He could tell that it's the darkest part of the ground floor the moment he casted his flashlight in the direction and it only ranged for approximately six feet away. Kaiser knew he shouldn't proceed unarmed, so he stepped back, but stopped athward the entranceway when he spotted something in his peripheral vision.

He looked back once again to see something bouncing on the ground. He could have sworn the thing is familiar, so he moved closer to check until it settled down the floor; the only choice he had to make is whether to take a good look to make peace with his confusion or left completely.

"Nah," Kaiser scoffed and choose the latter. He wanted to keep his cool and stay away from the things that could potentially put him into trouble. They have to play safe now that they are already given their last chance to straighten up their plans.

He walked back towards the hall to continue with his business with the stain, but it's no longer there. "I should have taken photos of it," he whimpered, rubbing his nape.

Realizing that he haven't really found anything relevant in the groundfloor, he decided to follow Scott in the library when a chilling wind seem to have passed through him; it was so sudden that he froze, most especially when he saw foot prints on the floor which shows to be blood; in a trice, they disappeared.

It took him a moment and beyond to examine what it were and wasn't even given the chance to think about them when something came tumbling down the stairs. Kaiser didn't know what to expect and the least thing that he could think of is Scott who is actually the one who fell down cold on the floor.

"Holy shit!" Kaiser cursed, rushing beside Scott to check his pulse.

"He's alive," he panted. "What the hell happened?!" Kaiser doesn't have any idea what to do to wake him up and ended slapping him which eventually worked and he abruptly sat down, calling Samantha's name.

"Sam! S-Sam!" Scott gasped, looking around as though he's searching for his missing former lover. For a moment, Kaiser knelt beside him like a mor-on. He's not sure how to react, now that for the first time in history, he actually saw emotions in the man.

Scott turned towards him. "Where's Sam? W-Where is she?"

Kaiser's lips separated. He wanted to answer, but couldn't formulate the right words to say. After all, everything's not making sense to him. It wasn't even that long when Scott went upstairs; however, he's already covered with too much sweat—no, he's dripping wet.

"Samantha's gone missing, bro," Kaiser finally spoke. "Did you hit your head that bad and got amnesia?"

"N-No! She was here! She's even the one who woke me up," Scott argued.

"I did it! What the hell are you talking about? Have you gone mad?"

Kaiser raised a hand to stop Scott from answering when he heard something approaching from the outside. He carefully dashed towards the window to check to see two cops heading the house.

"Fuck! We have to go," Kaiser crouched and swifly ran at the backdoor; Scott followed as well as though nothing happened. His fall was a bad one; however, he seem to be fine which Kaiser is damned confused about.

"So, what in the actual fuck happened in there?" It was a normal question coming from Kaiser, but he actully sounded mad. He leaned his back on his motorcycle beside Scott's which were parked a couple of blocks away from Samantha's house. Kaiser waited for him to answer, but he said nothing which he understood. The man is still in daze.

"She saved me," Scott muttered, swallowing a sigh.

"Who? Samantha?"

"Yes."

***

"One interesting thing about time loops though… is it breaks when the order kept changing."

At least that's what Scott thought a while ago when he ripped the book page by page.

He wasn't mistaken though; the loop was indeed broken, but what came next made him almost regret his entire existence.

Thought is quicker than words, and words are quicker than action—supposedly, yet Scott have none of those. He's too bewildered to even blink as he eyed himself now soaking in clear water up to his waist.

"Focus, goddamnit!" He groaned, slapping himself back to his senses. "If the loop has already been broken, I could safely use the stairs," he nodded in his unnecessary monologue and moved towards the direction.

Just when he thought he could already leave in peace, rotting hands emerged from the waters which turned out to be actually a pool of blood.

"OH, C'MONNN!" Scott screamed storming out in attempt to escape, but like in a nightmare chased by monsters, even though how much he struggled to run away, he still landed on the same spot he's at from the very beginning. He even saw the stairs moved farther in a vertigo effect. Slowly, he felt the rough and decaying hands holding him.

"No, no, nooo!" Scott could hear his own voice ringing in his eardrums as the hands forcefully dragged him down to which he assume to be the bottom of hell.

He felt more hands dragging him; his struggles are all meaningless. Soon enough, he'll already run out of air. What an awful way to meet its own demise.

Scott had already lost all hope the moment he breathed his last breath and let the dead take him wherever they want—but there's this light he sees from the surface and it's getting brighter and brighter.

"Breathe, Scott. Breathe!" A familiar voice suddenly resounded.

He's uncertain if he really heard it from someone or only from his mind, it didn't really matter as the light had seemingly vanquished the hands which had been dragging him.

Scott already felt dizzy, but he needs to fight and live. With all the remaining strength he had gathered, he swam up to the surface, and towards the stairs. Coughing, he crawled his way up to where he saw a woman—no—the woman, he has been yearning to see again.

"S-Sam."