Lexia doesn’t care that she is a bruised and bloody mess when she slams 20 bucks and ‘The Tale of Two Cities in War and Peace’ on the counter in front of Mariana. Jayson is behind Lexia, using paper towels to wipe the blood off his face.

“Done and done. Now relinquish my library card, you fiend,” says Lexia.

Mariana grabs the book, scans it in, and slips the money in her drawer. Then she returns the library card to Lexia.

“Don’t do this again,” says Mariana.

“Psh, you’re not the boss of me,” says Lexia. She then snaps to Jayson. “Alright, I’m going to have lunch now. Deuces, loser.”

Lexia runs out of the library, and Jayson rolls his eyes, still dabbing his face. But he remains standing in his spot and turns his attention to Mariana, who is also staring at him with her weary expression.

“You're going to ask me something and not like the outcome,” says Mariana.

Jayson steps forward. “We'll see about that.”

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“Every outcome has been that way.”

Jayson stops in front of the counter and tosses the bloody paper towel in the trash. “Sure it has. But I’m just going to cut to the chase. I feel weird around you.”

Mariana stares at Jayson, her dim eyes and bored frown holding, and he holds up a finger to her nose.

“But not that kind of weird feeling. So, don’t get any funny ideas,” says Jayson.

“You’re not my type,” says Mariana.

“Good. Now I’m wondering what the deal is? Taco King, that scrapping place, and now the library. Especially the library. The world literally flickered and only you and me weren’t affected. And you had Lexia’s library card after that weird flicker.” Jayson puts his hands on the counter and leans in. “So, Mariana, what’s the deal?”

Mariana leans towards Jayson. “The deal is that you saw something because you could see it.”

Jayson’s ears splay back. “That is very unhelpful.”

“Tough crap. I’m not spilling the beans because everytime I do, you do something stupid. And then you die because of it, and then Lexia and Derrick die next. Every time.”

Jayson's eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly what it means.”

Jayson slams his hands on the counter with a loud bang, but Mariana doesn’t flinch.

“You’re being very unhelpful about this!” yells Jayson.

“I warned you, you wouldn't like it,” says Mariana.

“I just want to know what's going on.”

“Too bad. This conversation is now over.”

The world flickers again, but this time Jayson blacks out.