Chapter 1:The Clock That Wasn’t There
Lena had never liked quiet forests. It wasn’t the trees, they were fine. It wasn’t the shadows either. It was the feeling that something was just slightly… off. Like the world was holding its breath.
That’s exactly how it felt when she stepped beyond the rusted iron gate.
“Stay on the path,” her brother had told her.
But the path had disappeared about ten minutes ago.
Now all that surrounded her were tall, pale trees with bark that shimmered like moonlight. The air felt thick, like walking through a dream you couldn’t wake up from
tick… tock… tick… tock…
Lena froze. There it was again. A clock.
But she wasn’t wearing one. Neither was anyone else, because she wasn’t completely alone.
“Hello?” She called out. The forest didn’t answer.
Tick… tock…
This time it came from behind her. Lena spun around and nearly tripped over it.
A small wooden table stood in the middle of the forest, like it had always been there. On top sat a silver pocket watch, its surface glowing faintly.
“that definitely wasn’t here before,” she whispered.
The watch snapped open on its own.
Inside, instead of numbers, the face showed a tiny moving scene, a girl running through a doorway, chased by something Lena couldn’t quite see.
“Okay… nope,” Lena said backing up. “I’m not doing mysterious magic objects today.”
The watch ticked louder. Then, without warning, it fell of the table
Lena reached out instinctively and then the ground disappeared beneath her.
She screamed as she fell, not through dirt or roots, but through something soft and glowing, like falling through a cloud made of light.
Shapes rushed past her like doors, teacups, floating staircases, and eyes… watching.
Then thud.
Lena landed on a checkered floor.
She groaned and sat up, brushing herself off. “I really need to stop touching weird stuff.”
“Most people learn that sooner,” a voice said.
Lena looked up.
Across from her stood a boy about her age, dressed in mismatched clothes, one sleeve striped, the other covered in tiny clocks. His eyes were bright, like he knew something she didn’t
“where am i?” Lena asked
The boy tilted his head. “That depends.”
“On what?”
He smiled.
“On whether you plan to leave.”
Behind him, dozens of doors lined the walls, some tiny, some enormous, some floating upside down.
One of them slowly creaked open.
And something inside… laughed.
