"Listen to this," Elias said, his voice raspy. He traced a line of shaky text. 'The spheres are not hunters; they are reflections. They do not find us in the station; they find us in the mind. To survive the sleep, you must anchor the dream.'

The static on the radio was the only thing louder than the wind howling against the corrugated metal walls of Station 11. Elias stared at the glowing monitors, his eyes stinging. He hadn't slept in thirty-six hours.

"It means we don't sleep alone," Elias said. He grabbed a roll of copper wire and began looping it around their wrists, connecting them like a circuit. "The Codex says that if two minds stay tethered, the anomalies can't distinguish the sleeper from the awake. We share the burden. One stays in the light, one goes into the dark."

"They" were the anomalies—shimmering, ethereal orbs that bled through the walls the moment a human brain slipped into REM cycle. They fed on the warmth of life, leaving behind nothing but frost-covered husks.

Vera hesitated, looking at the wire. The wind roared outside, a literal beast trying to kick down the door. The temperature in the room was dropping to ten below. "I'll go first," she said, her voice small.