That reveals the cracks again - and how they're shrinking, though the rate seems to have slowed a little, to about the same creeping change it had when they were approaching.

She doesn't know why she's surprised.

She sets the brick down by the TV and picks it up, standing near where the woman had been.

It starts glowing again.

The flicker of its light is kinda weird.

Reality doesn't tear open around her or anything.

...That's -

She sets the TV down, screen up, grabs the brick - and looks, perhaps like a fool.

Static.

But it changes, ripples, takes on echoes of green whenever her injured arm grows near.

...She touches the screen with that same arm.

The image clears, but it's not anything so enchanting as the monster from before...

It's herself - from earlier, bending over the TV with an annoyed expression -

And the TV turns off as her earlier echo reaches out.

The timing fits, doesn't it? The TV on - and off, when the other woman dropped the TV - and back on when Lily lifted it - and now off.

The hairs on the back of her neck rise a bit.

She doesn't know what smashing into reality where her old self might be will do - might give her another headache, another nosebleed -

She doesn't exactly want to leave the other woman alone in the past, though.

She stands, looks at the cracks, at the brick in her hand -

She backs up, and she throws it, and she's running even as the brick leaves her hand -

The brick hits one of the cracks near the middle, with a surprisingly soft grating sound, like wood scraping against itself -

And time breaks open.

She jumps through.

Shattered pieces of time fall around her into the dark, spinning fragments of wood-plastic-who-knows, splintering and disintegrating -

The place isn't empty, but - it's hard to see, and she can only barely discern the jagged outlines of - islands or something -

The pieces of time that fell with her are limed with green light, at least, and they're visible.

She tries to grab one, almost on an impulse - it disintegrates - a larger one - it shatters - there's a trail of green from her right hand, stretching back to the hole she left in reality, and it seems rather dangerous to these fragments.

A third one, a less fragile-looking one - that one she gets, her left uninjured hand closing around it.

And then -

She dives.

 

THE END

 

OF

CHAPTER

FOUR

 

She lands on her feet -

Somewhere.

It's dark still, especially as she frantically covers the holes in her brightly glowing hand, but - can she tell where she is?

Seems to be...

An apartment? An abandoned one, empty of furniture except a single side table that looks like it's probably made of particle board, the same TV as earlier (currently turned off) perched on it, trash scattered loosely about. There's an open window which streetlight filters in through, dimly - and the light flickers -

...She steps up to the window.

...That's her past self, laundry basket balanced awkwardly in her hands, trying to open the laundromat door.

...Okay then.

She...

Should find the other woman.

She turns back to the room, scanning it.

There's three doors, one on each wall that doesn't have the window. The one across from the window is closed and locked - it has one of those little chain locks up around eye level, and a tiny lock on the door handle, and a deadbolt above that. The other two are propped open.

It's possible calling out would be a good idea, but - possible not.

She begins to creep slowly, carefully, to the door on the right and looks through.

A bedroom? No furniture, but it has a window on the same wall as the room she was just in - blinds pulled - a closet with battered folding doors (currently mostly closed) across from her - a flashlight (probably) turned off and abandoned on the floor to the left of the closet -

And large writing on the wall opposite the window, though it's hard to make out in the gloom. There's some empty coat hooks next to the wall, but not much else.

...Another message from P12???

She backs out and goes to check the other open door. Just in case.

Tiny kitchen! With an equally tiny bathroom and an equally tiny closet off it. The kitchen's in terrible repair, but the cabinets and counters are intact. Still no furniture or tools or anything usable as a weapon, but some more grime.

Is the other woman here, though - even if she left, she shouldn't have been able to lock the possibly front door behind her -

...Lily hadn't looked in the bedroom closet.

She turns and heads back into the bedroom, then, quietly, unsure she's not making a mistake - "Uh, hey, it's me, are you. Here?"

...The closet slides open, and the woman steps warily out of a little nook in it, squinting at her.

(She seems to have found a gun at some point. She's holding it like someone who knows how to use it.)