[ Wp ] The internet is going crazy over a new gif , but all you see is a loop of an empty room . After re-watching it , you realise that the loop gets a little bit longer each time you watch .

They called themselves Watchers. Fancy name for a group of internet denizens bent on wasting their time. The first time I saw it, it was interesting -- a neat play on an old trick. And it was pretty strange that nobody could figure out how it worked; the code was a garbled mess, and nobody could find the source. So people watched, as the loop lengthened by a second or two each cycle. The same primal impulse that pushed humanity to dominate their frontiers now drives their obsession over pointless mysteries. 
 
 You ca n't refresh the gif, or leave the page, or do anything else with your computer, or it resets. One Watcher, posting from his phone, complained that the loop he'd had going for a month had reset. Another actually invited him to his house, so he could keep watching. `` You need to keep watching,'' he said, `` or you wo n't reach the end.'' That was the day I stopped watching the Watchers. 
 
 Three months later, I got an update from a friend that the infamous Empty.gif had been taken down. Only computers that had already been watching were able to view it. I checked in on the subreddit again, a little curious how people would react. Not a soul on the sub had given up; some had lost power and been forced to move in with other Watchers -- fucking weird -- but everyone was still watching contentedly. As far as I could tell, the loop had reached hours in length, and still it was nothing more than an empty room through a shaky camera. I shook my head, more than a little disappointed that something so mundane had reached cult status. 
 
 Yesterday, the sub blew up. The loop, which I guess was now around half a day in length, seemed to finally show something. Nobody could talk about it, but conversation was rife with awed comments. `` Did you see it?'' `` Beautiful.'' `` Fucking so much better than I expected.'' `` I do n't even know where to begin.'' 
 
 My curiosity piqued, I asked in a few threads if they could explain what they say. A few other mildly-interested lurkers did the same, but we all got the same response, from every single poster. `` You have to Watch.'' I explained that you ca n't access the gif anymore, and received nothing but scathing silence in return. It's strange, but I could almost feel their contempt through the monitor. Each thread I posted in died, members of the sub moving to the next thread as though avoiding a leper. I slammed my fist against my desk. Was I really intrigued now? I had to know what was in that room. 
 
 A friend of mine had been pretty interested in the Watchers, and had loops of the gif on both of her computers. I texted her asking if I could come over. The response: `` Sorry, Gabe. I'm almost finished Watching.'' An alarm went off in my head. No. She only lived a few hours away. I resolved to drive over and ask her in person. In the car, I kept one eye on the subreddit, watching for posts similar to Katie's message. There were a half-dozen celebratory threads and responses: `` GRATS EVERYONE, SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE.'' `` We've arrived!'' `` Praise the Watch!'' `` He sees us seeing! HE SEES US SEEING'' 
 
 HE SEES US SEEING 
 
 HE SEES US SEEING 
 
 The more I refreshed the sub, the more of this message kept appearing. HE SEES US SEEING. I looked up at the sound of a honking horn; I had swerved into the other lane. I dropped my phone and jerked the wheel, veering into the divider. My car tilted onto two wheels, then flipped. 
 
 It hurt. I knew it hurt, my head was ringing. I was upside down, bleeding. But it did n't matter. My phone had landed on the roof of my car, which was now the floor. I grabbed it, and refreshed the subreddit again. But there was nothing. No messages. The sub had disappeared. I pushed on my door handle and kicked the car open. I rolled out into the street, causing another driver to honk and swerve to miss me. I waved absent-mindedly, then ran toward the sidewalk and started walking, stumbling occasionally. I was almost to Katie's house. 
 
 I pounded on the door. `` Katie! It's Gabe, open up! I need to see!'' Nothing. There was no response. I gripped the handle and turned as hard as I could, to no avail. I backed off the porch and ran over to the side of the house. I grabbed a rock from the landscaping and slammed it into the window. It shattered, and I dove through, slicing my abdomen on the pane's jagged remnant. I tumbled inside and leapt to my feet. `` Katie!'' Still no answer, no shriek of alarm. I ran upstairs to her computer. Her bedroom reeked of human waste, but I barely noticed. Katie was gone. All that remained was her computer and monitor, glowing softly in the dark room. I lunged for the monitor and grabbed it with both hands. The gif was still there! The loop was only a few seconds, but if I waited, I would get to see what Katie saw, before she left. I said a silent prayer to the Room, and sat down, arms curled around my legs.
