Here's a tip: If someone ever tells you, "The only way out is through the sewer," **run in the opposite direction.**
Unless you're me.
In which case you'll say:
> "Oh cool, let's ruin my dignity and sense of smell all at once."
---
The EDU agents were hammering the front hatch with explosives.
Meanwhile, I was being shoved into a grimy tunnel that smelled like expired corned beef, burnt rubber, and deep, emotional regret.
"Go left at the rusted pipe, then follow the current," Edgar shouted over the explosion above us.
"Follow the current?!" I yelled back. "That's not a direction!"
Sir Quackers, riding in Chai's duck-bag like a war veteran, flapped twice. I don't know what it meant. Probably "man up."
Rafe dropped into the sewer behind me, weapon ready. Aira followed, machete out. I was somewhere between survival mode and spiritual collapse.
---
We ran.
Boots splashing through ankle-high sludge, dodging floating trash and the occasional mysterious lump I refused to identify.
"This is disgusting," I panted. "I'm going to need therapy. And new lungs."
Aira glanced at me. "You'd prefer getting rebooted by a virus-obsessed kill squad?"
"I don't know! Maybe! They might have clean socks!"
A loud *boom* echoed from above. Dust rained down. Concrete cracked somewhere behind us.
"Faster," Rafe barked. "We need to reach the access ladder before they send drones."
My foot slipped on something squishy. I screamed. It was a rat.
The rat screamed louder.
We both fell.
Aira yanked me up by the hoodie. "You're the chosen one, Darren. Stop slipping on rodents."
---
We reached a rusted hatch in the ceiling. Rafe spun the wheel, kicked it open, and climbed up into a narrow ventilation shaft.
Sir Quackers flapped up with the grace of a duck who's seen combat.
I pulled myself up after him, arms burning. My brain was melting. My nerves were frayed.
But my **bracelet was glowing again**.
Pulsing. Stronger.
Then my vision flashed—**and I saw myself.**
Not here.
Somewhere else.
A white room. A hospital bed. Tubes in my arm.
Voices.
"Patient 07 is stabilizing. Loop holds."
Another flash.
Me again—but with shorter hair, standing in a lab, staring at a screen.
Then gone.
---
I gasped.
Clung to the wall.
"Darren?" Aira asked, her voice echoing down the shaft.
"I… I saw something."
"Like a zombie?"
"No. Me. Somewhere else. Like... a past life. Or a save file that shouldn't exist."
Rafe narrowed his eyes. "The virus is bleeding your memories through. Sector 12's signal might be triggering them."
"So the closer we get, the more I remember?"
"Or the faster you break," he said.
"Cool," I muttered. "Do I at least get frequent flyer miles for emotional trauma?"
---
We emerged above ground near the ruins of a shopping mall.
Chai was already waiting with a bag of supplies she scavenged from a vending machine.
"I got expired yakisoba, two cans of tuna, and a protein bar from 2018."
"What flavor?" I asked.
She squinted. "Regret."
---
We moved fast through abandoned streets, cutting through alleys and hopping over wrecked cars.
The further we got, the more… wrong things felt.
The air buzzed.
Not like electricity. Like memory static.
My wrist burned.
Every time we passed a dead zone—shadows frozen mid-motion, birds hanging in the air like paused video—I felt another wave of visions.
More flashes.
Another version of me. Sitting across from a scientist. He was saying something I couldn't hear.
Then—
> "Darren, if you remember, **don't trust the reset.**"
---
"STOP," I yelled.
Everyone froze.
"What did you see?" Rafe asked, weapon raised.
I gripped my head. "There was a man. He warned me. Said not to trust the reset."
Aira's eyes widened. "Maybe it's a message from your past loop."
Chai took out her camera. "Okay but real question: if there are multiple Darrens, are any of them hot enough to date me?"
Sir Quackers flapped once like, *focus, woman.*
---
We made it to a cracked highway overpass where the city ended and wilderness began.
Beyond that: Sector 12.
A thin, black tower poked out of the trees like a middle finger to humanity.
We huddled near an abandoned jeep, checking gear, reloading.
"Wait," Aira said, scanning the area. "Something's moving."
We all ducked.
Through a broken fence, five figures emerged.
Not zombies.
But *wrong.*
They stood too straight. Their skin was pale, eyes wide open, twitching slightly like they were buffering.
And then one of them **spoke.**
"Darren must complete the cycle."
We all froze.
Chai whispered, "That zombie just talked."
Rafe cursed. "They're looped. Not fully dead. Not fully alive. Just… programmed."
I stood up slowly.
One of them locked eyes with me.
"Error. Anomaly awake. Correction required."
Then it **charged.**
---
Everything exploded.
Bullets flew. Rafe took out two with perfect headshots. Aira sliced through one with brutal elegance.
I panicked, obviously.
I reached out—and the bracelet **ignited.**
Time didn't slow this time.
It shattered.
Reality cracked like glass, and I stepped between seconds like I was walking through jelly.
I ducked, dodged, moved faster than thought.
Then—
I saw another flash.
A lab.
My own body, dying.
A syringe.
> "This is the last chance. Darren, remember—*don't let them reset you again.*"
Then it was gone.
I stumbled back into normal time.
Three looped infected lay twitching on the ground.
Chai gawked. "You just did anime-level time dodging. Again."
I dropped to my knees, exhausted. "I also peed a little. Don't tell anyone."
Sir Quackers honked. Loudly.
Traitor.
---
Rafe walked over, staring at the bracelet. "It's adapting faster than expected. You're syncing with the entire Eden signal. By the time we reach Sector 12, you might remember… everything."
"I don't know if I want to," I muttered.
"You don't have a choice."
Aira sheathed her blade. "Come on. We're close. The tower's just ahead."
Chai grinned. "Let's go break the loop, glitch boy."
I stood up. Shaking.
Not from fear this time.
But from the feeling that whatever came next… wasn't a continuation.
It was the beginning.