The next loop, Clara stopped responding or even opening her eyes, and with Thomas unable to find any solution, any way to wake her up, time continued to relentlessly pass. Loop after loop after loop, Thomas kept trudging forward, alone, in the hope of her one day waking up.

At some point, with every loop that passed, he started feeling a little bit of himself slip by, a little bit of his sanity disappear.

Regardless of whether he felt like he’d die from the lack of sleep or from the hunger he felt, he’d always try his best to at least keep her alive.

All in the hope of one day reuniting.

***

< A long time after Clara first lost her consciousness >

A new loop started.

The moment it did, Thomas tried to look at Clara as fast as he could, but by the time his eyes finally found her, she had already fainted and hit her head on the table. At this point, this much was routine for him, and he had already figured that there was absolutely nothing he could do.

The next event was also part of his new routine; for the people around her, it looked like she had simply suddenly collapsed, so a commotion instantly broke out. While everyone’s attention was on Clara, Thomas rose from his seat, nearly falling to the side from the dizziness he felt, left the classroom and walked up to an empty table at the end of the hallway, where a functionary would usually be. He opened one of the drawers in it and took a handful of coins without even batting an eye.

Then, he walked to a vending machine and from there, bought a few different types of food, namely sandwiches and juice, returning to class thereafter.

Thinking about it, at first, with all the people around her, feeding Clara had been incredibly difficult… But it had become surprisingly easy after he came up with a somewhat unorthodox strategy.

“Leave Clara and I alone here” He brandished a knife “Or I’ll fucking murder you”

Obviously, he didn’t actually mean to hurt anyone. Among other reasons, he didn't know what consequences doing so entailed.

In any case, the reaction Thomas received was always the same.

“Thomas, what are you doing?!” Screamed the teacher “We are not going-”

But she’d immediately stop talking the moment Thomas put the knife on his own skin, in the top of his arm, letting a string of bright red blood trickle onto the floor.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Thomas thought that this alone would hopefully make it so the class thought that he was serious, but just to play it safe, he always made his best effort to look like he’d suddenly gone insane, moving the knife around in a way that seemed unsafe for everyone around him as he screamed “LEAVE THIS FUCKING ROOM OR I’LL FUCKING MURDER SOMEONE”

At that point, the teacher had no choice but to prioritise the students’ safety. She ordered the whole class to flee, and, under the assumption that at least one of the students would call the police, she stayed in the classroom.

As far as Thomas knew, she didn't run so she could make sure he wouldn't hurt Clara.

“Can I at least stay?” She asked, futilely trying to feign composure.

“Yes”

Thomas didn’t really mind being watched since he had already achieved what he wanted. Although he’d been in this exact situation more times than he could count, he didn't really know what would happen if he told her to leave, because in the end, it didn’t really matter. The teacher wouldn't do anything so long as it didn’t look like he was going to hurt Clara.

With that settled, Thomas grabbed one of the sandwiches and stuffed it into her mouth. As would be expected, however, the teacher did not like that.

“What are you doing?! She’s unconscious!”

The teacher nearly got up to stop him, but with his insane act still up, he glared at her, causing her to flinch.

“Shut up, and no, she isn’t”

In order to prove what he had just said, he put the sandwich in his mouth, and lo and behold, she started slowly chewing it. Seeing that, the teacher’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and finally, she let Thomas continue feeding her without a comment.

The next 15 minutes passed with Thomas silently stuffing food and drinks into her mouth with the teacher staring at him. 15 minutes was, however, his time limit. It didn't take long for Sirens to start echoing from outside, and soon, he knew the police would arrive.

When the blue armed people barged into the room, in order to give Clara as much time to sleep as possible, rather than breaking his bracelet and ending the loop right then and there, Thomas instantly surrendered, and after getting restrained, he was taken to a police station. Fortunately for him, they didn’t ask him to remove his bracelet, which let him break it some time after they arrived, right before the explosion.

Thus, one of the many, many Clara’s feeding loops ended.

***

The loop after that one would be spent on Thomas feeding himself, and the subsequent ones on him sleeping. He’d start a loop, set an alarm, go to sleep, wake up just before the explosion, break the bracelet, and then rinse and repeat.

Somehow, he’d consistently manage to sleep eight hours or so like that. Although at first he thought he’d end up like Clara, he was surprised to find out that, unlike her, he could actually get the rest he needed.

However, a few questions remained. For how long would he be able to keep it up? What would happen if he didn't do it?

And most importantly; how long would it take until he went insane?

Desperately clinging to this small sliver of hope, waiting for her to wake up, continuously doing his utmost best despite being misunderstood and persecuted, affording not even a single moment of rest…

With nothing more to hold onto than that hope, Thomas vowed to continue until his last breath. Even if there was no reward, even if he was grasping at straws, he’d relentlessly try all he could.

Whatever the cost.