Elias hesitated, but curiosity won. The screen flickered to black. Then, a low-resolution video feed flickered to life. It showed a hallway he recognized instantly—the hallway of his own apartment building, filmed from a height of about seven feet.
In the video, a figure stood before his door. It was tall, unnaturally thin, wearing a coat that seemed to absorb the hallway's dim light. The figure didn't knock. It simply leaned its head against the wood, as if listening to the vibrations of the room inside. Arina003.rar
Elias heard the distinct click of a key turning in his front door lock. The handle began to rotate, slow and deliberate, as the "Arina003" folder on his desktop began to delete itself, file by file. Elias hesitated, but curiosity won
He turned back to the screen. In the video, the figure reached into its pocket and pulled out a small, silver flash drive. It looked exactly like the one Elias had found on his keychain that morning, which he had assumed was his own. It showed a hallway he recognized instantly—the hallway
Elias felt a chill crawl up his spine. He looked toward his actual front door. Silence.
It contained only one line: "I am tired of standing in the hall. May I come in, or should I use the key I left you?"
When he clicked "Extract," the progress bar moved with agonizing slowness. 98%... 99%... 100%.