The digital noise begins to distort. Horizontal lines of purple and green tear across the screen. When the image stabilizes, the man is no longer alone. He is surrounded by dozens of other figures, all standing in a perfect circle around him. They weren't there a second ago. They didn't walk into the frame. They simply were .

As the face came into view, Elias felt a cold spike of adrenaline. The man in the video wasn't a stranger. He was wearing the same grey hoodie Elias was wearing right now. He had the same scar on his chin from a childhood bike accident.

A figure enters from the bottom left. It’s a man in a dark coat, walking with a heavy, rhythmic limp. He stops in the exact center of the crossroads. He doesn’t look around. He doesn't look at his watch. He simply stands there, his back to the camera.