The problem with learning you're an anchor is that suddenly everyone starts treating you like you might sink.
Maya noticed it first thing the next morning.
No one said anything. That was the worst part.
Alex walked a little closer than usual. Sam joked louder. Lena watched the edges of rooms like something might rush in. Riley barely took her eyes off her at all.
"I'm still me," Maya said finally, halfway to school.
Sam jumped. "Great! Love that. Very comforting."
Alex shot him a look, then met Maya's eyes. "We know."
She smiled, but it didn't reach far.
---
The town was… careful today.
Crosswalk lights lingered longer. Buses slowed for no reason. A construction crew stood near the fenced site, doing nothing except existing very convincingly.
Jordan muttered, "It's adjusting around you."
Maya felt it too. A gentle pressure, like reality had put a hand on her shoulder.
Not threatening.
Guiding.
---
They skipped last period.
This was not a dramatic decision.
It was more of a collective understanding that algebra did not deserve their attention right now.
They went to the old library annex, the one everyone forgot was open.
Riley closed the door behind them.
"Okay," Lena said, crossing her arms. "We need rules."
Jordan nodded. "Agreed. Not explanations. Patterns."
Alex looked at Maya. "What do you feel?"
She took a breath. "It reacts when I focus. It steadies when I'm calm. And it… listens when I decide something."
Sam blinked. "You're saying the town takes votes from you."
"More like cues," she said. "I don't control it. But it checks with me."
Riley's jaw tightened. "That makes you a target."
Maya swallowed. "I know."
---
Jordan sketched a rough diagram.
"Rule one," he said. "The anomaly preserves continuity over safety."
Lena nodded. "That's why it let us go."
"Rule two," Jordan continued. "It cannot erase Maya without destabilizing this version."
Sam exhaled. "Love being indispensable. Very relaxing."
"Rule three," Riley added quietly. "It will remove threats to stability."
They all felt that one settle.
Alex looked up. "Which means us."
Silence.
---
The library lights flickered once.
Maya winced. "It heard that."
Sam raised his hands. "Okay! Friendly thoughts only."
Alex felt a strange pull, not fear, but alignment. Like something was trying to sync with his presence.
"Maya," he said slowly, "does it react to me?"
She looked at him, surprised.
"Yes," she said. "You… calm it. Like you belong where it doesn't."
Jordan's eyes widened. "A counter-anchor."
Sam groaned. "Of course he is."
Alex didn't feel heroic. He felt noticed.
---
That evening, Jordan's power went out for exactly three minutes.
When it came back, his laptop was open to a file he hadn't created.
MARROW --- VERSION 7: STABLE
ANCHOR CONFIRMED
SECONDARY STABILIZER: UNASSIGNED
Jordan stared at the screen.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: The rules are changing.
Jordan typed with shaking fingers.
Jordan: we didn't agree to this
The reply came slower than usual.
Unknown Number: You already did. By staying.
Jordan looked up at the garage wall, at the timelines he'd drawn.
For the first time, one of them didn't end in a loop.
It ended in a line.
Forward.
And somewhere beneath Marrow, something that had always reacted was now planning.
Not how to contain the future
But how to keep it.