The City Eats Time

The streets of New York were wrong.

Not just twisted, not just stretched—wrong.

Ethan and Maya stood frozen outside the diner, their breath fogging the cold air. The city looked the same at first glance, but the longer Ethan stared, the more his brain rebelled against it.

The streetlights flickered—too fast. The cars weren't moving, but every time he blinked, they seemed slightly closer. The people—were there even people?—looked like shadows, stretched and slow.

Maya nudged Ethan hard. "We need to get out of here."

Ethan barely heard her.

Because above them—

The sky was melting.

At first, it looked like clouds shifting. But the more Ethan focused, the more he saw it wasn't clouds at all.

It was the city's reflection.

Buildings, upside-down in the sky. Streets running parallel to heaven. Cars hanging midair, frozen. And somewhere far away, a massive, pulsing shadow moved across it all.

Something was watching.

And then the static started.

A low, droning hum—seeping from nowhere.

Maya grabbed his wrist, her nails digging in. "Ethan—look at the clock."

Ethan turned—

And his stomach dropped.

The massive digital clock across the street, the one over the bank, was glitching.

The numbers flashed:

9:15 AM

9:15 AM

9:14 AM

9:13 AM

"What the hell?" Ethan whispered.

The numbers were going backward.

Maya's voice was shaky. "The city's… rewinding."

A car lurched backward down the street, its tires squealing in reverse. The buildings shuddered, glass rippling. A distant subway screeched in reverse, an unnatural sound curling through the air.

And then—

The shadows moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

Figures that had been far away were suddenly closer, their faces blurry, indistinct.

They weren't people.

Ethan's breath caught in his throat.

One of the shadows turned its head too sharply—its mouth opening wider than it should.

Static poured out.

Maya yanked Ethan backward. "Run."

They ran.

Past the flickering streetlights, past the cars sliding in reverse, past people who weren't people.

And all around them, the city kept eating itself.

They didn't stop running until their lungs burned.

Maya gasped for air, leaning against a rusted payphone, her chest rising and falling too fast. Ethan bent over, hands on his knees, his pulse hammering.

The streets had settled.

For now.

No more rewinding cars. No more melting sky. But that didn't mean the city was back to normal.

Nothing was normal anymore.

A thin mist coiled along the pavement, creeping up around their ankles like fingers reaching out. The streetlights still flickered erratically, buzzing low like something whispering through them.

Ethan swallowed hard. "We're still in it."

Maya wiped sweat off her forehead. "Yeah. And we're running out of time."

Static.

Both of them snapped their heads up.

A radio.

Somewhere close.

The sound was low at first, blending into the city noise, but it was getting louder.

Shhhhhhhhhhh.

Ethan's stomach clenched. "Do you hear that?"

Maya nodded slowly, eyes scanning the street.

Then—

A voice.

Crackling through the static.

A deep, distorted voice.

"…Hello, Ethan."

Ethan's breath hitched.

The voice knew his name.

Maya stiffened beside him. "No. Nope. Not happening."

The radio crackled again.

"…Hello, Maya."

Maya went rigid. "Nope. Absolutely not."

Ethan turned in slow circles, trying to find the source. The mist thickened around them, twisting into shapes that didn't quite hold.

Another voice came through.

This one was familiar.

"Ethan… Maya… can you hear me?"

Ethan's blood went cold.

Because that was Jax.

Maya's head snapped toward him. "Is that—?"

The static screamed.

Louder, sharp enough to make them clutch their heads. The world tilted—the buildings shuddered. The mist churned.

And then, just as suddenly as it started—

Silence.

The street was empty again. The radio… gone.

Maya shivered. "Jax is still in there."

Ethan swallowed, his mouth dry.

And then—

The payphone next to Maya rang.

Loud. Violent. Like it was demanding to be answered.

They both stared at it.

Neither of them moved.

The ringing didn't stop.

Ethan's fingers twitched.

Maya grabbed his wrist. "Don't."

The payphone kept ringing.

And then, through the speaker—

A voice whispered.

"…We're still watching."