POV (Sam )
I woke up because my room felt too aware of me.
Not in a haunted way. More like when someone is pretending not to stare but you can feel it anyway.
I sat up in bed.
Nothing happened.
Which was rude, honestly.
I checked my phone. No new messages. No emergency alerts. No do not be alarmed notification, which experience had taught me was usually the most alarming kind.
"Cool," I whispered. "Love that for me."
---
School had officially crossed into we are pretending territory.
Everyone smiled harder.
Teachers joked more.
The announcements included an oddly enthusiastic reminder that the construction near the park was "progressing safely and ahead of schedule."
Ahead of schedule for something, exactly?
I slid into my seat next to Alex.
"So," I murmured, "if the town eats us, do we get a plaque?"
Alex didn't look up. "You're coping."
"Incorrect. I am thriving under pressure.i always do."
Maya, sitting across from us, snorted quietly.
Good. If she was still laughing, the world hadn't ended yet.
------
By third period, I noticed something.
I wish I hadn't.
Every clock in the hallway was off by the same amount.
Not broken. Not random.
Three minutes fast.
I stopped walking.
A kid bumped into me. "Watch it, dude."
"Sorry," I said automatically, staring at the clock.
Alex doubled back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I said. Then, because lying felt disrespectful at this point, "Everything is three minutes ahead."
He looked at the clock. Then the one farther down the hall.
"…Oh."
"Yeah," I said. "That."
Jordan appeared like he'd been summoned by the word pattern.
"Temporal drift?" he asked.
I pointed at the clocks. "Subtle."
Jordan frowned. "They're synchronized."
"Exactly," I said. "On purpose."
Maya's voice was tight. "It's buying time."
"For what?" Alex asked.
I swallowed.
"For thinking."
---
At lunch, I officially lost my appetite, which was how I knew things were bad.
I poked at my food. "Okay, hear me out. What if the town is buffering?"
Lena raised an eyebrow. "Like a video?"
"Like reality," I said. "When it doesn't know what frame comes next."
Jordan nodded slowly. "That would explain the micro-adjustments."
Maya rubbed her temples. "It's stretching moments, Smoothing edges."
Alex leaned forward. "Around us?"
Maya hesitated. "Around you."
I blinked. "I would like to unsubscribe from that sentence."
Alex looked just as unsettled.
---
After school, I did something very brave and very stupid.
I walked home alone.
I told myself it was for normality, Independence and Character development.
Mostly it was because I wanted to see if the town would do something when no one else was around.
Spoiler alert: it did.
Halfway down Marrow Street, everything went quiet.
Not silent...just muted.
Like someone turned the world down to 70%.
I stopped.
The streetlights flickered even though it wasn't dark yet.
I laughed, because apparently I have a death wish.
"Okay," I said out loud. "If you're going to do something, now's the time."
The quiet leaned in.
I don't know how else to describe it.
Then---
My phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: You noticed the clocks.
I stared at the screen.
My hands went cold.
Me: who is this
Unknown Number: Someone who prefers you stay curious, not loud.
I typed, deleted, typed again.
Me: are you with the building
The reply came slower this time.
Unknown Number: The building is a symptom.
My chest tightened.
Me: then what's the disease
Three dots appeared.
Stopped.
Appeared again.
Unknown Number: That's what we're trying to keep from spreading.
The street noise snapped back all at once. A car passed. A dog barked.
Normal.
I stood there shaking, phone buzzing with a final message.
Unknown Number: Tell your friends to stop digging.
I laughed weakly.
"Yeah," I whispered to the empty street. "That's not happening."
Because if there's one thing you should know about me---
It's that telling us not to ask questions is how you make sure we absolutely do.
And whatever was beneath Marrow?
It had just admitted it was scared of curiosity.
Which, frankly, felt like the first real win we'd had.