Chapter Two: The Exit Leads to the Stands

Once, stepping across a threshold, she saw her own back disappearing into the same door ahead. When she turned, there was only a carton of water. At 6:07, she stopped on the western upper tier, lungs burning. Rain sounded far away, like weather in another world. Her phone had signal but no data. She dialed emergency services. After a busy tone, her own voice answered. “Don't drink the water,” it gasped. The call ended. She forced herself to list the facts. The water was distributed before kickoff. Those who drank became abnormal. Zero triggered the return. She remembered because she had not drunk. Her wound and the cap had crossed over, perhaps because she had gripped them together and stained them with blood.