Poper_2021-10.zip ✦ Extended

The rhythmic popping began to bleed out of his phone’s speakers before he even hit "Accept." Elias looked at the brick wall of his office and, for the first time, understood why his father couldn't look away.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed on the desk. A notification from an unknown sender appeared on his lock screen. It wasn't a text message. It was a file transfer request. Poper_2021-10.zip

He opened the image first. It wasn’t the mountains. It was a high-angle shot of a crowded city square, but every person in the frame was looking up at the camera with identical, vacant expressions. In the center of the crowd stood his father, the only one looking away, staring at a blank brick wall. The rhythmic popping began to bleed out of