In the background of the audio, a second sound began to bleed through. It was a rhythmic tapping, like fingernails on glass. Elias leaned closer to his speakers, his skin prickling. The tapping wasn't random; it matched the cadence of Lauran's heartbeat.

The file name at the top of the window changed. The "1_1_2" began to count up rapidly, turning into a timestamp. 11:46 PM.

It was Lauran. She was looking directly at the camera, her lips moving, but no sound came out of the speakers anymore. The audio had gone into a frequency so high it was silent to his ears, yet he could feel his teeth aching.

Elias looked at the clock on his wall. It was 11:45 and 50 seconds. The audio returned with a deafening, crystal-clear snap.