VHS 2025

When police found the old VHS tapes in the abandoned house, Officer Graham volunteered to catalog them. Each was labeled by year 2002, 2003, 2004 with a shaky hand.

The footage was mostly mundane. A man sitting in a living room, talking to the camera as if it were a diary.

“Day 12 — still waiting,”

He’d say.

“I think they’re close.”

As Graham fast-forwarded through the tapes, he noticed the man never aged. The wallpaper, furniture, and lighting stayed the same across decades. Then, in a 2019 tape, the man stared directly into the camera and said,

“Hello, Officer Graham.”

Graham froze. His name badge was visible in the reflection of the TV screen. The man smiled.

“I told you I was waiting.”

The tape ended. When Graham reported it, the department laughed it off  until they checked the house again. The furniture matched perfectly. And on the living room table, next to a dusty camera, sat a fresh VHS tape labeled 2025.

Inside was grainy footage of Graham sitting at a desk, watching tapes blinking nervously. Then, from behind him, a figure stepped into frame.