TIME AFTER TIME

nulla, ii.

ZERO, part two.

"Salem and Her Sisters, again"

SALEM.

When I open my eyes I'm in my bedroom. And there is sand everywhere. Again. 

I scream with frustration and then there are footsteps in the hall followed by, "Salem, what's wrong?" My youngest sister stops when she sees the sand on the ground. Her foot pauses before crossing the threshold, "How... Wait... Are you- I'm just as confused as you are. But also having deja vu?"

"Yes, I'm having deja vu because I've seen all of this before and I..," my head hurts for a blurring second as I remember the demon from the night before. I see fighting, running, my powers. "My powers. This must be my powers manifesting. I'm stuck in a... a time loop." The wheels in my mind began to turn. There was always a way out of time loops. I had to be missing something. Something that would let me escape. But what could it be? There were so many possibilities.

"A time loop..," Bree's eyebrows furrow as she considers this. "Wait, Salem. Your powers?!"

We stay home so I can explain and Mom can prepare. She calls Aunt Pearl earlier to tell her we're coming soon. I suggest our earlier departure while Scarlet suggests we stick it out and ambush the demons at the party.

So we go through the magic portal together. Mom doesn't give us the quick rundown on the spell books, there's no life or death but it takes us a while to convince Bree she couldn't tell Aurora. But when get step through the portal the same thing happens, sand under my feet and strong winds forcing me into the past.

I wake up to sand on the floor again. This happens seven more times. I'm nowhere closer to figuring it out on day ten so I decide to let go. I join Scarlet in her expedited pre-game, I race the dark streets, dance on tables at the party, I do all these outlandish things and learn that as long as I stick to a particular order of the day, it doesn't restart. The order consists of waking up, staying home, and going to the party with my sisters and Sabrina. It's important to keep Bree with Aurora at the party. For some reason, the two cannot be separated. And then there's the demons.

Day eighteen is when I come back to the party. And by this time around it's easier to spot the demons as soon as we walk into the party. This time I don't try to consult my sisters and the day continues. I take note of this as I sip my drink in the kitchen, aware of the demon watching me from across the room. My back is to him so he thinks I don't see him even though I had been watching him watch me for the past hour and a half. Scarlet joins me in the kitchen, her eyes on something - or someone - else. "What's got you thinking so hard?"

"What if I told you we were going to be attacked by demons tonight?"

She considers this, most likely on her third or fourth cup so she's barely sober enough to understand. "I'd want to know beforehand so I don't get too shit-faced," she sets down the red cup and crosses her arms, eyebrows beginning to crease with suspicion. "Does this have something to do with why you've been acting weird all day?"

I pause before taking another sip. Shit. The days were beginning to blend into one another I can't even remember which Salem I played for a majority of this day. Had I spoken more than all six words during this loop? "Sort of..," I bite the inside of my cheek and turn around to slyly glance across the room. He'd moved this time. My eyes scan the crowd, not too obvious because no matter where he was he'd be watching me. "It's hard to explain."