Loop Four: If at First You Don't Succeed...

"Well, that didn't work."

I shoot up off the floor and rush out of the room. I only have an hour and a half, but I don't know what to do with it.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asks.

I grab her by the shoulders and start furiously explaining everything to her. She doesn't understand, so I start over. She looks frightened again, and she should. By the time I finally finish, and everything's cleared up, I see the guards rushing to the elevator. I look at my watch. It's been 14 minutes. I start to panic even more.

"There's no time!" I yell, wondering how many times I've said it before and how many times I'll need to say it again.

I grab Sarah by the arm and rush into the security room. They left the door open again. At least something went a little bit right. That still doesn't change the fact that we had less than an hour before those armed men would come down and try to activate the mirror.

"Geoff!" Sarah shouts as I close the door behind us and start to find something to barricade the door with.

I look at her, I can only imagine what I look like.

"They're going to be here soon," is all I can say.

"Who?"

"I have no idea, but they're coming. They're going to start the mirror and I don't know how to stop them. Once they start it, it's going to meltdown and kill us all. I don't know how to save us."

With each word coming out of my mouth, I'm more panicked. My mind is racing, trying to figure out how to set things right, but I'm coming up blank. Then I feel something hit me. I think I've seen this before. Not just from the last time I was here, but from another time. It doesn't feel like a memory, though, it's more like a dream, it feels real, but the details are just out of reach. I'm snapped back to reality with a hard slap from Sarah across the face.

"Geoff, you need to calm down!" She yells.

"How can I possibly calm down? We're about to die!" I yell right back at her.

"No, I'm about to die. You're about to be half an hour in the past. Whatever the mirror did, it obviously changed you. If you're just going to come back again when you die, then maybe you can fix this."

I think about it. Everything she said sounds good (and awfully on-point for someone who is coming to grips with this for the first time), but who could possibly know for sure?

"How do I know that? Just because it's happened before doesn't mean I'll keep coming back. What if this is it?"

She shrugs.

"Does it really matter? You said those guys are armed, deadly, and are going to come down and blow the mirror up. We're both going to die either way. But at least for now, you're free from death. You're the only one who can figure this out."

I nod slowly.

"You're surprisingly calm about this."

She shrugs again.

"I don't really have a choice. There's nothing I can do, it's all up to you. I'll help however I can."

I try and harden my resolve. Hiding out wasn't going to do any good. I have to try and fight back. It probably won't end well, but in the last three hours, I've been shot, smashed in an elevator, and evaporated by a massive explosion. I don't think it can get much worse.

"Stay here," I try to say heroically, but my will is already fading. Dying sucks, and I'm looking forward to doing it again.

"Good luck. I believe in you."

She smiles, but I can see the fear she's trying so hard to hind deep behind her eyes. I take a long look at her, just in case it really is the last time.

I close the security office door behind me and raise the pistol. I look at my watch. I have about 20 minutes before they get down here. I have to make a plan. I try and think back to what I saw before, but I don't remember the pattern of how they came out and where they went. They won't be expecting me at least. I have to use that to my advantage.

Sarah helps me pull out one of the desks from the security room into the hallway and flip it over. I tell her that I'll try my best, and to go back into the office. She does and gets under the table as I hear the ding of the elevator arriving. This is it, now or never. Well, not really, I guess. Now, or as long as it takes me to figure it out. That's a horrifying prospect, but one I put aside for later.

I stand up and aim down the sights of the pistol. My hands are shaking but I don't have time to wait. I fire a shot, and, luckily, it actually hits one of them. It hits him right in the throat and he goes down.

They look at me, shocked. They didn't expect it, I guess.

It would have been the perfect time to take a few more down, or take cover, or run to another spot, but I don't do any of that. I can't look away from the guy on the ground, choking out his last breathes as he clutches his throat. It's the first time I've ever killed someone, but I feel like it won't be the last.

Their shock wears off almost immediately, and they all look at me. I close my eyes and wait for the pain to come. It doesn't take long, but hurts just as bad as it did the first time. Just before the darkness takes me, I hope that I don't have to do this too many more times