The entire building shook.

A picture fell from the wall.

A lamp jumped off a table.

Three cups flew through the air.

And Herbert the refrigerator rolled backward.

“WHO PRESSED THE BUTTON?”

Everyone pointed at Nina.

Nina pointed at herself.

“Me?”

Bruno shouted,

“THE LABEL LITERALLY SAID DO NOT PRESS!”

Nina looked offended.

“I thought it was a decorative button!”

Leo’s voice came from somewhere inside Herbert.

“HELP!”

Everyone froze.

Leo shouted again.

“I’M INSIDE THE FRIDGE!”

Herbert beeped.

“That is impossible.”

Leo shouted,

“THEN EXPLAIN WHY I’M HERE!”

Herbert paused.

“I cannot.”

“HELP ME!”

---

Bruno grabbed Herbert’s door.

“Open!”

Herbert’s door opened.

Inside was Leo.

He was sitting between a milk bottle and a bag of frozen peas.

His hair was covered in ice.

He climbed out.

“Never again.”

Nina stared at him.

“How did you get inside?”

Leo pointed at Herbert.

“I don’t know!”

Herbert sounded offended.

“I did not put him there.”

Leo looked at him.

“You swallowed me!”

“I don’t have a mouth.”

“You have a freezer!”

“That is not the same thing.”

---

Suddenly, the floor opened.

Everyone screamed.

A square section of the floor disappeared.

A staircase appeared beneath it.

Bruno shone his flashlight downward.

“There’s a basement.”

Harold shook his head.

“No.”

Bruno looked at him.

“No?”

“There is no basement.”

“Clearly there is.”

“I’ve lived here for thirty years.”

“Then how do you explain the stairs?”

Harold stared at them.

“I don’t.”

Mrs. Crank sighed.

“Let’s go.”

Everyone looked at her.

“You want to go down there?”

She shrugged.

“I’ve been bored for twenty years.”

---

They descended.

The stairs seemed endless.

One hundred steps.

Two hundred.

Three hundred.

Leo counted quietly.

“Four hundred and twelve.”

Nina looked at him.

“Why are you counting?”

“I’m nervous.”

“How does counting help?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Then stop.”

“No.”

---

At the bottom was a giant underground laboratory.

Everyone stopped.

The room was filled with machines.

Old computers.

Strange pipes.

Huge glass containers.

And dozens of refrigerators.

Leo stared.

“There are more Herberts.”

One refrigerator opened.

“Hello.”

Another opened.

“Hello.”

Another.

“Hello.”

Soon all the refrigerators began speaking.

“HELLO!”

“HELLO!”

“HELLO!”

“HELLO!”

Leo covered his ears.

“MAKE THEM STOP!”

Herbert rolled forward.

“Everyone, please remain quiet.”

The refrigerators became silent.

Leo looked at Herbert.

“You’re their leader?”

Herbert sounded proud.

“Apparently.”

---

Bruno walked toward the largest machine.

“What is this?”

Harold examined it.

His face became pale.

“It’s Victor’s machine.”

Bruno turned.

“Your old partner?”

Harold nodded.

“He built machines that could manipulate time.”

Everyone stared.

Leo pointed at the machine.

“Time?”

Harold nodded.

“Victor believed that if he could control time, he could solve every mystery before it happened.”

Bruno looked impressed.

“That actually sounds useful.”

Harold shook his head.

“It wasn’t.”

“Why?”

“He accidentally created a time loop.”

Leo frowned.

“What happened?”

Harold pointed toward the clocks.

“The same day kept repeating.”

Nina’s eyes widened.

“So we’re trapped?”

Harold nodded.

“We may already have lived this day hundreds of times.”

Everyone stared at each other.

Leo whispered,

“That explains why I keep feeling like I’ve seen that sandwich before.”

Mrs. Noodle wasn’t there.

Leo looked around.

“Wait.”

“Where is Mrs. Crank?”

Everyone looked around.

She was gone.

---

“Mrs. Crank!”

No answer.

Bruno searched the laboratory.

Nothing.

Then a speaker turned on.

A voice said:

“ONE PERSON HAS DISAPPEARED.”

Everyone froze.

The voice continued.

“THE GAME CONTINUES.”

Leo shouted,

“WHO ARE YOU?”

The speaker laughed.

“I am Victor.”

Harold stepped forward.

“Victor!”

The voice answered.

“Hello, Harold.”

Harold’s face changed.

“You died.”

“I know.”

Everyone stared.

Bruno whispered,

“That’s not comforting.”

Victor continued.

“You have entered my laboratory.”

Harold shouted,

“Why?”

“Because I need you to finish what we started.”

“I won’t!”

Victor laughed.

“You already did.”

The lights went out.

---

When they came back on, a huge digital clock appeared on the wall.

11:59:10

Ten seconds.

Bruno shouted,

“WHAT HAPPENS AT MIDNIGHT?”

Victor answered:

“Someone disappears.”

11:59:09

Leo grabbed Nina’s hand.

“Stay with me.”

Nina nodded.

11:59:08

Harold looked at the machines.

“There must be a way to stop it.”

11:59:07

Bruno searched the control panel.

“Which button?”

Harold shouted,

“The blue one!”

There were twelve blue buttons.

Bruno stared.

“WHICH BLUE ONE?”

11:59:06

“THE BIG ONE!”

“They’re all big!”

11:59:05

Leo shouted,

“JUST PRESS ALL OF THEM!”

Bruno pressed them all.

Every machine started shaking.

11:59:04

The refrigerators began screaming.

“WARNING!”

“WARNING!”

“WARNING!”

11:59:03

Herbert shouted,

“THIS IS NOT GOOD.”

11:59:02

The laboratory began spinning.

11:59:01

Everyone closed their eyes.

12:00:00

Silence.

---

Leo opened his eyes.

He was standing in the festival hall.

Everything looked normal.

People were eating.

Music was playing.

The Golden Samosa was inside the glass box.

Bruno stood beside him.

Nina stood beside Bruno.

Harold stood beside Nina.

Everyone was safe.

Leo smiled.

“We stopped it.”

Bruno looked around.

“Did we?”

Suddenly, a woman screamed.

Everyone turned.

Mrs. Crank was standing on a table.

“WHY AM I WEARING A WEDDING DRESS?”

Everyone stared.

Leo laughed.

“I don’t know.”

Then the mayor walked into the room.

He looked at them.

“Why are you all staring at me?”

Bruno frowned.

“Who are you?”

The mayor looked confused.

“I’m Mayor Pickles.”

Bruno whispered,

“I don’t remember him.”

Leo’s smile disappeared.

“Neither do I.”

Herbert suddenly rolled into the room.

His refrigerator light flickered.

“Something is wrong.”

Everyone stared.

“What?”

Herbert beeped.

“I remember.”

“Remember what?”

Herbert’s door opened.

Inside was a photograph.

It showed the entire group.

But there was one person standing behind them.

Victor.

And beneath the photograph were the words:

YOU HAVE RESET THE DAY.

Leo stared at the picture.

Then he noticed something.

There were two versions of everyone in the photograph.

Two Leos.

Two Ninas.

Two Brunos.

Two Harolds.

And two Herberts.

He slowly stepped backward.

“We didn’t stop the time loop.”

Bruno looked at him.

“What did we do?”

Leo swallowed.

“We created another one.”

Suddenly, the lights flickered.

The festival disappeared.

The building disappeared.

The town disappeared.

Everything became white.

Then a voice whispered:

“Welcome to yesterday.”

Leo looked around.

Nina grabbed his hand.

Bruno raised his flashlight.

Herbert’s motor began humming.

And somewhere in the distance…

A refrigerator door opened.

TO BE CONTINUED…