Flashback 2021

Fred and Karen visit his mother in the hospital

Fred and his wife Karen visit his mother, who is suffering from severe mental decline in the hospital. The visit underscores the fragility of family ties in the present. Fred’s mind already drifts toward memories of high school as he tries to stay present for his mother.

High school flashbacks begin; search for Cindy

Back at work, Fred experiences vivid flashbacks of his high school days. He recalls a girl named Cindy Williams and travels to the high school to learn more. A librarian confirms Cindy went missing after a drug circulated around the school, hinting at a larger mystery. These revelations pull Fred deeper into a past that won’t stay buried.

Accosted by the scarred homeless man in the alley

While parked in an alley, Fred is accosted by a scarred homeless man who seems to know him from somewhere. The unsettling encounter punctures his sense of safety and deepens the sense that something unseen is guiding his memories. The man reappears later, reinforcing the link between past and present.

Memories converge to reveal a hidden message: 'I'm in your lobby'

Fred pieces together memories of a child and the homeless man, and from their overlapping visions a single phrase emerges: 'I'm in your lobby.' The cryptic line hints at a hidden presence and a clue about a time-manipulating force. The discovery foreshadows a larger truth about the drug merc and how it alters perception of time.

Confrontation in the apartment lobby

Determined to confront the unknown, Fred goes to his apartment lobby with a baseball bat. He is startled by the homeless man, who seems to anticipate his moves. The moment intensifies the sense that Fred's reality is fracturing into multiple timelines.

Mouth visions and breakdown in the lobby

Fred experiences disturbing visions—a mouth, others looking down on him—before collapsing in a mental breakdown. The lobby becomes a stage for a surreal, terrifying montage of past and present. He wakes to find himself still in the present, but shaken by the depth of what he's remembered.

Reconnecting with high school friends; more flashbacks

Fred reconnects with friends from high school and continues to wrestle with new memories. The past and present bleed into conversations about the mysterious drug merc. The loop of flashbacks suggests he is not merely remembering but traveling through possibilities.

Mercury memory: boiler room and club

Fred recalls doing mercury in the high school's boiler room and then visiting a club to obtain uncut merc. The drug is tied to escaping a perceived trap and allows glimpses of alternate timelines. He senses merc as a key to unlocking temporal possibilities, though its effects are dangerous.

Roof talk with Cindy about merc

On a club roof, Fred and Cindy discuss how merc releases people from being trapped and enables visions of different futures. The conversation deepens their connection and hints at a shared fate tied to time itself. It also establishes the drug as a vehicle for escape from linear perception.

Now-present mission: abandon club trip to uncover truth

In the present, Fred struggles with a critical work presentation. With his high school friends, he returns to the now-abandoned club to uncover what happened to Cindy and to the merc outbreak. The trip heightens the sense of urgency and the stakes of his memory-drenched journey. They hope answers lie where the past and present converge.

At the club: merc flashbacks; Cindy and homeless; he never left

Inside the club, Fred experiences successive merc flashbacks and encounters the scarred man and Cindy again. They tell him that he never truly left the place or the timeline, hinting that his life is looping around the same paradox. Fragmented visions of mouths and watchers surround him as reality becomes unstable.

The time-mechanism revealed: invasive lifeform and multiple timelines

Through fragmented memories, Fred pieces together that an invasive lifeform forces people to perceive time linearly; merc temporarily unlocks the possible futures. The drug's ability to momentarily break free from linear time is what makes his experiences possible. He realizes he has been living within a web of alternate paths rather than a single fixed life.

Lamp incident: the cause of the scar in high school

Fred recalls his harsh reaction to merc in high school, during which he grabbed a lamp and struck a child, leaving a scar. The memory exposes the guilt and consequences of his actions within the tangled timelines. It also explains the embodied memory that recurs as he travels.

Final exam, dual timelines, and decision to travel no more with Cindy

Back in the present, Fred wakes, rushes to finish his office presentation, and experiences a simultaneous breakdown across past and present during a final exam. He sees alternate versions of himself in high school and chooses to complete the exam confidently. He travels back to the abandoned club with Cindy, but ultimately decides not to continue traveling with her, returning to ordinary life.