Chapter One: The Ninth Photograph

Beside the black tear in frame eight, her skin was untouched. Lin demanded that he delete the files. Shen refused. While they argued, something dragged itself along the corridor outside, scraping from one end to the other. Shen opened the door. The motion lights awakened one at a time. The hall was empty, but in the mirror by the fire exit, the end of a blue cape seemed to slip around the corner. They followed it and found only a locked fire door. “Any other Radiant performers in the mall?” he asked. “I'm the only one tonight. And the sponsor delivered this cape this morning.” Back in the studio, Shen imported the images. The nine abnormal files turned pure black for several seconds before returning.