The media player opened to a black screen. There was no scrub bar, no volume control, just a void. Then, sound: a rhythmic, wet sliding noise. Schlick. Schlick. Schlick.
The video Elias spoke. No words came out, only the sound of a dial-up modem shrieking. Suddenly, the 0 KB file began to grow. 291856.mp4
A grainy image flickered into view. It was a high-angle shot of a hallway. Elias felt a jolt of recognition—it was his own hallway, the one leading from the kitchen to his bedroom. The lighting was sickly green, the way it looked when only the stove light was left on. The media player opened to a black screen