Chapter Three: No-Light Alley

Shen aimed the camera behind him and used the dark screen as a mirror. Tang's face hovered beside his shoulder, but the body wore a gray uniform without a number. When its mouth opened, he saw the black gaps between archive drawers inside. Shen closed his left eye. The creature vanished from his right eye's view. He ran. The footsteps behind him matched his exactly, like those of a second body he wore. A door stood at the end of the alley. Shen nearly looked at its plaque, then forced his eyes down. A hand reached through the narrow opening. The nails retained traces of Tang's usual blue polish. “The photograph,” said the person inside.