The voice was not meant to terrify her; it was meant to liberate her.

 

And the source of it all? Her. The emergency room. The instant she picked up the phone.

 

Two days later, Sarah showed up. Elena had just finished boiling pasta when she heard the knock. It was casual, like any old friend visiting, but her stomach dropped. She peeked through the window. Sarah, dressed in jeans and a travel jacket, was smiling.

Normal. Like nothing was wrong.

 

Elena didn't open the door. "How did you find me?"

 

Sarah tilted her head toward the door. "You didn't exactly disappear quietly. The hospital's been on edge. You just vanished after that crash. You okay?"

 

"I'm fine," Elena said, knowing that she had actually disappeared rather quietly. She had not told anyone, left no note, and had just left.

 

 "Let me in, El."

 

"No."

 

The smile vanished. "You don't remember, do you?"

 

Silence.

 

 "I should've told you sooner," Sarah said through the door. "But every time I try, something… resets. I've known for months. We're part of something much bigger, Elena. You weren't supposed to survive the crash. None of us were. But you keep bleeding through the timelines. It's tearing things."

 

 "You sent her. The version of me who called."

 

"She was you, Elena. Just… further down the path."

 

"What do you want?"

 

 "To help you stabilize. Come home. Let us monitor the loop. We can fix it."

 

 "No," Elena said. "I'm not going back."

 

 "El"

 

 "I saw what going back leads to."

 

A long pause. "You think you're outside the loop?" Sarah said, voice soft now. "You think you escaped?"

 

The world tilted.

 

Elena backed away from the door.

 

"You're still in it. This," a knock, harder now, "is part of it. Always has been. Look at the time."