Chapter 3 - The Static on the Screen
The sudden glare of the television flickered violently, casting erratic blue shadows across the scattered plastic blocks and the wooden floorboards. Mark stared at the glowing screen, his breath catching in his throat. The camera angle on the television was impossible—it hovered near the ceiling corner, looking down at the exact spot where he stood. On the display, he watched himself standing in the doorway, but the older man in the faded canvas jacket was entirely absent. In his place stood an empty space, yet the dust motes in the air parted as if someone invisible were breathing right beside him.
"Turn that off," Mark ordered, his voice tight with a mixture of fury and rising panic. He reached out to grab the remote control from the coffee table, but his hand stopped mid-air.
The older man chuckled, a dry, humorless sound that seemed to vibrate inside the walls of the small house. "You can't turn off what's already recorded, Mark. That television isn't receiving a signal from a broadcast tower. It's pulling memories straight out of the floorboards of this house."
Lily whimpered again, burying her face in the soft fabric of Mark’s dark jeans. Her little fingers clutched desperately at the denim. Mark looked down at her, a protective surge of adrenaline overriding his confusion. He needed to get his daughter out of this house, away from the stranger and the haunted electronics. He turned toward the front door, but the threshold was no longer open to the bright morning street. Beyond the doorframe lay only an endless expanse of gray fog, rolling lazily over dark, churning water.
"Where is the street?" Mark whispered, stepping back.
"There is no street left," the older man said calmly, stepping closer and reaching into his canvas jacket once more. "Not until you answer the question on the screen."
May you like
Mark looked back at the television. The live footage had shifted. It no longer showed the living room. Instead, it showed the inside of a rusted metal locker at the bottom of the river, containing a stack of old notebooks and a heavy brass key.
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