by Em Pitts
2
The next morning, I got up off the couch and woke Abby up from the bed like any other day. Jumping on her usually does the trick. After fighting over mirror time—her with makeup she doesn’t need, and me with a mess of hair and a broken hairband to show for it—we finally finished up enough to get her on the way to school.
Today was a rainy day which meant coats. Summertime was right around the corner and the weather was getting more comfortable every day. Although most people didn’t care for the rain, I loved it. Rainy days meant fewer people at the shop, but the cold was harder to deal with. Thank goodness for coats and heaters.
I was thankful our Toyota Camry was reliable enough to get us where we needed to go. We may not have had much money, but the necessary things were taken care of. My thoughts drift to The Princess and the Frog movie lesson. We have what we need even if it isn’t what we want. Tiana was a personal hero of mine and I needed to strive for that mentality more.
“Are you sure you don’t need an alibi for a quick trip to teepee her house?” I asked on the drive.
The poor girl just shook her head at me and pretended to be a zombie as she sipped her coffee. Or maybe she was not pretending. It might really be a condition approved by doctors: zombie stasis—curable by coffee or other acceptable forms of caffeine. I barely got three sentences out of her before dropping her off at her high school. If you can count mumbling as sentences.
She was a junior this year and one of the youngest in her class. One more year and I would be losing her to whatever career path she chose. Abby has been surprisingly tight-lipped about what she wants to do after high school. I’m sure she will figure it out soon though.
The trip to the shop passed in a familiar route and I barely paid attention to my surroundings before realizing I was parking. I unlocked the shop doors to find that annoying clock sitting on the desk again. I was sure I put that back in his office yesterday.
I long ago gave up on the idea of Earl getting in before 9:00 am, so he must have put in out front yesterday after I left. I had to be here early each day to open up with the mechanics, so I know this was Earl's way of telling me to fix the clock today. He must really be expecting some kind of refund for the thing.
Opening everything up in the office and greeting the others arriving was done quickly. We had four bays sectioned by repair types and the mechanics and technicians were prompt every day. I worked with good people for the most part.
Soon, I was back at the desk gearing myself up for my task. I might as well start on this project. I get paid enough to stay here and continue with the side quests given to me from Earl even if they get a bit ridiculous at times. Staring down the clock, I retracted my previous thought. Earl’s tasks are more than ridiculous. After cocking my head and taking a deep breath I brought up the google search from yesterday to find out what needed to be fixed.
It seemed smart to search for a battery first until I realized that this clock was much older than the battery itself. The clock was called a lantern clock, so I assumed the inside had space for a lantern in it; however, the inside was full of gears. After further researching I found that it was either weight-driven or run with spring mechanisms.
Removing both side panels, I noticed the last panel on the back had a symbol engraved in it, with writing below the symbol. It was hard to tell what the symbol was. Maybe a special engraving? It almost looked like the cursive letter for ‘D’ but with sharper angles instead of curves.
A car pulled up while I was watching YouTube videos to figure out the clock mess as quickly as possible. I was hoping to fix it before any customers showed up, then my desk area would not look so bad. It was not meant to be though. I was busy back and forth between the clock and my actual job responsibilities.
To make matters worse, Earl arrived and proceeded to make comments about having the clock ready for the pawn shop that afternoon. I found myself glaring at the back of his head every time he walked out of his back office and to the front. A few mental reminders about why I needed the money and the future opportunities held my tongue back.
I figured out that the clock worked on a weighted chain that was nowhere to be found. Of course, Earl was not listening to my explanation. I improvised and used some brown rope I found in his office to act as the weighted chain only to find a pendulum piece missing.
By lunchtime, I was beyond annoyed at Earl and his insane expectations. If I didn’t need this job, I would walk out that door without a backward glance.
He was using my own need to complete a project against me and has been since he noticed that quality in me when I started. The problem he isn’t seeing, is that I may want to complete projects as a personal matter, but being forced to do so lessens any desire to see the final product.
Usually, it is rewarding when I work on something for a time and get to fix it. It’s like a math problem to me. Now, it is stressful, having the added pressure that I need to do my job as well as any side job my boss expects of me. It was a heavy burden that I contemplated dropping every day.
While eating my lunch in the break room, Earl gave me a surprise visit. Dropping the clock on the table I was currently eating at, he gave me a stern look.
“I need this finished by the end of the day. You are too distracted out there. I’m putting Linda on the desk while you finish this.” He demanded and grabbed my phone off the table.
“Distracted doing my job?” I asked in disbelief with a mouth full of food. The asshole ignored me and walked back to his office. "You can't just take my phone!"
He was probably going back to playing games at his desk. My ham sandwich was clenched in my hands in anger. I need this job. Think of Abby. I need this job.
Linda did tires and only tires. She was quick with them and could straighten a tire rim out as quickly as patching a hole. She has been here long enough to demand that position and no other. Especially not the desk. She did not care for people in general.
Somehow, I had a feeling this would be perceived as my fault and my string cheeses would go missing from the fridge again. It was a form of payback I had already endured; my food would be messed with.
Groaning and putting down my sandwich I glared at the stupid clock that was bound to have me staying overtime again. Staring intently at the engraving on the panel piece I gave myself a good five minutes before I moved. Done with my mental cussing and ranting I got back to work.
I already rigged up the weighted system, so the next thing to do was to fix a short pendulum. How the hell was I supposed to do that?
I turned the clock to face me and moved the hour hand with my finger, just stalling for time as I came up with an idea for recreating pieces I knew nothing about. When the hand lined up straight onto a number, a piece on the top moved up and down. I guess it was like an alarm. The piece wasn't long enough to reach any bell though and I saw nothing for it to ding against.
Great, more missing pieces that I would have to recreate if it was mentioned to Earl. I just would not mention it then, problem solved.
As much as it bothered me to leave a project unfinished—the whole reason I got into this mess—I was not about to run myself through with this unnecessary project that my dickhead boss decided to lob at me. He could deal with the consequences of his own actions from the stupid clock.
I smiled at the thought of him getting a low price for the broken pieces before frowning again. Would he take it out on me if I didn’t give him the clock he wanted? No, I could play dumb. That might be for my benefit too. If he believes I am incapable of these tasks he keeps throwing at me, then he should stop assigning more.
Deciding to put the clock together and pretend it was fixed, I reached towards the pieces that were taken apart. When I put on one of the side panels, my finger got cut on the bottom opening for the pendulum. I pressed my finger into my jeans for a moment then reached for the back piece. I felt the engraving and again wondered what the symbol meant before dismissing it.
When all the
pieces were together, I moved the hour hand to the 12 o'clock position and gave a light tap on top as the broken pieces once again jingled, trying to ring the bell.
I got up and threw away my trash and cleaned the table up as best I could. I noticed blood still on my finger and wrapped a napkin around it to hold the cut closed until it stopped, before throwing the napkin away.
When I reached for the clock to take it to Earl and lie my ass off, I noticed something strange. The piece on top was still moving up and down as if it hadn't stopped yet. I watched for a moment longer in case I had bumped the table and caused the pieces to wiggle, but the moving piece still kept moving. When I was absently playing earlier the piece would only move once for each time the hand struck an hour. I reached out deciding to stop it because it was a bit freaky watching this broken piece keep wiggling.
I put my hand on the top piece to catch it, pricking my finger again from a snag in the metal piece. I snatched my finger back as my blood started dripping. The piece stopped moving immediately. Weird clock. I gingerly reached towards the hour hand to move it off the 12 so the missing bell piece did not mess up again.
As soon as my finger touched the clock, an intense cold swept through me, immediately followed by a wave of heat that had my skin feeling as though it was peeling from my body. I cried out as the pain got too much and squeezed my eyes shut, crouching into a ball. It felt like I was having a seizure as my muscles started spasming. I couldn't move my shaking body for what felt like hours.
When I could feel my body start relaxing, the burning pain remained. My thoughts were scattered and I kept circling around the thought of dying in this break room because I cut my hand and got some kind of disease from my boss's project. Abby better be compensated from this shit.
I felt the heat level flare up before snapping my eyes open. Fire was surrounding me, waving and bobbing to its own rhythm. Smoke assaulted my senses.
Freaking out at the office catching fire, I cried out and tried to jump up. Stumbling to my feet, I saw I was not in the office anymore. There was a grassy hill that I was standing on, surrounded by a ring of fire. And I was not alone.
The flames surrounding me were burning hot enough to singe my skin. I looked around frantically, vaguely noting the two other people on the hill. My gaze caught on my left sleeve with a flash and the flame licking up my arm stood out.
I’m on fire.
I’m on fire!
Screaming out, I started desperately throwing my arm every which way to knock the flames off. Luckily, the surrounding circle of fire dimmed down to barely a whisper. My senses returned enough for me to drop down and roll around on the ground. I have to get the fire out. Smother it out. The smell of my charred clothes reached my nose and scared me even more.
I was terrified of looking further at my arm. I didn’t feel anything and dared a peek to see the flames were gone. I sat up unsteadily and immediately buckled when the pain shot up my left arm as soon as I put pressure on it.
Voices had my head jerking up towards the other two people I saw. Men. Two big ass men. One stood directly in front of me and the other was towards my right.
The look on the man's face in front of me was terrifying. He was barely restraining his fury in a shaking body ready to erupt. Then he was moving towards me. I screamed out and attempted to crawl backward buckling on my arm.
Trying to be mindful of my arm I scrambled up in order to run the fuck away. The man to my right hadn't moved and I was thankful that the area to my back was opened enough to take off.
I felt and heard the earth rumble as I gave the men my back and sped towards safety. Only a few steps in and the rumbles intensified enough that I was tripping on my shaky legs and falling face first. The pain jolting up my left side let me know that I tried to catch myself on my hands. I turned over ready to kick out only to see flames roaring above me. What the fuck kind of earthquake, fire, end of the world shit...?
As quick as the flames came, they cut off. Then an evil laugh was coming from the first man who was closest to me. I looked into his face and got the full effect of his wrath. Spittle flew off his lips as he turned his fury on the man who had yet to move. The sneer he shot the other man would have had me cowering.
“Always were soft, weren’t you boy? Always will be. No wonder your father is disgraced by you.” The man's voice grated across my skin. He spit into the dirt before turning on his heel and stomping down the hill away from me.
I didn’t dare move, instead keeping my eyes trained on the "boy". We were locked in some kind of chicken battle both just watching the other. My vision was narrowed on his eyes and I realized that I couldn't see anything else. I snapped my eyes shut and squeezed them closed before forcing them open again. I barely made out the outline of the man still standing away from me.
I squeezed my eyes closed again. This isn't happening. I'm going crazy. It's a dream. Yeah, that's it. A dream. I fell asleep in the office and my stress is showing me weird shit. I peeked my eyes open and saw the man was a hell of a lot closer than he was a moment ago. Brown hair. That's all I noticed as my vision narrowed even further and everything around me grew fuzzy. I felt light-headed and couldn't think.
Something was moving over my face. A hand? I looked towards the man whose lips were moving. I could not hear him over the static noise in my head. Colors blended together as I reached out toward him. I don’t know if I was going to push him away or grab on to him. The pain shooting from my arm was the last thing I felt before everything went dark.
3
I sat up quick, sputtering and cold. Something was running down my face and I quickly wiped at it. Water? Abby was going to die for throwing water on me to wake me up.
Looking up, the person kneeling next to me was not Abby. No, the man kneeling beside me was the bearded stranger from my dream.
Not a dream. Real. This is real.
Brown hair long enough to run your fingers through and a beard that was kept trim and had some red throughout it were surrounding a concerned expression. Grey eyes were roaming over me and from the face he was making it seemed he was worried if I was okay. But I saw confusion too.
I jerked up and scrambled backward falling on my ass straight into a lake. That was enough to open my mouth and start screaming.
“Stay the fuck away from me!”
My mind decided it was a smart idea to splash water at him to reiterate my point. The pain from my left arm reminded me I was injured, and I turned my body keeping my wounded side away from the threat.
There was no reason I should be spending time around someone who was fighting off another man using fire. Where the hell is the blowtorch at anyway? I looked the man over, but the only strange thing I saw was he was wearing one glove on his right hand. That, and his wide cuffed boots reached up almost at his knees while his hat rested in one of his hands. Neither looked like places to keep a blowtorch. Maybe it was the other man who had the fire wielding weapon. Regardless, I am not getting near the crazed lunatic.
I looked left and right for something to fight him off with and noticed we were not on the hill anymore. I could see some hills around me, as well as trees thick enough to indicate a forest. I am not sure which one we were standing on earlier or why we were somewhere different now.
“How did I get here?” I asked myself aloud.
“I carried you when you fainted, Miss.” He responded as if I were talking to him. To be fair, there was not anyone else around us. Wherever we are.
I tried to pay attention to him and my surroundings. I was able to slowly relax when he didn’t seem like he was getting any closer. It seemed smart to keep an eye out for the blowtorch though. Being in the water right now helped lessen my fear of burning further.
“Where is here?” I gestured around to explain my point. “Who are you? And what the fuck is going on?”
Oh my god, I've been kidnapped. I was at the office. I must have really fallen asleep. And what, someone came in there and grabbed your grown ass
? Think Tessa! Before he even had a chance to explain anything, I started breathing fast. Hyperventilating, I realized.
Cold water splashed me out of my freak out mid-breath. Looking up, I saw the man moved closer and had his hand in the water ready to douse me again.
“Will you stop doing that?!” I screamed and splashed him back. His concerned look morphed into annoyance.
“Stop helping you?” He scoffed at me.
A new voice hollered out and had me looking over the splash-happy man’s shoulders. Another man was jogging towards us and waving his arms to get our attention. The new guy had shoulder length black hair and a lean build. I could see he was dressed similarly to the first man, long sleeved loose shirt, dark pants, hat, and the one glove. The closer he got, the taller he seemed until he was practically towering over us as he stood next to the bearded man.
We were all just standing in the water now. Well, I was sitting, and the first man was kneeling. I let out a slightly hysterical laugh. This is insane. I'm going crazy. It only took being upended into a new world, doused in some flames, a hulk impersonator who was about to end me, and a strange man to splash some water on me.
The bearded man didn’t seem bothered by the new presence, only sparing a quick glance while he was walking up before continuing to watch me.
“Was she the one screaming? I knew you were bad with women Ollie, but this may be a new low for you.” The new guy’s husky voice sounded amused.
“Not everyone can be a beard-splitter like you.” The bearded guy still sounded annoyed as he kept his eyes on me. Then he gestured to me. “John is clearly up to his tricks again. Although why he decided to send her in the middle of Brian and me fighting is unclear.” At that, the new guy’s gaze snapped to the bearded guy, Ollie?, and looked incredulous.