Investigate

Emily stared at the screen for a few more seconds, heart hammering.

Then she swiped the timeline forward.

The video jumped—more frenzied movement now, bodies shifting faster, louder moans, the camera jostling slightly as all three tangled together on the bench. The identical girls moved in near-perfect sync, switching positions, kissing each other, riding him in turn.

Emily's lips parted. Her fingers hesitated.

Then she skipped forward again—ten minutes, twenty—until the video shook hard, the camera jerking slightly as a rustling sound came from offscreen.

Voices. Distant, but coming closer.

Someone was approaching up the trail.

The threesome broke apart in a flurry—scrambling for clothes, laughing breathlessly, one of the girls shrieking in a whisper: “Shit! Someone’s coming!”

The boy bolted offscreen first, half-dressed. One girl grabbed her bra and vanished after him. The second one fumbled with her shorts, then shouted, “Come on!”

But none of them touched the phone.

The camera sat, still running, the screen catching the sound of their retreating footsteps and rustling underbrush. After that: silence. Only the wind and birds.

Emily exhaled, heart still fluttering.

They’d left it behind.

She hesitated only a moment—then tapped open the share menu.

And sent herself the video

The confirmation appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Then she tapped to end the recording, slipped the phone into its case, and carefully folded the stand flat. Her fingers were steady. A little damp.

She didn’t know who they were, not yet—but the phone had location data. Maybe she could find them. Maybe she could return it.

But part of her wasn’t sure she wanted to find them for that reason.

She tucked the device into her bag, eyes still scanning the woods beyond the bridge.

Just in case they came back.