In the boys' room, Jake stood in front of the mirror, pulling on a grey t-shirt. His black shorts barely covered his knees. The pendant around his neck gleamed faintly as he clipped on his watch, dead-eyed and distant like usual.
At the study table, Carl scribbled something in his notebook, dressed in a white vest and green sweatpants. "You heading out?" he asked without looking up.
"Yeah." Jake grabbed his phone and headset from the bed. "All this shit's been getting to me." He adjusted his pendant, letting it rest cool against his chest. "Riverside Park. Need some air."
"Cool, cool." Carl finally turned around. "Hey, on your way back, could you grab me some—"
"No."
"Oh, come on, man. Just this once?"
Jake slipped his headset over his neck, his face blank. "You've said 'just this once' more than a hundred times, y'know right?"
"Pretty please?" Carl gave his best shot at puppy-dog eyes.
Jake shot him a dry look. "Cut the crap. I'm starting to think Carly's more bearable than you."
He walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Carl pouted, muttering to himself, "I was thinking the same."
Outside, Jake locked the door, slid his hands into his pockets, and started walking. His headset played low, but his mind wasn't on the music.
Just a block away, a man sat on a bench near the bus stop, wearing a brown leather jacket, jeans, and a cap pulled low over his face. He stood as Jake passed, pulling out his phone.
"I think I've got eyes on the potential target," the man whispered into the receiver.
There was silence, then a muffled reply.
"Understood." The man hung up, slipping the phone into his pocket. His steps fell into rhythm behind Jake's, blending in like another guy out for a stroll.
Jake walked calmly through the quiet streets, but his gut said otherwise. Something felt… off. The air was still, too still. His instincts were screaming, but when he turned to check, there was nothing. Just couples walking, a guy jogging, and a mother pushing a stroller.
"Maybe Jane's not the only one losing it," he muttered, brushing off the thought.
He followed the tree-lined path toward the riverside, eyes half-lidded, but his mind sharp.
Behind him, the stalker kept pace, slipping between groups, pretending to scroll his phone.
Jake was halfway to the park's edge when a scruffy little kid ran straight into him. The collision barely moved Jake, but the kid bounced back like he hit a wall.
Jake looked down, face flat. "What do you want, evil…thingy?"
The kid looked panicked, shifting nervously like he was about to make a run for it. But before he could, Jake reached back without turning, grabbing the collar of the kid's shirt and lifting him slightly off the ground.
Jake sighed, bored. "Where's my phone?"
"I—I didn't take nothing! I swear!" The kid's voice cracked into fake sobs.
"Five seconds," Jake said calmly, "That's all you've got before I shove a stick up your nose and fish it out myself."
"Wha—?"
"Five… four… three…"
"Okay! Okay!" The kid pulled Jake's phone out of his hoodie pocket and handed it over, shaking.
Jake took the phone back without flinching. "See? That wasn't so hard."
The kid ran off.
From behind a nearby tree, the stalker watched the whole exchange, narrowing his eyes. He waited until the kid disappeared, then kept moving, tailing Jake toward the river.
But after a man passed in front of him, Jake vanished.
The man blinked. Just one second ago, Jake had been there, walking toward the park's railing. Now—nothing.
The stalker's brows furrowed. He cursed under his breath and scanned the area, stepping forward cautiously.
"You've been following me since I left my house."
The voice came from behind.
The man spun fast—Jake was leaning casually against a tree, hands in his pockets, like he'd been there the whole time.
"Well, I wanted this to go easier," the stalker muttered, pulling out a small stun gun from his jacket. "But sideways works too."
Jake tilted his head, tapping his forehead with a finger. "If you're gonna do it, here's a good spot."
The man's hand tightened on the stun gun, but Jake's deadpan expression didn't budge.
"Let's make this quick," Jake sighed. "I hate wasting Fridays."
The man tightened his grip on the stun gun, eyes narrowing. "Who is this kid?" he thought, sizing Jake up. This wasn't going how it was supposed to.
"It's a stun gun," the man said. "I'm not here to kill you. Just wait here, alright? We just wanna talk."
Jake tilted his head slightly, eyes dull like he was about to fall asleep. "Ooh… with a stun gun, okay. Can I see it?" he asked, taking a casual step forward.
"Hey, hey! Keep your distance!" The man pointed the stun gun straight at Jake's chest.
Jake sighed and looked past him. "Is that… a melting rainbow?"
The man blinked, confused. "A what?"
His eyes flicked behind him instinctively, seeing nothing there.
When he turned back around, Jake was gone.
"Son of a—" He cursed under his breath, scanning the trees. His pulse quickened, but he tried to stay cool. "Keep it together. It's just a kid." He muttered.
A rustling sound caught his ear. He darted toward it, stun gun raised—only to find the same scruffy kid from earlier crouched by a tree.
"What the hell are you doing here, kid?" he muttered, lowering the stun gun slightly.
Before he could react, he felt the stun gun slip from his hand fast.
He spun around and froze.
Jake was standing there, holding the stun gun.
"In what fantasy does a rainbow melt, genius?" Jake asked, tapping the side of the gun with a dull expression. "First day on the job?"
The man reached out, "Kid, you don't even know how that—"
Jake accidentally pressed the trigger. The stun cables shot out and latched onto the man.
He looked down at the wires, then up at Jake, panicking. "Wait—!"
Jake flinched. "Wait, how do you even—?"
ZAP.
The man convulsed and dropped to the ground, groaning.
Jake winced, tossing the stun gun down near the guy. "Okay, so… next time, say 'don't shoot.' Kinda important."
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Secondly, never trust children. They're evil. Evil given form."
The scruffy kid came out from behind the tree, grinning. Jake handed him a crumpled dollar bill.
"Thanks for the distraction, brat."
The kid nodded, pocketed the cash, and ran off into the shadows.
But before Jake could breathe easy, five men in tactical gear stepped out from behind nearby trees, guns raised and pointed straight at him.
"Hands where we can see them," one ordered.
Jake's eyes dulled further. "Yup… Children. Definitely evil."
The team closed in, weapons steady. Jake started to lift his hands when the air twitched.
A ripple.
A wave.
Everything wobbled for a second—the trees, the sky, even the people. Then it all snapped back into place… mostly. Then everything started glitching.
Jake's eyes narrowed. The five guys holding him at gunpoint started to glitch, then disappeared.
A car screeched to a halt near them—then the same five men came out of the car, ran toward him, and glitched back into the car again. Over and over.
A time loop, Jake thought, his jaw tightening.
Buildings shifted in the corner of his vision. Some flickered between designs, some glitched into older versions of themselves, some vanished completely.
"I better get outta here before this rewrites me too," Jake muttered.
He bolted, ducking through glitching alleys. As he neared his house, the distortion faded.
But when Jake looked around, his neighborhood wasn't the same.
Some buildings had swapped positions. Others looked like they were ripped from another timeline altogether. The streetlights had different designs, and the corner shop that used to sell soda was now a flower store. Some places had new colors, new layouts—or didn't exist at all.
"Nope." Jake stood there. "I'm definitely losing it."
He ran up the steps to his house, slamming the door shut behind him.
In the living room, Jane and Carl sat on the couch, mid-conversation.
"Did you feel that thing?" Jane asked, eyes sharp.
Jake froze. His mind processed what that meant. He wasn't the only one who felt it.
"Whatever the hell it was, it messed up the whole neighborhood," Jake said, walking past them toward the stairs. "Go check if you don't believe me."
"Where were you?" Jane asked, narrowing her eyes.
Jake paused on the bottom step, debating whether to tell them about the stun gun guy and the hit squad.
"Went for a walk," he muttered, climbing the stairs to his room. Door shut.
"Did the walk add to his bad mood or something?" Carl asked.
"Why should I care?" Jane replied, sipping her water as she headed toward the kitchen.
But before either of them could overthink it, Carly bolted out from the room in the middle, upstairs, clutching a book in her hand.
"Guys!" she shouted, breathless. Carl and Jane looked up at her. Jake opened his door, eyes peeking through.
"I think I know what D.M.T.R.C.A.T.W.T. means!" Carly gasped.