Chapter 4 What really happened to Zoey's parents

The last known days of Dr. Malachi Jones and Dr. Ayana Sinclair-Jones before their disappearance in 2031, tied to the classified Project LUMEN and the mysterious Firefly Stream.

The Last 10 Days of Zoey's Parents

Location: Deep Space Relay Station DSR-13, St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica

Codename: "LUMEN Final Phase"

Day -10: August 3, 2031

Anomaly Escalation Ayana records the largest atmospheric anomaly yet: a vertical column of charged particles above Bluefields Bay, pulsing in sync with the Firefly frequency.

Malachi completes calibration of the Quantum Feedback Interface (QFI), a device designed to "speak" to the signal.

They encrypt all findings into a custom algorithm named "Yabisa Protocol", referencing a Maroon word for "message from beyond."

Day -8: August 5, 2031

Unauthorized Contact Attempt Against protocol, Malachi initiates a low-power response signal during a peak pulse window.

Immediate power surge across the DSR-13 facility; a minor blackout occurs.

The fireflies appear visibly for the first time above the relay tower-hovering in fixed formation.

Station technician Dr. Kavon Bright resigns and flees the site, later disappears from public record.

Day -6: August 7, 2031

Ayana's vision: Ayana experiences an unexplained blackout and reports a vision-like episode:

"I saw light speaking in rhythm. A voice in waves. Not threatening-inviting."She begins writing a coded diary, leaving the physical copy in her Kingston childhood home.

Day -4: August 9, 2031

Project LUMEN Suspended Government liaison arrives at DSR-13, orders a full shutdown of the project.

Malachi secretly backs up all data to a private off-grid server under the alias "Candlebug42."

The couple decided to carry out one final experiment before the station was permanently locked.

Day -2: August 11, 2031

Preparation for Final Test

Zoey (then 4 years old) is quietly dropped off at her grandmother's in August Town by a trusted friend, under the guise of a temporary academic retreat.

Malachi leaves a sealed envelope with Ms. Verona marked "Only if we don't return."

Final notes suggest the couple believed this experiment would either prove the fireflies are sentient-or be the key to contacting a non-human intelligence.

Day 0: August 13, 2031 - The Disappearance

The Final Night 2:42 AM: The Quantum Feedback Interface is activated for the first time at full power.

2:44 AM: A massive blue beam descends from the sky and engulfs the station.

2:45 AM: All communication from DSR-13 ceases.

3:02 AM: Emergency teams arrive to find:No trace of Malachi or Ayana.

All security footage erased.

A faint, humming crystal embedded in the center of the lab.

Candlebug prototype disabled but intact.

Surviving Evidence: Ayana's coded journal recovered years later by Zoey.

Malachi's final phrase scribbled on the whiteboard:

"They are light. They are memory. We are the first to listen."

Aftermath: The government declares them dead in a lab accident.

Project LUMEN is shut down and buried, never publicly acknowledged.

Zoey's grandmother raises her in secret, never revealing the full truth-until Zoey starts seeing the same lights.

Would you like the contents of the envelope Malachi left behind, or a decoded excerpt from Ayana's journal?