Saying so, she looked straight into my eyes.
"WAKE UP ALREADY, ADRIAN. WE BROKE UP. WE ARE NOT TOGETHER ANYMORE."
Her voice was sharp, almost desperate, like she was trying to cut through something thicker than the chaos around us.
For a moment, the world seemed to slow.
The hallway was a blur of movement — giant rats clawing across the floor, Mike shouting somewhere behind us, feathers drifting through the air like broken snow.
But her words reached me clearly... Too clearly.
I closed my eyes.
Yes… part of the reason I had been trying so hard to save her was because I still loved her.
That much I couldn't deny.
Even after the breakup. Even after everything that went wrong between us. Even after hearing her say those words again.
But that wasn't the only reason. The truth was far simpler and far more pathetic.
I knew the future.
I knew the monsters.
I knew how people died in this building.
But no matter how many times I replayed the events in my head, there was one thing I couldn't change.
Sarah always died before me.
Every single time.
In the first cycle, she died to the dog.
In the second cycle, she died protecting me from the cat.
And now, in this third one… she was still here, still fighting beside me even after everything between us had ended.
Which meant something.
Not love.
Not destiny.
Just… humanity.
"Or maybe you just want to prove you are better than her." A distant voice said in my head.
No... Even if we weren't together anymore, even if she didn't want me the way I wanted her — she didn't deserve to die alone in a hallway full of monsters.
"Can be but," it murmured again, softer this time, " it might also be possible that you just couldn't stand the thought that she might survive without you."
My hands slowly tightened into fists.
No... She died because of me and I didn't want to watch it happen again. So instead of running… I stopped.
If the cycle had to end again, then at least we would end it together. Yes, this is the real reason.
"Yes," the voice inside me whispered approvingly, "that's the real reason."
The first rat lunged at me before I even opened my eyes again.
Its weight slammed into my chest and knocked me to the floor. The air rushed out of my lungs as its claws dug into my shoulders.
More bodies piled on immediately.
Sharp teeth tore through my sleeve, then skin.
The pain came all at once — raw and blinding — like being dragged through broken glass.
Somewhere beside me, Sarah screamed.
It wasn't a small cry of fear.
It was a full, tearing scream of agony.
I forced my eyes open just enough to see her.
She was on her knees, wings spread desperately as three of the oversized rats clung to them. One had latched onto her shoulder, its teeth buried deep while she tried to pry it off with shaking hands.
Feathers filled the air.
White against red emergency lights.
"Adrian—!" she cried out, though whether it was for help or just my name, I couldn't tell.
Mike was still fighting somewhere behind us. I heard the crunch of his claws smashing into bone, followed by another swarm of squealing rats overwhelming him.
But the sounds were fading quickly.
My body was already going numb.
Another rat climbed onto my chest and forced me flat against the floor. Its breath was hot and foul as it sank its teeth into my side.
Something tore.
The pain was so sharp it almost felt distant.
Sarah's scream cut through the hallway again and then suddenly stopped.
I didn't need to look to know what that meant.
The last thing I heard was the wet tearing sound of fabric and flesh.
Something heavy pinned my arms down as another jaw clamped around my throat.
For a moment, everything hurt.
Then nothing did.
Darkness swallowed the hallway, the screams, the blood, the monsters.
And just like that—
The third cycle ended.
"Better luck next time."
.
.
.
I woke up with a violent gasp as my body suddenly jerked upright. It was just so sudden that the bedsheet slid off my chest and crumpled onto the floor.
For a few seconds I could only sit there, hunched forward, dragging in air like my lungs had forgotten how breathing worked.
My heart was racing far too fast and was loud enough for me to hear.
The room slowly came into focus around me. The soft morning light pushing through the curtains. The familiar ceiling fan spinning lazily above my head. The faint ticking of the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table.
Everything looked painfully normal... Too normal as if nothing has happened but my hands were shaking from what I just experienced.
Something was still clenched tightly in my right hand, the edges pressing into my palm as slowly... Almost reluctantly, I lowered my gaze.
The same dairy.
The same cheap paperback I had been holding every time the world reset. The very reason I have been going through this cycle of non stop death was in my hands again with the corner of the page still folded.
My fingers tightened around it instinctively.
For a long moment, I just stared at the still fresh memories replayed in my mind.
The hallway filled with oversized rats. Their bodies swarming over the floor like a living wave. The weight of them crashing into me and knocking me down.
Sarah screaming as they tore into her wings.
Feathers scattering through the air under the red emergency lights.
Mike fighting somewhere behind us, his claws smashing into bone before the swarm buried him completely.
The sound of flesh tearing and he pressure on my throat when something pinned me down.
My breathing started to shake again. "No…" I whispered weakly as my hand loosened, and the book slipped from my fingers. It fell onto the bed beside me with a soft thud.
Three times.
I had died three times.
Three different endings.
Three different monsters.
And every single time it ended with blood and screaming.
My hands slowly rose to my face as I pressed my palms against my eyes. I could still hear Sarah's voice in my head — not from the hallway, but from the moment just before everything fell apart.
Wake up already, Adrian. We broke up. We're not together anymore.
My chest tightened painfully.
Even after saying that… she had still tried to fight beside me... She did, right?
Even after everything between us had ended.
And I still couldn't save her.
A quiet laugh escaped my mouth before I realized it. It sounded hollow and strained, like something cracked deep inside my chest.
Three chances.
Three failures.
And now— Now I was back here again.
I swung my legs off the bed and stood up too quickly. The sudden movement made my head spin, but I didn't care. My breathing had already turned uneven again, the air feeling heavy in my lungs.
"I can't…" I muttered to myself.
My eyes drifted toward the clock.
6:12 AM.
The same time as before.
That meant everything will unfold as it is. Mike would be waiting in the cafeteria soon.
He would say that same stupid line.
Sarah would walk in with her blue folder.
The speakers would crackle.
The screens would turn blue.
And the apocalypse would begin again.
A sudden wave of panic tightened around my chest.
I grabbed the nearest jacket without thinking and rushed out of my room. My footsteps echoed down the hallway of the apartment as I shoved the front door open and stepped outside.
The cold morning air hit my face.
I kept moving.
Down the street.
Past parked cars.
Past people heading toward their own normal mornings.
I didn't stop until the buildings around me changed into a small public park a few blocks away. My legs felt weak by then, and the first empty bench I saw might as well have been a lifeline.
I dropped onto it heavily.
For a while I just sat there, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, staring at the ground beneath my shoes.
My breathing slowly steadied.
But my thoughts didn't.
The rats.
The dog.
The cat.
Each cycle had gotten worse.
Each attempt to change things had failed.
A bitter thought slipped quietly through my mind.
Maybe I wasn't meant to survive.
Maybe the cycle wasn't giving me chances.
Maybe it was just making me watch.
My hands slowly curled into fists as I stared at the pavement.
Somewhere in the distance, a car passed by. A bird landed on a nearby branch. Someone jogged past the park entrance wearing headphones, completely unaware that the world would end in less than an hour.
A highschool girl playing with a group of puppies in the distance, probably an everyday routine from how close they all appear.
Everything felt so normal.
Too normal.
I leaned back against the bench and looked up at the clear morning sky.
For the first time since the loops began, I wasn't planning my next move.
I wasn't thinking about monsters.
I wasn't trying to save anyone.
I just sat there.
Because deep down, one thought kept repeating in my head... "Just why me?"