5 Chapter 5: The Patterns

"Grab him!"

"In front of the school?"

Dante could really only blink as he watched as Aaron's friends started rushing toward him. He stared at their silhouette, and the way their shoes pushed away from the asphalt, as well as the position of their fingers — down to the millimeter.

It wasn't that this scenario happened before, it may very well have. Dante wasn't calm because he knew what would happen, he was calm because knew exactly how Aaron and his friends moved — down to the millimeter.

There is and will always be a pattern.

His memories were still foggy, but he remembers things as soon as he sees them or is reminded of them. It was a weird feeling; as if he was inside a library where the books just come to him when he needs them, and then he just downloads the information instead of reading it.

Dante was about to grab the wrist of the first goon that reached him, but he suddenly noticed the crowd gathering around them; some even recording with their phones. And so, with a small sigh, he just retracted his hand and let Aaron's friends get to him.

"Should… should we help?"

"What? No! That's Aaron, I heard he's from the Aryan mob or something."

"Gangsters? They're even in our school now?"

"They're everywhere, bruh."

"Shh! Don't let them hear you say they're gangsters! They—"

"If I see any of this on the internet, all of you are dead!" Aaron pointed at the crowd as soon as he got up from the ground, causing some of the people recording the commotion to quickly hide their phones,

"What the fuck are guys waiting for!? Let's go!!"

Aaron's friends violently dragged Dante away. And even as he was thrown into the trunk of their car, he remained completely still; just staring at the faces of Aaron's friend one by one until they closed the lid on him.

"Hm…" And with no one looking at him anymore, Dante immediately checked his body if there was anything broken. And as soon as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he quickly looked around the small space.

"2022 BNW 3 series, should have a pass-through seat…" Dante started to mumble, "Moving 30 miles per hour in a 20 zone, should reach the first stoplight in…"

Dante squinted his eyes as he looked at his wristwatch, only to realize it broke during the scuffle.

"Doesn't matter. If I remember correctly, there should be…" Dante let out another sigh as he started looking around the trunk again. And after a few seconds of doing so…

…I found a machete and a couple of knives wrapped in cloth. I grab it and—Oh."

Dante blinked a couple of times as he realized he was narrating his actions again. It was a habit he learned sometime during the duration of his time loop—it… somewhat helped him cope with the situation.

He shook his head, before focusing on the machete in his hand. He then started touching the back of the seats of the car, slightly pushing it until he found a spot that was heavier than the other parts.

"I place the tip of the machete on the heaviest part," he then looked at his broken watch before whispering,

"5, 4, 3, 2…

…1." And with a single breath, he pushed his entire weight forward and into his hands—completely penetrating the seats with the entire blade of the machete.

"!!!"

Dante could hear Aaron and his friends shouting, followed by the screeching of the tires as the car started to move haphazardly. He quickly grabbed the gaps he could so that he wouldn't slide around.

He heard metal, concrete, and people screaming as the car seemed to topple upside down. He felt his body being slammed around inside the trunk, but it wasn't a pain he hadn't experienced before.

"Hm…" And as soon as the car stopped moving, Dante immediately pushed the middle seat, giving him access to the back of the car; there was a slight resistance, which he came to know to be one of Aaron's friends blocking the seat.

"Hm…" Dante quickly looked around to check if there was anyone alive in Aaron's group…but none of them seemed to be breathing anymore. The one that Dante pierced with the machete was almost cleaved in half, while the others had their heads smashed in; with Aaron's head now a part of the steering wheel.

"Good job, Dante," he whispered to himself. It was a struggle to get out of the car as he had to crawl through a shattered window, but since he was a little skinny, he was able to free himself with the price of tearing parts of his skin.

And as he got out, what welcomed Dante was a scene of destruction.

"Anne…? Anne!?"

"Anne?" Dante shook his head as his vision turned blurry. He then turned to look to where the screaming was coming from, only to see a woman hugging a little girl… whose entire lower body was shredded.

"..." Dante approached the woman and watched as she tried to her daughter. And soon, a crowd started to gather—and instead of calling for help, most of them were recording the accident.

"No," Dante sighed, "This scenario is too conspicuous. And…"

Dante then looked down, only to see a knife lodged into his stomach,

"...Too dangerous for me as I am now."

Dante closed his eyes as he took a long and deep breath, and as he opened his eyes again… he was back in the trunk of the car and holding the machete toward the back of the seat.

"4…3…2..."

And before he could finish counting to 1, he retracted the machete and just once again sighed.

"The lives that will be lost from now on will not return," Dante then whispered to himself as he touched his stomach, "Including mine."

He then returned the machete back where he took it from… but took one of the smaller knives and hid it in his shoes.

And now, all he needed to do…

…is wait.