The Loop

June 3, 1988, pt 7

Melonie woke up and looked at the clock. Her fists clenched as she saw the same numbers, 6:15, on the clock.

At the sink she saw Tyler grip the toothpaste in a clumsily, scrapping it against the bristles of his brush with intense concentration. She watched out of the corner of her eye while he struggled to keep the paste in his mouth. But she didn't have time to ask him what was wrong. There were eggs to be cooked and a day to be lived, again.

The pair walked down to the school together. Main street was practically empty, Jerome wasn't even there anymore. Time had changed, after so many days of the sane routine, change felt wrong. Worse than that, it felt dangerous.

Once Tyler was in his class she walked to work, but then went straight past the diner. Some people raised eyebrows at her and whispered among themselves. But something was still off, and whatever it was, Melonie decided that she would figure it out.

Partway down the road she saw a strangely boxy looking car. In the driver's seat sat the ginger, sleeping quietly. His clothes were ruffled and had several tears in them.

But it was unkept beard startled her the most. Before, she could convince herself that she'd missed a 5 o'clock shadow when he was causing a scene, but she would've noticed a beard.

She stepped back from the car, staring in confusion and fear.

Someone ran up from behind her and slammed their entire body against the car window.

"What did you see!" Jerome shouted into the glass.

The ginger bolted upright, startling Melonie. He reached over his hand and pressed a button, letting the car window roll down on its own. Jerome leaned in over the frame, invading his personal space, something he wasn't prone to do.

"I didn't see anything," he said sleepily.

Jerome slapped the outside of the car. "That's perfectly fine because I did!" He shouted.

The ginger opened the car door, forcing Jerome to step back. "Can you tell me about it at the diner?" he mumbled.

"I guess," Jerome said.

Despite her queasiness, Melonie stepped closer, making it obvious to at least the ginger that she'd been listening.

"I don't think that's a good idea Jerome," she said stiffly. "You don't want to fall out of the loop, do you?"

Jerome shrugged, glancing back at the ginger. "Actually, I don't care," he said with a grin on his face.

"Do you not understand the concept of death Jerome?" Melonie snapped. "Because once you leave the loop that's what happens, death."

Jerome stepped closer and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Except it's not!"

She ripped herself away, putting distance between the two men and herself. "That's not true!" she snapped. "This is all there is, and the sooner this town grows out of this childish phase, the better!"

"Is it a phase if it's true?" Jerome asked as he followed her, only to be pulled back by the ginger.

With a huff, she turned her back on them, rather than show her face. "You can believe whatever you want Jerome," she said as she glanced over her shoulder ever so slightly. "But know that I refuse to be held responsible for your disappearance. Do what you will, but leave me out of it."

As she walked on she could hear Jerome saying something to the ginger but tuned it out.

They continued with her until the three reached the entrance of the diner. When she realized that the men were heading in her direction Melonie placed herself between them and the door.

"If you want to be ignorant Jerome you may, but if you want to do so in that man's company I suggest you go elsewhere," she said firmly. "He's heretofore banned from the restaurant even accompanied by someone who would keep him in check."

The ginger sighed and turned to leave, but Jerome took a similarly defensive stance. Or more accurately, an identical stance.

"Why? Because you're afraid of the truth?" he snapped.

The ginger grabbed Jerome's arm and pulled him back. "Because I made a mess last time and may have gotten someone killed!" he whispered.

Jerome's face fell as his body relaxed. "I guess that's fair," he mumbled.

Melonie walked into the diner with a huff, trying to avoid glancing over her shoulder at the two boys. She had a job to do, something to focus on.

But as she worked, her mind wandered, always going back to Jerome and the redhead. To her surprise, it wasn't entirely negative either. More often than not it was curiosity. As threatening as their statements were to her way of life, she wondered about the truth behind them. What did she not know?

Throughout the morning Melonie saw the two young men pass by the diner multiple times, each time looking in at her curiously. That, did nothing to make her feel less interested. At last, when all the customers were gone she opened the door and motioned for them to come in. The redhead hesitated at first, but eventually came in, pulling Jerome with him.

The two men sat at a booth, the first new group to sit there in years. It was strange, but something was up, and Melonie was done simply wondering about the specifics.

From the counter she saw the redhead lean over the table to Jerome. "Why exactly are we bringing her into this? I don't see her adding anything to our investigation," he whispered, unaware of the genetic tendency for Melonie's family to hear at an exceptional level.

She began to walk to the table, carrying a coffee pitcher with her. Easiest way to become invisible to the nearly supersonic hearer.

"Because she lost her husband and her kid to the outside," Jerome said, unaware that Melonie was listening. "She'll want to know everything."

"Everything about what?" She asked, startling both of the young men.

They glanced at each other for almost a minute before Jerome spoke up.

"About what I saw when Collin crossed the barrier," he said with a slight grin in his face.

For a moment, Melonie thought she was going to be sick. She grabbed onto the back of the booth to steady herself as she stared in disbelief.

"If he crossed, why is he here again?" she asked.

"We're still figuring that part out," the redhead said as he stated at the mug in his hands. "But that's not everything that happened when I 'crossed' as you say here."

Her heart was beating out of her chest as she stared at them. "What else was there?" she whispered.

"I saw the outside," Jerome said as he leaned in close. "People, cleared forest, everything. Life moved on without us apparently, and now we gotta figure out how to catch up, you in?"

Melonie stared at the table. It was dizzying, thinking about the possibilities.

"We could use an extra pair of hands," the redhead said reluctantly. "And Jerome has his heart set on that being you."

She swallowed the spit that was collecting in her mouth, even though it stuck to her throat like lumpy paste.

"Yeah, I'm in," she said at last. "What do you guys need me to do?"