Learning to Love Time Loops Without Going Insane

Melissa has worked through the night packing up her van. She loaded it with any tools she thought would be helpful, her clothing, whatever prepackaged food that was in the house, and the personal mementos she possessed. She climbed into her van and flicked two switches on the ceiling. She had built this van to be able to contain a magical aura, shrouding it from the prying eyes. It wouldn’t be able to do so indefinitely, but the parts would hold up until she arrived at her destination.

The first thing she needed to do, though, was to sleep. She may be a genius, but even geniuses shouldn’t drive cross country without having slept in over a day. Her dreams were plagued by the final things she saw on Mars. A murderous moose and thousands of the condorpion creatures worked together in her nightmares, devouring any chance for a truly restful sleep.

“Henry, run!” Melissa had woken up screaming again. Her childhood traumas loved to visit her while she slept. This time, instead of a man in a suit chasing her brother, it had been the condorpions. It didn’t matter though. Things had changed. She would find and rescue Henry just as soon as she herself was safe.

She had a long drive ahead of her. She needed to get from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. Every time she stopped for any reason, be it snacks, gas, or a bathroom break, her paranoia increased. She had zero protections outside her van, but despite her fears, she doubted the small excursions would give her away. With the way she should just show up out of nowhere as a weak signal and then disappear soon after, she should only register as a blip to the Agency, at best, a bullet point for a future target.

It was the snatchers that truly scared her. She knew now that they were likely tried to the aliens that invaded at the end of the loops, but that didn’t tell her anything else. She had so much intelligence to gather once she finished securing herself.

The van pulled into a driveway at three AM. So far, so good. Nothing was following her as far as she could tell. She hopped out of the van and knocked on the door of the house. She knocked six times loudly, rang the doorbell twice, and then knocked two more times.

The door clicked, and she pushed it open. It had been years since she had last been here, but the knock mechanics still worked. That was further good news. She needed it. Still here, paranoid refused to die down. She locked the door before her and sank down onto the couch. She had wanted to leave tonight, but exhaustion was winning. Her eyes closed, and she drifted back into her usual nightmares.

“Mel?! Is everything okay?” Melissa woke from her nightmares to an older man looking down at her in concern.

“Hi, Grandpa. Yes and no. Everything has changed, and we need to get under the water today.” She stood up and hugged him. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too. Is it Henry? Have you found him?” His voice had a stern, serious tone to it.

“No. I promise I’ll explain everything once we are safely submerged.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll start packing. I assume you want to go check the sub’s integrity?”

“Yeah. I’ll have you pack once I’m sure it’s good to go.”

“Okay. Roger, come here.” The older man picked up a large orange cat and handed him over to Melissa. “Take him with you and get him secured. I’d rather not search for him once we are ready to launch.”

“Come on Roger, you can help me make sure we won’t implode.” The cat purred as she slung him onto her shoulder and headed for the basement.

She walked down the creaky stairs into the old, damp basement. She ignored how run down it looked and walked over to one of the walls. She pulled a rotting painting off of it and, pressed a series of loose stones and then tapped her watch to one of them. There was a loud squeal as old, rusted hinges were pushed open.

She had worked with her grandfather years ago to build this secret launching station. At the time, the idea was she would bring her brother back, and they would disappear for several years below the ocean. Together, they would have been able to work out a plan for their future.

She descended further into the sub-basement. The construction grew much more modern as she continued downward. Once she reached the bottom, she found herself in a larger room than the house above it. The back of it had a large pool of ocean water. Above it hung a giant submarine.

This sub had a new goal now. It was where she planned to unlock her new magical potential and lay the groundwork for her magic tech empire.

She checked over the sub in depth. She found nothing wrong. The years had been kind to her teenage construction. She lowered it into the water.

“All good then?” Her grandfather has snuck in while she was otherwise focused.

“Yep, she is as good as the day I finished her.”

“Of course she is. You built her.” He sat down several suitcases. Melissa was glad to see he hadn’t lost any of his strength despite his age.

“Alright, I’m going to empty the van. I’d like to be ready to launch within a couple of hours. Every minute we are above water, our danger increases.”

“Understood. I’ll get the food loaded.” He grabbed Roger, who was gently dipping his paw into the water. “But first, I’ll secure the captain. I don’t want him going for a swim.”

Two hours later, the three of them were strapped in. Roger was throwing a tantrum about it, but neither Melissa nor her grandfather wanted him hurting himself as she dived. Melissa launched Ellen. She had named the sub after her mother.

After another two hours of piloting the craft to the sounds of opera, her grandfather’s favorite, she felt they were deep enough to relax as much as she could these days. She missed her childhood before everything had fallen apart. She removed her seatbelt, stood up, and started stretching.

“Alright, kiddo, spill. Why did we break all the protocols you laid out? What happened?” Her grandfather had a concerned look on his face.

“The world is trapped in some kind of time bubble that resets every twenty-five years. Most people are unaware of it. I don’t know exactly why I remember the loops or how long they have been going on before I started remembering, but it is happening. Oh, and if the loop doesn’t end prematurely, it always seems to end with an alien invasion.”

“Are you fucking with me?” He released Roger from his cage and looked at her, eyebrows raised.

“I wish, but no. In the last full loop a tech company popped up that I didn’t remember existing before. They wanted to go to Mars, so I got myself a job and went with them. Lots of weird shit happened, but the important part is, much like Henry before me, I also have access to magic now.”

“Ah, so we are down here so you can hide and figure this out? What’s the plan?”

“I spend the next several months going over all the information I have ever learned about magic, cores, mana, and the ogre program, and I try to refine my skills. Once I know how to shield myself, we head back to the surface and start MelissaTech. We find Henry, hell, we find all the ogres, free them, build an army of magic and technology, and we save the world. Easy, right?”

“Yeah, sounds simple. And what about the other people that are in this loop with you?” He sighed loudly as he asked.

“No idea. We can cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, magic and shadowy government agencies are the priority.” She smiled. It was her first genuine smile in a long time. Her parents would be avenged, and Henry would be rescued. The rest was just icing on the cake.