Just as the figure reached the screen, reaching out a hand made of pixels and cold wind, the program crashed. The monitor went black.
His speakers didn't erupt with the booming organ of "Once in Royal David’s City." Instead, the room went silent—the kind of silence that feels heavy, like thick snow falling in a graveyard. Then, a single, high-tenor note pierced the air. It wasn't coming from his speakers; it seemed to be vibrating from the walls themselves.
The file was named Carols_from_King_s_College.rar , and for Elias, it was the digital equivalent of a message in a bottle.