Part 18 // I'm moving to RoyalRoad

The taxi's tires screeched softly as it weaved through the city streets.

Connie sat rigidly, her fists clenched against her lap, her pulse still hammering in her ears.

Takeshi's condition was worse than before.

The last time she lived through this, he had only collapsed after sitting down in the café.

Takeshi sat slumped against the seat, his breathing coming in slow, uneven pulls.

Connie's fingers twitched against her knee.

The poison was acting faster.

Why?

Was it because she was moving quicker this time? Had her interference somehow changed the timeline?

Her stomach twisted.

She didn't like this.

If things were already diverging from what she remembered, then how much could she actually rely on her past knowledge?

Her phone's clock told her they were still about four minutes away from the hospital.

Too long.

Takeshi was deteriorating faster than before.

His skin was already far too pale. His fingers barely twitched when she nudged him. His breathing was slower.

Last time, he had been able to run around for a while before collapsing. But now?

This poison was working much faster.

Why?

She had acted faster this time. She had pulled him out of the café before he even sat down.

So why was he worse now?

"Hey," she said, voice low.

Takeshi didn't react at first.

Her grip tightened on the seat.

"Takeshi," she said, forcing her voice to stay calm. "Don't fall asleep."

A small, exhausted sound left him. "...Tired."

"I know," she muttered. "But you need to stay awake. We're almost there."

A slow, barely perceptible nod.

Takeshi let out a small, dry laugh. "I'm not planning to die or anything."

But you already did.

She swallowed the words.

She couldn't tell him that.

Connie turned to the driver. "Can you go any faster?"

The driver, an older man with glasses, gave her a sharp look. "I'm already going past the limit, miss. Any faster and—"

Her entire body went cold.

It was sudden—like a switch being flipped inside her mind.

That overwhelming, sickening feeling.

The dread.

The deep, soul-crushing knowledge that something terrible had just started.

A death flag.

She felt it. She felt it activate. Very clearly.

Her hands turned ice cold.

Her breathing hitched.

What? Where?

Her head snapped around, eyes darting frantically.

Nothing looked out of place.

There was nothing in the car that could kill them easily enough.

The road ahead was clear too.

Connie's eyes glanced at the street light just ahead of them. It was green.

The cars in the other lane had stopped just before the intersection.

Wait... Why did they stop? The light should be green on their side too?

The taxi was about to cross the intersection.

That's when she noticed. The street light on their lane was flickering slightly.

It was malfunctioning.

Then—

HONK!

The blaring horn of a semi-truck.

Coming from the right.

Her head whipped to the side—

And her stomach dropped.

Headlights.

Blinding, white-hot headlights barreling toward them.

The driver screamed.

Connie turned to Takeshi.

"Takeshi—!"

But it was already too late.

A flash of metal.

A sound like the sky splitting apart.

A sickening crunch of steel, shattering glass.

Connie barely had time to scream as the entire car lurched violently.

The sound of twisting steel, tires screeching, bones slamming against unforgiving surfaces—

Her body flew.

For a moment, all she saw was chaos, spinning colors, darkness swallowing her vision.

Then—

The world blinked.

The scent of coffee.

The quiet hum of a café.

The feeling of wooden table under her hands.

Connie's eyes snapped open.

She was back.

Again.

The café door was still closed.

Ayaka still sat across from her, lazily stirring her drink.

Takeshi hadn't walked in yet.

Her entire body shook violently.

Her breath came in short, uneven gasps.

No. No, no, no.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

She had saved Takeshi already. She had gotten him out.

So why?

Why was her checkpoint stuck here?

Her fingers curled against the table.

This wasn't just about the poison.

The moment before the crash—she had felt it.

A new death flag had activated out of nowhere.

A death flag that she didn't encounter last time.

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The rest is going to be on RoyalRoad. The title of the novel is the same. If you have read this far, I hope you will continue to support me.