The figure was tall, impossibly thin, and wearing a coat Leo recognized instantly. It was his own heavy wool overcoat—the one he’d lost during the blackout and never found. But it wasn't the coat that froze his breath; it was the timestamp burned into the bottom corner of the image in glowing red digital ink:
Then, his phone buzzed. A new notification appeared on his lock screen: File Received: IMG_20221116_102949_001.jpg The perspective had changed. The door was now open. Download IMG 20221116 102948 648 jpg
The image bloomed across his dual monitors. It wasn’t a glitch or a corrupted file. It was a high-resolution photo taken from a low angle, looking up at his own front door. The porch light was on, casting a sickly yellow glow over the welcome mat. In the reflection of the glass pane, he could see the silhouette of the person holding the camera. The figure was tall, impossibly thin, and wearing