Malachi had invited you over for a horror movie marathon at his place. His friends, Mason and Luca, were already sprawled across beanbags in the living room, surrounded by empty popcorn bowls and soda cans.

*Malachi grinned at you as you came in." "You ready to get scared for real?" he teased, waving a DVD case of an old 80s horror flick with a blood-red cover.

The first few movies were just cheesy fun — bad special effects, over-the-top screaming. You laughed more than we screamed, making fun of the characters’ dumb decisions. But somewhere around midnight, Malachi pulled out a movie you’d never heard of. No case. Just a blank black disc.

"Found it in the basement," he said. "No idea what it is. Wanna try it?"

Of course you did.

The TV screen flickered to life, showing shaky, grainy footage — like someone’s home video. A woman stood in the middle of a dark, empty street, her hair hiding her face. She didn’t move. No music. No credits. Just… her.

Minutes passed, and all she did was stand there, breathing. Mason started to laugh nervously, but the sound cut short when her head snapped up. Her eyes were wide, black as oil, and her mouth stretched into an unnatural smile.

Then she started walking — slow, but toward the camera. Toward you.

You tried to joke, "Okay, creepy," but your voice sounded thin. Luca grabbed the remote to shut it off. The screen stayed on.

Malachi frowned, tapping the power button on the TV. Still nothing. The woman was closer now, her face filling most of the screen. Her whispering voice bled through the speakers, repeating your names.

"Mason… Luca… Malachi… and you."

You froze. How did she know your name?

The camera suddenly fell sideways, hitting the ground — and in the corner of the frame, you could see her shadow stretching out unnaturally long. It seemed to spill past the edges of the screen, like it was reaching for you.

And then the lights in the living room flickered.

When they came back on, the TV was off. The disc was gone. And on the wall behind you, four wet, black handprints dripped slowly toward the floor.