“Signal Tech 2, Sector 7… I think we have an audible event.”

A long pause, a blast of static, and a voice he doesn’t recognize: “Copy that, no event on record. Continue standard protocol.”

A young Army vet known only as “Signal Tech 2” signs a six-month contract to patrol the perimeter of a vast, remote reservoir. Phones, maps and even names are prohibited for purposes of “site security.” All he has is a radio transmitted, a numbered route, and a simple rule: if you hear anything, stop and call it in.

At first, the work is only silence, cold and avoiding trip hazards. But gradually the silence - and the reservoir - begin to behave wrong.

A thin white wall of light rises from the reservoir. The stars lock into a perfect grid. Snow pulses like a signal. And a body appears face-down in the water - but it’s always the same distance away, no matter how fast Signal Tech 2 swims.

Every night, Signal Tech 2 is told the same thing: keep walking, keep listening and continue standard protocol.

But as the night shifts accumulate and every “visual irregularity” is dismissed as nothing, Signal Tech 2 begins to suspect the reservoir is not the only thing being studied.

Read an except of If You Hear Anything here.