A dull knock echoed through the apartment, pulling Martin from the thin, dreamless sleep that had finally claimed him. His eyes cracked open, heavy with exhaustion, the events of the night before still weighing on him. The sunlight filtering through the blinds did nothing to dispel the unease knotted in his chest. Another knock, this time more insistent, dragged him fully awake.
He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes, every muscle protesting the movement. Whoever it was, he wasn't ready for company—not after the chime that had echoed through his mind at midnight, the cold reminder of the world he now knew existed beneath the surface. His thoughts swirled sluggishly as he forced himself to stand.
A third knock. "Hold on," Martin muttered under his breath, shuffling toward the door. When he cracked it open, he was greeted by Reggie's familiar face, eyebrows raised in mild concern.
"Dude, you alive in there?" Reggie quipped, though the lightness in his tone didn't quite mask the underlying worry. "Heard you were at the hospital yesterday? You haven't been answering your phone."
Martin opened the door wider, sighing as he stepped aside to let Reggie in. "Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled, though the lethargy in his voice betrayed him. He wasn't fine—hadn't been since that panic attack. "Just… wasn't feeling well."
Reggie took a quick glance around the cluttered apartment, stepping over discarded clothes and empty takeout containers before settling himself on the couch. "Looks like it." His tone was more serious now, his eyes scanning Martin as though trying to gauge just how bad things were.
Martin closed the door behind him and joined Reggie in the living room, sinking into the couch without a word. He stared at the TV, though he barely registered what was on. The news played in the background, some segment about politics or the economy. Nothing that mattered.
For a while, they sat in silence, the low murmur of the news filling the space between them. Martin's mind wandered, his thoughts drifting back to the supernatural encounter, to the chime, to the weight of the secret he was carrying. He could feel Reggie's presence beside him, a steady, grounding force, but it did little to ease the tension coiling in his chest.
"Rough night?" Reggie finally asked, his voice casual, though there was a thread of concern woven into the question.
"Yeah," Martin replied softly, keeping his gaze on the screen. He wasn't ready to explain—how could he, when he barely understood it himself? "Didn't sleep much."
Reggie nodded, and they lapsed back into silence. The news anchor droned on, but neither of them seemed to care. Every now and then, Reggie would make a half-hearted comment about some headline, trying to break the tension, but Martin's responses were clipped, distracted.
Eventually, Reggie turned toward him, his expression more serious now. "So, what's your plan, man? You can't keep burning yourself out like this. You've been in that dead-end job for years. Ever thought about… moving on?"
The question hung in the air, heavier than anything they'd said so far.
Martin's eyes flickered away from the screen, settling on the coffee table littered with empty cups and unopened mail. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling the weight of the question pressing down on him. "I don't know," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I've been thinking about it, but…"
But now there's this.
He didn't finish the thought, but the unspoken words lingered between them. How could he focus on finding a new job when his world had just been turned upside down? When he had seen something that shouldn't exist, that he still didn't fully understand?
Reggie watched him for a moment, his expression unreadable, before leaning back against the couch. "You should do something," he said quietly. "Can't keep drifting like this. You've got too much potential to be stuck where you are."
Martin wanted to laugh at that—potential. It seemed like such a foreign concept now. He couldn't even get through a single day without feeling like his mind was unraveling. But he nodded anyway, grateful for Reggie's concern, even if he couldn't fully process it.
"I'll figure it out," he said, though the words felt hollow. The truth was, he didn't have a plan. Not anymore.
They fell into silence again, the news fading into the background as Martin's thoughts drifted back to the chime, to the supernatural world he was now a part of—whether he wanted to be or not. He glanced at Reggie out of the corner of his eye, wondering if his friend would ever believe him if he knew the truth.
For now, though, it was a secret he'd keep to himself.
The silence between Martin and Reggie stretched on as the minutes ticked by. Martin's gaze drifted toward the clock on the wall, his pulse quickening as he noticed the time creeping closer to noon.
Yesterday, he thought, his mind replaying the events of the night before—the panic attack, the midnight chime. He had no real evidence that anything significant would happen again, but something about the approach of noon stirred an anxious curiosity within him.
"I'm going to run downstairs and grab something," Martin said abruptly, breaking the silence as he rose from the couch. His movements were sluggish, lethargy still clinging to him from the restless night, but there was a quiet determination in the way he moved now.
Reggie raised an eyebrow, glancing at him. "Now? You good, man?"
"Yeah, just need to clear my head," Martin replied, forcing a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll pick up some eggs and vegetables. Figure I should make something to eat when I get back."
Reggie gave a half-hearted shrug. "Sure, take your time."
Martin grabbed his wallet and phone, then made his way out of the apartment, his heart pounding slightly faster with every step. The air outside felt thick, like the world itself was holding its breath, waiting. He made his way down the street toward the small grocery store he frequented, his thoughts a jumble of fragmented plans and half-formed theories. Take it one step at a time, he reminded himself. He had to test this—had to see if noon would bring anything strange.
The automatic doors slid open as Martin entered the store. The faint hum of fluorescent lights and the soft rustle of people going about their business filled the air, a stark contrast to the tension buzzing under his skin. He headed straight for the back, picking out a carton of eggs and a few vegetables, his eyes darting to the clock near the checkout.
11:57 AM.
His hands were steady, though his mind raced, calculating the time down to the second. The store was quiet—peaceful, even—but Martin couldn't shake the feeling that something was lurking just beneath the surface of this mundane routine. He approached the cashier, placing his items on the counter with a steady hand, though his pulse quickened with each passing second.
"Is that all for you today?" the cashier asked, smiling politely.
Martin nodded, his eyes flicking to the clock again.
11:59.
The cashier scanned the items slowly, her movements almost painfully deliberate. Martin's heart thudded in his chest as she placed the eggs in a bag, her fingers brushing against the vegetables.
One step at a time, he thought again, but the tension in his body was mounting.
"That'll be $8.75," she said, and at that exact moment, the clock hit 12:00.
Martin froze, his hand hovering over his wallet, waiting—expecting something. The air around him seemed to thicken, the buzz of the store fading into the background. The world tilted, just for a split second, and then—
A faint chime rang in his mind, not loud, but unmistakable. It reverberated through him, a sound that wasn't really a sound, a feeling more than anything else. Martin's breath caught, his eyes widening slightly as the chime faded, leaving behind a strange, almost electric stillness.
He glanced around, but no one else seemed to notice anything. The cashier stood there, expectant, waiting for him to pay as though nothing unusual had just happened.
As Martin stared into the blank space before him, the familiar golden lines twisted and took form, starting a countdown from 00:59, just like yesterday.
At this moment, Martin confirmed one of his suspicions, but the test wasn't over yet.
Martin quickly fumbled for his wallet, his fingers trembling slightly as he handed over the cash. The cashier smiled, oblivious to the internal chaos raging inside him. "Have a nice day," she said cheerfully, her voice cutting through the tension in his head like a knife.
As expected, the moment the transaction was completed, the chime sounded again and the countdown stopped – golden lines twisting into a line of words once more.
[You spent $8 and triggered a 123x rebate!]
[Reward 1: $984!]
[Reward 2: A 3-star restaurant coupon!]
This time, Martin ignored the rewards altogether, wanting to test whether he could still choose his reward after a minute had passed.
His attention back to the nice cashier, he nodded stiffly, grabbing the bag and hurrying out of the store, his mind buzzing with a thousand thoughts.