The squad car rolled through the damp streets, the scent of rain still clinging to the air as morning fog curled around the pavement. The city was waking up—storefronts flipping signs from Closed to Open,the remaining kids in backpacks trudging toward school, early commuters yawning through red lights. Drops of water clung stubbornly to windshields and power lines, the asphalt still slick from the downpour.
Inside the car, the mood was… less mundane.
Aiden sat in the passenger seat, gaze fixed out the window, jaw set in quiet thought. The streets blurred past in streaks of gray, broken only by neon reflections in puddles. His mind was caught somewhere between now and then, the weight of everything pressing heavy on his chest.
Garrison drove, fingers tapping absently against the wheel, his own thoughts clearly elsewhere.
Rowan, sitting behind Aiden, slouched against the window, popping another piece of candy into her mouth. The bag in her lap crinkled as she sifted through the last of her supply.
Lila sat beside her, arms folded tight, fingers drumming lightly against her bicep. The tension in her shoulders hadn't eased since they left the arcade.
They should have been strategizing. Going over what they were about to walk into.
Instead—
"So," Garrison suddenly said, breaking the silence. "If you're from another timeline, does that mean there was already another you here?"
Aiden blinked, snapped out of his thoughts. "What?"
"You know," Garrison continued, tone casual, eyes still on the road. "Like, did you come here, kill yourself, and bury the body in the backyard to prevent a paradox?"
The car went dead silent.
Rowan's chewing slowed to a stop.
Lila turned her head in pure, stunned disbelief.
Aiden stared at Garrison.
"What the hell brought that up?" Aiden asked, voice flat.
Garrison shrugged. "I Saw it on TV. It's in all the movies."
Lila rubbed her temples, eyes squeezing shut. "Who—what—why would you even say that?"
Rowan, still chewing, waved vaguely in Garrison's direction. "Yeah, seriously. Are you okay?"
Garrison scoffed. "Oh, come on. It's a valid question! I mean, if I met myself, I'd be curious."
"So you would kill yourself?," Aiden muttered.
Garrison opened his mouth to retort, but Rowan held up a hand. "Nope. We're not doing this."
Aiden exhaled, pressing his fingers against his temples. "Yeah, let's do that. We're almost there."
Lila muttered something under her breath before shaking her head. "Can we please stay focused?"
The windshield wipers flicked once, clearing a thin sheen of water. The air smelled clean, sharp with petrichor, but the city carried its usual undercurrent of asphalt and smog.
Something about the quiet unnerved Aiden.
The streets of Whittier, California were lined with older homes, each one worn with time but holding its own character—weathered porches, peeling paint, chain-link fences rusting along their edges. The occasional stray cat peered at them from a driveway, tail flicking in disinterest.
They passed a row of empty bus stops, their glass walls streaked with condensation. Streetlights flickered and hummed as they shut off for the day, the dull gray of morning creeping over the city.
And then—
A flash of red.
Lila's breath caught.
There, standing by a crosswalk, a child stared back at her.
Small. Hood pulled over their head. Eyes glowing red.
She blinked.
The car moved too fast.
By the time she turned fully in her seat, the child was gone.
She glanced at Rowan. "Did you see—?"
Rowan frowned at her. "See what?"
Lila hesitated, fingers tightening against her jacket sleeve.
"Never mind," she murmured.
The car continued forward.
Aiden didn't notice the exchange. He had dozed off watching the world pass him by, his mind flickering back to the Otherworld—the twisted, fragmented remnants of reality where nothing obeyed the rules.
He swallowed hard, forcing himself back awake and to reality.
Rowan popped another candy in her mouth. "So, what exactly are we expecting to find at Garrison's place?"
Aiden exhaled. "If we are lucky? Clues about this enforcer."
"And if we're not lucky?"
"Then this was a big waste of time."
Rowan clicked her tongue. "Great. Just what we need."
Garrison made a sharp turn. The neighborhood ahead felt different—subtly wrong, like an old song played slightly off-key. The houses sat in neat rows, but the energy in the air was… off.
Lila adjusted her seatbelt. "We don't even know what we're looking for."
"We know Marisol's been pulled into something," Aiden said. "We know she's not safe. And we know Carlos and his people aren't going to stop."
Lila exhaled, shifting in her seat. "And you really think we'll find something in marisol's room instead of fighting these enforcers?"
Aiden didn't answer immediately. His fingers tapped idly against his knee.
"We don't have a choice," he finally said.
Garrison's hands tightened on the wheel. He hadn't spoken much since his joke earlier, but now his jaw was clenched, his knuckles pale.
He made another turn.
And then—
They saw it.
Garrison's house.
The car slowed to a stop.
The last time they were here, it had been chaos.
Now?
It was too still.
The windows were boarded up, fresh nails still glinting in the gray morning light.
But it wasn't just the repairs that unsettled Aiden.
It was the feeling.
Like something had been here since they left.
A feeling that left the hair on your arms stand end to end.
The mist had thickened to a stream of rain, blurring the edges of the world.
Aiden inhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders. "Alright. Let's get this over with."
Rowan pulled the last piece of candy from her bag and popped it into her mouth before crumpling the wrapper. "How could this possibly go wrong lol!"
Garrison's lips twitched. "Stop, we will be fine."
They stepped out of the car.
The air felt thicker outside, the scent of damp wood and smog clinging to everything.
Lila hesitated near the curb, rubbing her arms as she stared up at the house.
Rowan flicked a glance toward her. "You good?"
Lila's gaze lingered. "...Yeah."
Aiden caught the way she was gripping her sleeve again.
He gently began to pull her forward by the sleeve of her jacket.
A single crow perched on a nearby telephone pole, watching them in eerie silence.
Garrison exhaled and gestured toward the front door. "Shall we?"
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Aiden's stomach twisted.
Because deep down—
He knew.
Something was waiting for them inside.