... — File: Guntastic.zip

Elias looked away from the screen toward his real kitchen island. It was empty, save for a bowl of half-eaten cereal.

No smoke. No casing. Just the smell of ozone and the weight of a weapon he couldn't see.

The weight in Elias's hand grew warmer. The game camera panned to the digital front door. Something was tapping on the other side. File: Guntastic.zip ...

In the game, he walked into his kitchen. There, sitting on the digital kitchen island, was a revolver. It was rendered in high-contrast chrome, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic light.

Elias didn't look at the screen anymore. He stared at his real front door. The handle began to turn. Elias looked away from the screen toward his

From the floor above him, Elias heard the heavy, rhythmic thud of footsteps. They sounded exactly like the footsteps of the man in 4B—the one who played loud music until dawn. But these footsteps were different. They were slow, deliberate, and heading toward the stairs.

On the screen, a message finally appeared in a jagged, red font: No casing

"Cute," Elias muttered, his heart rate picking up. "Someone mapped the building."