The Loop

Chapter 2: The Confusion.

He'd nearly gone deaf from the alarm. So out of spite, he crushed it with a slam of his fist. The sheer force was transferred to the nightstand as well as it too was turned into but a million pieces of wood splinters.

He napped, maybe 5 - 6 times before evening even came. He'd never been so relieved to see the day ending. His body was weak, quivering from the lack of nourishments, he rubbed his eyes and sighed when he noticed the time on the wall clock. It's only 7pm.

He'd gotten more than enough rest for the rest of the weeks. He also hadn't seen the outside world for over 30+ hours. Do those even count though? Physically, he hadn't undergone any of the otaku basic training regime whatsoever. But mentally...

He shuddered at the prospect of doing that again. He might be lazy, but even he has his limits.

When it was nearing the 12th hour, he kept his eyes glued to it. From 11:58, he wouldn't even blink to make sure that he saw everything happen. The seconds passed by very slowly. 10 seconds felt like hours. And a minute felt like eternity.

His mind was ready from all directions. If he can feel it just briefly, maybe he could memorize its pattern and learn how it works. And then, maybe then, he could manipulate it and get out of this loop.

By 11:59:54. His body is stiff as a rock.

By 11:59:57. He turns cold.

By 11:59:59. He couldn't breathe.

And by 12:00:00. He didn't think of anything.

...

12:00:01.

^8^

The blaring sound of the alarm clock echoed through the room. With a massive inhale of air, his right hand clutching his chest. His mind is empty, and all he hears is the, oh so familiar ringing alarm.

His head subconsciously craned over to the alarm and he stared at it incredulously. He'd never felt more hate towards anything than this electronic device.

Similar to the last one, he crushed it with his hands. He didn't even peek at his phone to know what day or time it was before immediately heading out.

When the lights of early morning hours reach his eyes, he'd never more appreciated no longer being inside of those confinements. Though he was deeply irritated when it even slightly blinds him, it still feels good to be outside of those bars. Freedom was something that he would never trade for anything. Not even for power.

The smell of morning air combined with the more-horrible-than-usual smells of district 19 had always been his favourite, second only coffee, of course. He turned and walked, reaching the stairways and- oh, yeah. He'd forgotten about them. That's probably where the horrid smell came from.

Just like everything, they were the same as they were everyday. He wondered, what would their perspective look like compared to his? To Accelerator, he'd basically lived through the same days over for 5 days straight now. But what about them? Better yet, what about other people? Was he alone in this?

"Doesn't matter." It's every man for themselves when it comes to these kinds of situations. He can't help but be wary of others whenever his freedom is at stake.

He walked down the stairs and moved past the barely alive bodies. The feeling of deja vu when something tries to grab his ankles has his eyes twitching.

As he enters the alley and wanders throughout the maze, he begins formulating a plan. Taking his earlier thoughts as a reference. Was there anybody here that was stuck as well? The possibility is very high. Most likely the other Level 5s. If the Level 5s were involved, then the city is definitely the cause of it.