I open my eyes, staring at the ceiling of the room.
The morning light slips softly through the window.
I blink a couple of times.
Today marks one month.
One month since that clown killed me… and I woke up in this world.
I keep staring at the ceiling, lost in my thoughts.
I sigh.
I remember that day.
I had just left the company after spending hours working in front of a computer. The only thing I was waiting for was payday.
Money.
Routine.
A boring life.
And then he appeared.
That clown.
I remember perfectly the discomfort I felt when I saw him.
I told him Halloween was still far away.
That it wasn't 2016.
It was 2026.
I frown.
Why the hell am I remembering that now?
I smile slightly.
I don't even know why.
Maybe because everything that happened after that was far more absurd.
The baptism of blood when I wiped out the gang Tairon belonged to.
My first investigation.
My first fight against a supernatural entity.
A Skinless.
Then the fight against the Skinless leader.
And that Skinless woman.
I close my eyes for a moment.
"One month in this world…" I murmur.
I get out of bed.
I walk to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror.
My reflection stares back at me silently.
Before, I was just a programmer.
A normal person.
Now…
I smile faintly.
Now I'm something completely different.
I stare at myself for a few seconds longer, then lose interest.
I turn on the faucet and wash up.
After cleaning myself and getting ready, I put on my school uniform.
"School…"
I grab my backpack and leave.
As I walk down the street, an idea crosses my mind.
Now that I think about it…
If I used to be a programmer…
I could use the knowledge from my previous life.
Business ideas.
Technology.
Platforms that were normal in my world but don't exist here yet.
Social networks.
Applications.
Digital systems.
I could create many things.
I mentally note those ideas while walking toward school with a slight smile.
But my thoughts quickly shift.
"So… what should I do with you, Loren?"
The image of his furious face appears in my mind.
A bounty on my head.
I smile.
"Fine."
When I eliminate you, the cash you're hiding…
I'll take it.
But something else bothers me.
"Now that I think about it…"
Why hasn't my future vision activated?
That power appeared a few times before.
Small flashes.
Images of the future.
Very useful.
But now… nothing.
"That power is good… but it doesn't activate when I want."
Maybe it needs a trigger.
Maybe danger.
I'll have to figure out how to force it.
While I'm lost in my thoughts…
I bump into someone.
The impact pulls me back to reality.
"Sorry," I say. "That was my fault."
I look up.
There's a man in front of me.
Another man stands beside him.
Both look like ordinary adults.
The first one speaks.
"It's alright, kid. But you should pay more attention. You can't walk around lost in your thoughts."
I nod.
"You're right."
I look at the two of them for a moment.
But quickly lose interest.
It doesn't matter who they are.
I don't care.
What matters now is how to eliminate Loren and his gang.
I continue walking toward the school.
—
"He's a student," one of the men said as he watched the boy walk away.
"Yeah. Looks like he goes to the same school as that girl Vivian."
The first man nodded.
"Leave him."
He pulled out his phone and checked a file.
"According to the report, this kid has been seen several times with the daughter of the police chief."
The other agent frowned.
"You think he's connected to the case?"
The first man shook his head.
"He's clean."
He put his phone away.
Ryan didn't know it…
But he had just bumped into two FBI agents.
—
At school.
Ryan sat in class.
But he wasn't paying attention at all.
The teacher's words went in one ear and out the other.
His mind was somewhere else.
Finally, the lunch bell rang.
Ryan stood up.
"Finally."
He left the classroom and walked toward the cafeteria.
While walking down the hallway, he noticed something interesting.
Vivian.
And Brittany.
Not surprising.
Both were cheerleaders.
Captain and vice-captain.
They were talking near one of the tables.
Ryan stopped a short distance away.
And focused on listening.
"Vivian… I want to know something," Brittany said. "What happened in that forest… you and Madeleine… is it true it was some kind of cult that tried to take your skin?"
Vivian stayed silent for a few seconds.
"You could say that… but they didn't succeed."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
That's true.
They couldn't do anything to them because I arrived in time.
Though what happened after that was much more entertaining.
You don't get to perform such a great show as a clown every day.
And the way I left was perfect too.
I held a balloon…
And floated away.
I smile slightly as I keep listening.
"Madeleine is fine," Vivian continued. "I just haven't talked to her these past few days."
Brittany nodded.
"Vivian… about what happened in that alley… when that clown appeared and castrated Gabriel…"
Ryan almost laughs.
"That clown looked very serious when he did it," Brittany continued.
Vivian thought for a moment.
She remembered it clearly.
That clown had been cheerful.
Dramatic.
Almost theatrical.
But when he fought…
He changed completely.
His voice changed.
From cheerful…
To dark.
Elegant.
As if they were two completely different people.
"Yes… he was cheerful," Vivian said. "But when he fought, he changed completely."
Brittany nodded slowly.
Then Vivian spoke again.
"Brittany… I'm thinking about going to Sussex County."
"For what?"
"I want to talk to that girl… Ana. She was the first person who saw the clown."
Vivian immediately understood.
Ana's case.
Where everything began.
A group of men tried to kidnap her in her house.
But they all died.
And at the scene there was a mark.
The mark of a clown.
"Can I go with you?" Brittany asked.
Vivian looked at her.
And smiled.
"Of course."
—
From a distance…
Ryan listened to everything.
"Why do those two girls want to go see Ana?"
I smile slightly.
"How interesting."
After all…
Ana was the first person I saved in this world.
They probably want information.
I sigh.
I look toward Vivian.
This girl already knows a little about the danger.
But only a little.
The truth is… even I don't know how dangerous this world really is.
I've only been in this state.
New Jersey.
Trenton.
Morris County.
Sussex County.
I know nothing about the rest of the country.
Not even about other states.
I shake my head.
"I'll leave that to my future self."
Doubts.
Concerns.
Not worth it right now.
I look again at Vivian and Brittany.
If something happens to them…
That will be their problem.
I won't let them die.
But they will have to learn something important.
This world…
Is not a good one.