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priscaTitle: Time Loop
Character: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor
Word Count: 1674
Prompt: Yesterday
Rating: PG13
:::
Casey parked his bike at its usual place at school, and while grabbing for his backpack, he suddenly felt a shudder rushing through his body. He couldn't even say what was wrong; it was a day like every day. The cheerleaders were standing around near the picnic tables, chatting and giggling. Mr. Furlong was hurrying over to the school's building, early as ever, and when he passed Casey, he gave him a little smile.
The jocks from the football team had gathered near the flag pole, and Casey knew all too well what they were waiting for. The moment he passed them, Meat would jump forward while Gabe would trip him up. It was inevitable that he would stumble, his backpack would land in the puddle on the ground, the jocks would cheer, one of them would grab his legs, another one his legs, and they would swing him into the flag pole.
It had happened before, only yesterday morning. Casey could already feel the pain in his groin, the jocks would run away hooting, and he would need some time to come back on his feet again. A short check of the camera around his neck, but it would be intact, thank god.
He would pick up his backpack, ready to hobble over to school. It was already running late, and he needed to hurry to make the detour to the darkroom to grab the photos for Delilah, but then his eyes would fall on a small creature crooked in the puddle. Something like this he had never seen before.
Casey stiffened in every movement, splits of memories rushing through his mind. The creature in the fish tank of the lab, the students gathered around. A new student, a girl with long blond hair, a bit shy when she ran into Delilah and her cheerleader gang for the first time. Mister Furlong, a pen sticking in one of his eyes. Zeke's garage, Oscar, the white rat, cringing in pain, larvas moving under Delilah's skin. The drive back to school. The swimming pool. Stokely, lifeless in the ground. Zeke, his leg broken. And he, Casey, facing the alien creature under the bleachers.
He started shaking all over, squeezed his eyes shut to escape these nightmarelike pictures. In vain. All in vain. He had tried it! He had tried his best! He had been the last chance for everyone at school, at Herrington, maybe for the whole world. And he had failed! All humans dead, or taken over by the aliens.
Casey coughed, grabbing hold of the old oak tree in the school's yard. Watching his surroundings. Everything was like it was supposed to be: a typical morning at Herrington High. How ridiculous; his phantasies were running wild today.
:::
Zeke opened the trunk of his GTO, unable to ignore the tension that had crept over him the moment he had reached the school's parking lot. Something was going on, was not, like it was supposed to be, but he couldn't figure out what exactly it was.
Meat, one of the football jocks, stepped closer. „Hey, Zeke!“
„What can I do for you today?“
„Roses? Chocolates? Some stuff like this. It's Jenny's birthday, guess she will rip my head off when she finds out that I've forgotten about it.“ Meat chuckled slightly, shrugging.
Zeke narrowed his eyes. What? The birthday of Meat's stupid cheerleader girlfriend? But it had only been yesterday that Meat had been standing here before school, asking for roses or chocolate. Dressed up in the same worn-out denim, the grey shirt with the football logo, the yellow basecap. He had sold him an old book with romantic poems that had been already lying in his trunk forever, a box of almond toffee... and some pens of his homemade Scat.
Zeke scanned the content in the trunk, and there it was, the book he had sold yesterday. He frowned; his thoughts were rising; this was kinda disturbing. When Meat muttered:“ Hey, Zeke, what's wrong? Can you help me?“ he grabbed the book and the toffees, and thrust both into the jock's hands. „That's it,“ he murmured, and while Meat stared at him surprised, he banged the trunk shut. „Business is closed for today!“
Trying to get rid of the uneasiness inside him, he let his eyes wander over the schoolyard. Taking in all the little things he hadn't paid much attention to yesterday. Annoyed, he shook his head. The scientist in him refused to accept it; a time loop only existed in fiction, and the memories of yesterday felt like a ridiculous nightmare. Of course, it must have been a nightmare; otherwise, he would have to accept that aliens had taken over the high school, assimilating everyone who was still alive at the end of the night. Everyone but him and geeky Casey Connor.
Zeke couldn't help it. He turned to the shelter of the bikes, and he noticed him instantly; the boy was looking for a hold at the old oak tree, and even from this distance, Zeke imagined seeing his pale face and panic in his deep blue eyes.
:::
Zeke reached the flagpole when Gabe and the other jocks were about to start their usual morning ritual. Today, Casey didn't even make the try to escape; he was standing there like paralyzed, accepting his fate.
„Doesn't it start to get boring, the same crap every day?“
The jocks jerked around, staring at Zeke, surprised. „Why don't you care about your own business,“ asked Gabe.
„Because I have something to discuss with Casey. So, why don't you take a break today? I'm sure he will still be here tomorrow.“
Gabe smirked, looking from Zeke to Casey, who visibly struggled to stay on his feet, and back to Zeke. Finally, he shrugged. „Fine by me,“ he said, „Whatever it is, have fun!“
The jocks vanished towards the school building, and Zeke's eyes fell on Pete Miller, one of the seniors, a regular customer of cheesy porn videos and magazines. He was standing near the entrance with a girl. Zeke remembered her all too well, though she was new at school. Pete was obviously flirting like mad, and suddenly, the girl bent forward to place a fleeting kiss on his lips.
Shit! Zeke squeezed his eyes shut. It happened again; but yesterday, it hadn't been Peter Miller she had kissed; it had been him. He could still feel her lips on his, and it had felt good; he had thought about it to invite her at his garage the coming weekend. But this would never happen... because she had turned out to be a fucking alien queen who wanted to take over the whole world.
The low noise behind him reminded him of Casey, and he jerked around. „Hey, what are you doing?“
„I... I need to go,“ the boy whispered. „Mr. Furlong... Mr. Furlong, he hates it when you are late.“
Zeke pulled his face. „Don't be silly, Casey. Mr Furlong will try to kill us before this day comes to an end.“
Casey paled. „What the hell are you talking about,“ he yelled.
„You know!“ Suddenly, Zeke felt all the tension inside him vanishing into thin air. And he could think clear again. „Just like me, you know!“
„But this is only a nightmare! This is not real!“
„And it is a coincidence that we both are dreaming the same shit? After we were the only two surviving last night unharmed? I am a scientist, and for sure, I never did believe in time loops and alien invasions. But it's a fact. We both see the same; we both know what will happen today when we don't stop it!“
„Stop it?“ Casey stared at him with his eyes wide open. „We can't stop it! Remember what happened yesterday? We failed miserably!“
Slowly, Zeke shook his head. „We had no chance; she took us by surprise all along the line.“ His eyes wandered back to Pete Miller, who was still flirting with the girl, unaware of the danger hiding inside her. „When we noticed the truth, it was way too late. Today, it is different.“
„It is different? Pfft, open your eyes. She is already here, begins to implement her plan. What do you think we can do today that I didn't already do yesterday? I noticed something strange was going on, and I tried to warn. You know, what happened? Everyone laughed at me. You, too!“
„Sorry! I was blind yesterday,“ Zeke had to admit,“ like all the others. I mean, your story sounded pretty weird.“
„Mr. Furlong? Mr. Furlong!“ A voice made both boys turn around, watching one of the juniors running over to the school building, stepping in the way of the teacher. He stretched out his arm, opening his hand; Mr. Furlong stepped closer, obviously interested.
Casey sighed shakingly. „See. It happens again. Mr. Furlong will bring this fucking larva into his lab now, and no one will be able to stop it.“
Zeke stared after the teacher, frowning. „I am not willing to accept this. There must be a reason why we get a second chance. C' mon, geek boy.“
„C'mon what?“
„Let's head to my garage; we still have some hours to find out why the Scat didn't work as expected and to make it better this time.“
„You want to change the passage of an event that has already happened?“ Casey huffed. „Who are you? Doctor Strange?“
„Stop that, Casey!“ Suddenly annoyed, Zeke grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it hard, „And think twice. You will recognize that it has already started to change. Marybeth, she kissed Pete, not me.“ He shuddered visibly at this memory but forced himself to continue. „And it was a junior who took the larva to Mr. Furlong, not you. So, I guess the course of the event is not set in stone.“
Casey kept quiet for a while, thinking about Zeke's words. Finally, he smirked weakly. „Well. The geek and the rebel from Herrington High saving the world together. Sounds not bad, don't you think so? Maybe, one day, they will even make a movie about us... with a fucking happy ending.“
Character: Zeke Tyler, Casey Connor
Word Count: 1674
Prompt: Yesterday
Rating: PG13
:::
Casey parked his bike at its usual place at school, and while grabbing for his backpack, he suddenly felt a shudder rushing through his body. He couldn't even say what was wrong; it was a day like every day. The cheerleaders were standing around near the picnic tables, chatting and giggling. Mr. Furlong was hurrying over to the school's building, early as ever, and when he passed Casey, he gave him a little smile.
The jocks from the football team had gathered near the flag pole, and Casey knew all too well what they were waiting for. The moment he passed them, Meat would jump forward while Gabe would trip him up. It was inevitable that he would stumble, his backpack would land in the puddle on the ground, the jocks would cheer, one of them would grab his legs, another one his legs, and they would swing him into the flag pole.
It had happened before, only yesterday morning. Casey could already feel the pain in his groin, the jocks would run away hooting, and he would need some time to come back on his feet again. A short check of the camera around his neck, but it would be intact, thank god.
He would pick up his backpack, ready to hobble over to school. It was already running late, and he needed to hurry to make the detour to the darkroom to grab the photos for Delilah, but then his eyes would fall on a small creature crooked in the puddle. Something like this he had never seen before.
Casey stiffened in every movement, splits of memories rushing through his mind. The creature in the fish tank of the lab, the students gathered around. A new student, a girl with long blond hair, a bit shy when she ran into Delilah and her cheerleader gang for the first time. Mister Furlong, a pen sticking in one of his eyes. Zeke's garage, Oscar, the white rat, cringing in pain, larvas moving under Delilah's skin. The drive back to school. The swimming pool. Stokely, lifeless in the ground. Zeke, his leg broken. And he, Casey, facing the alien creature under the bleachers.
He started shaking all over, squeezed his eyes shut to escape these nightmarelike pictures. In vain. All in vain. He had tried it! He had tried his best! He had been the last chance for everyone at school, at Herrington, maybe for the whole world. And he had failed! All humans dead, or taken over by the aliens.
Casey coughed, grabbing hold of the old oak tree in the school's yard. Watching his surroundings. Everything was like it was supposed to be: a typical morning at Herrington High. How ridiculous; his phantasies were running wild today.
:::
Zeke opened the trunk of his GTO, unable to ignore the tension that had crept over him the moment he had reached the school's parking lot. Something was going on, was not, like it was supposed to be, but he couldn't figure out what exactly it was.
Meat, one of the football jocks, stepped closer. „Hey, Zeke!“
„What can I do for you today?“
„Roses? Chocolates? Some stuff like this. It's Jenny's birthday, guess she will rip my head off when she finds out that I've forgotten about it.“ Meat chuckled slightly, shrugging.
Zeke narrowed his eyes. What? The birthday of Meat's stupid cheerleader girlfriend? But it had only been yesterday that Meat had been standing here before school, asking for roses or chocolate. Dressed up in the same worn-out denim, the grey shirt with the football logo, the yellow basecap. He had sold him an old book with romantic poems that had been already lying in his trunk forever, a box of almond toffee... and some pens of his homemade Scat.
Zeke scanned the content in the trunk, and there it was, the book he had sold yesterday. He frowned; his thoughts were rising; this was kinda disturbing. When Meat muttered:“ Hey, Zeke, what's wrong? Can you help me?“ he grabbed the book and the toffees, and thrust both into the jock's hands. „That's it,“ he murmured, and while Meat stared at him surprised, he banged the trunk shut. „Business is closed for today!“
Trying to get rid of the uneasiness inside him, he let his eyes wander over the schoolyard. Taking in all the little things he hadn't paid much attention to yesterday. Annoyed, he shook his head. The scientist in him refused to accept it; a time loop only existed in fiction, and the memories of yesterday felt like a ridiculous nightmare. Of course, it must have been a nightmare; otherwise, he would have to accept that aliens had taken over the high school, assimilating everyone who was still alive at the end of the night. Everyone but him and geeky Casey Connor.
Zeke couldn't help it. He turned to the shelter of the bikes, and he noticed him instantly; the boy was looking for a hold at the old oak tree, and even from this distance, Zeke imagined seeing his pale face and panic in his deep blue eyes.
:::
Zeke reached the flagpole when Gabe and the other jocks were about to start their usual morning ritual. Today, Casey didn't even make the try to escape; he was standing there like paralyzed, accepting his fate.
„Doesn't it start to get boring, the same crap every day?“
The jocks jerked around, staring at Zeke, surprised. „Why don't you care about your own business,“ asked Gabe.
„Because I have something to discuss with Casey. So, why don't you take a break today? I'm sure he will still be here tomorrow.“
Gabe smirked, looking from Zeke to Casey, who visibly struggled to stay on his feet, and back to Zeke. Finally, he shrugged. „Fine by me,“ he said, „Whatever it is, have fun!“
The jocks vanished towards the school building, and Zeke's eyes fell on Pete Miller, one of the seniors, a regular customer of cheesy porn videos and magazines. He was standing near the entrance with a girl. Zeke remembered her all too well, though she was new at school. Pete was obviously flirting like mad, and suddenly, the girl bent forward to place a fleeting kiss on his lips.
Shit! Zeke squeezed his eyes shut. It happened again; but yesterday, it hadn't been Peter Miller she had kissed; it had been him. He could still feel her lips on his, and it had felt good; he had thought about it to invite her at his garage the coming weekend. But this would never happen... because she had turned out to be a fucking alien queen who wanted to take over the whole world.
The low noise behind him reminded him of Casey, and he jerked around. „Hey, what are you doing?“
„I... I need to go,“ the boy whispered. „Mr. Furlong... Mr. Furlong, he hates it when you are late.“
Zeke pulled his face. „Don't be silly, Casey. Mr Furlong will try to kill us before this day comes to an end.“
Casey paled. „What the hell are you talking about,“ he yelled.
„You know!“ Suddenly, Zeke felt all the tension inside him vanishing into thin air. And he could think clear again. „Just like me, you know!“
„But this is only a nightmare! This is not real!“
„And it is a coincidence that we both are dreaming the same shit? After we were the only two surviving last night unharmed? I am a scientist, and for sure, I never did believe in time loops and alien invasions. But it's a fact. We both see the same; we both know what will happen today when we don't stop it!“
„Stop it?“ Casey stared at him with his eyes wide open. „We can't stop it! Remember what happened yesterday? We failed miserably!“
Slowly, Zeke shook his head. „We had no chance; she took us by surprise all along the line.“ His eyes wandered back to Pete Miller, who was still flirting with the girl, unaware of the danger hiding inside her. „When we noticed the truth, it was way too late. Today, it is different.“
„It is different? Pfft, open your eyes. She is already here, begins to implement her plan. What do you think we can do today that I didn't already do yesterday? I noticed something strange was going on, and I tried to warn. You know, what happened? Everyone laughed at me. You, too!“
„Sorry! I was blind yesterday,“ Zeke had to admit,“ like all the others. I mean, your story sounded pretty weird.“
„Mr. Furlong? Mr. Furlong!“ A voice made both boys turn around, watching one of the juniors running over to the school building, stepping in the way of the teacher. He stretched out his arm, opening his hand; Mr. Furlong stepped closer, obviously interested.
Casey sighed shakingly. „See. It happens again. Mr. Furlong will bring this fucking larva into his lab now, and no one will be able to stop it.“
Zeke stared after the teacher, frowning. „I am not willing to accept this. There must be a reason why we get a second chance. C' mon, geek boy.“
„C'mon what?“
„Let's head to my garage; we still have some hours to find out why the Scat didn't work as expected and to make it better this time.“
„You want to change the passage of an event that has already happened?“ Casey huffed. „Who are you? Doctor Strange?“
„Stop that, Casey!“ Suddenly annoyed, Zeke grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it hard, „And think twice. You will recognize that it has already started to change. Marybeth, she kissed Pete, not me.“ He shuddered visibly at this memory but forced himself to continue. „And it was a junior who took the larva to Mr. Furlong, not you. So, I guess the course of the event is not set in stone.“
Casey kept quiet for a while, thinking about Zeke's words. Finally, he smirked weakly. „Well. The geek and the rebel from Herrington High saving the world together. Sounds not bad, don't you think so? Maybe, one day, they will even make a movie about us... with a fucking happy ending.“