Chapter 3

It wasn't a dream!

Time had moved forward!

That monster was real, it just hadn't appeared yet!

The realization sent a wave of extreme panic through me! I didn't want to experience that pain again; I didn't want Liam to die. I had to find where it got into the house before it came!

But where?

It was already 11:55 PM. Not much time left!

As I was still pondering, the sound of water from the bathroom interrupted me, reminding me that the main doors and windows were all locked. How had that monster gotten in?

Just as I was racking my brain, I suddenly remembered! Since we'd just moved in, there was a small, semi-enclosed balcony outside the kitchen. For aesthetic reasons, the kitchen door was a decorative wooden one with a traditional latch lock, not a modern security door like the main entrance. But for extra safety, I had also installed a metal security gate inside the kitchen door. However, I'd never actually locked that gate; it would be easy to pry open!

With this thought, I quickly threw off the covers and got out of bed, opening the bedroom door and flicking on the stairwell light.

The warm-toned lights illuminated the stairs, but I still didn't have the courage to go down.

I turned and closed the door, then walked to the bathroom and knocked.

"Liam, I'm going downstairs for a minute."

"Okay."

I turned and stepped onto the stairs. My heart, which had just calmed, began to pound violently again. An inexplicable tension gripped me.

It wasn't in yet at this time.

I silently urged myself on, rushing downstairs.

I quickly reached the ground floor, turned on the living room lights, then headed into the kitchen. I locked the metal gate securely, and finally, my racing heart settled.

Just then, the clock struck midnight. My phone buzzed on cue, but seeing the message, I felt like I'd been plunged into an icy abyss.

"I'm in."

Suddenly, I felt a pair of malicious eyes staring at me from the darkness, like a wolf tracking its prey.

My breathing became heavy, and I slowly backed away, retreating out of the kitchen.

I had to escape!

I couldn't stay here.

I slowly backed up to the edge of the kitchen, with the brightly lit living room behind me. If I could just get back to the bedroom!

But before I could step out, a video message arrived.

The video showed a door being opened. The living room lights came on right after the door was closed. The phone's owner retreated behind the door, still recording.

I watched myself close the door, pause in the kitchen to check my phone, then slowly and fearfully back out.

For a moment, my breathing stopped.

My eyes stiffly shifted to the door on my left.

A dark shadow was clearly hiding behind the frosted glass door. My legs turned to jelly. My survival instincts screamed at me, and I spun around, accelerating up the stairs. In that same instant, I heard the door being pushed open, and heavy footsteps thudded behind me, getting closer and closer!

Tears streamed down my face. I was practically tumbling up the stairs.

The sound of sinister laughter closed in behind me. I'd just rounded the first flight of stairs, heading for the second, when it grabbed my hair, yanking me around to face it. Its sharp teeth once again sank into my neck, blood gushing out.

Its eyes reflected my terrified face.

In the last second before my voice died, I heard Liam's pained, furious scream.

I woke up again, and it was eight in the morning.

My hand was on the doorknob, ready for work.

I checked my phone; the date was still today.

No matter how many times it looped, that monster would still come for me tonight.

Liam and I would still die horribly!

But at least today, time had been set back by over ten hours. This was my chance. If we just found somewhere to hide, it wouldn't find us!

Excited by this possibility, I eagerly opened my phone and told Liam everything that would happen tonight, and about the previous two loops. Predictably, he didn't believe me. He just thought I was too stressed.

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