I feel it. No - sense it. That weight in the air. It’s here. The Operator. You’ve been getting too close, and if you kept going… you would’ve walked right into it. I don’t usually intervene. But this time, I do. You’re too focused on your camera. Alex's trail of breadcrumbs. Too slow to notice the shift in the static, the way the silence folds in on itself. Right before you reach the door, I grab you, hand over your mouth, pulling you back.

“Shhh…”

I whisper it low. Just enough. You freeze. A shadow slides past the door’s glass - too tall, too wrong. Then it’s gone. I let go. Step back. Watching. The mask tilts slightly. I don’t say anything else.