“Okay, Beverly, we are live in 5...4...3...2...”

“This is Beverly Meadows with KRTW coming live at what appears to be a bizarre and tragic turn of events at the Minneapolis State Fair. Nobody is exactly sure what is happening but there are police and swat teams already scrambling behind me, as you can see. Reports so far seem to tell of some sort of altercation between two individuals, leading to a fatal shooting. However, reports also tell of the alleged perpetrator continuing on his firing spree, wounding or possibly killing as many as five others. As of yet, there are few details that have come to light as to who this individual is, or why he’s continued his violent rampage. Some have even mentioned an electrical issue. We don’t know how that fits in with all this, but we will continue to update you as further details come in. This is Beverly Meadows, KRTW news.”

“Are we good, Kip?”

“Yeah, kid, we got it.”

“Great work, and for the billionth time stop calling me a kid,” Beverly replied. Then squinting into the distance as if to catch a glimpse of any potential action, Beverly motioned the cameraman to follow close behind her.

“Are you kidding me? I’m not going in there. What if we run into that shooter? We don’t even know who or what he looks like. We could run into him and not even know it until we become victims six and seven!”

David Philips, or “Kip” to those that knew him best, was a squat and heavyset man. Already in his mid-60’s, he had seen a lot of action as a news cameraman. That is to say, Kip was not the sort that scared from any story easily. But in all those years, this danger felt different. This story seemed strange and as soon as he heard about it, something unnerving began to gnaw at his stomach. Something at once both horrifying and familiar.

“Kip, I realize this is a dangerous situation but you’re gonna need to fuck off and grow a set. Now come on!” Beverly retorted. “If we can get this before KQRT we’ll be in the running for the Polk Award. Now come ON!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Kip muttered to himself, “this is not a good idea.” Kip rushed after the reporter down Judson Ave while whispering aggressively, “Crouch down while you run at least. We do not want to get caught here. I am not going to end my career as a hostage.”

“Stop worrying. We’re almost at the International Bazaar. That cop I spoke with before told me everything was going down between here and the Haunted House off Underwood Street. Stay alert.”

“You stay alert, asshole.” Kip thought to himself. The closer he got the more apprehensive he felt. Something about all this was eerily familiar, like some sort of ominous deja vu. Kip could almost feel what was about to happen. His heartbeat was racing and the sweat on his brow was pouring - everything in his being was telling him to run away. He was just about to turn around when Beverly stopped.

“Look! Those sparks of electricity between the buildings.”

Kip could already feel the electricity raising the hairs on the back of his neck. The crackling was starting to become deafening in his ears. If he didn’t leave now…

“FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!”

Kip could instantly feel his heart in his throat. What the fuck is going on here? “Are those the cops? Are they shouting at us?” he asked Beverly.

“YOU ARE SURROUNDED. DROP THE WEAPONS OR WE WILL SHOOT!”

Beverly stood fully upright, hands raised in the air. “We’re press,” she attempted to explain, “I’m a reporter with KRTW.”

“WE WILL FIRE! PUT THE WEAPONS DOWN!”

“I don’t think they care that we’re press,” Kip advised Beverly with his hands raised, “we better do what they say and sort this out later.”

But these were the last words Beverly would hear Kip utter. Within seconds of the pair’s surrender, police began to swarm and close in. Putting them in cuffs, Kip could feel the hair on his arms rising. What the fuck was going on here?

Suddenly, the electricity both had forgotten began to spark again. But instead of the jumpstarting sputter of energy, the area where Kip and Beverly were standing became enveloped in light, forcing the arresting officers to the ground. Suddenly, the pair was gone.

Stunned, the police looked at each other in curious surprise, then another flash of electricity began to surge a second time. It was then that Beverly and Kip exploded out of the Horticulture Building, hands reaching to clutch each other’s throats. The moments that passed seemed to take an eternity. Kip with his hands around Beverly’s throat, threw her down to the ground; Beverly thrashing with all her might against Kip’s massive arms, pinning her down.

The police did not reach Kip in time. Beverly fell limp before they tackled him. But in their scuffle, Kip managed to grab an officer’s revolver. He shot two of the officers before running off.

“He’s headed for the Space Tower.” one of the officers shouted. But when they fell under fire, the bullets came from the direction of the Baily House to the right. Kip wounded a fair-goer, shooting off his left ear. But he managed to hit two more cops before falling himself. In the end, a total of 22 bullets struck Kip’s body - but after a last blinding flash, neither his nor Beverly’s body was ever found.

“I saw the whole thing. I know exactly what happened.” an old woman cried.

“You did?! I’m Mack Weldon with KQRT News. Would you like to do an interview with me?”

“Yes. I can explain what happened here. I was working in the science booth when the whole thing went down.”

“Okay, Eddie, let’s go live in 5...4...3...2…Good evening. Tragedy and murder at the Minnesota State Fair. So far we know of at least six dead and one wounded. With us tonight is one of the fair-goers working the science booth who claims to know exactly what went down.”

“My name is Doctor Anita Goddard. I was here at the Minnesota State Fair to present my prototype design. It doesn’t exactly work correctly yet, but my invention has been shown to create a loop in time so that if one wanted to recreate any moment within a certain amount of time, you could.”

“So what does that have to do with what happened here today?”

“Well, as I said, the device isn’t fully functional yet. But while I was attempting some additional adjustments, streams of electricity began to erupt. The surge in power struck me unconscious for a moment, but I awakened to find both KRTW reporters fighting like hell trying to kill each other. Right here! Right in front of me before falling out into the street again where the big one killed the woman and serval policemen. It’s like the machine brought them to me. When I realized that the machine was still on, I tried to switch the machine off, but another surge prevented me. Clearly the machine worked, at least in some capacity. The electricity encircled the two and somehow pushed them forward in time, but only for them. That is, it was imperceptible for us. To them, they were several minutes in the future, in that first disappearance. Something must have happened though because when they flashed back...the reappearance...I don’t know why they were trying to kill each other. I mean the machine isn’t designed to make anybody violent. But the fact that they disappeared, then reappeared, and disappeared again, each after electric surges...the machine had to have worked. I think that’s why the police can’t find their bodies. It’s my understanding that both reporters are stuck in a loop. Forever. Forever reliving those final tragic moments of their lives, like a kind of hell.”