2022-07-02 04.43.22.mov [Bonus Inside]

Then, at , the camera settles on a single point in the valley below. A lone set of headlights is winding its way up the mountain pass. The light is tiny, like a spark floating in a dark ocean. Elias remembers watching that car and wondering if the driver was running away from something, or toward something.

The blue light of the smartphone screen was the only thing illuminating Elias’s face as he sat on the edge of the motel bed. His thumb hovered over the thumbnail in his gallery. The timestamp was precise, clinical: 2022-07-02 04.43.22.mov

He remembered the air that morning—it was thick, smelling of pine needles and the coming rain of the Pacific Northwest. He had been driving for six hours, escaping a life that had become too loud, when he saw the fog rolling over the crest of the Cascades. Then, at , the camera settles on a

Does this fit the vibe you were looking for, or should we try a different genre like mystery or sci-fi ? Elias remembers watching that car and wondering if

Sitting in the motel room now, Elias realized that the person who filmed that video doesn't exist anymore. The 2022 version of himself was still full of questions. The current version was finally starting to find the answers. He didn't delete the file. He locked the phone and looked out the window.

"Where are you going?" Elias’s voice whispers on the recording. It’s the only time he speaks. The video ends abruptly at twenty-two seconds.