Murderous intent lingered in the air.
It wasn't just Evan and Keller; Nicholas, sitting in the darkened theater, could also feel the unease and fear sinking into his bones. Uncontrollably, he curled up in his seat, as though trying to ward off the cold enveloping the room.
Though it was already November, and Wiltshire Theater hadn't turned on the air conditioning, the goosebumps prickling his skin were screaming at him.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Nicholas's mind:
Tommy knows.
When Evan saved Keller and entrusted George to properly handle Tommy, Tommy had been there, sitting quietly on the stairs, silently witnessing everything.
Tommy believed his life's tragedies were all Evan's fault—and now, Evan was about to "take" his sister too.
"Oh, God!"
A sudden fear gripped Nicholas's heart.
And then—
It happened.
Tommy swung a baseball bat, viciously beating Evan. Keller had to rush to the alarm to call campus security.
Under the relentless barrage of blows, Evan curled up like a shrimp, memories of torment flooding his mind like a tide.
The mailbox explosion that killed the neighbor lady and her infant.
The Crockett incident, where his dog was brutally and coldly killed.
And more—Tommy had made life hell for him and Lenny, even beating and threatening Keller, acting as George's accomplice.
Memories from both timelines blurred together, becoming indistinguishable. Now, just as Evan was finally beginning to grasp happiness, Tommy had reappeared, threatening to destroy it all—to destroy him.
Evan lost control.
Seizing a brief window, Evan retaliated with pepper spray. Tommy, caught off guard, stumbled to the ground, clutching his eyes. Evan took the chance to counterattack.
Punch after punch.
Blow after blow.
Evan had snapped. His eyes were bloodshot, his reason lost, his fists raining down like a storm. Finally, he grabbed the baseball bat Tommy had dropped.
He raised it high.
Time froze in that moment.
Nicholas, without realizing it, had stopped breathing. His entire body stiffened as he sat paralyzed in his seat, staring wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before him.
He could do nothing but witness the tragedy.
Bang!
The bat came crashing down.
With a dull thud, Tommy's head slumped to the side, motionless.
The entire theater fell silent.
From the pinnacle of blissful happiness to the depths of despair, the descent happened too quickly. The freefall twist sucked all the oxygen from the theater, leaving the mind numb and dazed amid the shock.
For a moment, Nicholas even doubted what he had seen—
It's a dream, right?
In the film, Evan himself couldn't distinguish between reality and dreams, between fantasy and truth.
So this tragedy—it was just a dream, wasn't it?
But just as that thought formed, the film cut sharply to the next scene.
The prison.
Evan, like a lamb among wolves, was met with a cacophony of catcalls and jeers.
It was an instant callback to The Shawshank Redemption—Evan's arrival in prison mirrored Andy's experience exactly, thrusting him into a vortex of danger.
Evan tried to save himself. He begged his mother to bring all his journals. But Andrea, unaware of their significance, only found two. This plunged Evan into despair, as he needed the right journal to access the right timeline and change his fate.
Unfortunately, these two journals were filled with mundane, insignificant entries from when he was seven, utterly useless.
Worse still, the journals didn't stay safe for long. The prison's predatory kingpins, with their eyes on fresh meat, immediately seized them. Despite Evan's attempts to fight back, the result was disastrous—not only was he left battered and bruised, but the journals were torn into countless pieces.
Evan was desolate.
But after enduring the torment, he began to piece himself back together. He realized he had to save himself. More importantly, he had to change his fate.
Evan turned to his cellmate, Carlos, for help.
From the first day Evan arrived in prison, the seemingly intimidating Carlos had subtly offered advice, trying to help him survive. But Evan, overwhelmed by disbelief at his predicament, hadn't paid attention, leading to his current plight.
Now, Evan needed Carlos's help.
Evan revealed the secret of the journals to Carlos.
Naturally, Carlos didn't believe him, thinking Evan was delusional.
Evan decided to prove it. Using the journal, he returned to when he was seven—specifically, to the infamous art class where he had drawn a horrifying, bloody scene that prompted the teacher to call his mother.
This time, Evan didn't change the drawing but chose to leave a mark.
He approached the teacher's desk, where two long, pointed tacks were positioned upright for pinning notes.
Evan slammed his palms down onto the tacks, leaving scars on his hands.
When he returned to the prison, Carlos was stunned. Two scars had appeared on Evan's palms out of nowhere—stigmata-like marks reminiscent of Christ's wounds from the crucifixion.
Carlos, a devout believer, was in awe.
In his faith, such marks were seen as divine signs. And now, Evan bore them, proof of his claims.
Carlos fully submitted and agreed to help Evan.
Together, they confronted the prison kingpins who had taken Evan's journals.
Feigning submission, Evan knelt and pretended to seek their protection, biding his time. When the kingpins were distracted, Evan drew a shiv hidden in his sleeve and struck. Carlos stormed in to subdue the other, locking the cell door behind him.
Evan grabbed his journals, dove onto the bed, and hurriedly flipped through the pages, reciting an entry to focus his mind.
As the gang broke through and rushed in, Evan's plan worked—he returned to that fateful afternoon.
The afternoon Crockett was destroyed.
At the critical moment, Evan, brimming with determination, knew he had to act. Not only to save Crockett but also to inspire Lenny to confront his own guilt over the mailbox explosion.
This time, he would save Keller, himself, and Lenny, while destroying Tommy once and for all.
In his eyes, a fiery resolve burned.
(To be continued.)