00:34:59
The whisper died away, leaving the room heavy with silence. Isla turned slowly, her heart pounding against her ribs.
Mason stood in the doorway. Or something that looked like him. His face was pale, eyes sunken, movements slightly out of sync, a half-second delay between motion and sound.
"Mason?"
He smiled faintly. "You left me behind."
"I…I didn't mean to. The door"
"Shh." He pressed a finger to his lips. "You'll wake them."
Her pulse quickened. "Who?"
He tilted his head. "The ones who forget."
She backed away, but her legs trembled. Every breath sounded louder now, the air thick and syrupy. Mason or whatever he was stepped closer.
"Sleep," he whispered. "It's how they get in."
She shook her head, dizzy. "No. I can't…."
Her body disagreed. The walls pulsed with low frequency, like a lullaby made of static. Her eyelids grew heavy.
"Stay awake, Isla," she told herself.
But her timer was blinking faster now: 00:33:00 → 00:32:59 → 00:32:58
Each tick made her vision dim.
Mason crouched beside her, voice gentle. "It doesn't hurt if you stop fighting. Just breathe. The memory takes care of the rest."
She forced herself to her feet. "You're not him."
He smiled again. "Not anymore."
His shadow stretched across the floor, longer than it should, until it touched her feet and when it did, her knees gave out.
Darkness flooded in, soft and warm.
00:31:00
She opened her eyes to a different room. No Mason. No door. Only rows of empty hospital beds, each occupied by still forms beneath white sheets. Machines beeped softly in rhythm with her timer.
A woman's voice drifted over an unseen intercom.
"Subject 08 entering REM phase. Preparing for overwrite."
"Overwrite?" Isla murmured, staggering between the beds. She pulled back one sheet and froze.
Her own face stared back at her.
Hundreds of copies. Each one peaceful. Asleep.
She stumbled backward, hands shaking. "No… no, this isn't real."
A monitor flickered on the wall. A line of text scrolled across the screen:
SLEEP IS CONSENT
Then the voice again, calm and final:
"Goodnight, Isla."
The lights dimmed to black.
Her timer hit 00:30:00 and stopped.