Chapter 14: The First Scar

Cass sat in the kitchen, fingers drumming against the closed notebook.

His hands were still unsteady, his pulse too loud in his ears. He had been sitting here for minutes, staring at the cover, waiting for something to change.

Waiting to see if the words would start fading again.

But they didn't.

Not yet.

The words had already rotted around the edges, dissolving like they were being unwritten from reality itself. But something had fought back.

Something had left a scar.

Cass exhaled slowly, rubbing his hands over his face. His body was exhausted, but his mind was wide awake.

He had proof now.

The erasures weren't perfect. They weren't instant. They could be resisted.

But for how long?

The kitchen light flickered.

Cass froze, staring at the bulb as it buzzed faintly, pulsing in an unnatural rhythm. His breath slowed. His fingers curled tighter against the edge of the table.

A second later, it stopped.

Back to normal.

He swallowed.

His paranoia was getting worse. He knew that. But was it still paranoia if he was right?

A sharp knock at the front door made him flinch.

Cass snapped his head toward the sound, his muscles coiling with tension.

It was late. Too late.

Who the hell—

Another knock, louder this time.

Cass's jaw tightened.

Then—

"Cass."

His breath hitched.

It was Rich.

That didn't make sense.

Rich never came to his house unannounced. Especially not in the middle of the night.

Cass pushed up from his chair, crossing the darkened house quickly. His heartbeat pounded in his throat as he unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Rich stood on the porch, his hoodie pulled up, hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked… off.

His usual easy grin was gone. His expression was tight, like he was holding something back. His shoulders were too tense, his jaw clenched like he was grinding his teeth.

Cass frowned. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Rich exhaled sharply, shifting on his feet. His eyes flicked to the street behind him before snapping back to Cass.

"You need to come with me," he said.

Cass's stomach dropped.

"What?"

Rich's fingers twitched at his side. "I can't explain here," he muttered. "Just—trust me, okay? You have to see this for yourself."

Cass hesitated. Every instinct screamed at him that something wasn't right.

But Rich's face—

The way his hands were shaking. The way his voice wavered, just slightly.

Cass swallowed. He turned back, grabbing his jacket and shoving his feet into his shoes before stepping outside.

The air was cold. The street was too quiet.

Cass locked the door behind him and faced Rich.

"Where are we going?"

Rich's jaw tightened.

"To prove you're not crazy."

Then he turned, walking toward his car.

Cass followed.

Because somehow, he already knew.

Whatever Rich had found—

It would change everything.

The drive was silent.

Rich's knuckles were white against the steering wheel, his jaw set. The only sound was the low hum of the engine and the occasional flicker of streetlights passing overhead. Cass sat stiffly in the passenger seat, watching the road.

Waiting.

After a few minutes, he cleared his throat. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on, or—"

"You ever feel like you're losing time?" Rich cut in, his voice flat.

Cass hesitated. "What?"

Rich's grip tightened. "Like…you wake up one day and something's just gone. A place. A person. A whole memory just…" He exhaled sharply. "Like it was never there."

Cass stared at him.

He thought about Oakridge Street. About Seventh Street Café. About Rich's uncle, who never existed.

About his own name, which was already starting to rot.

"Yeah," Cass said quietly. "I know what you mean."

Rich nodded once, as if he already knew the answer. He swallowed, eyes still locked on the road. "It's getting worse."

Cass's chest tightened. "What did you find?"

Rich didn't answer right away. His fingers tapped the wheel, restless, like his own thoughts were fighting him. Finally, he exhaled.

"A place we're not supposed to see," he muttered.

Cass felt a chill creep down his spine. "Where?"

Rich's jaw clenched. "You'll see."

The car rolled to a stop in an empty lot.

Cass frowned. He knew this part of town—or at least, he thought he did. It was just past the city's industrial district, near an old rail yard. The street was cracked, uneven. A single streetlight buzzed overhead, flickering faintly.

But there was nothing here.

Cass turned to Rich. "What am I looking at?"

Rich didn't answer. He pushed open the door, stepping into the cold night. Cass followed, pulling his jacket tighter against the wind.

Rich pointed ahead.

Cass turned—

And froze.

The lot wasn't empty.

It wasn't supposed to be here.

A building stood in the darkness, silent, untouched by time. Like something that had been cut out of the world and pasted back in.

It didn't belong.

Cass's stomach twisted. The structure was plain—gray stone, no windows. Just a single, unmarked door.

He recognized it.

His breath came too fast, too sharp. "No," he whispered.

Rich gave him a sharp look. "What?"

Cass knew this building.

He had seen it before—not here, not in this world.

In his dreams.

This was the facility.

The one he had run to. The one he had tried to reach before the meteors hit.

The one where he had always failed.

Cass felt his body go cold.

His heartbeat thudded in his ears, his vision tunneling as the weight of realization slammed into him.

It wasn't just the dreams bleeding through.

It wasn't just memories rewriting themselves.

The impossible was becoming real.

This building should not exist.

And yet—

Here it was.

Standing in the dark, waiting for him.

Cass swallowed hard. He turned to Rich.

"…How did you find this?"

Rich didn't answer right away. His expression was tight, unreadable. His shoulders were stiff, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

Then, finally, he spoke.

"It found me first."

Cass's breath hitched.

Rich turned back toward the building. "Come on," he muttered. "We need to see what's inside."

Cass hesitated. His pulse pounded in his throat.

Every instinct screamed at him to run.

To leave this place. To pretend he never saw it.

But he couldn't.

Because somehow, deep down—

He already knew what was waiting for him inside.

End of Chapter 14.