23h41_051121.mp4 Online

At , the station’s lights flickered and died. The screen went pitch black for exactly four seconds. When the power snapped back on, the sedan was gone. The lot was empty. The rain continued to fall on the vacant asphalt.

At , the car door opened. A figure stepped out, but the footage stuttered, a digital artifact masking their face. The person didn't walk toward the shop. They walked toward the edge of the lot, where the light of the station died into the woods. 23h41_051121.mp4

Elias paused the video at the very last second. In the reflection of the gas station window, behind the terrified clerk, a door was swinging shut—the door to the back office where the DVR was kept. Elias looked at the clock on his own taskbar. It was . At , the station’s lights flickered and died