"Do not trust Anchors… Do not trust Anchors…" Jane muttered under her breath, pacing. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" She stopped and looked up.
"Well, since we only know one Anchor in any detail… I guess we are," Carly said, arms folded.
"Ha!" Jake snorted, dragging a hand through his messy hair and shaking his head.
"This is funny to you?" Jane snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Nah," he said simply, eyes unfocused. His voice was calm, but too calm.
"She might be dangerous," Jane said, more serious now "We don't really know who or what she is."
Jake tilted his head toward her slowly, eyes dull. "Do you really know who or what N is?"
Carl raised his hand like he was going to object—but then lowered it. He went quiet, pressing a hand to his chin, thinking hard.
Carly looked like she was trying to get it straight.
"W–what are you talking about?" Jane stammered. "They've been helping. Told us to run, warned us to—"
Jake cut her off. "Ms. Michelle helped too, didn't she? Got us rooms. Explained the Merge. Gave us all this info on timelines and worlds. They've both been helpful."
Jane clenched her fists. "But we know N."
"Do we?" Jake said.
"She's… Carly's mom. Or maybe Carl's dad."
Jake shrugged. "Did they ever specify?"
"We saw notes in the house. From N."
"And?" Jake looked straight at her. "Why does N always call us 'guys,' while Carl's dad—or Carly's mom, whichever—always said 'kids' when writing or talking to us?"
Jane opened her mouth. Then closed it.
It was true.
It had never struck her before.
"The message on the mirror wasn't there yesterday," Jake added. "So if Carl's dad—or Carly's mom—never came home last night… who wrote it?"
His tone was low, steady, deadly calm.
"Think about it," he continued, walking away from the mirror. "We're in a world tryna delete us or something. Being hunted. Getting ciphered messages and warnings. There's a masked freak out there targeting us. Who should we trust, and who should we not?"
Silence.
Jake snorted to himself and said, "Thought as much. I'm not saying turn on them—but from now on, I say we stick with N and Ms. Michelle… but always be ready for the worst-case scenario."
He turned back to Carl. "Close the closet when you're done."
Then he walked past them, hands shoved in his pockets, and left the room.
The rest stood there, still staring at the mirror.
They finally realized: the only people they could truly rely on and trust now… were each other.
And that shifted their view of this whole new world.
Carl broke the silence with a groan, "Now I'm hungry."
Hours later…
They had packed up the essentials to relocate to the hotel. Ms. Michelle's advice.
Jake stood in his room, carefully stuffing the last of his clothes into a small luggage bag. He reached for the final shirt on the bed when something poked out from underneath it—a photo frame.
He froze.
It was a small picture he hadn't looked at in months. He picked it up.
A man with ash-black hair and piercing black eyes was laughing heartily. Beside him, a woman with white hair and dark-green eyes flashed a peace sign with a silly look on her face. Only their heads showed, because right at the bottom, front and center, a toddler's face blocked most of the frame—wide smile, bright dark green eyes, small tufts of ash-black hair. It was Jake. Barely two or younger.
He chuckled quietly. "Hey, Mom… Hey, Dad…"
His voice cracked.
"I don't really believe in all that... people turning into stars after they die or… watching us from the skies stuff. I know I've probably said it a million times now," he said, forcing a smile.
But the pain in his laugh was clear. His wounds never spoken aloud had been waiting for a quiet moment like this.
"I just… I wonder. If you could see this mess. If you'd be proud... or terrified. You both loved crazy adventures, I remember."
His throat tightened.
"Mom…" A tear rolled down. "Dad… I wish I could hear your voices again. Just once."
He rubbed at his face with his arm, but it didn't stop the stream. "I love you guys," he whispered.
The door creaked open.
"Jake? The Uber's here," Jane said, stepping in.
Jake quickly turned his back to her and shoved the photo into his luggage.
"Jeez, would you knock before barging in?" he muttered, trying to sound annoyed. He pretended to reorganize clothes he had already packed, buying himself time to compose.
"Sorry, the car—" she began, but then noticed the drops on the floor near him. Fresh. Damp. No spilled water anywhere else. His hair wasn't wet.
"Go. I'm coming."
"Are you oka—?"
"I said I'm coming," Jake cut her off sharply, though his voice stayed quiet.
"Right… sorry." Jane stepped out, closing the door softly.
Jake's grip tightened around the shirt in his hand, knuckles pale. But his face stayed blank.
Moments later…
Outside the house, an Uber was parked quietly at the frontage. The engine purred low. Jake walked out of the house, dragging his luggage behind him. His expression was as blank as ever—deadpan, unreadable. Not a single flicker of emotion displayed on his face.
He popped the boot open, tossed his bag in, and walked around to the front passenger door.
Carl was already in the seat, comfortably buckled in with his arms behind his head.
Jake tapped the window once. Carl lowered it just halfway.
"Get out."
Carl gave him a lazy side-eye. "Oh, come on. I was here first."
Jake sighed and pulled out his phone. "I'll buy you a donut."
Carl perked up. "Are you bribing me?"
Moments later, the car was already cruising down the street. Jake sat silently at the front, scrolling on his phone. Carl was now sandwiched in the back seat between Jane—who was looking out the window with her pink headphones in—and Carly, who was eyeing Carl.
"Look who got bribed to the middle seat," Carly teased, poking his temple.
Carl smirked. "XL choco-dip donuts? I'm not missing that for anything."
"Donut. Not donuts," Jake corrected, eyes still on his phone.
Carl froze. "Wait, you meant one?"
Jake finally looked up, blinked in mock confusion, then turned back around. "I'm not giving you a whole box just to switch seats."
Carl raised a hand in surrender. "Hey, as long as I get it. No problem."
"You know it's nice to share, right?" Carly smiled, nudging him with her elbow.
Carl turned to her, grinning. "No. No, I don't. And honestly, I think I like it that way."
Carly gave him a pouty look, her lips quivering. "Holy chips, Carl… it's just a donut."
"Exactly why you shouldn't care." He raised an eyebrow.
Carly kept the pout and puppy dog eyes up.
Carl sighed. "Okay, okay, stop that. Ugh. But seriously, you gotta teach me that trick."
"Bet." Carly's pout instantly flipped into a grin.
Carl squinted suspiciously at Jake. "I need to use it on someone… more immune."
"Could you two do me a favor and just shut up? I can hear you even with the headset on." Jane cut in, not even turning around.
Carl and Carly exchanged a look and shrugged in unison. Then they high-fived, silently.
A short while later, they pulled up at the StarLife Hotel.
Everyone grabbed their luggage and headed inside. At the reception desk, they were greeted by someone unexpected: a guy who looked suspiciously familiar. Same annoyed-glam aura as yesterday's girl… only, well, not a girl.
They all paused in front of the desk like they.
The guy looked up, sipping from a cold can of soda, eyes half-lidded. "Just when I decide to cover someone's shift… and I bump into you people again."
"Yhup. It's her alright," Carl muttered under his breath.
"Mmhmm." Carly nodded, unimpressed.
Jake didn't even blink. He and Jane handed over their verification cards. The guy scanned them lazily, confirmed, and returned the cards.
Jake picked up his luggage immediately and silently walked off toward the elevators.
The guy raised an eyebrow. "What's with the—"
"Zip it," Jane snapped, already turning to follow Jake.
The guy blinked, mouth half open.
Carl walked past the desk with a wink. "Send up some snacks. A lot. Preferably cheesy."
The guy didn't even get to respond before he followed Jane.
Carly walked after Carl but glaring at the receptionist.
The elevator doors closed.
The receptionist stared at the screen on his desk, then at the elevator, then back at the soda in his hand. He looked like he was about to say something profound. His lips parted, but then he just sighed and leaned back in his chair, sipping loudly.
"Not getting paid enough for this."