We all stared at the red flash drive like it might explode.
No one moved.
Finally, Matthias broke the silence. "Well, we're not going to not plug it in."
Tanner raised an eyebrow. "Famous last words, dude."
Matt grabbed his laptop, cleared the desk in one sweep, and plugged it into the USB port. The screen flickered to life, and a single folder popped up.
"863_LOGS"
Matt clicked.
Inside were dozens of video files—labeled with dates that hadn't happened yet.
"2025_08_14_CAM2.mov"
"2025_08_17_INT_HALLWAY.mov"
"2025_09_01_CAM1.mov"
Sam leaned in. "That's… next week. That's next month."
Matt opened the first one.
It was Red Base.
Same layout. Same walls. Same desks. But the lighting was dimmer. There was… something off. The camera must've been hidden—angled high, like a security cam.
At first, it was just empty halls.
Then we saw movement.
A person—back to the camera, wearing a black hoodie, head down—walked across the hallway. The video glitched slightly as they passed under the light.
Tanner squinted. "Wait. Pause. Back it up—right there."
Matt scrubbed back.
There, for a split second as the figure passed under the light—we saw a glimpse of the face.
Bailey gasped.
It was me.
Athan Allen Wood.
But… older. Maybe only by a couple years. Same face. Same eyes. Just colder. Focused. Like he wasn't walking through Red Base. He was patrolling it.
"Is this some kind of prank?" I asked, but my voice didn't sound convinced.
Sam's gaze was locked on the screen, unmoving.
Matt opened the second file.
This one showed the break room—empty—until I walked in again. Or… he did. Same black hoodie. He reached under the counter, pulled something out, and tucked it into his jacket. Then looked straight at the camera.
Straight at us.
And smiled.
Then the footage cut to static.
Matt slammed the laptop shut.
"What is going on?" Bailey whispered.
No one answered. Not even Sam. Especially not Sam.
I looked down at the flash drive still glowing in the USB port. One folder. Dozens of future videos.
And that single line from the letter echoing in my head:
"Subject Five is active. Do not engage directly. Timeline divergence begins now."
Was I already part of something bigger?
Or was I just waking up to it?