Elias didn't turn around. He didn't have to. The video player suddenly glitched, the image fracturing into a thousand shards of digital noise. One final frame burned into his retina before the power in the entire block cut out: a dark figure standing in his doorway, holding a device that looked exactly like the one used to record SSIS-559-C. The file wasn't a record of the past. It was a countdown.
It wasn't a movie. It was a live feed of a room that looked exactly like his own. On the screen, a man sat with his back to the camera, illuminated by the glow of three monitors. Elias felt a cold sweat prickle his neck. The man on the screen reached up and scratched the back of his head—exactly as Elias did in that very moment. SSIS-559-C.mp4
Before Elias could reach for the mouse, the video Elias pointed frantically behind the real Elias. Elias didn't turn around