The Fractured Hour

Daniel's head throbbed as he drifted into consciousness, the distant sound of waves crashing against an unseen shore filling his ears. The air smelled of salt and something older, damp wood, aged paper, and a lingering trace of candle smoke.

The cabin.

He recognized it before his eyes fully opened.

Slowly, he pushed himself up, his body sluggish, his limbs aching as if he had been asleep for weeks rather than hours. His fingers grazed the wooden floor, tracing the familiar grain beneath his palm. The last time he had been here, the man in the black coat had been waiting for him.

This time, the chair at the center of the room was empty.

The flickering candle on the desk cast long shadows against the walls lined with ancient bookshelves. Maps were still scattered across the table, the same way they had been before. But something was different. The air felt... heavier. Thicker, as though the very atmosphere of the cabin carried the weight of something unspoken.

Daniel took a slow breath, steadying himself. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his bed—preparing for another dream, another life. But he hadn't fallen into a new world.

He had come back here.

And that had never happened before.

"You're late," a voice said behind him.

Daniel spun around so fast he nearly lost his balance.

There, standing in the doorway, was the man in the black coat.

The same piercing gaze. The same quiet intensity. But this time, something had shifted. The man's face was lined with exhaustion, his stance less composed, as if he had been waiting for Daniel for far too long.

Daniel swallowed hard. "What's happening? Why am I here again?"

The man stepped forward, crossing the room in a few strides. "Because you're getting closer."

Daniel clenched his fists. "Closer to what?"

The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to the desk, flipping open one of the many worn books scattered across its surface. His fingers found a marked page, smoothing it flat before he slid the book toward Daniel.

The page was filled with names.

Rows upon rows of them, scrawled in a dozen different scripts, some neat and legible, others jagged and chaotic. Some names were crossed out. Others had strange symbols beside them.

Daniel's gaze scanned the page, his pulse spiking as his eyes landed on a single name.

Kaia.

His breath caught. His mind flashed back to the girl with the dark braid, the sharp eyes, the quiet certainty in her voice when she had said:

"I think I know you too."

He looked up at the man. "She's real," he whispered. "I met her."

The man didn't look surprised. "Of course you did."

Daniel's heart pounded. "Then you knew? You knew there were others like me?"

The man's expression remained unreadable. "There have always been others, Daniel. But the difference between you and them?" He closed the book with a soft thud. "You're starting to remember."

Daniel's stomach twisted. "Remember what?"

The man studied him for a long moment, his fingers drumming once against the wooden cover of the book before he spoke again.

"That this has happened before."

A chill ran through Daniel's veins.

Not just the dreams. Not just the resets.

This.

This conversation. This exact moment.

His fingers twitched at his sides. His mind screamed at him that this wasn't possible. That the dreams were already too much, that remembering Kaia was already breaking the rules.

But deep down—he knew the man was telling the truth.

Daniel had been here before.

And he had forgotten.

Again. And again. And again.

He swallowed, his voice unsteady. "Then tell me, what am I supposed to do?"

The man sighed, his gaze suddenly softer. Almost regretful. "Wake up."

The floor beneath Daniel cracked like shattered glass.

The world unraveled.

*****

Monday Morning

Daniel woke with a violent gasp.

His body lurched upright before his mind fully registered where he was. The morning light filtered through his blinds, cutting through the haze of sleep with sharp golden lines. The distant sound of a car engine rumbled from outside. His bedroom fan hummed softly, the only movement in the otherwise still room.

He was home.

But his heart told him otherwise.

Daniel's fingers scrambled for the notebook on his nightstand.

He flipped it open, turning to the page where he had written it the night before. The one thing he had to remember.

REMEMBER THIS. FIND KAIA.

His stomach dropped.

The page was blank.

His hand trembled as he traced his fingers over the spot where the words should have been. The ink, his ink was gone.

Something had erased it.

Daniel clenched his jaw, his breath coming short and uneven.

Someone didn't want him to remember.

His mind raced through the possibilities. The man in the black coat. The names in the book. The fact that Kaia existed here, in the real world.

And the biggest question of all—

Had she remembered him, too?

By the time Daniel made it downstairs for breakfast, his hands were still shaking.

The scent of coffee drifted through the air, his mom humming softly as she moved around the kitchen. Emily was already at the table, scrolling through her phone between bites of toast.

Everything looked normal.

But it wasn't.

His mom glanced at him, eyebrows knitting together. "You okay?"

Daniel hesitated. "Yeah. Just… didn't sleep great."

That was an understatement.

Emily snorted. "You never sleep great. Maybe stop watching creepy sci-fi before bed."

Daniel forced a weak chuckle, grabbing a piece of toast. He barely tasted it as he chewed.

His mind was elsewhere.

Something was interfering with his memories.

Something had erased his message.

And worse—if it could erase that, then what else had it taken from him?

Kaia.

He needed to see her.

*****

At school, Daniel didn't bother going straight to class.

He searched the halls, his pulse spiking every time he turned a corner. His eyes scanned the faces around him, looking for her.

The moment he spotted Kaia at her locker, his heart slammed against his ribs.

She was flipping through a notebook, unaware of his presence.

Daniel hesitated for half a second before walking up to her.

She looked up as he approached, her brows furrowing slightly.

Then—

A flicker of something in her eyes. Recognition.

Daniel's throat went dry. "Hey."

Kaia studied him for a moment before closing her notebook. "Hey."

She wasn't surprised to see him.

Not confused.

Not dismissive.

Like she had expected this.

Like she had been waiting for him.

Daniel took a slow breath.

"Do you remember?"

Kaia's fingers tightened around her notebook.

And then, quietly, she said:

"I think so."