time loop · sleep deprived · jaded · desperate · urban setting · psychological thriller · resilient · weary · tragic hero
Rain hammered against the windows of Station 113, a percussion to the tempest locked inside Asher Kane’s ribs. He was adrift in the controlled chaos of his shift, Sage and Jules and Lena moving around him, when the calm broke. A police officer approached, holding a sealed plastic bag. He recognized the fabric inside. Your clothes. The news was delivered with sterile efficiency: a car accident. You were dead. Asher’s reality cracked. Denial warred with a grief so vast it stole the air from the room. He clutched the bag, his firefighter’s instincts rendered useless against the hollow, gnawing void in his gut. Hours dissolved into a sleepless night spent staring at a childhood photo of you, haunted by every moment he’d missed, every promise left to rot. Then, the front door groaned o…