I sat on a nearby doorstep, thinking furiously.

The weather had always behaved abnormally in this street. So much so that I thought it must have a connection with the time loop itself. Despite changing abruptly on different sections of the street, it had always been consistent... hadn't it?

What did I do differently? I've saved the boy this time. But the last—and only—time I did that, the weather still became overcast near the demolition site, right?

I wasn't sure. The first time I saved the boy was within the first three runs. I must've had dozens of runs by now. Most of them involved running headlong into the black car to my death, but still.

Who pays attention to the weather, anyway? Well... I do now, but I didn't back then.

I stood up and paced.

This is important. It might be the way out.

Hope flared bright in my chest.

So, the weather might change after I saved the boy. I'll need to confirm it next run, but I'm sure it's true.

The boy seemed connected to the time loop too. The school bus always came to run him over when he fell. Just like the black car always came for me when I stepped onto the street.

Do I need to prevent deaths to break free from the time loop?

I searched my memory to recall if I’ve seen more deaths.

Didn't I hear a scream when the building was knocked down on the demolition site? I'm still not sure if I imagined it. I guess we'll see soon enough.

I glanced at my watch—it was 11:25. If I remembered correctly, the building would be demolished at around 11:30.

I ran up the street, pushing myself to make it in time.

What else? The fire on the left branch might've killed several. The stampede on the right branch might've produced casualties, too. I'll just treat this run as information gathering.

Soon, I saw a crowd gathering around a cordoned building ahead of me. Panting slightly, I pushed my way to the front of the crowd. I ducked under the tape and approached the foreman.

I smiled. "Good afternoon sir, is this building getting demolished soon?"

The foreman squinted at me. "You shouldn't be here. Go back over the tape."

He observed me more closely, then glanced back at the crowd behind us. "Hold on, I don't recognize you. Yes, the building's getting demolished. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, nothing, just a concerned passerby," I said.

"Go on and pass by then. I'm busy," said the foreman. He nodded his head to the street to our right. They had blocked off one street lane, and four construction vehicles were idling there. "You can pass through there. Now buzz off, this is restricted area."

"Of course, of course. I'll be on my way soon. I'm sure you're very busy doing things like checking the building to make sure there's no one left inside, right?" I said.

The foreman huffed. "Aye. I know what I'm doing, and it's none of your business. Just move along, there's nothing to see here."

I smiled inwardly. I knew his type. Prickly and overworked, forced to face complaints for the decisions of his higher-ups. Every company has a dozen such people. A softer touch was needed to get them to do anything. My blatant hint was perfect. Any less and it’ll be too subtle, but push further and he’d get defensive. If the scream I heard was real, I knew for a fact that he hadn’t checked the building. All I had to do now was walk away, and he’d do so.

I was about to leave when a man stepped out of the crowd and over the tape. "Yea move along mister! It's none of your business. And you! You fat ass! Do you think we'll stand for this? Compensation for our ruined home!"

I stared at the shouting man in confusion. He was middle-aged, with distinctive auburn sideburns. A sense of déjà vu struck me.

Didn't this happen before? I recognize this man.

The foreman turned red in the face, shouting back at sideburns, thoughts of checking the building abandoned.

I watched their arguments mutely, lost in thought. Soon, the rest of the crowd joined in the argument. Before I knew it, it was a full-blown shouting match.

It all seemed deliberate. Discretely, I backed away and approached the building. I had hoped that they would be too busy arguing to notice my actions, but it seemed like things wouldn't be so easy.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Hey! Where are you going?" the man with the sideburns called out to me.

I was certain now. He was trying to keep the building from getting checked.

Why? Is he aware there's still someone inside? Or is he trying to hide something in the building? There’re too many reasons.

"I asked you a question, mister!" Sideburn asked impatiently.

Everyone was looking at me now.

I smiled. "Carry on, don't mind me. I'm going to take a quick look inside. I thought I saw someone near one window earlier. I'll be really quick."

The foreman was about to say something but was cut off by a woman from the crowd. "You shouldn't! It's dangerous. This bastard will demolish the building even with you in it."

A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd.

The foreman whirled around at her, veins popping in his head. "Nonsense! We take security very seriously. No one will get injured if you don't step over the tape! Now leave mister!"

That last shout was directed at me, and I had no choice but to step away.

Sideburns approached and looked me in the eyes. "Thank you for your concern, sir, but it's fine. You must've been mistaken. We're a tightknit community, and we can all confirm that there's no one missing. Right, everyone?"

The crowd nodded.

"You buzz off too! The demolition is about to start," the foreman said.

Before they could start arguing again, I asked them in a raised voice, "Are you all sure there's no one missing? No one at all?"

The crowd looked at each other and seemed to confirm each other's presence. I took this chance to take a quick headcount. There were 14 people in the crowd, 15 with the foreman.

Sideburns stepped close to me and whispered, "Look here mister, what's your problem? It's none of your business. Just move along."

I whispered back, "You know there's someone still inside, don't you?"

His eyes widened, then turned steely. He turned towards the crowd. "We all appreciate your concern mister, but frankly we would never leave one of our own behind. More importantly, we would never let this greedy bastard tear down our home without our permission!"

His words seemed directed at me, but I knew he was addressing the crowd and foreman instead. I tuned him out as he went on and on after that, whipping both parties into a frenzy.

This is ridiculous. I mishandled this. I also didn't have all the information before. Sideburns is suspicious, but the other residents trust him. He's very skilled in swaying them too.

As I was lost in thoughts, the foreman lost his patience and signaled to the construction vehicles to go through with the demolition.

I looked down at the time. It was 11:35. I knew I had only delayed the demolition slightly. I looked over at the wrecking ball hanging down from the crane. I hadn't seen one of those before. Who still uses them these days?

It swung with deceptive slowness and knocked down a wall of the three-story apartment. The building shuddered, sand and dust trickling down. Ponderously, like a glacier breaking off, the wall slid down to the street with a thunderous roar. Dust and debris flew everywhere, and the crowd backed away.

After a few more swings, the apartment collapsed in on itself. A scream rang out from within as the building crumbled.

I noted everyone's reactions to the scream. The foreman was surprised and panicked. Most of the crowd were genuinely surprised too, except for one person. Sideburns seemed surprised, but the corners of his lips were twisted into a satisfied smile.

Then surprise turned into anger and the shouting shouted.

I stepped away and watched them detachedly, barely listening.

Weren't they a close-knit community? Why hadn't anyone bothered to check who just died? All I'm hearing are demands for compensation and finger pointing.

Now I recall why I was so disgusted with this lot in my earlier runs. I walked away to the cordoned lane in the street, leaving them to their arguments. At least I've confirmed the scream was real. One more death to prevent here.

As I passed the section where it started raining in the earlier runs, clouds rapidly covered the sun.

Indeed. So preventing deaths will push the sunny section of the street further?

Although I didn't know what changing the weather by preventing deaths had to do with breaking free from the time loop, anything that changed the status quo was a plus in my books. At the very least, I'll learn more about the time loop. Maybe, if I gather enough information, the path to freedom would open.

I smiled. Buoyed by optimism, I quickly reached the crossroads at the end of the street. It was 11:40 and I could already see a plume of black smoke rising on the left path.

I was too late to stop the fire then.

I approached anyway since I needed more information, but my body froze after only a few steps. The dress shoes I wore felt like they’d suddenly been coated with lead. I trembled in place, a phantom burning sensation playing over me.

It seemed like I was still traumatized from burning to death.

Damn. This won't do. No! I need to move. I need to know where the fire originated from at the very least.

But my body was on strike. Helplessly, I turned around and headed to the right path instead.

Back at the crossroads at the end of the street, I decided to climb the footbridge to gain a better view of the situation. I recalled the unpleasant experience of making my way through the crowd on the very first run.

I never tried it again after, so I didn't know why the crowd suddenly stampeded. I climbed the stairs to the footbridge, sitting down at the top to catch my breath.

It had been a while since I had to run around like this. I forgot how out of shape my body was.

At 11:45, I made my way to the intersection of the right and left footbridge. I looked down at the sea of humans on the right path, leaning on the railings. It was an unusual decision to construct a footbridge just to cross a two lanes street. But I could understand why. The vehicles using this street were all maniacs. It was as if they were unfamiliar with the concept of breaks. I was surprised that the crowd of people in the right path had dared to block the street. Weren't they afraid of getting run over? Then again, with this many people, no cars could get through, even if they’re willing to run people over.

Just then, a car sped by below me on the street, drifting slightly and heading down the left path. I shook my head and focused. I peered down the right path, trying not to miss anything.

At 11:50, I glimpsed a hint of movement on the second-floor balcony of the mansion everyone was crowding around. Curious, I looked over and saw an old man peering down at the crowd below him. I couldn't see his expression from here, but I could tell he was disgusted just by his body language alone.

Then he jumped off.

What?

I couldn't process what I just saw for a moment. I was not alone. The people right under the balcony froze in shock. The shock reverberated outwards; from my vantage point it was as if the sea of human froze in a ripple from where the old man had fallen.

Then the screaming started. The frozen crowd roiled chaotically and stampeded.

Ah. That's how it happened.