Nash wake up. Again. Still here. Still hell.
Floor sticky. Smell like burnt popcorn and regret. Walls? Still melting. Like Dali painting on crack. Ceiling now hum Bohemian Rhapsody. Worse than Cats. Way worse.
"You snore," say voice. Glint. Roomba. Still here. Still british. Still hates everything.
Nash sit up. Head throb. "Where… others?"
"Baker man try fight wall. Girl cry in corner. Kid code air. Useless." Glint spin. "Also, floor taste like shame. FYI."
Nash stand. Knees crack. 42 years old. Feel 90. "We need… do the thing. The puzzle."
"Teeth clock," Glint say. "Yes. Very original. Very deep. Slow clap."
Room full of teeth. Piles. Molars. Incisors. Gold ones. Baby teeth. All sticky. All whisper. Nash step. Crunch. "Christ."
"Not Him here," Glint say. "Just teeth."
Jax walk in. Big guy. Tattoo of cupcake on neck. Eyes red. "Wall broke my hand," he say. "Wall win."
Priya follow. Phone dead. Eyeliner run. "This not… my brand," she whisper. "I do aura photos. Not… teeth."
Marco, kid, poke teeth with shoe. "Binary," he say. "Teeth in binary. 0s and 1s. Duh."
Nash sigh. "No. It's metaphor. Or… literal. Who cares. Build clock."
"Why?" Jax growl. "Who want clock made of teeth?"
Mirror fog up. Words appear: TIME IS A WOUND. CLOCK IT.
"Ooooh, deep," Glint say. "Write that down. Put on pillow."
Nash grab molar. Familiar. Chipped. "Lena," she whisper. Sister's tooth. Fell out bike crash. Age 9. Nash kept it. Lost it. Now here.
"Sentimental? How… cute," Glint say. "Hurry. Before room turn us into metaphor."
They build. Sorta. Jax glue teeth with spit. Priya arrange by size—"feng shui," she lie. Marco count in binary. Glint critique.
Clock done. Ugly. Teeth point 2:47.
Wall crack open. New room. Smell like wet dog and hope.
Alt-Nash there. Mirror-Nash. Perfect hair. Perfect teeth. Nobel pin shine. "Progress!" she say. Cheerleader from hell.
Real Nash: "What you want?"
Alt-Nash tilt head. "You know. You stay. You win. I… win more. Simple math."
"Math wrong," Nash say. "Black hole laugh. You hear it?"
Alt-Nash smile. Too wide. Teeth too many. "I feed it."
Light blink.
Kid Marco scream.
Ceiling now… not ceiling. Black. Void. Laughing.
Glint whirl. "Ah. The landlord."
Nash look up. Into nothing. Into thing.
Voice boom: "TICK-TOCK, LITTLE ANT."
Jax puke. Priya pass out. Marco code faster. Glint say: "Charming."
Nash grab sister's tooth. Stab mirror. Crack it. Alt-Nash hiss. "You'll die here!"
"Already dead," Nash say. "Now… next room."
Alt-Nash shatter. Shards whisper: You'll be me.
Nash step over glass. "Doubt it."
Glint hum Another One Bites the Dust. "Drama queen."
They walk. Kid Marco ask: "That void… God?"
Nash spit. "Nah. Just… intern."
Laugh echo. Walls bleed.
Nash think: I miss my basement.
But walk. Always walk.