I woke up to silence.
No rain. No city sounds. No hum of life outside my window.
That alone told me something was wrong.
I sat up slowly and felt cold air brush against my skin. Not the soft kind. This cold was sharp. It slipped under my clothes and settled deep in my bones. I looked around, expecting my room.
It was gone.
I was lying on hard ground. Dirt pressed into my back. The smell hit me next. Smoke. Ash. Something burned not long ago.
My heart began to pound.
I pushed myself up and looked around. Buildings stood nearby, but they were not the kind I knew. Stone walls. Broken wood. No glass. No wires. No signs. The sky above me was gray and heavy, like it might fall at any moment.
I stood up too fast and nearly fell again.
Panic rose in my chest.
This was not my city.
This was not my time.
I hugged my arms around myself and turned in a slow circle. People moved in the distance. They wore thick clothes. Long coats. Boots covered in mud. Their faces looked tired. Hard. Like they had learned not to hope.
A loud sound cracked through the air.
I jumped.
A cannon.
The ground shook beneath my feet. Birds burst into the sky. Shouts followed. Not words I knew. Just fear shaped into noise.
I backed away without thinking.
My breath came out fast and short. My hands shook. I tried to speak, but my voice stuck in my throat.
This was real.
The loop had changed.
I heard footsteps behind me and spun around.
She stood there.
Her eyes were wide. Her face pale. Dirt smudged her cheek. Her hair was loose now, tangled by wind.
She looked at me like she was afraid I might vanish.
"You are here," she said.
I nodded. I could not trust my voice yet.
She looked around, then back at me.
"This is not right," she whispered.
Another boom echoed through the air. Louder this time. Screams followed. Close.
My body moved before my mind caught up.
I grabbed her hand.
She gasped but did not pull away.
"We cannot stay here," I said.
We ran.
My feet slipped on the ground. My lungs burned. Smoke stung my eyes. People rushed past us, pushing, shouting. Someone fell. Someone cried out.
I wanted to stop. I wanted to help. But fear drove me forward.
We ducked behind a low stone wall just as something exploded nearby. Dirt sprayed into the air. I pressed my back against the stone and pulled her close without thinking.
She trembled.
I did too.
We stayed there for a moment, breathing hard. The world felt too loud. Too alive. My heart hammered like it wanted out.
"This is a war," she said softly.
I nodded.
History rushed through my mind. Dates. Names. Battles. None of them felt like this on paper. None of them smelled like smoke or sounded like screaming.
"This already happened," I whispered. "It is over. It is supposed to be over."
She looked at me.
"Then why are we here," she asked.
I had no answer.
A group of soldiers ran past our hiding place. One of them looked our way. His eyes narrowed.
I froze.
He shouted something.
She grabbed my arm.
"Run," she said.
We ran again.
The ground sloped downward into narrow paths between damaged buildings. We followed people who looked like they knew where they were going. No one stopped us. No one questioned us. We were just two more shapes trying not to die.
My chest burned. My legs felt weak. Fear kept pushing me forward.
We reached a small building with a broken door. Inside, it was dark. Cool. Quiet.
We slipped in and pressed the door closed.
For a moment, there was only our breathing.
She slid down the wall and sat on the floor. I followed. My hands shook so badly I had to press them against my knees.
"I cannot do this," she whispered.
I looked at her. Her eyes shined with tears she refused to let fall.
"We have to," I said. "Just for now."
She laughed once. Soft. Almost angry.
"You say that like you know how," she said.
I did not.
Time passed. I did not know how much. Outside, the noise faded a little. Not gone. Just farther away.
I studied the room. Empty shelves. Cracked walls. A faint symbol scratched into the stone. I had seen it before. In a book. A mark from this era.
My stomach twisted.
This was not random.
Time had placed us here on purpose.
I closed my eyes and felt the weight of it settle on me.
She spoke again.
"Do you think we die here," she asked.
The question sat heavy between us.
"I do not know," I said.
I wanted to lie. I could not.
She nodded slowly.
"If we do," she said, "do you think we wake up again."
I thought of the rain. The ceiling. The clock.
"Yes," I said. "I think so."
She breathed out.
"Then we survive as long as we can," she said. "Even if it hurts."
I looked at her then. Really looked.
She was scared. So was I. But she was still here. Still thinking. Still choosing.
Something warm stirred in my chest.
A sound crashed outside. Wood splintered. Shouting grew closer.
She stood quickly.
"They are coming," she said.
I stood too.
My hands felt empty. No weapon. No plan. Just fear and breath and will.
The door shook.
She reached for my hand again.
I held it.
Whatever time wanted from us, it was not done yet.
And for the first time since the loop began, I understood something clearly.
Time was not just repeating.
It was testing us.
And it would not stop until we either broke.
Or learned how to survive it.