~June 18th, 1982~

~Cycle 250~

At the beginning of each new cycle, Patrice found himself in traffic once again. At this point most people abandoned their cars entirely, choosing to walk the freeways of La Ville Sans Fin. But Patrice wanted to stay mobile, so if he could he'd try to get his car out of traffic. Even if meant forcing his vehicle between others, grinding against them to get through. It wasn't like any damage to his vehicle mattered anymore.

Some days his car would truly be locked in. In those cases, he'd try his luck at finding an unlocked abandoned car near him that happened to have their keys left in them. He only got lucky with that once.

All the other times he was forced to hike through traffic on foot. He never exercised regularly before; it took too much time away from work. He felt the price of that choice each time he was forced to hike through traffic.

Fortunately, on that cycle, he was able to weave his car through the other abandoned vehicles, make his way off the elevated highway towards Renee's community.

He headed there first thing in the morning of most cycles. He walked through the park with an empty notepad that he promptly started to fill with names of people and corresponding locations. On the previous cycle he had similar notes, and Patrice did his best to copy it all down from memory. After that, he took out a map of the city and marked O's and X's on various locations.

On his way he noticed a man with a hoodie and a full backpack stepping away from the library surrounding the park. Patrice recognized it was Jeremiah. He quickly averted his eyes. He'd prefer not to have to interact with the man he had fired before all of this started.

Patrice walked to a small bridge going over a stream running through the park. It was the meeting place for everyone that had been helping him charter the effect over their city. They began to gather at that spot, but he was disappointed that there were less then there were before. Ever since that sniper attacked, there've been less people at the community each cycle.

Patrice spoke with each of the volunteers one a time.

"Where did I tell you to go yesterday?" Patrice asked the first.

"Pauli's diner on the outskirts of the south of the city. I hung out there near the end of last cycle." They replied.

They had given him the same answer two cycles ago. Patrice glanced at his notepad and found the individual's name and the corresponding location. He was supposed to check out a small fishing lake to the northwest of the city. The fact that they didn't remember must've meant that the fishing spot was out of range. Any one past that point when the cycle would restart, wouldn't remember.

Patrice marked an X next to the lake on the map, and looked for another location on the periphery of the city he needed chartered. "Okay! Can you make sure you're at the cathedral on the west side of the city cycle tonight?"

"...Near the graveyard?"

"Yes."

The individual grimaced, "That's a bit out of the way for me. Do you mind if I skip out on today? I can help you out next cycle."

Lazy.

Patrice would've liked to have been flippant with the individual, but he knew what volunteers he had to help were flaky. He couldn't afford to lose anymore. With a false smile Patrice said, "Sure. I'll see you then."

One by one, Patrice checked in with each of his volunteers, checking whether they remembered staying at the most recent location he gave them. If they remembered being there through to the end of the cycle, Patrice would mark an O next to that location. If they didn't, he'd mark an X. After getting their report out, he'd give each of them new locations to check out. Until night, they could do what they wanted for the day.

Having multiple people help him expedited the process greatly. It was something he simply couldn't do on his own.

Patrice did a few rounds through the community to check on everyone there. Renee was focused on keeping everyone happy there. Not trying to solve their predicament. The other members of the community weren't doing much better.

Though that astronomer Germain had been a great help in research. He had two spots he'd usually frequent. Patrice didn't find him at the library, so he decided to check out the planetarium to see if he found anything new.

Patrice drove through the city towards the northern coast, hearing gunshots ring out at one point. Perhaps it was one of the gangs that had started in La Ville Sans Fin. He didn't want to find out.

He reached the planetarium, a large dome shaped building with tourist signs out front. Germain's place of occupation. Apparently when he and the others weren't providing tours to visitors, they were doing research on the upper floors of the building. The entertainment funded their research.

Patrice undid a few buttons of his dress shirt as he walked in. He found a visitor booth up front where they'd probably sell tickets for entry. Patrice walked past that and saw a large diorama at the center of the room. It featured several planets, with the sun at the center. Tables were set all around it, seating for visitors. On the ceiling were many space-themed decals. Even a spaceship among them. On the sides of the room were several exhibits focused on different things.

Patrice had been there before, there'd been a few cycles where he decided to help Germain on his research. The man was studious, someone he could rely on more than the rest from the community. Patrice headed towards the back where there were a set of stairs that led up to the upper floors.

At the center of the upper floor was a large room dedicated solely to a telescope that extended out of the dome shaped ceiling. Around that were many offices with computers, filing cabinets, test equipment, and documentation. But Patrice didn't find Germain up there.

Patrice walked back down the stairs to the main floor of the planetarium, only to be a greeted by a little girl of brown hair in a dress. "Hello!"

"Umm... Hello." Patrice replied.

"Are you a friend of daddy's?"

Patrice looked up and around the room and saw Germain walking over.

Ah. It must be his kid. I thought she looked familiar.

"Yeah, definitely." Patrice nodded to the child.

Germain jogged over, "Fleur, what did I say about running off?"

"Not to," The little girl replied with a rebellious grin.

Germain rolled his eyes, smiled and stooped down, "Okay come here."

He went to pick her up, but the little girl ran away giggling, running towards one of the exhibits with stars plastered over it. Germain stood back up and let her run.

He glanced back at Patrice and remarked, "That one has way too much energy... If time was behaving normally, she'd be five years old by now. But the day started repeating when she was still four."

"That's... interesting." Patrice remarked drably, "What is she doing here?"

"Me and the wife brought her. The Planetarium is empty most the time now, so she treats it like her little playground." Germain explained, "Want to meet my wife?"

Patrice very flatly replied, "Sure."

"Don't act too excited..." Germain began walking towards the exhibit his daughter ran to, and beckoned Patrice to follow, "Do you have a wife or girlfriend?"

"No. Too much of a distraction."

"Ah."

Patrice was looking for a tactful way to push Germain to stop wasting time before finally saying, "We really should be focusing on a solution. Sooner rather than later."

Germain raised an eyebrow at him and said, "It's not like we don't have time right? If we're stuck on the same day, might as well enjoy it for the time being. There's no rush."

Patrice didn't like hearing that. Everything he wanted and needed was in the future. Not the day they were trapped in.

He quickly replied, "I don't know if we'll have the freedom to keep looking for a solution for much longer. Those gangs in the city are getting bigger and bolder. It's only a matter of time before violence breaks out."

Germain shrugged, "I don't know, remember that Aveline woman and her group? They helped defend the community when we needed it."

"I wouldn't trust them either..."

"You're too paranoid Patrice." Germain said with a hearty chuckle.

Patrice followed Germain into the exhibit. Inside there were gentle whirling lights simulating a galaxy on the walls. There were booths with placards for each of the planets. Patrice saw the little girl in one of the booths, rapidly spinning one of the planets by its axis.

Watching her was a thin woman who was slightly taller than either Patrice or Germain, with blonde hair that went down her back. Before she had even turned around, Patrice recognized her.

"Sophie, the guy I've been working with at the community is here." Germain greeted.

"Oh nice to-" She turned to meet them. She had blue eyes and a bit of a crooked nose. It was from an accident she had when she was a kid. When she and Patrice made eye contact, both of them froze. It'd been years since they saw or spoke to one another. He always figured that she went back home to the country. Not that she stayed in La Ville Sans Fin this whole time.

Sophie quickly composed herself and said, "Nice to meet you."

An oblivious Germain continued to introduce him, "This is Patrice Allard. Pattice, this is my wife, Sophie."

For once, Patrice was dumbstruck for a moment. She was... still beautiful. Her daughter ran over to Sophie, and she picked her up in her arms. The resemblance was much more obvious with them beside each other.

"N-Nice to meet you too." Patrice stammered.

Germain glanced between them, "Do you... two know each other?"

In most situations, Patrice knew how to navigate a conversation and redirect it in a way favorable to him. But for once, he was speechless. He honestly had difficult simply making eye contact with her.

"We grew up in the same town. Out in the country." Sophie finally said. "It's been awhile since I've seen him."

Nothing she said was a lie.

"Oh! Were you two friends?" Germian said chipperly.

"Yeah, yeah. We were friends back then." Sophie nodded. She gave a small smile, "It's nice to see you again."

"It's uh, nice to see you too." Patrice replied.

Just friends?

Patrice couldn't help but recognize that as a bit of a lie. But a necessary one in front of Germain. It'd be better that he wasn't aware they dated for years. Going by how old their daughter was... Sophie and Germain must've gotten together not too long after he had broken up with her.

Patrice had become more than uncomfortable enough. So, he looked for an escape, "Well, I was uh, just checking in on you and your research Germain. I should get going."

Germain frowned, "Really? We were going to take a walk by the dock, maybe get into one of the stores for some ice cream after this. With how hard you work; you could use a day off."

Patrice's eyes darted to Sophie's for a moment. He couldn't quite gage her expression. He was certain she wouldn't want him there.

"No, I really have more than enough to do. T-Thanks for the offer though." Patrice said.

He had already started walking away as Germain said, "Ok, I'll see you later."

Patrice drove a short distance, and stopped in the parking lot of a shopping mart nearby, just so he could be alone for a moment... He never imagined seeing her again.

They'd been high school sweethearts, moving to La Ville Sans Fin together along with Henri. The three of them lived together as they started real jobs. But as Patrice's college classes and work demanded more time from him, he was more hesitant to spend it with her. When he started to get less than perfect scores on class exams, he saw her as restricting his potential.

He recalled being stoic when he finally broke up with her. She was upset, but he stayed emotionless through it. He figured that was the best way to handle it. When she moved out, he focused on advancing in his classes and getting a good job during college. Promotions came early at his first job. He jumped to an even higher paying job and a managerial role. He'd done nothing but advance his career since.

He took a deep breath. Seeing her today shook him, but after thinking about how much good it did his career, he decided it was still the best choice. If they had gotten married, it certainly would've stunted his potential, and he'd still be working lower rung jobs.

He determined that once he finally figured out what was causing this never-ending repeating day, he'd be able to end it and continue on with his life. He could keep pushing his career as far as he can. He had to.