The Other Hand on the Wheel
sci-fi◐ MatureThe other Mara takes the package and tucks it under her arm. 'Now get back in your car and don't look back,' she says. 'And when it's your turn, do not open it.' Headlights swing into the lot. Both women freeze. That's the early car arriving. There shouldn't be a THIRD.
The third car's door opens and an older Mara climbs out, gray-haired, calm. 'Both of you, stop,' she says. 'The loop only closes if the package changes hands once. You've passed it twice. We have to put it back in the first car before the timer ends.' She points. Forty seconds left.
What happens next?
2 ways forwardMara and the other two sprint the package to the first car and lay it on the seat just as the timer hits zero. The retrochron units across the lot go silent together. When Mara looks up, the other selves are gone. One car, one her, one sealed package she'll deliver in ten minutes, exactly as the slip always said. She drives off and never opens it.