(1)mp4 — 14901

The video player opened to a jittery, hand-held shot of a basement. The timestamp in the corner read , but the quality was too sharp for VHS—it looked like it had been filmed on something that shouldn't have existed yet.

Elias noticed that on the second playback, the timestamp had changed. It now read —today’s date. And the basement was no longer empty. In the reflection of the dark screen, Elias saw a small, flickering light behind him. 14901 (1)mp4

Behind his chair, in the footage, the closet door began to slide open. Elias didn't look back. He just watched the screen as the multi-jointed shadow stretched across his own carpet. The video player opened to a jittery, hand-held