Time Loop

Day 1

John couldn't watch the video anymore as coldness claimed his bones. It had been a few weeks since it had happened so John had thought that the rumors had finally died and that he could finally fall into the background in peace. He didn't want to be noticed at school or anywhere in town when his father was the town drunk and John was seen to be following in his old man's footsteps. John decided to miss the rest of school to avoid the inevitable torment that would happen. He walked off campus quickly before any of the teachers could see him.

He stomped his way through the wide woods that stood tall around the town he lived in. The town wasn't small, but it was secluded despite its size. He had thought it was strange when they had first moved to the town, for the woods to be so thick and mysterious. His mother had warned him many times from going into the woods because there were monsters hidden in the depths of it. Of course John ignored her warnings and trudged into the woods when he had the chance. He took advantage of the lack of parental activity in his life to discover the mysteries that evaded him and still do.

John had long since mapped out the woods in his head and where he kept his secret stash of alcohol that he stole from his father. It was for days that became especially hard. Today felt like he would need a drink before he could go back to his everyday life.

It was not John's ideal situation, becoming so similar to his father. John felt he was caught on a one way track of following in his father's footsteps.

Suddenly there was the sound of a stick cracking behind him. He spun around in time to see a blur of blue and pink hair hide behind a tree. It stood out among the dark shades of brown and green until it disappeared.

He called out loudly to whomever had followed him, "I already saw you. Come out."

His voice was thick in his throat as he choked down the many emotions that were trying to suffocate him. He couldn't hear the other person who had followed him all this way through the woods. Their breathing was too quiet and he couldn't see past the trees to where he was certain that they stood. John refused to look behind himself to give away his stash.

"Who's there?" John called out, wondering if he had actually seen someone following him. The breaking sound of a stick could have been just an animal. He wasn't in the right frame of mind at the moment though.

He quickly made his way to his stash and grabbed a bottle. It didn't have a label since he had torn it off when he had stolen it. The bottle was incriminating enough. No one would believe he was hiding apple juice in his bag. John ran as fast as he could out of the woods, weaving and dodging the low-hanging branches and the roots that stuck out.

Once he was out of the woods he checked his phone for the time. There was still an hour and a half left of school and he didn't want to go back, so he went to the library just down the street. It wouldn't make a difference if he left from the school or from the library. He would be walking to his father's house on the opposite side of town.

John walked quietly to the back of the library where they kept the oldest books that no one ever touched. He'd never seen anyone come back to this part of the library. No one was interested in the Latin verses that were hand written onto rotting pages. The books belonged in a museum instead of in the library, John thought to himself as he sat down. He pulled out headphones and plugged them into his phone so that he could listen to music while he waited for the day to end. Following the headphones out of his bag was the bottle of alcohol. He opened it and took a small sip. He grimaced at the taste of it but took another drink.

Abruptly a girl with black hair that had purple dyed tips pulled out a chair across from him, a glare on her face as she stared him down. He squinted at her, as she sat. He took another drink from the bottle and her glare seemed to intensify.