Part 3- Video Call Zip -

Elias stared at the black screen, his reflection staring back. Underneath the file he had just opened, a new icon appeared, pulsing softly.

The file sat on Elias’s desktop, a stark white icon labeled . Part 3- Video Call zip

His heart hammered against his ribs. He didn't remember anyone being in the room. He didn't remember the air turning this cold. Elias stared at the black screen, his reflection

The screen stayed black for ten seconds. Then, the low-light camera grain flickered to life. It wasn't Leo’s face. It was his desk, cluttered with coffee mugs and half-finished circuit boards. In the background, the video call window on Leo’s laptop was visible. His heart hammered against his ribs

On the video, the shadow leaned down, whispering into the ear of the Elias on camera. In the present, Elias felt a cold puff of air hit his neck.

Elias double-clicked. The extraction bar crawled across the screen with agonizing slowness. 98%... 99%... 100%.

Then, on the screen within the screen, a shadow moved behind the "past" Elias.