Eli let out a deep breath as he watched in sadness as Alex completely walked out of the empty classroom. Only he remained behind here, mulling over the lies he told Alex. He didn't really have a choice if he told Alex everything the loop will restart.
Eli's gaze wandered around the classroom. The sunlight filtered through the dusty windows, casting long shadows across the rows of desks. Everything here was so painfully familiar—the chalkboard, the old posters on the walls, the faint smell of old paper. It all reminded him of how things used to be, how simple life had been before the loop started. Before she came.
"This is where it all started," he thought, feeling a cold shiver run down his spine. He could almost see the scene playing out in his mind: sitting here, alone in the classroom, when that strange girl walked in, her presence throwing his life into chaos. From that moment, everything had spiraled out of control.
A sharp pang of resentment flared in his chest. Why me? he thought bitterly. Why had the girl chosen him, of all people? He wasn't special, wasn't anything extraordinary. He was just convenient, an easy target in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she had chosen someone else, maybe he wouldn't have had to suffer like this. Maybe he could have continued living his ordinary life, blissfully unaware of the nightmare lurking beneath the surface of reality.
But as quickly as the anger came, it was replaced by a strange sense of gratitude. As much as he resented the girl, he couldn't deny that her actions had given him something. A chance. A chance to fight, to understand, to at least try to save the people he cared about. If she had chosen someone else, Eli would've died, clueless and helpless, never knowing why or how everything had gone wrong. Now, at least, he could struggle. Even if he failed, he would fail knowing he did everything he could.
The thought of the girl brought a memory rushing back, one Eli had somehow pushed to the back of his mind. His eyes widened in disbelief as it hit him. He had met her before—after the loop started. It wasn't just a coincidence. He had seen her in the bathroom, her haunting gaze meeting his, even though by then, she should've been long gone. His heart raced as he scanned the room, his green eyes darting around in search of any sign of her. But, of course, she wasn't here. She was never here when he needed answers.
The unsettling realization gnawed at him. How could he have forgotten something so important? No, this time, he hadn't forgotten. He'd even gone back to the bathroom to check. What unnerved him was how casually he had accepted it at the time, how he hadn't even questioned why he was able to see her despite her having disappeared from the loop. Was he losing his grip on reality? Was this just another cruel trick of the loop, messing with his mind?
Eli slumped back into his seat, the screeching of the chair's legs against the floor breaking the eerie stillness. The warm glow of the evening sunlight spilled across the room, casting golden hues over the storm clouds gathering outside. It would rain soon. A perfect reflection of the turmoil inside him. His entire body felt drained, his mind a mess after the intense conversation with Alex. The way Alex had interrogated him, picked apart his lies—it was exhausting. His best friend was relentless, and Eli had barely managed to hold his ground.
And now, this—this new piece of the puzzle that had been thrown at him out of nowhere. He felt like he was on the verge of collapsing under the weight of it all. His breathing became shallow as anxiety crept in, but he forced himself to take slow, deep breaths, trying to calm his racing thoughts. I can't fall apart now. Not yet.
Forcing the memory of the girl to the back of his mind, Eli shook his head. He couldn't afford to dwell on it, not now. There were too many questions and no answers in sight. But there would be time later—there had to be. For now, he just needed to focus on what was right in front of him.
Eli's thoughts drifted beyond the classroom, beyond the loop, to the world outside. Because of the loop the short time that has felt like long time had passed. He had been so consumed by the cycle of repeating days, by the vanishing people and the mounting pressure to find answers, that he had nearly forgotten about his life before it all began. Home. His parents. The life that had once been so normal. If not for Alex mentioning home he probably wouldn't have remembered about it.
Now that the memory surfaced, he couldn't shake it off. What's happening outside? he wondered, his mind racing. Had the world beyond the loop continued without him? Have they noticed the state the school is in? Are they trying to free us from this? Were his mom and dad waiting for him, worried that he had suddenly vanished? Or, worse yet, was the world outside trapped in a loop of its own? The idea twisted his stomach into knots.
He had never thought to question it before, but now, the uncertainty gnawed at him. Is the outside world also stuck in a loop? The thought sent a shiver down his spine. If that were the case, then there was no escape, no end to this nightmare. But then again, he reasoned, the loop here wouldn't have been separate if the outside world had already been caught in one. Maybe, just maybe, the loop was confined to this place, to his life, and the rest of the world went on without him.
Or—Eli's heart raced—what if the loop was happening everywhere? What if there were countless loops, each one different, each one playing out in its own twisted way? Maybe his suffering wasn't unique at all. Maybe millions of others were trapped, just like him, in their own personal hells. The realization filled him with dread, a cold, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Even if he managed to break free from this loop, would his suffering truly end? Or would there always be another loop, another layer of torment waiting for him?
The weight of the thought was almost unbearable. His head dropped into his hands as despair threatened to crush him. For a moment, the idea of giving up felt so tempting, so easy. What was the point of fighting if there was no way out? If every victory was just the beginning of another trial, why keep struggling at all? His mind whispered to him, urging him to just stop, to let the loop win. It would be easier, wouldn't it?
But then, in the depths of his hopelessness, a flicker of something else emerged. His parents' faces flashed before his eyes—his mother's warm smile, his father's steady voice. His friends, Alex and the others, still out there, waiting, depending on him. Eli clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. No. He couldn't give up. He wouldn't give up. Not for himself, but for them. For his mom and dad, for Alex, for everyone who still needed him. Even if the loop never ended, even if his suffering never stopped, he couldn't let them down.
"I have to keep going," he muttered under his breath, forcing himself to stand up, his legs shaky but firm beneath him. "For them, I have to move forward." No matter how heavy the burden felt, no matter how much dread filled his heart, Eli knew he had to push on. There was no other choice.
Eli's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the chaotic pieces of the puzzle that had been haunting him. He resolved himself quickly, standing straighter as a new thought surfaced. His attention shifted to the people he had seen leaving the school through the front gate—their casual movements, their unbothered faces. It was strange, he realized, that they could walk away so easily while the loop persisted around him. Why hadn't their actions triggered a restart?
His brow furrowed, his green eyes narrowing as he considered the implications. What does this mean? He pondered the possibilities. Is it because they aren't time loopers? Maybe the loop didn't affect them the way it affected him. Their lives continued naturally, uninterrupted, untill the loop started at 6 PM, while his world was stuck on repeat. Or… is it because what they're doing is part of the natural order of events?
Eli bit his lip as he thought deeper. His own attempts to break free had been anything but natural. He had tried escaping the moment he realized about the loop —during school lunch, and then again right after the loop started. Both times, his actions were irregular, outside the normal flow of time. Maybe that's why the loop kicked in, he mused. His desperate actions had defied the script of the day, forcing the loop to reset. But the people who casually left after school, they were following the expected routine. Could that be the key?
A sudden spark of determination flared inside him. I'll check this out next restart,if I fail this time, he thought, gripping the edge of his desk with renewed resolve.
If it's the former, Eli's heart skipped a beat, then maybe the people who vanished can be brought back. If they were simply somewhere else—outside the loop, in a place he hadn't yet discovered—then there was hope. They're not truly gone. The idea filled him with a cautious sense of hope. If he could figure out how to bring them back, maybe he wasn't fighting a losing battle after all. Maybe there was a way to save everyone
But if it was the latter—if they were simply going about their lives, only to re-enter the loop unknowingly—then the situation became even more complicated. Alex. He clenched his jaw, his thoughts turning to his best friend. Alex was sharp, and if he noticed anything off, he would question everything. He was already suspicious, already probing for the truth Eli was trying so hard to hide.
If Alex finds out about the loop, Eli thought, he could create problems—serious problems other then restarting the loop. He might try to connect the authorities. Which might start the loop again at best. And create many more problems–problems he didn't want to know about.
Although Eli already knew Mia didn't disappear even after knowing the truth he still couldn't be sure. And if Alex disappeared like the others, it would be unbearable. Eli felt a pang in his chest at the thought. He couldn't lose Alex and Leo. Not now, not ever. He had to keep moving, had to stay one step ahead.
Eli glanced up at the clock. Forty minutes left before the loop restarted. The weight of time pressed down on him as he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Okay, I've calmed down enough," he muttered to himself, though his heart still raced beneath the surface.
Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the journal and stared at his own handwriting. For a moment, the world around him seemed to blur as his thoughts began to spiral. His eyes scanned the familiar curves of the letters, but the more he looked, the less familiar they felt. How could something written by him feel so alien?
His heart quickened. He stared at the ink, thick and deliberate, the letters familiar but foreign, like a memory dancing just out of reach. His mind raced, replaying the moment when he had first opened the journal. It had been blank then, hadn't it? Or had he simply overlooked it, too caught up in the excitement of the gift?
If Leo and Mia didn't write this... The thought gnawed at him. It was impossible for anyone else, especially the shopkeeper, to have copied his handwriting so perfectly. It has to be mine. But when did I write this? His memory felt like sand slipping through his fingers. Try as he might, he couldn't remember ever putting pen to paper in this way. His mind raced for an explanation, and only one horrifying conclusion emerged.
His breath hitched. My memory is incomplete. Someone's messed with my memory.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. His hand trembled as he ran his fingers through his hair, tugging slightly at the roots in frustration. His head throbbed as he rubbed his temple, trying to soothe the ache that had suddenly settled there. But the pain wasn't just physical. It was the sinking feeling of mistrust—mistrust in himself, in his own mind. He didn't like this, not one bit. His memory, the very foundation of his reality, was in question. And worse, he couldn't even trust it anymore.
If I can't trust my memory, Eli thought, clenching his eyes shut, how can I trust anything? His mind spiraled further. Am I even me? Or am I just a plaything for some entity? The fear crept deeper into his bones. What if everything happening to him wasn't real? What if it was all some elaborate illusion, carefully constructed to trap him? Maybe... maybe whatever started this loop is right here, disguised as one of my friends.
The implications of this sent a shiver down his spine. If one of his friends was behind all of this, manipulating the loop, then who could he trust? No one. Not even himself. A deep pit of fear and paranoia opened inside him, and for a moment, Eli felt like he was losing his grip on reality.
He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. The thought of becoming a pawn in some larger game, or worse, a victim of a malevolent force beyond his understanding, chilled him to the core. He had told Alex before that they were playing a sick game, but now, staring at his handwriting, Eli was beginning to believe his own lie. Maybe this really is some twisted game, he thought bitterly. And maybe that was why Alex had believed him so easily—because, deep down, even Eli suspected it was true.
But what did that mean? There had to be someone—or something—that could manipulate time. Either they were controlling this loop, creating it for some dark reason, or this loop was just one of many. Why would they do this? Eli wondered. For entertainment? For some twisted sense of power? He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Or maybe, he thought darkly, it wasn't a person at all. Maybe it was some kind of artifact, something ancient and powerful that had been triggered by accident, throwing everything into chaos.
He shook his head, forcing the gnawing uncertainty out of his mind. It didn't matter. Whoever—or whatever—was behind this, the fact remained: Eli would have to end this. He had no choice. He couldn't let himself be a pawn any longer.
Taking another deep breath, Eli forced his thoughts down and looked again at his handwriting. He examined it closely, noticing for the first time that it seemed rushed, almost frantic. He seems to have written this message had done so urgently, like he were running out of time. Just like he was now.
His pulse quickened as he stared at the journal. He knew he had to act fast. The clock was ticking, and whatever truth lay behind this mystery, he had to uncover it before the loop reset. There was no more time for doubt.