His heart hammered. He reached for the key, intent on throwing it out the window, but as his fingers brushed the cold metal, the screen went black. A white prompt appeared in the center of the darkness:
Suddenly, the clock on his computer screen flickered. 11:58 PM. 11:59 PM. File: Once.Again.zip ...
Elias looked at his desk. There, sitting next to his keyboard, was a small, ornate brass key he had found in his mail that morning. He had spent all day wondering what it opened. His heart hammered