Call Of The Void: Umbral

Taken in by the state at twelve, Dax Thorne has spent his entire life fighting for the Empire. Now he’s interviewing for a prestigious security position on Pinnacle’s Edge — a job that should be safe, comfortable, and far from the front lines. But some ghosts refuse to stay buried. And some choices have consequences no one can walk away from. A Note from the Author This is the first story I’ve ever written that’s longer than fifteen pages. I had the major plot points figured out before I wrote a single word, but I’m terrible with grammar and punctuation, so I used Grok to clean up those parts only. The story itself is exactly as I wrote it. I originally wrote this just for myself. I never planned on sharing it. But the deeper I got, the more I felt like there might be one or two people out there who would connect with it. Content Warning: This story deals with heavy topics including PTSD, death, and suicidal thoughts. If these subjects are difficult for you, please consider this your warning. While it’s set in a sci-fi world, this is not a story about space battles or grand adventures. It’s a very personal, intimate story. I also chose not to describe the main character’s appearance on purpose. I wanted to leave him as a blank slate so readers could more easily step into his shoes and feel the story for themselves.