-WAKE UP-
I jolted out of bed, but I was too close to the edge and lost my balance as I tumbled off the side and landed heavily on the floor.
"Damn,"
Reuben. I did not expect him to kill me, but he did so without any hesitation.
Just like before, my fake memories were flooding my mind. It had something to do with this being exam week, but that did not matter as I got ready for my meeting with Reuben.
Downstairs, I saw my dad on the couch watching some news programme, while my mom and brother were nowhere to be seen.
"Good morning, Dad."
"Elisa, how are you doing?"
He said this as he reduced the volume and turned towards me.
"Pretty good"
"And your exams?"
"They have been pretty easy so far; well, my only difficulty was with physics."
I told him to satisfy his curiosity.
"Well, I am off,"
I said this as I approached the door.
"No breakfast?"
"Yep, I have some early morning study sessions."
"Anyways, try not to overdo it, bookworm."
I stopped in my tracks and turned back to him.
"Bookworm? Seriously? I thought we had moved past that."
"Never."
I rolled my eyes as I opened the door and left the house. It was almost 8, so I needed to hurry.
—
I was about 5 minutes early once I got onto the school grounds.
"Elisa"
I looked behind me to see both Briana and Louis arriving.
"Did you run here?"
Louis asked as I wiped the beads of sweat across my temples.
"Basically, I have a meeting with someone."
"So, a hookup?"
Briana said it out of the blue, and I could see the mischievous smile that had formed across her face as she scooted over to me.
"No, it is not; calm your horses."
"Then tell me who you are meeting."
"I will tell you both about it later, alright. I have to go now."
I walked off and left them behind as I walked to my destination, the boys' locker room. Since most people had not arrived at school yet, there was little effort made to sneak in without anybody seeing me. As I entered, I noticed the lights were switched on and assumed that someone was inside, unless they always left the light on without turning it off.
I recoiled in disgust when an intolerable odour hit my senses. I covered my nose with my hand, hoping to block out the foul odour.
Both sides of the room were lined with rows of lockers, with benches in between. At the end of the room was a doorway that presumably led to the showers, and behind me was a door that probably led to the urinals. I moved down the aisle, looking at each set of lockers as I went. While some were orderly and tidy, others were cluttered with clothes and miscellaneous items. As I approached the last block of lockers, I noticed someone sitting on one of the benches. He looked up at me, and our eyes met.
Reuben
"So it was not a scenario? You really broke free?"
His eyes were wide as he was surprised by my arrival. What did he mean by that, though? I sat on the bench opposite him.
"The smell is bearable here, so you can put her hand down."
That explains why he did not have his nose covered, as I initially thought he was used to it since he was a guy. Taking his advice, I dropped my hand from my nose and took a deep breath. It was still unpleasant, but at least the air was breathable now.
"Sorry for killing you without warning back there."
"I do not know how to feel about that, but I want to know why you did."
He fiddled with his arm as he took a deep breath before looking at me.
"As you have noticed, everyone receives new memories, and they act like presets for everyone in that cycle; memories influence their actions, interactions, and decisions. Each cycle is different due to this fact; that is what is called a scenario"
I understand now. If the memories act as presets, they can form the background of my relationships and events. Why he killed me was to ensure I was not just a scenario with fake memories of the loop and what he did to Mrs. Graham during that loop. He specifically said that I should meet him here since that would prove that I was the real deal.
"If everyone gets new memories, does that include you?"
"No, I don't."
Interesting. He was an abnormality.
"Are you still receiving new memories?"
"I am"
This made him ponder for a while, as he was deep in thought.
"So even though you broke out of the cycle, you still received new memories."
The big question was, "How did I break out of the loop?" And why was he not receiving new memories like me? Did he break out of the loop with a different method that made him immune from the effects?
"I know you have a lot of questions, but I am not going to overwhelm you, so let's hold off on the questions for now."
He stood up from the bench and prepared to leave.
"What are you going to do now?"
I asked as I too stood up from the bench and looked up at him.
"Finding out how you broke out of the loop is my top priority, and I need to clear my head on what the plan for that is."
He walked out of the locker room, and I followed behind him.
"I am going for a walk, but I will come back soon."
"A walk? Alright, then I leave you be."
Although I want the answers to all my questions as soon as possible, he chooses to drip-feed me the information. It was when I saw him walk away that I wondered what I should do.
"Any idea what I should do in the meantime?"
He just waved his hand back at me nonchalantly and continued walking, which I found extremely rude. I thought of what I used to do to pass the time, as I could do anything, but I felt out of place. Maybe I could continue playing the role of a student. I began walking away and remembered that there were exams today, and I sighed with overwhelming disinterest.
—
I stormed out of the classroom after writing absolute nonsense on the exam sheet. I made my way back to the boys' locker room, but I soon came to regret this as I ran out of there quickly and sought to immediately forget about what I had seen. I was in such a hurry that I had forgotten that we had not decided on a meeting point and that he was going to find me.
"How long do I have to wait?"
I mumbled to myself as crowds of people poured out into the courtyard for lunch. That was when I heard the chime from the clock tower as noon struck. I sighed before walking calmly, getting ready for what was coming.
It did not take long before I heard the screams coming from the east as I saw people run away from that area. As the stampede cleared out, I saw the strange figure that was causing the chaos as it stood at a height of over three and a half metres. Its appearance was female, with pitch-black ritualistic-styled hair, wearing a long black ball gown stretching across the ground that showed off her impressive figure and pale arms. Her fingers were twisted with long nails, which seemed like they could rip through flesh, and her mouth, which was constantly wide open, looked very unnatural. Inside, it was just darkness—constant darkness.
"ELISA"
I turned to see Briana calling out to me, and she rushed, grabbing me by the arm. I could see her terrified expression, and she tried to pull me away, but I did not budge.
"Go, I will be fine."
I broke away from her grasp and looked back at the creature as it slowly approached me. I could not tell if she had run away or not, but I just continued observing the creature. It was about a hundred metres away from me.
"Elisa"
I turned to see Reuben walking towards me with one hand in his pocket while the other held a cup of what looked like a smoothie.
"What are you doing, standing there?"
Honestly, I was not sure. I had no reason to be standing here since it was not like I could fight it or anything like that.
"Aren't you supposed to do something about that?"
I said this as I tried to dodge the question.
"I know, I know."
He took a long sip from the cup before throwing it to the ground, letting its contents spill on the grass. He gave me a thumbs-up, and I rolled my eyes in response.
"Are you not going to take cover?"
"Nope,"
He sighed and then walked in the direction of the creature. I was excited and eager to see Reuben in action and discover what he could do. An aura of energy began to build up and surround him as the same blade of energy he used to impale me formed from his right hand.
His speed was immense as he dashed toward it, closing the distance almost immediately and swinging his blade toward it. Using its nails, which seemed to have gotten longer, it intercepted the attack and forced Reuben back as it counterattacked, swinging its sharp nails, which were more like claws, as they extended towards him. He was, however, quick enough to dodge the incoming attack, with it just skimming past his face.
He rolled over to its side, but it immediately reacted by lunging its claws towards his neck, which he was able to block only barely. He was about to close the distance again, but its mouth slowly widened, the corners tearing through its face.
There was a devilish, piercing screech that forced me to cover my ears. I felt a slight tug as I noticed things getting pulled into its mouth. I was far enough away to be safe, but Reuben was having difficulty maintaining his balance. Debris would enter its mouth and disappear into the black void; this was in relation to its size, as they still all managed to fit through somehow. There was also the fact that it was unfazed by this happening.
To support himself, Reuben drove his blade into the ground, and small balls of energy formed at the tips of the fingers of his other hand, which he aimed and shot at high speed, but there was little damage done. In an act of retaliation, it stretched out its hands and pointed its claws at him. They extended themselves as they sought to attack him in his precautionary situation. The blade that held Reuben disappeared, and he was pulling closer to it because of the pulling force coming from its mouth. This was done to avoid the claws, but he was unable to react quickly enough as one of the claws punctured his upper left arm, and he clenched his teeth tightly.
He grabbed the claw and yanked it out of his arm as he quickly reformed his blade and dug it into the ground, preventing him from being devoured by it. There was another scream as its claws grew even longer and thicker. It then pointed the claws at Reuben once more and extended them towards him. This time, however, he formed another blade on his arm and used it to block the attack the best he could, with one just slightly missing his head. He countered by releasing his blade from the ground and running through the claws as he sliced through them.
As he got really close, he dug into the ground once more, and I watched in awe as he stabbed her right through the gut. Then, in one fell swoop, he drew the blade upwards, slicing its body in half as some of its blood got on him.
Amazing
He turned towards me as I approached him, trying to get a good look at the remains of the creature.
"That was so cool."
"I try,"
He said it with a smug look. I looked at his shoulder to see that the area where he had been stabbed was bloody.
"How is the wound?"
"I will be fine. But I now know how we should approach this entire situation."
"Alright"
"Do you know when this all started?"
"Well, I am not sure."
"Your fake memories are overlapping with your real ones, making it a little difficult to distinguish between them, aren't they?"
"Exactly, but I am getting better at telling them apart."
I could see him twitching his body and getting worried,
"What's wrong?"
"I think this blood is acidic; it is eating up my skin. I have to wash this off."
That sounded painful, but then an important question popped into my head.
"Before anything else, how long has it been going on?"
"The loops, you mean?"
He said to clarify my question, and I nodded in response. He turned away from me and put some distance between us.
"It has been going on for a long time."
Turning back to me, I could sense something bad was coming as he adopted a sad tone and expression.
"I am sure of the exact number of loops you have been through, but since I have been here, I have experienced more than a thousand loops."
Wait
No
I could not believe that all this has been happening for over a thousand times, which means I have died numerous times before. I tried to control my breathing, but I could not hold myself as I turned my face away and puked in disgust at having to comprehend such things.
"Are you okay?"
"Not at all; I think that was a little too much for me."
Considering how I have been so far, I have taken the discovery of being trapped in a loop and dying thing pretty well, much better than most people would have. However, knowing that I have possibly died in numerous ways up to a thousand times was just too overwhelming.
"You are going to need to digest that information, plus I need to wash this thing off, so I'll leave you for today. I'll stop by your place tomorrow morning, though."
"Alright, thanks, but do you expect me to wait until midnight?"
"You don't have to."
He said this as he pointed to the top of the school, and I immediately understood what he suggested I could do, but would I be able to bring myself to do that? Turning back to him, I watched him walk away, trying to remove the blood from his body as he did.
It was as if my body began moving on its own as I walked past some of the bodies on the ground, which made my stomach uneasy again. I made my way up the stairs, climbing the four-story building, avoiding debris, and taking in the sight of the destructive aftermath of the attack. Soon, I opened the window and stood at the edge, looking below. I can't believe I was going to kill myself willingly, and funnily enough, this was the craziest thing that has happened so far.
The distance between me and the ground was roughly five metres, with a concrete pathway right beneath me. I was not sure of the height a human being can fall from and survive, but if I did happen to survive this, that would be quite painful. I needed to land on my face first, as I thought it would be an instant way to die.
This was seriously messed up, but I was ready to get it over with quickly. The cold air blew across my face as I closed my eyes and leaned off the edge of the window, my hands letting go of the sides I used for support. I felt my body slice through the air, and the impact was sudden and jarring. In an instant, my face collided with the rough concrete below.
It was quick, and everything went black.