Chapter 8: The Loop

Mary's shrill voice, laced with a torrent of harsh American slang and curses, poured relentlessly into Anthony's ears as he gripped the steering wheel. Her voice rose and fell with a rhythmic cadence, a testament to her African American heritage, however small that fraction might be. It was clearly evident in her oily, dark face.

"Damn it! Why didn't you just run that bitch over? Even knocking her out would've been good enough, at least it would've shut her damn mouth!"

Anthony cursed under his breath, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. He was starting to regret bringing her along on this escape.

"Hey, Anthony! Look at me! I know you can hear me! Don't think you can just ignore me with your silence… This isn't over between us…"

Although Anthony wished he could kick Mary out of the car right now, he had no choice but to endure it. He suppressed his frustration and focused on the road ahead.

Outside the window, the storefronts of the neighborhood whizzed by. But something was strange. The street, which usually took only a few minutes to traverse, seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"What's going on?"

Anthony quickly noticed the oddity as he brought his attention back to driving.

'COLALA'

His eyes caught a faded restaurant sign on the side of the road. 'COLALA' was a restaurant run by a old family. The food used to be decent, but that was a thing of the past. Ever since the neighborhood had been taken over by African American immigrants, the 'COLALA' owners, troubled by the rising crime rate, had chosen to move out of Compton. The restaurant was taken over by an African American couple who served a sticky, mushy concoction that was impossible to identify.

Anthony had visited the new restaurant once, and after tasting the food, he vowed never to return. However, the African American immigrants in the neighborhood seemed to enjoy it.

As he drove past 'COLALA', Anthony's gaze remained fixed on the restaurant sign until it finally disappeared from his peripheral vision. He let out a sigh of relief.

He rotated his stiff neck, which was sore from tension, and looked ahead. But in the next second, the expression on his face froze.

The 'COLALA' sign, which should have disappeared, reappeared. The bright English letters on the faded red sign held no joy for Anthony.

"No, impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"

He mumbled in disbelief, unable, or perhaps unwilling, to accept what was happening.

He slammed on the accelerator, and with a low roar of the engine, the car shot forward like an arrow.

"Damn it, Anthony! Are you crazy? Slow down!"

In the passenger seat, Mary was thrown around by the sudden acceleration. Her sharp curses were as piercing as a screaming chicken with its neck caught in a fence.

But Anthony was no longer in the mood to argue with his girlfriend. Fear had completely consumed him.

He floored the gas pedal, speeding down the neighborhood street. But the 'COLALA' sign on the side of the road was like a recurring nightmare, consistently appearing beside the road.

Again and again, the cycle repeated.

The looping scene was monotonous and dull, but for Anthony, the fear it brought was immense, and this fear grew with each cycle, accumulating in his heart.

Until…

He completely broke down!

Screech—

He slammed on the brakes. The force of the impact nearly threw Mary from her seat. But before she could scream, she saw Anthony, his face pale, throw open the car door and rush out as if fleeing for his life.

His feet hit the pavement, and a relieved smile spread across his face. But before the smile could fully bloom, his vision went black.

When Anthony regained consciousness, he found himself back in the car.

"No, no, no…"

Looking up at the familiar sign outside the window, Anthony cried out in despair. Ignoring his girlfriend's shouts, he grabbed the door handle.

He got out of the car.

He blacked out.

He woke up.

In this cycle of repeatedly waking up in the car, Anthony's emotions shifted from initial fear to despair, and finally to numbness.

The last time he woke up in the car, he didn't make any more futile attempts. He just sat there in the driver's seat, staring blankly at the 'COLALA' restaurant sign outside the window.

"Anthony, what's wrong with you?"

In the passenger seat, Mary, frightened by Anthony's sudden numbness, lost some of her arrogance. She looked around at the familiar surroundings and finally realized something was amiss.

"Why did you suddenly stop the car? We're in the middle of escaping! And this neighborhood… why does it look so much like where we used to live…?"

The more she spoke, the weaker her voice became, and fear started to creep into her heart.

"What's going on, Anthony? Tell me! Why are we still in this neighborhood after driving for so long?!"

She grabbed Anthony's arm and shook him forcefully.

Feeling the shaking on his arm, Anthony's vacant eyes regained a bit of light. He turned to his girlfriend and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't you see? We're trapped! Not just trapped in this neighborhood, but trapped in this damn car…"

"No, you must be lying to me, Anthony."

Mary couldn't accept such an absurd answer.

She shook her head and grabbed the door handle.

"You're crazy! I'm getting out of here!"

Screaming incoherently, Mary, just like Anthony before, frantically rushed out of the car.

Anthony, with a numb expression on his face, simply watched her every move from the driver's seat.

She rushed out of the car, onto the dark street, and stumbled, falling hard onto the ground.

Mary's fear-contorted face showed a mixture of relief and tears.

"I knew it, I knew it! How could this be possible? Anthony was just…"

She got up from the hard concrete ground and turned to curse at the crazy Anthony in the car.

But in the next instant, darkness swallowed her consciousness whole.

As her consciousness faded, in a corner of the car where neither of them could hear, the melody of "Für Elise" continued to play softly.

Mournful and eerie.

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(End of Chapter)