledger and the Appraiser

Chapter 9: The Glaring Expiration

Chapter 13: Arthur’s Deepest Secret

Chapter 15: The Final Reckoning

Chapter 16: The Unchanged Woods

Jonah stepped out from behind the fir trees, cutting off Leo’s path to the station. The rookie froze, the tracking beacon still in his hand. Leo’s eyes went wide, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“Jonah,” Leo stammered, his face blanching.

Jonah didn’t yell. He held up the certified land documents Martha had given him, the red notary stamp stark against the faded paper. “Arthur didn’t give you an upgraded locator, Leo. He gave you a scent lure.”

He explained how the beacon’s specific frequency was calibrated to attract territorial black bears, known to den near the Sector 4 ridge. Leo stared at the device in his hand, then at the documents. A sick realization dawned in his eyes. He’d been framed as an unwitting accomplice to an “accidental wildlife fatality.”

Jonah gripped his radio, considering a full report, but hesitated. He remembered the strange static near the standalone staircase, how his earlier call to Arthur had felt off. A long-forgotten internal memo from years past, about “unexplained atmospheric interference” around certain geological anomalies in Sector 4, flashed through his mind. If he tried a distress call now, near the anomaly, it might not go to official channels at all. It could jump frequencies, spill onto open airwaves, precisely the kind of chaos Arthur tried to avoid.

Leo, trembling, reached into his pocket and handed over his station master keycard. “Arthur and Gregory Coyle,” he whispered, “they’re meeting at the isolated maintenance shed. They’re signing the final safety release forms. Before sunrise.”

Choose your next action

Confront Arthur and Gregory Coyle directly inside the maintenance shed before the forms are signed — Read CHAPTER 9 to continue.

Plant the active tracking beacon inside Gregory Coyle’s luxury SUV parked behind the maintenance shed — Read CHAPTER 10 to continue.

👉 Previous Decision: You followed Leo’s lead, using his master keycard to investigate Arthur’s hidden ledger.