The car rolls down an empty backroad, headlights cutting through thick trees on both sides. Lena grips the wheel a little tighter. “Okay… GPS says we should hit the highway again in like ten minutes.” Jace leans back in the seat. “Yeah, unless we’re officially lost in the middle of nowhere. Then I’d say… we’re cooked.” Mara doesn’t laugh. She’s staring out the window. “…Guys?” Noah finally looks up. “What?” Mara points. A faded wooden sign passes by slowly on the right side of the road. “WELCOME BACK” Silence drops into the car. Lena frowns. “No. No, we did NOT just pass that again.” Jace straightens up. “Okay, that’s actually not funny. We’ve never seen that sign before.” Mara’s voice shakes a little. “I saw it like… five minutes ago. I remember the crack on the top corner.” The GPS suddenly flickers. “Recalculating route.” Then— It resets. The exact same road appears again on the screen. Noah speaks quietly from the back. “…We already drove past this gas station.” Lena slows the car. “That’s impossible.” But it isn’t. Because ahead of them, just past the bend— The same bright gas station sign appears again. Jace stares. “…Okay. That’s definitely the same one.” The car goes quiet. Then the GPS speaks again, in a softer tone this time: “You are back on track.” Mara whispers: “…Back from where?” And from somewhere behind them on the empty road, headlights appear again. Too far away to be real. But close enough to be following.