The days in Good Hope passed with a strange, restless anticipation. Jake, Lila, and Samuel kept a close watch on the calendar, marking each sunrise with a sense of mounting urgency. Every day, Jake found himself glancing toward the canyon, half-expecting the truck to appear out of nowhere, its battered frame shimmering at the edge of two worlds. The memory of the abandoned settlement -the ghostly ruins where time seemed to have collapsed- haunted all of them.
They spent their time preparing for what they knew would be a one-way journey. Samuel pored over his notes, cross-referencing every detail of their past encounters with the truck and the settlement. Lila kept her old revolver cleaned and ready, though she doubted bullets would do much against whatever forces ruled the canyon. Jake made sure they had enough food and water to last at least a few days, in case the settlement's supplies were as unreliable as its passage of time.
Two weeks after their last visit to the canyon, the truck finally appeared. It rolled into Good Hope at dawn, its headlights cutting through the morning mist, the engine growling like some ancient beast. The driver, a new face, as always. climbed out and began to load crates into the back. The routine was familiar, almost mundane, but Jake felt every hair on his arms stand on end.
"This is it," he whispered, his voice tight with anticipation.
They approached the driver, adopting the roles they'd rehearsed: three hopeful workers, eager to join the coalmine. Lila did most of the talking, her voice steady and convincing. The driver barely glanced at their forged papers, just waved them into the back of the truck with a grunt.
As the truck rumbled out of town, Jake felt the world begin to shift. The landscape outside the windows blurred and twisted, the colors bleeding into one another. He gripped the edge of the bench, feeling the familiar vertigo of crossing between timelines. Lila squeezed his hand, her face pale but determined. Samuel sat across from them, his eyes closed, lips moving in silent calculation.
When the truck finally stopped, they climbed out into a world both familiar and strange. The settlement was alive again- no longer a ruin, but a bustling place filled with the sounds of hammers, laughter, and distant music. The wooden palisade rose high above them, guards patrolling the walls. It was the same timeline, the same reality, as the one Lila and Jeremiah had escaped before.
For a moment, Jake wondered if they'd made a mistake- if they'd entered the wrong loop, or if the canyon had changed the rules again. But then, standing at the entrance, he saw a figure waiting for them.
Jeremiah.
He looked older, wearier, but his eyes were bright with hope. As soon as he saw them, he broke into a run, pulling Jake into a fierce embrace.
"I knew you'd come," Jeremiah said, his voice thick with emotion. "I've been waiting for you. I thought I'd lost you all."
Lila hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "We thought you were gone. We thought you were trapped in another time."
Jeremiah shook his head, smiling through his exhaustion. "I've been here, waiting. The days pass differently, but I knew you'd find a way back."
Samuel clapped him on the shoulder, relief flooding his features. "We need to move. We don't know how long we have before the loop resets."
They hurried through the settlement, keeping to the shadows. The guards barely glanced at them, too busy with their own routines. Jake led the way, his memory guiding him to the hut where he'd last seen Miya.
The hut was small and dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of old wood and dust. Miya sat on a cot, staring blankly at the wall. Her hair was longer now, streaked with gray, and her face was drawn with fatigue. She didn't look up as they entered.
Jake's heart twisted at the sight. He knelt beside her, taking her hand in his. "Miya. It's me. Jake."
She didn't respond, her eyes unfocused. Lila knelt on her other side, tears in her voice. "Miya, please. You have to remember."
*****
The days blurred together, each one almost indistinguishable from the last. The settlement's routines repeated in a dizzying cycle—guards patrolling at odd intervals, the sky shifting from bright blue to ominous gray without warning, meals served in the same order, the same faces passing by the hut where Jake, Lila, Samuel, and Jeremiah hid. Sometimes the guards seemed more alert, sometimes less; sometimes the entire settlement felt on edge, as if the watchers themselves were growing restless. Through it all, the group stayed hidden,
Finally, the day arrived. The familiar rumble of the truck's engine echoed through the narrow streets, and the group watched from their shadowed vantage point as the driver prepared for the supply run. The driver—a broad-shouldered man with a weathered face—checked the cargo, exchanged a few words with the settlement's gatekeeper, and climbed into the cab. The guards' attention was fixed elsewhere, distracted by a heated argument near the well.
Jake signaled to the others. "Now," he whispered.
One by one, they slipped from their hiding place and crept toward the truck, keeping low and moving quickly. Jeremiah went first, pulling himself up into the back and reaching down to help Lila. Samuel followed, then Jake, who cast a final glance over his shoulder before ducking into the shadowy cargo hold.
The truck lurched forward, rolling through the settlement's small gate. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the driver seemed to stiffen, glancing in the rearview mirror as if sensing something was off. He slowed the truck, pulled it to a stop just outside the gate, and climbed out, muttering under his breath.
Jake's heart pounded as the driver circled the vehicle, but instead of investigating further, the man simply shrugged, spat into the dust, and walked away—either unwilling or unable to deal with anything outside the settlement's boundaries. The group held their breath, waiting until the driver's footsteps faded into silence.
Samuel was the first to move. He slid into the cab, checked the ignition, and found the keys still dangling. "Luck's on our side," he murmured, voice trembling with adrenaline.
Jake slid into the passenger seat, while Lila and Jeremiah crouched in the back, peering out at the receding settlement. With a grinding roar, Samuel shifted the truck into gear and steered it away from the gates, down the rutted road that led out of the canyon.
No alarms sounded. No guards gave chase. The settlement shrank in the rearview mirror, its walls already fading into the haze of dust and memory.
They drove in tense silence, each of them afraid to believe they'd truly escaped. The landscape outside the canyon looked different—less menacing, more real. Jake felt the weight of the loop begin to lift, though he didn't dare relax.
Lila was the first to speak, her voice barely above a whisper. "Did we make it?"
Samuel kept his eyes on the road, but a small, hopeful smile flickered across his face. "I think we did. For now."
Jeremiah squeezed Jake's shoulder, his grip strong and real. "We're out. Together."
Jake looked back at the shrinking settlement, then ahead to the uncertain road. They had escaped the watchers' experiment—at least for now. But as the truck rattled toward the open world, Jake knew that the scars of the canyon, and the questions it raised would follow them for a long time to come.