Gemotions

The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows across the cramped attic room. Elias, his head resting on a stack of unopened manuscripts, felt a strange sensation of disconnection from his own body. He'd been up for two days straight, reading, researching, trying to get ahead on a biography he was writing. He needed a break, but he couldn't stop.

The manuscript lay open on the table, a recently discovered journal by the subject of his biography, a renowned war photographer. But an alert from his social media was blaring. A tweet. A link.

He reached for his phone, his hand moving in slow motion. The link, a comparison between his favorite author’s novel and the journal he was reading, revealed astonishing similarities. Whole passages, nearly identical. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, a feeling akin to being buried alive. He knew how he felt, and it wasn't good. His mind reeled.