Adam's mind struggled to connect the memory of his own death with the reality of sitting in his teacher's office. He was breathing. He was unharmed.
The open sky and the man's hands on his throat felt more real than the quiet cubicle around him.
He grabbed his head with both hands.
A wave of vertigo washed over him so intense that the room seemed to tilt on its axis. The world felt unstable a flimsy film stretched over a violent and repeating truth.
Seeing this Mr. James stood up from his desk. His expression was filled with genuine alarm.
He walked around the desk his chair scraping against the floor. He placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Adam are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out."
The touch made Adam flinch violently. He recoiled as if burned. He looked up at his teacher.
For a moment he saw not a concerned educator but another potential threat another face in a crowd that wanted him dead. He had to get away. He had to think.
"Teacher," he said forcing the words out through a tight throat. "I think… I don't feel well. I'm going to the nurse's office."
James's concern appeared genuine. The worry in his eyes looked real. "Of course. That's a good idea. Go get some rest. I'll let the nurse know you're on your way."
Adam stood up on shaky legs and walked out of the cubicle. He left James watching him go with a worried frown.
Once he was out in the hallway his thoughts began to spiral. He leaned against the cool wall trying to catch his breath. His mind raced putting the pieces together.
If I go out the front gate the police kill me. They are waiting in their black car. That is the first death.
If I go out the back gate thugs with a bounty kill me. They are waiting in their white van. That is the second death.
Why? Why are all these people after my life? What did I do?
He didn't have an answer. The truth about his parents felt impossibly distant a mystery he might never solve. Right now survival was the only thing that mattered.
Finding the truth was pointless if he was dead. He had died twice. He was not going to let it happen a third time. He had a safe point a checkpoint in his teacher's office. He had to use this knowledge.
He had to change the pattern.
With that single clear objective he walked to the nurse's office.
The nurse was not there. A small sign on her door said she was out for the afternoon. It was perfect. He went inside and lay down on one of the empty beds pulling the thin curtain around it.
He was hidden.
A short while later the school bell rang its shrill cry announcing the end of classes. The sounds of students shouting and laughing filled the hallways.
Lockers slammed shut. Footsteps thundered down the stairs. The noise gradually faded away as they left the building. Adam remained on the bed still and silent listening.
He tracked the passage of time by the decreasing noise from outside.
He heard the last of the club members leave. He heard the janitor's cart rolling down the hall. Finally the school fell into a deep and profound silence.
He finally sat up. The building was empty. The immediate threat was gone.
He quietly left the nurse's office and walked through the now eerie hallways to his empty classroom.
He got his bag. As he slung it over his shoulder he stood in the deserted hallway contemplating his next move.
He had survived the school day. But how was he supposed to get home? He couldn't stay here forever.
Just as he was about to move a figure appeared at the far end of the hall. It was his math and homeroom teacher Mr. James. Adam froze his heart leaping into his throat.
"Adam?" James called out his voice echoing slightly in the empty space. "I thought you'd gone home. You haven't gone home yet?"
Seeing him Adam felt a sudden flicker of hope. James was a teacher. An adult. He had seemed so concerned.
Out of everyone he had interacted with today James was the only one who showed him any kindness.
He might be the one person he could trust. The desperation was a powerful force pushing him to take the risk.
"Teacher," Adam said walking towards him. His footsteps sounded loud on the polished floor. "Can I talk to you about something? It's important."
James stopped his expression curious. He had his car keys in his hand. "Yes of course. What is it?"
Adam took a deep breath. It felt like a plunge into deep water. "Teacher… there are people trying to kill me. I'm not crazy. There are men waiting outside both gates. Can you… can you get me out of the school? With you?"
The teacher's eyes widened in shock. It was a convincing performance. He stepped closer to Adam his voice dropping to a concerned whisper. "What are you talking about Adam? That's a very serious accusation. Have you told the police?"
Adam shook his head vehemently. The memory of the metal rod was fresh in his mind. "No. I don't trust them. I can't trust them."
James looked at Adam's distraught face. He saw the genuine fear in the boy's eyes. He nodded slowly as if making a serious decision. He placed a firm reassuring hand on Adam's shoulder.
"Okay. Okay calm down. Don't worry," he said softly. "I believe you. I'll get you out of here safely."
Adam felt a massive weight lift from his chest. Relief flooded him so completely it almost brought him to his knees. "Thank you teacher. Thank you."
Together they walked through the empty school. The silence no longer felt eerie. It felt peaceful. They went down to the faculty parking lot. The sun was low in the sky casting long shadows across the asphalt.
They stopped beside James's ordinary-looking sedan. He unlocked the doors and they both got in—James in the driver's seat Adam in the passenger seat.
James started the engine and began driving towards the school exit. Within minutes they were on the main road having left the school grounds without incident. Adam had done it.
He was safe.
James glanced over at Adam. "Adam I think you need to move on from this. All this stress isn't good for you. Forget all these things and look toward the future."
The comment though likely meant to be comforting made Adam want to scream. Forget? How can I forget being murdered twice? He looked at his teacher the one person who had shown him kindness the one person who had helped him.
He made a decision. He had to tell him the whole truth. He had to make someone understand what was happening to him.
"Teacher," Adam began turning in his seat his voice earnest. "The things I said… they're real. It's more than just people trying to kill me. I've already died. Twice. I know what's going to happen—"
He never finished the sentence.
From the back seat a thin wire shot forward. It looped perfectly around his neck. It was pulled taut instantly biting deep into his skin and yanking him back hard against the headrest with incredible force.
[AMBUSH DETECTED. UNKNOWN ASSAILANT.]
Air was cut off immediately. A strangled gasp was all he could manage.
His hands flew to his throat his fingers scrabbling desperately to get under the wire to create even a sliver of space to breathe.
But just as his nails made contact with the cold thin metal another pair of hands shot out and grabbed his wrists.
It was James.
His teacher held his hands in an iron grip. He pinned them down preventing him from pulling the wire away. Adam's eyes widened in horror and absolute disbelief fixed on the man beside him.
As his vision began to tunnel and his lungs burned he watched James's face.
The teacher was trying to maintain a neutral expression trying to look away but he couldn't hide the tension in his jaw or the sweat on his forehead.
"Adam," James said his voice strained quiet and pathetic. "It's a 100-million-dollar bounty. I'm sorry. I really am. But with this money I won't have to work another day in my life. I can be free."
The words were a death sentence. The betrayal was absolute more painful than the wire itself.
Adam's struggles grew weaker his body convulsing as his brain starved for oxygen. He stared into his teacher's eyes as the world faded to black for the third time.
He was dead.
[HOST DIED.]
[CAUSE OF DEATH: STRANGULATION BY TRUSTED PARTY.]
[BOUNTY CONFIRMED: 100,000,000.]
[SEARCHING FOR REVIVAL CHECKPOINT...]
[CHECKPOINT FOUND.]
[REVIVING HOST...]
A sequence of blue prompts flashed one after another in the darkness.
Then light flooded his vision. The choking sensation was gone. The car the wire the betrayal—all of it vanished.
He was standing. The air smelled of chalk dust and old paper. In front of him sitting in a cubicle behind a cluttered desk was James.
He was back in the teacher's office right where the loop always began.
His trusted teacher.
His murderer.