Learning to Love Time Loops Without Going Insane

Cal decided to try something different on day one this time around. When Andy appeared to talk comics, instead of inviting him to the backyard to play with Bug, Cal had a different topic in mind.

“Andy, I'm going to level with you. I know this is going to seem weird, but hear me out, please.” Andy took a couple of steps back. He looked like he wanted to leave. “You burnt a hole in the carpet several years ago in your apartment doing an experiment. No one but you knows this.” Andy’s face was now one of confusion instead of fear.

“Ho-ow, do you know that?” Andy stuttered, staring directly at Cal as he asked.

“You told me in the future. We are all stuck in a time loop, and I’m the only one that remembers, other than your future self. But he won’t remember until the very end. I need your help long before that.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes”

Cal spent the next few hours explaining the broad strokes of the previous loops. They traded contact information, and once again, Andy was convinced of the time loop’s existence. All in all, and much to his surprise, it had gone easier than he had expected. He thought for sure he’d end up screwing this up one or two times before the young Andy accepted their shared plight.

The next several years were spent similar to the last three loops, though this time Andy was brought along on several hiking trips as Andy made sure to keep in contact with him. Andy’s parents were all too happy to get their son some outdoor time with a friend. During these hikes, the plan for approaching the mines this time around was a constant source of conversation.

It was eventually decided that they would prepare to spend as much time as needed there to map and document the entire mine structure, not just grab the stone and run. This meant that Bug was now coming along as she couldn’t be left alone for what was likely to become months. This also meant that the structure they lived in during this attempt needed to be much more solid and semi-permanent.

The new plan was a helicopter license, a giant mobile home with a trailer packed full of the building supplies. They would go back and forth to safety every night, no foraging for firewood anywhere near the campsite. The only point of contention was how to handle the animals. While Cal and Stan were planning on bringing gear certified to hunt Alaskan moose, Andy was convinced that they should at least try to talk to them. They decided to table that part of the discussion until their research fortress was built.

They were packed and ready to go shortly after Cal's nineteenth birthday. Andy had convinced his parents he was going on an extended geology survey for college, not wanting to worry them.

They celebrated the fourth of July this year by successfully dropping their supplies and landing the helicopter safely outside the mine. Bug had been left behind in the motorhome as they didn’t want her there until she could be secured inside. Cal had pointed out how risky it would be if she alerted the bears or ran into the mine before they were completely set up. Both Stan and Andy agreed.

Day one was spent measuring, mapping, and digging many post holes in the ground. The ground was hard and rocky, and by the end of the day, they were all exhausted but safely back at the motorhome relaxing. “Well, guys the good news is now we know we can use the jackhammer without anything coming running now.” Cal was hopeful about this trip.

“God, I hope we are done with that thing. I’m still vibrating” Stan's voice sounded annoyed, but his face looked relaxed. Cal was pretty sure he was enjoying the trip so far. He was glad neither Andy or Stan could remember the horrors that had occurred here so far. It was why he was so vehemently against trying to make contact with the creatures. He vividly remembered his first encounter. It was not something he ever wanted to repeat.

Cal and Stan spent the next day mixing and pouring concrete while Andy walked around with several different instruments taking readings. The only one Cal recognized was the Geiger counter. Every so often, he would come over, sit down, and scribble some more notes while talking to himself about how strange the lack of radiation was considering the monstrous creatures.

“It just doesn’t make sense. Something had to mutate them.” Andy started ranting.

“I’m telling you, Andy, magic.” Cal prodded him jokingly, knowing how much he hated that potential answer.

“There’s no such thing. I’m betting the effect is just localized, possibly as small as the pool where the stone itself is.

“You know, in the loop where we played D&D weekly, I think you would have at least considered magic, Andy.”

“Doubtful, unless you’re implying long-term exposure to you will rot my brain.”

“Look at that, a joke, not a great one, but that’s an impressive start for you.”

“Does it really matter if it’s magic or science?” Stan joined the argument.

“Yes”

“No”

Despite the argument, they managed to get a good chunk of the foundation in place for their upcoming summer vacation home. The days passed much the same. Each day when they arrived at the site, Stan and Cal started the construction tasks, and Andy continued trying to map any data about the area he could. Magic vs science had quickly turned into a running joke among them. Even Andy had finally given in.

“See, Andy, you’re already coming around to a loop of fun.” Cal joked with his friend over dinner on the final night of the construction. Tomorrow was their move-in day. The perimeter alarms were in place, the cameras were mounted, and most importantly, the reinforced steel walls were secure. This time, they were prepared.

“Aren’t you the one who keeps saying the giant spider ate you, and that’s why we can’t ever try a peaceful route with them? Because that doesn’t sound like my idea of fun.”

“Look, sometimes the fun is in not being eaten alive. One day, you will understand.”

“I hope not, I think at least, you phrased that weirdly,” Andy was trying his best to voice that he never wanted that particular life experience for himself.

Two days later and, their move-in was complete. The three of them were now sitting in front of a monitor while Andy drove a remote-controlled car into the mine.

“I still don’t like the idea of this. The spider killed me twice,” Cal complained yet again but resigned to at least trying the idea of talking.

“I thought you blew yourself up the second time?” Stan looked over at his son as he asked.

“Well, yes, but it was her fault from the trauma of the first time around.”

“Can both of you be quiet? I'm about to try to make contact.” Andy was trying to focus on the task at hand. “Hello, large spider. Can you hear me?” Andy spoke into the headset.

After a bit of silence, the familiar crooning of the spider came through the speakers, causing Cal’s heartbeat to race. “What’s this thing making all this noissseee? I dooon’t thiiiink it’s meat.” its pattern of dragging out words was hammering home to Cal that this was the spider.

“Hello, sir/ma’am/you. I’m sorry, I don’t know what giant spiders prefer to be called. We are trying to explore the mines and, through some odd circumstances, learned of your existence. We were wondering if it would be possible to discuss a peace agreement.” Andy managed to maintain a calm and neutral tone throughout the conversation, so far, at least. Cal was hopeful he would continue it.

“The nonmeat has reeesspect. I like that. You can call me Many Eyeeees. I wanted many leeeeggssss, but nooo sheeee just had to haaave moooore,” The spider’s tone had changed. It became whiney as they brought up what Cal assumed was the giant centipede who lived further down in the mines.

“Okay, Many Eyes, what would it take to let us explore the mines?” Andy asked again. He still held the neutral voice.

“Youuuu keeeeep saying us, but aaaaalll I can see is thissss single metal thing” Many Eyes was now visible on the car’s camera. This was the first time Cal had been able to truly look them over. Every other time, Cal had been in a panic, trying desperately to stay alive, or Many Eyes had been torn apart by monster bears. He realized that his life had taken a turn for the strange. He wasn’t entirely sure he hated it either. His last life was pretty dull in comparison. They looked like a giant wolf spider. Their fur was beige colored with brown stripes. Cal especially hated the huge fangs that were captured crystal clear in the image.

“Ah, well, you see, that is actually just a robotic device we are controlling from outside to talk to you safely. We are actually three humans and a dog.”

Andy was about to continue speaking when Many Eyes cut him off. “SO MUCH MEAT!!!” they bellowed loud enough to shake the camera slightly.

“WHAT WHERE?!” a distant voice resounded off the walls. It came from somewhere deeper in the mines.

“Iiiiiit’s not important, goooo back to sleeep” Many Eyes switched to a soothing tone in their attempt at pacifying the centipede. “Greeaat you woooke her uppp” Many Eyes voice was much quieter now.

“Why don’t you come outside and talk to us in person? That way, she won’t interrupt.” Andy's suggestion made Cal squirm in his seat

“Oooh, Iiii havvven’t beeeeen outsiddde in aaggges, bee right theeerreee,” they crooned quickly, running out of sight of the camera.

“Ugh, great, here she comes with all that spider fur and giant fangs.” Cal shuddered as he spoke.

“It’s not fur. I believe it’s called trichobothria, but I haven’t really studied spiders much,” Andy corrected Cal, still holding onto his calm demeanor as he walked towards the reinforced window in the main room. He pressed a button on the wall to the side of Window.

“Hello, Many Eyes. My name is Andy. The shaking man about my size on my left is Cal. The giant hulking man behind us is his father, Stan. As I said, we were hoping you’d come to an agreement on exploring the mines. We can offer you fresh cooked food nightly for as long as we are here. Think of all the exotic flavors you’ve never gotten to try.” Andy’s negotiation tactics looked to have Many Eyes interested, or at least very focused on him.

“Teeempttting, but what iiiifff I juuust eeat you inssttteead?” She countered, keeping all her eyes fixed on Andy.

“So that is an option, and potentially, that gets you three humans and a dog, as I said earlier. My offer gets you many different kinds of animal meat. Have you ever had salmon? How about roast beef? We have food stores to last a while and have arranged for another drop-off at McCarthy in a few months. So what do you say? Just think how interesting this could be.” Cal thought Many Eyes looked interested, but he wasn’t sure he could accurately judge a spider's intent from their face, especially not a giant mutated spider.

“OOOkkkaaay, I agree. I am sooooo booooorrredd.” The spider went back to the whiney tone.

“Alright, good, I just want to be clear, though. You see this box right here?” Andy held up a remote control. Cal wasn’t sure where he was going with this. It wasn’t part of the discussion on how to tame a spider.

“Yesssss”

“This box alerts our friends back in the city that we are alive every half an hour. If they don’t get that alert, they have orders to come out here and burn down everything around the mine and then collapse the mine itself. So if anything happens to us, that means the best-case scenario for you is no more meat ever. The worst case is the mine collapsing on top of you. Do you understand?” Andy’s neutral tone has shifted into a commanding one. It was closer to what Cal had heard coming out of Future Andy when they first met in the hallways.

“Yesss Yesss, I understaaaand. Whatttt’sss for dinnerrrr?” Many Eyes had their priorities, and it seemed food was top of it.

“Tonight, we eat salmon with a side of mashed potatoes,” Stan chimed in.

Surprisingly, everything went great that night. They sat outside around a fire, eating dinner. Many Eyes had three helpings themselves. Andy showed the spider a crude map Cal had drawn up from his previous experiences in the mines, and Many Eyes offered several corrections about it.

“Many Legs like’s live on the far side of the glowing water. She hunts the weird things in the depths. Personally I think they are too slimy, but maybe if we cooked them on a fire like this. I’ll have to suggest it to her.” Many Eyes’ vocal patterns shifted closer to their own the longer they spoke together. Cal wasn’t sure if it was mimicry or just a sign of not being hungry. Either way, it was helping his stress levels, and he much preferred it this way.

“Speaking of Many Legs,” Andy cut in. “Do you think we can bring her in on this arrangement too? We’d really like to explore the lake and what makes it glow.”

“Yeah, she’s a pushover. I’ll go talk to her tomorrow. We shouldn’t have to worry about the bears, at least. They only do a migration to the glowing lake every five years and they just did their last summer. So we are safe there.”

“Wait, what? The bears only show up every five years?!” Cal couldn’t keep quiet any longer. Had their entire first trips just been bad timing?

“Yeah, they all come into the cave and start marching down there, each carrying a small pebble, and then one by one, they swim to the bright stone, and the light leaves their pebble, and the bright stone shines a little bit brighter. Many Legs hates them and made them agree they can only come in once every five years.”

“Interesting,” Andy was writing this all down. “I guess we are going to have to track the bears eventually, too, if we want to understand what the bright stone is. Hey, Many Eyes, how old are you?”

“Ugh, I’m not sure. It’s been about fifty years since I woke up, and I can remember things before that, but it’s like a dream.”

“Do you know what caused you to wake up?” Andy kept up his probing.

“Something I ate, I think, at least that’s what Many Legs says. I don’t really know. We can talk it out with her once I convince her to come out. I’m going inside to sleep now. It’s been a long day. I’ll meet you out here tomorrow once the sun sets. I’m tired of the brightnesssss. I should haveee Many Leeeegs with me,” Their voice was starting to gain back the word dragging. Cal guessed it was due to exhaustion; they had kept the spider interacting for most of the day now, and he wasn’t sure just how active spiders were usually.

“Well, that’s promising.” Andy looked thrilled at where the night had gone. Cal was coming around, but he was still very unnerved.

They spent the next day exploring around their immediate campsite without entering the mine. Cal was hoping to find a sign of a trail the bears were using, but he was having no luck, likely due to how long ago and how infrequent the trips were. He eventually gave up and headed back to the house.

“Just in time, give me a hand preparing dinner. Many Eyes let us know through the car a few minutes ago that Many Legs would be joining them tonight.” Stan handed Cal an apron as he spoke. Cal shook his head but joined his father in food preparation anyway. Tonight, they were barbequing, and the chicken needed to be properly prepared.

Just as promised, as soon as the sun set, both animals appeared from the mine's entrance. Many Legs looked far more timid than Cal expected. He assumed this meant she didn’t often venture outside her home. At least she had never harmed him in any of the loops so far. He could give her a fair shot at working together. Many Eyes, on the other hand, still brought up a deep sense of dread when he saw them.

“HELLO, I AM MANY LEGS. IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU, I THINK.” It turned out her voice was just naturally booming. She sat next to Many Eyes as Stan made up their first plates and passed them out.

“THIS IS QUITE GOOD, WHAT ANIMAL DID YOU SAY IT WAS?”

“That is beef from a cow. The green stuff were beans.” Stan walked them both through the meal they had prepared today.

“So Many Legs, we were hoping tomorrow to come down and take a good look at the glowing lake, maybe run some tests on the bright stone. Would that be okay with you?” Andy moved closer to the centipede as he also started the diplomacy on her.

“YEAH SURE, AS LONG AS YOU BRING THE DOG, I LIKE HER, SHE’S NICE. SHE REMINDS ME OF MY DOG. I MISS HER.” Cal was surprised to learn he could tell when a centipede was frowning.

“I’m sorry for your loss, and I’m sure Bug would love to come. She seems to like you.” Andy tried to comfort her.

“THANK YOU, IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, DURING THE BEAR WARS, BEFORE MANY EYES. BACK BEFORE THE LONG LONELY.”

Dammit, now he was feeling sorry for a giant bug. Cal again mused on how strange of a turn his life had taken. The rest of the night was focused on happier topics, as for the moment, they had all the information they needed, and no one wanted to push anything and risk ruining the alliance. After the discovery that their new friends were fans of classic rock, Stan promised they could come out here and listen anytime they wanted, and that was precisely what they did for the rest of the night, finally heading inside for rest shortly after midnight.

The next day, the three of them, plus Bug, headed into the mine. Many Eyes greeted them near the entrance and instructed them to follow. They carefully led them down a different series of tunnels than the one Cal had last used to get to the lake. This path had them exit on the other side of the lake near what looked like a nest.

Many Legs rose out of the nest as soon as she saw her visitors. “YOU MADE IT WONDERFUL, WOULD YOU LIKE OCTOFISH?” She motioned to the carcass of a massive fish with multiple tentacles coming out of its body.

“No, thank you, we already ate,” Cal answered before anyone else thought differently about trying the disgusting fish. On this one thing, he agreed with Many Eyes. He did not want to eat that. “I think we are going to get straight to examining the water, but Dad brought you some music if you'd like to listen to that while we work.”

“YES PLEASE, THANK YOU” Many Eyes and Many Legs sat down next to the boombox Stan placed on the ground for them, starting the music before he walked to join in on the research.

“Alright, first up, let’s pull the bright stone out and see if we can notice any changes” Stan and Cal grabbed the nets they used before and went to work on Andy’s plans. They were able to fish it out shortly after, giving Andy and Stan their first in-person and remembered look at the stone. “Was there always this crack here?” Andy pointed at the flat side of the stone.

“Huh, nope, that’s new. It must have been from the bears last year. It wasn’t here last time.”

Andy pulled a small rock hammer from his pack and gently tapped around the crack, trying to break off a small piece. Instead, it shattered into a thousand pieces. The light in the room started to increase rapidly. “What the fuck was that. I don’t like this,” Stan yelled.

“Bug no.” Cal ran to stop bug from licking some of the rock debris but was too late as she appeared to swallow some of it.

“Everyone, I think we need to get out of here now,” Andy screamed as the room was not only getting brighter, the temperature was also rapidly increasing. The Six of them began a race for the mine’s exit. They did not make it as the world once again went white.