Time Looped

“Hey,” Will said as he entered the classroom.

The stench was as terrible as ever, but at this point, he barely even noticed it. What was more troubling was that both of them had been beaten, by another member of eternity, even after loops of planning and preparation. The boy had no illusions that their plan was good. Quite the opposite, it had been a bundle of chaos wrapped in cellophane. However, that wasn’t the point. The goal wasn’t to be elegant or efficient, just to check the last possible place the counselor kept Daniel’s session notes.

“At least we now know,” the boy said, as he joined in opening the windows as he did the start of every loop. “The only reason you didn’t find the file till now was because they’ve been snatching it.”

In Will’s mind, that probably sounded supportive. In reality, it only added insult to injury. Helen had been at this for over a hundred loops and each time she failed to find the notes, she believed there was something she missed. Instead, there had been someone working against her the entire time.

“Who do you think it is?” Will asked. That was the big question, along with the person’s reluctance to get involved.

“Might be more than one,” the girl said. “Daniel said there were four class mirrors at school. I know about the third one.”

The thought caused mixed reactions to flicker through the boy’s mind. When it had initially happened, he was glad that there was someone who had actually cared about him. Now, he was more than certain that she was taking advantage of the situation to get access to the nurse’s mirror. To make matters worse, it was all but certain she knew he was looped by then.

“Think it could be the nurse?” he continued the train of thought.

“No. I tested that already.” Helen shook her head. “She’s just someone who cares.”

“It’s no one from the football team. I’ve been beating them up for several loops and none of them have caught on. Who else is there?”

“No one.” The girl went back to her seat.

At this time, the rest of the class started to appear. Soon it would be pretty full as the standard flow of events took over. Will was left with a decision to make. He could either continue with his standard loop as normal, not beating up the jocks for a change, or he could have the conversation, causing the loop to restart at eight o’clock.

“What do you mean, no one?” he asked, making his decision.

Helen looked at him as if he had spilled food all over the floor. Minuscule frowns appeared in the corners of her eyes. Whispers had already started discussing his chances and the prospects of Miss Perfect hooking up with one of the weirdos.

“There’s no one there,” the girl continued, apparently choosing to forsake her loop as well. “I tried rushing, waiting, watching. For a while, I thought it was you. But when I got there, the class was already taken.”

Will nodded. He had thought the same thing.

The whispers got louder as more people came in. Even Alex, who was usually annoying, only gave Will the thumbs up sign. No doubt by the time the goofball got to his seat, he’d have posted the rumor on every social platform he had access to.

“How’s that possible?”

“How’s it possible for someone to take the file?” the girl countered.

The whispers grew in scope and confusion. The fact that Helen was talking to an unlikely potential romantic interest could be understood. The conversation, on the other hand, couldn’t. Speculation ran rampant, with many coming to the obvious conclusion that the two were just discussing some computer game. That made sense in every aspect: the illogical events had to be part of some game task or quest, and furthermore, that would explain why Helen would give him the time of day.

“What game are you talking about?” A nosy girl of their class joined in. “Anything good?”

The girl had been Helen’s friend from middle school, and was more likely to butt in than anyone else. Will remembered her reactions in several loops, not to mention all the times before it all started. He wasn’t particularly close to her. In fact, he was almost sure they’d never exchanged a word. Her openly asking like that was a way to test the waters; it was also his cue to get to his desk. There were only a few minutes left till the end of the loop, and it didn’t seem like he’d learn anything further.

“Brooo,” Alex whispered the moment his friend returned to his seat. “Wild rizz! For real!”

“Nothing’s going on,” the boy said, leaning back, only then noticing that he had gone to his old desk instead of Danny’s. That was weird considering he’d been doing the opposite in the last several dozen loops. Still, it wasn’t like it mattered.

“Press F to doubt.” The goofball grinned. “Very sus denying it.”

“Whatever.” Will wasn’t in the mood for arguing.

“Bro, that’s giga! Miss Perfect has shattered egos for less.”

The boy was just thinking of the best way to respond when Jace and the jocks entered the room in their usual way. Never had he thought that he’d be thankful for them to get him out of an annoying situation. The only downside was that with him at his usual desk, they’d try to make a fuss.

“Catch you after class.” Alex started to leave. Hardly had he made one step than Will put a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to be afraid of them, you know,” he said loudly. “Isn’t that right, Jace?”

“You want to tell me something, Stoner?” The other glared, blood and hatred rushing into his face, distorting it in real time.

“Just that it’ll be a shame to mess up your chances at the game. If you want to fight, we’ll fight, but coach will be angry.”

“Careful or you’ll get messed up…” the jock thought for a few moments, “…worse than a Picasso.”

It must have taken him weeks to come up with that comparison. Will was almost impressed at the attempt at cleverness to the point he was willing to extend the loop just to have some laughs.

“Don’t cause problems in class,” Helen said in a sharp tone.

To everyone, it was looking as if she was talking to the jock. However, in truth, she was addressing Will. With her loop lasting longer, she didn’t have to be left to deal with a crappy day because of him.

The warning was acknowledged by both. In his mind, Will thought that Jace had gotten off lightly. Since there was less than a minute left in class, he might as well endure it.

“You’re lucky, Stoner,” the jock said. “After class.”

“I’m game if you are.”

“You too, muffin boy.” He pointed at Alex. “Be there!”

That was an unwanted complication. Hopefully, Alex would be just as good at getting out of trouble as getting into it. Nonetheless, Will felt guilty. This had happened all because of him.

“I’ll come with you,” he told his friend.

“Nah, it’s fine, bro. I have rizz,” he put up a fake front. “Catch you after class.”

Crap. Will thought.

It was such an inconsequential event, but it managed to ruin his mood. No one was particularly bothered by Alex. He was the quirky goofball that never took anything seriously, but didn’t cause any trouble either. Outside of school, no one knew much about him. He rarely talked about his life and went to parties even less.

Just like a mascot, the boy thought. Like a muffin mascot…

A sudden cold chill passed through Will as a realization struck him. There was one thing that didn’t make sense. So far, he had been dealing with bigger issues to notice.

“You!” he stood up.

Every morning at the start of the loop, Alex had offered Will to buy a muffin, and yet not once had he actually brought one.

Restarting eternity.

The boy briskly turned around. Everything was as it should have been. The usual pair of girls passed by making their usually snide comment. Parents brought their children to school, often honking as one normally would. Only Alex wasn’t there.

Will waited. Seconds passed, and still the familiar encounter never took place.

“Shit!” he turned around and rushed into the school.

Ignoring everyone in the hallway, he sprinted to the bathroom and tapped the second mirror. His adrenalin spiked as he half expected to read that Alex had stolen the rogue class. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. The usual message was there, granting him the abilities that he wished to have.

Thank goodness. Will relaxed. That was one less issue he had to deal with. Sadly, the main issue remained. Without a moment to waste, he rushed to class.

“It’s Alex,” he said, ignoring the stench altogether. “He’s looped.”

“Alex?” Helen looked at him.

“Every loop he was in front of school, except this time.”

“Alex?” she repeated, her mind still rebelling with the notion. He hadn’t shown any of the signs a looped would. Not only that, but he had consistently repeated the same actions over and over again.

“Do you have your knight?”

“Yeah, but. Are you sure? Alex just…”

“He wasn’t where he was supposed to be at the start of the loop.”

“That’s no guarantee. It could—”

A pair of arrows flew through the window, piercing Helen’s shoulder. Immediately, Will rushed to her, pulling her down beneath the window. Another pair of arrows followed. Before he could even say a word, all four arrows lost color, then vanished altogether as if they had melted.

“Stay down!” the girl whispered, giving no indication she was hurt. If it wasn’t for the blood, one might almost believe that the bowman had missed. “I’m fine,” she said, seeing Will’s expression. “The knight lets me deal with pain. Worry about yourself.”

The boy stood up slightly to try and see the person attacking them. No sooner had he done so that an arrow flew his way. Aimed at the forehead.

Will’s reaction was instinctive, causing him to twist back and grab the arrow mid-flight. The rogue’s reflexes had saved him again.

“That’s the archer,” Helen said. “It was like this a few loops after he appeared.”

“He’s done that before?”

“Daniel speculated that he’s been looped for so long that he doesn’t consider people to be people. Even looped. I was surprised he ever agreed to anything.” She took her phone, then slowly raised it up in front of the window. An arrow shattered it. “He never misses. That’s why I hoped he’d never get back.”

“Do you think he’s Alex?”

“No. Even if he’s looped, he can’t be the archer. The archer killed him a few times.”

Three more arrows entered the room, each shattering a different window. The archer was clearly demonstrating that they couldn’t hide from him even if they tried. Several more arrows hit the door just beneath the handle, cutting off their only means of escape.

“What does he want?”

“We never found out. Daniel had a theory, but refused to tell me…” there was a pause. “He must know that Daniel is dead.”

It was difficult not to. With the news all over social media, everyone in town and beyond probably knew. Still, it did raise an interesting point.

“What was the deal between Danny and the archer?” he asked. The arrow he was holding lost substance, disappearing like all the rest.

“I don’t know. He must have had something because the attacks stopped.”

“Didn’t you try to find out?”

“Daniel told me not to. I still tried, but… the knight is the worst match against the archer. He can take me out before I even get to see him. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

That was right. Ranged fighters probably had an advantage against melee units. However, Will was a rogue, just as Danny had been. It was already established that he had no chance in a direct fight against Helen, just as she was powerless against the archer. Could it be that rogue skills were the perfect counter to the archer? Will had the opportunity to find out.