Panic surged through him. He tried to slam the laptop shut, but the hinges wouldn't budge. He looked at the file name again: 20221119. Today’s date. He checked his watch. The time was 10:19. The video reached 10:20.
The screen went black, reflecting only the empty chair where Elias had been sitting a second before. 202211191080GGFULL.mp4
A cold, physical hand gripped Elias’s real shoulder. He didn't turn around. He didn't have to. On the screen, the file reached its end, and the last frame was a close-up of a face he didn't recognize, smiling with teeth that looked like broken glass. Panic surged through him
The video didn't show a person or a place. It showed a doorway. It was a simple wooden frame standing in the middle of a white, infinite void. The camera—if it could be called that—slowly pushed forward. As Elias watched, he realized the time stamp on the video player was moving backward. Today’s date