Adam walked out of the teacher's office with a blank face.
He ignored the students bustling past him in the hallway.
Their voices and laughter were a meaningless background noise like the hum of a distant machine.
There was no fear in his eyes now. It had been burned away by the four deaths he had endured.
In its place was a cold simmering anger. A maelstrom of questions still raged in his mind but beneath it all an idea was beginning to form. A plan.
He had reviewed his deaths. They were lessons learned in the harshest way possible.
The first death by the police was slow torture. They were professionals. The environment was their own. He had no control. A bad choice.
The second death by the bounty hunters was brutal and swift. Three men strong and experienced. He was outnumbered and outmatched in an open field. A bad choice.
The fourth death at his home was an explosive trap. The enemy was invisible. The threat was the environment itself. He couldn't fight a bomb. A bad choice.
That left the third death. His teacher James and the hidden man in the car. It was two against one.
The odds were still poor. But the car was a confined space.
James was not a professional killer. He was a greedy schoolteacher focused on driving and keeping up a facade. He was the weak link.
The man in the back with the wire was the primary threat but he was just one man. This was his only option. It was the path of least resistance. The easiest target.
Adam walked with purpose. He did not go to an exit. He went directly to the nurse's office.
He stepped inside. The room was empty just as it had been the last time.
He walked over to the desk where the school nurse usually sat.
He pulled open the top drawer. Inside among bandages and antiseptics was a small sharp scalpel. It was used for minor procedures like removing splinters.
He took the scalpel. It was cold and light in his hand. A delicate instrument made for healing. Now it was a weapon. He slipped it into the front pocket of his pants.
The cool metal pressed against his leg a small and dangerous secret.
Just as he stepped out of the nurse's office and back into the hallway he came face-to-face with James.
The teacher was standing there a confused and slightly fearful expression on his face. The concern he had faked so well before was gone replaced by a genuine unease. Adam's unpredictable behavior was making him nervous.
"Adam?" James said surprised. He had clearly come looking for him. "You still haven't gone home? I was getting worried."
Adam looked directly at his teacher. His own face was a mask of neutrality. He let a hint of his old vulnerability show.
It was part of the plan. "No teacher," he said his voice even but with a slight tremor he manufactured. "I was hoping I could go with you today. I don't feel safe walking. Could I get a ride with you from school?"
A wave of relief washed over James's features. It was so subtle that only someone looking for it would notice.
The plan was back on track. The boy was walking right into the trap. He smiled the familiar warmth not reaching his eyes. "Of course Adam. I was just heading out. You can come with me."
They walked towards the faculty parking lot.
This time Adam was watching every detail. James made a point to walk slightly behind Adam. It was a deliberate move.
Adam realized it was designed to keep him from glancing into the car's back seat.
It was to prevent him from seeing the second man hiding there the one who had wielded the garrote in the previous loop.
James gestured towards the passenger door with a friendly smile. "Go on get in."
Adam got in. James then walked around the car got into the driver's seat and started the engine.
As he drove them away from the school and onto the main road heading out of the city he began to make small talk.
He asked about classes and Adam's plans for the future. The words were meaningless empty sounds meant to fill the silence.
In the back seat the hidden man was silent a ghost waiting to act.
The wire was held ready in his hands. He was waiting for the right moment to strike again to kill Adam just as he had before.
Adam knew this. He could almost feel the man's presence behind him a cold spot in the warm car. This entire loop this conversation this car ride—it had all happened before.
He also knew that he lacked the physical strength to fight two grown men at once in a fair fight.
But this wasn't a fair fight. He had an advantage no one else did. He understood he would not die permanently.
He didn't know if it was a special ability or a curse or something else but something was preventing his final death.
It was resetting him back to this same point in time. He understood the rules of the game even if he didn't know who had created them.
Death was not an end.
It was a reset.
This knowledge gave him a cold and terrifying freedom.
Adam let James's meaningless chatter wash over him. He stared out the window at the passing scenery his mind clear and focused.
He let the teacher finish a pointless story about a former student who had gone on to do great things.
Then he turned his head slowly to look at him. He interrupted whatever James was about to say next.
"Teacher," Adam asked. His voice was calm and detached completely devoid of fear. "How much are they paying you to kill me?"
The smile on James's face vanished instantly. It was as if Adam had slapped him.
The mask of the caring teacher shattered.
It was replaced by a look of pure shock and panic. His hands tightened on the steering wheel causing the car to swerve slightly. He knew. His cover was blown. How could the boy possibly know?
From the back seat the hidden assassin stiffened. He heard the question. He heard the absolute certainty in the boy's voice.
A quiet rustle of clothing told Adam the man was shifting his position getting ready. He knew Adam was aware of his presence.
The charade was over. The pleasant car ride had just become a cage with three very different kinds of animals inside.