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The Infinite Midnight
Detective Jack Harris woke up to the ring of his landline. Confused and groggy, he reached for the phone. "Harris, we have a situation. A murder at Elm Street Park. Get there now," his captain's voice crackled.
He arrived at the crime scene, routine unfolding before him—the yellow tape, flashlights scouring the darkness, and officers combing for clues. The victim was a young woman, Anna, who was killed precisely at midnight. Despite hours of investigation, the leads were flimsy, and they left with more questions than answers.
That night, he went to bed troubled, only to be woken up again by the same phone call. At first, he thought it was a prank, but arriving at Elm Street Park, he was stunned to find the exact same scene. The same victim, the same lack of clues. It was as if the previous day had never happened.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Jack was living the same day, trapped in a loop that reset every midnight. His reality became a nightmarish tape stuck on rewind, and what's worse, he realized he was not alone. Someone else in this looping world was aware of the reset—the murderer.
Each loop presented a new challenge. Sometimes, the killer changed the location within the park, other times the method of murder. It became a cat-and-mouse game played on an endlessly repeating stage. Frustration built, but so did Jack's determination. He meticulously noted every detail, every variation in each loop. He interviewed everyone in Anna's life—her family, her friends, her co-workers—but each clue led to a dead-end as the clock relentlessly ticked towards midnight.
Jack was about to give up hope when he discovered something new—a small trinket left at the crime scene that wasn't there before. It was a locket, engraved with the letter 'M'. This was the break he needed.
He spent the next loops digging deeper into Anna's connections, focusing on everyone with an 'M' in their name. A series of eliminations led him to one suspect—Mark, Anna's ex-boyfriend. Confronting him, Jack found that Mark was surprisingly candid, as if he knew the day would reset anyway. Mark's motive was jealousy and rage, but he enjoyed the time loops, seeing them as an eternal stage where he could execute the perfect crime.
The cat was out of the bag, but catching Mark was not enough to break the loop. Jack realized he had to prevent the murder entirely. He decided to take a gamble. Armed with all the information he had gathered, he set a trap.
The day unfolded as usual, but as midnight approached, Jack was ready. He had planted himself in a discreet location near the expected crime scene, armed with a tranquilizer gun. The night air was chilly, but Jack's resolve was unshakeable. He waited, his eyes scanning the darkness.
Mark appeared, a shadow gliding through the night, knife glinting ominously. As he neared Anna, who was sitting alone on a park bench, Jack took aim. The tranquilizer dart flew true, hitting Mark and rendering him unconscious within seconds.
Jack rushed to Anna, who was startled but unharmed. He didn't have time to explain; he just hoped this was enough to break the loop.
Jack woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. Confused, he looked at his phone—no calls, no messages. The date had changed. The loop was broken.
He received a commendation for solving the case, and Mark was arrested, but life for Jack was never the same. He had stared into the abyss of infinity and come out the other side. Every new day felt like a gift, a fragile moment that could loop into eternity but didn’t.
As for the loops, they remained an unsolved mystery. Perhaps it was a cosmic glitch, or perhaps it was a test, one that he had passed by catching a killer and saving a life. Either way, Jack knew better than to take any day for granted. After all, who's to say what trick time might play next?
© Magnus Stalhart
He arrived at the crime scene, routine unfolding before him—the yellow tape, flashlights scouring the darkness, and officers combing for clues. The victim was a young woman, Anna, who was killed precisely at midnight. Despite hours of investigation, the leads were flimsy, and they left with more questions than answers.
That night, he went to bed troubled, only to be woken up again by the same phone call. At first, he thought it was a prank, but arriving at Elm Street Park, he was stunned to find the exact same scene. The same victim, the same lack of clues. It was as if the previous day had never happened.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Jack was living the same day, trapped in a loop that reset every midnight. His reality became a nightmarish tape stuck on rewind, and what's worse, he realized he was not alone. Someone else in this looping world was aware of the reset—the murderer.
Each loop presented a new challenge. Sometimes, the killer changed the location within the park, other times the method of murder. It became a cat-and-mouse game played on an endlessly repeating stage. Frustration built, but so did Jack's determination. He meticulously noted every detail, every variation in each loop. He interviewed everyone in Anna's life—her family, her friends, her co-workers—but each clue led to a dead-end as the clock relentlessly ticked towards midnight.
Jack was about to give up hope when he discovered something new—a small trinket left at the crime scene that wasn't there before. It was a locket, engraved with the letter 'M'. This was the break he needed.
He spent the next loops digging deeper into Anna's connections, focusing on everyone with an 'M' in their name. A series of eliminations led him to one suspect—Mark, Anna's ex-boyfriend. Confronting him, Jack found that Mark was surprisingly candid, as if he knew the day would reset anyway. Mark's motive was jealousy and rage, but he enjoyed the time loops, seeing them as an eternal stage where he could execute the perfect crime.
The cat was out of the bag, but catching Mark was not enough to break the loop. Jack realized he had to prevent the murder entirely. He decided to take a gamble. Armed with all the information he had gathered, he set a trap.
The day unfolded as usual, but as midnight approached, Jack was ready. He had planted himself in a discreet location near the expected crime scene, armed with a tranquilizer gun. The night air was chilly, but Jack's resolve was unshakeable. He waited, his eyes scanning the darkness.
Mark appeared, a shadow gliding through the night, knife glinting ominously. As he neared Anna, who was sitting alone on a park bench, Jack took aim. The tranquilizer dart flew true, hitting Mark and rendering him unconscious within seconds.
Jack rushed to Anna, who was startled but unharmed. He didn't have time to explain; he just hoped this was enough to break the loop.
Jack woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. Confused, he looked at his phone—no calls, no messages. The date had changed. The loop was broken.
He received a commendation for solving the case, and Mark was arrested, but life for Jack was never the same. He had stared into the abyss of infinity and come out the other side. Every new day felt like a gift, a fragile moment that could loop into eternity but didn’t.
As for the loops, they remained an unsolved mystery. Perhaps it was a cosmic glitch, or perhaps it was a test, one that he had passed by catching a killer and saving a life. Either way, Jack knew better than to take any day for granted. After all, who's to say what trick time might play next?
© Magnus Stalhart
