Marrow Creek #2

78110-A | ACTIVE | NAME: _ | STABLE

Phone vibrates on a kitchen counter.

Early morning. Sunless. Pale. Washed.

"There is a door that opens...

for the one who does not knock."

Jordan rinses a cup in the sink, staring at the screen.

Unknown: Are you still a lifesaver?

The spout stops running.

He drags himself outside.

The streets are empty. Lawns are damp. Jordan's vision is dark around the edges.

His mailbox is open. Single white envelope inside.

He stares at it. Phone vibrates again.

Unknown: Please confirm.

Jordan takes a deep breath.

He leaves the letter untouched. Closes the box.

Walks back inside.

78110-A | STATUS: ACTIVE | CONTRACT: UNSTABLE | SECONDARY EVENTS: 0

"There is a hand that learns

the shape of emptiness."

Construction Site

A worker on a scaffold checks his phone.

Missed call: James Southerland.

He pockets it, steps backward, foot catches nothing.

The fall is quick. Gently certain.

SECONDARY EVENTS: 1

"Before it learns the shape of gravity."

78110-A | SECONDARY EVENT | FALL | REGISTERED

"Count the seconds between action...

...and judgment."

Suburban House

A teenage girl shouts from the top of the stairs.

A door slams. Keys grabbed.

She gets into the car with an older woman. The woman is angry.

They argue. A glance away from the road.

Collision.

SECONDARY EVENTS: 2

"An object in motion stays in motion."

78110-A | TERTIARY EVENT | VEHICULAR | REGISTERED

Hospital Night Shift

"Until it is acted upon, by doubt"

A nurse has to work late for someone who couldn't make it in.

She's tired. Overworked. She dozes off while administering pain meds through a drip feed. Wrong dose.

A patient flatlines three hours later.

The chart reads "from complications."

SECONDARY EVENTS: 3

78110-A | CASCADE EVENT | MEDICAL | REGISTERED

"If you remove the stone from the river, the river will still remember its weight.

"If you leave it, the water will find another way to get to you."

Night.

Jordan sits on his couch, television muted.

His phone vibrates again.

Unknown: Estimated loss of life due to unresolved contract: 11

He exhales long, exhausted; picks himself up, walks back out to the mailbox.

The letter is still inside. He opens it.

It contains one name: James Southerland💘

"Some hearts beat to be heard. Some hearts beat to survive."

His phone vibrates.

Unknown: Estimated loss of life due to refusal: 17

Are you still a lifesaver?💘

He doesn't answer.

"Don't ask which one you are. The answer has already beat you to the finish line."

78110-A | STATUS: CLOSED

METHOD: HESITATION

SECONDARY EVENTS: 17

OUTCOME: FAILED STABILIZATION

78111-A | ACTIVE | Evers, Jordan | | Status: Unstable

"Close your eyes.

The floor will still be there.

You'll open them before you take a step....

...because you're not a true believer."

....Marrow Creek