The coil in the lab sang one note too high, and the air folded like wet paper. When it snapped flat again, Mara felt wrong. Her phone said 9:42. Her sister Ines, three feet away, looked up slowly, like a video still loading. Mara waved. Ines waved back two minutes later. Their clocks matched, but the sisters did not. Mara was ahead now, and she could feel herself sliding further forward.

Mara panicked and ran for the door. Maybe getting away from the coil would help. But the second she crossed the hallway, the gap jumped to four minutes. Distance from Ines was making it worse, not better. She froze, heart pounding, and turned back.

Mara sprinted back into the lab and stood as close to Ines as she could. The gap shrank to two minutes. The rule was clear: stay close, stay slow. She pressed her palm to the desk beside her sister's and waited. Two minutes later, Ines laid her hand down too. Same spot, just late. They needed a real fix, not a waiting game.