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Then I pressed my finger to the screen.

Blood smudged as I stared at the screen. It was too late to wipe it away now…

The screen stayed black.

Static crackled.

I pressed the button for the volume, turning it up.

Wind.

Rain.

The picture lurched violently before settling. Whoever held the camera was hiding. Branches obscured most of the view. The lens struggled to focus.

Then…

A figure stepped into the frame.

My breath stopped.

Back coat.

Stillness.

No movement.

No wasted movement.

He stood with his back to the camera.

I knew that silhouette anywhere.

I knew the way he carried himself.

The way silence seemed to gather around him.

No…

My fingers tightened around the phone. Rain hammered the ground. Another figure knelt several feet away. I barely looked at him. My eyes wouldn’t leave the man standing. A broken voice cut through the static.

“Please…”

The words were almost swallowed by the storm.

“My children…”

The camera shook.

Whoever filmed it breathed harder.

The kneeling man tried again.

“They weren’t involved.”

The man standing never moved.

He simply reached down.