Staring at the watch, I followed the hands as they wandered along the plate telling the time. It was almost hypnotizing as everything around me felt strange. I became more aware of what was around me. The sounds of chatter became rather loud as the voices within the church became almost up close and personal, along with the footsteps that echoed through the halls. Speaking of footsteps, taking notice of the sheen water around me, I started to catch a trail of what appeared to be dirty boot tracks scattered down the halls and ways of the corridors. My brows looked confused as Father Nicholas caught notice of my concern. “Is something wrong, Breina?” Shaking off the awe of believability, I glance up at him. “I-I’m fine, Father Nicholas. What happened?” His eyes became shaded as a sickness glazed his eyes. Shaking his head, he peered back down at my form. “I heard a commotion up the stairwell and decided to investigate. I saw you flailing on the floor as your body was surrounded by water. Almost an abnormal amount. I did not notice any leakage from the ceiling. I am sorry, I did not manage to catch anything, my dear.” My eyes set back on the prints, and I heaved a sigh as I started to stand on my feet again, attempting not to slip on the marble floor. “Here let me help you.” Father Nicholas offered a hand, which I was well thankful for. But as my hand approached him, I started to gain a pronounced sickly feeling in the deja vu. My fingers and palms started to gain the sensation of tearing and ripping apart once more as my heart started to beat profusely. A grim look crossed Father Nicholas’ face as I touched his hand. My eyes became hazy and nauseous viewing as I almost felt my soul ascend from my body. Ironically enough, I was out of my body. I saw what appeared to be my form falling off of the chair within minutes, But I was moving from a different perspective. I seemed to be climbing the stairs. Why was I taller? Why was I over here while my body was writhing on the floor? The watch began to shutter and wobble side to side, almost as if a firecracker were to launch from its peak. Suddenly, A spectre of light appeared beside my body as the figure of a man fell beside me. They looked familiar. “Were they?” Coughing persisted from the man as his features were hard to discern. The man quickly rushed towards the pocket watch as he began to mutter to himself, crawling his way back over towards me. My perspective began to speak in a very familiar tone, “What are you doing? Was this your plan all along? To allow the innocent ones to be dragged in?!” Father Nicholas.

The man coughed up what remaining water he had stuck within him. “I was in the middle of a chase, Mon Ami.” His accent was naturally French sounding, it felt intriguing hearing the words roll off the tongue. “That does not explain why you left the locket unaccompanied! Do you not have someone to take care of it?” “I did, but I did not expect this to happen.” The man glanced back downwards at my body as it began to stop flailing. Father Nicholas, or at least from my perspective, shuffled towards my body and managed to hold me so that I would not injure myself any further. “You did not answer my question, What were you doing?” He sounded quite defensive. I managed to gain a better look at this mysterious assailant, the standing appearance that caught my eye immediately was the gem-like emerald eyes that glistened in the lights of candles surrounding us. “Father, They found a way to assimilate us to the bare wire. At least the lower levels. But he managed to gain clarity while I was wandering around and I managed to escape through her. I was meant to escape from Katlin, however, by the looks of the locket, she seemed to have dropped it given the dentition.” His eyes then glanced towards my body as he placed his fingertips against my forehead, in a clockwise motion, he grazed along the skin as the pocket watch stopped moving. As my body stilled, the man looked towards my point of view, locking eyes at Nicholas, and then gazed at the pocket watch. “Nicholas, That watch…” He continued, but he spoke in his mother tongue. I could not understand what he was saying. And suddenly he noticed my tossing, and made a run for it, downwards towards the stairwell, dirt sought footprints as he disappeared into the shadows.

I gasped as that vision escaped my view, stumbling backwards towards the collection of alters. The burning sensation started to dissipate as I looked towards Father Nicholas. Heavy concerns swirled around my mind as he started down towards me. “Bree, what happened?” I could only stare as my body shook with horror at what just occurred. Without a second notice, I reached hastily for my items and grabbed the watch as I made a run down the winding stairs, threw the pews along the great halls and busted through the oaken doors. The rain trickled down faster and faster as my feet lunged forward along the set course toward my home. The swimming of my mind continued as my course kept me onwards, the acting sounds of water popping in my ears with the vivid images of the so-called ‘event’ I just witnessed. It would be an understatement to say I was scrambling to regain some sort of reality. Passing down alleys and streets covered in darkness, my mind stopped as soon as I crossed the bridge. It was always here, and I never wondered why. The blank space between my eyes and the awning of the path ahead, I turned to the river, looking down hoping to see something beyond what I could find. And yet, there was some notice of nostalgia hitting the back of my head, similar to how it felt when Dennis hit the door on me back in the bakehouse. Why was it this fast? What was wrong with me? Contemplating made my stomach hurt and my body felt its sense of tingling resurge once again.

“Who was he? Who were you?” The fog amongst the water began to rise along the bays and the moon shone on the reflection as I saw…me. A young woman, with curly blonde hair and eyes shaped like my mother's, dark with splendour but, what was unfamiliar was the shine it bore. I saw a look in my eyes that in the mirror for the last seventeen years of my life has never appeared. A fevered sheen that bounced through the clouded waters. “Who…are you?” This was me. My head hurts looking at it. I started to finally collect myself, hearing the water swishing along the banks of the canal. The few boats that sat upon the surface creaked and weaned the sounds of the old wood. The contained energy remaining inside of me managed to settle down as the burning sensation started to dissipate once more. Back and forth the waves moved. The more I breathed, the calmer the waves. And the calmer the waves, the more the surroundings started to move. The noise of people walking, the puttering of rain starting to gently suede off of the city, the lamps shining overhead as moths dance among the false suns. It felt more apparent than it had before. I thought that what happened was meant to happen. Maybe there was some meaning to events that occurred. Tick. Tick. The watch. My hand dug through the burrows of my jacket to find the silver-plated trinket closed in the palm of my hand. This was more than what it seemed.

…Br

Along the rest of the way, it was silent. The hush amongst the streets and the lack of rats running around made it an odd sight. The way kept on getting familiar until I found myself upon the footsteps of my flat. It appeared bleaker than when I left it. Perhaps it was due to the mist. Maybe it was my mood. I would not oblige to either. Up to the door, I shuffled with my keys and eventually unlocked my door, unfortunately with the thought of being watched. Great, just my luck. To a fault, I averted my eyes to the cold, desolate streets. The moths strained their way, fluttering in the risky rain. Nothing within sight seemed to be of note besides the awning lights of the other flats. Nervously, gripping the locket, I rubbed my thumb over the cool metal. This is weird.

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…..Bree

A faded shard of whisper approached again. So I’m not crazy? The strands of hair flipped across my face as I tried to find whatever the noise was. Panicked, I screwed the key into the deadbolt and lunged my way into the boot room of the house, slamming the door behind me. Kneeling on the floor, the old clock making the chimes of nine o’clock, the ever-dying embers of the fireplace. The dimness of the kitchen lamp brought ease to my attention as the empty pit of my stomach started to rumble. Pealing my coat off of my shoulders with the continuation of my boots, I lurked my sore feet into the small kitchen. It was not much but it was comforting. A quaint stove with an ice box, tea stocked to the brim in the cabinets and preserves to last for years. Not much lingered in the chest, a few eggs, a remanence of ham and some bread that sat on the countertop. A small lightbulb appeared above my head. Toad in the Hole. Perfect. Bouncing to the sitting room, I uncovered mine once my mother's most prized possession. The Record Player. Or what my mother called it in her day, the Gramaphone. Tracing my fingers along the bin of vinyl, mouthing the titles. Then the perfect one. Jimmy Dorsey, “Tangerine.” A very pretty song. Placing the vinyl gently into the placement, I dropped the dial down and the record started to go. The slow waltzing feel ushered me back into the kitchen, Cooking my supper for the night. Taking note of the smells around me and listening to the humming tunes coming from the neighbouring room, I started to feel slightly unnerved about everything around me. Maybe it was because I was hungry? I was not too sure. I promptly plopped myself down onto the sofa, watching the fire crackle with the sound of the record going on and on. Feeling content, I gnawed my knife through the toast, allowing the egg to slowly ooze out of the center, dribbling down onto the porcelain plate.

Time went on as the clock continued ticking, allowing me to curl up on the nest of the couch I was sitting on, snuggling into the warmth of the fuzzy blanket. The record had ended an hour beforehand, so nothing but static noise was muttering from the machine. Reluctantly I stood up from the comforting warmth as I lifted the dial from the finished record. Without the noise, it felt rather quiet. To quiet. And almost so that my ears picked up the slightest tick coming from my raincoat. A twinge of fear entered my system, why of all things? I reached over to the lamp on the table, flicking the light on as I trudged towards my coat. Knowing from my last experience, I decided to take the jacket itself and trace back towards the coffee table. Grabbing the pocket end, I dumped the contents of my clothing onto the table. A few scraps of note paper, a couple of rocks that I found rather interesting and of course, the pocket watch. It rolled along the surface, dribbling its sides until it fell down dead center. The noise becomes more apparent. Tick. Tick. Tick. It was still going. My heart raced. Subconsciously, I saw my fingers glide to the silver object until I lunged back. The burning began again. I needed to calm down. I quickly started up the stairs into my room. Feeling the cold breeze wreath through my skin, I rummaged through my drawer and grabbed a small necklace. The charm had the symbol of an eye plastered in the center, strangely I cannot remember where I received this necklace but I could only assume it belonged to my mother. I rushed back down to find the trinket still in place and sitting back down. What felt like hours of staring only turned out to be minutes as I brushed my thumb along the etchings along the open eye. There was a calming sensation that felt the opposite of everything tense around me. And then it came again…

“Bree… I will always love you…”

I looked around the house, watching the clock tick back and forth over again. It felt cold all of a sudden, and then I saw outside that it was daytime. That was quick. I must have fallen asleep. All felt right until I started to hear noises coming from upstairs. The creaking of the old house breathed as I stood from the sofa. What seemed right was wrong and what was wrong felt even worse. The outside felt weird, a deja vu feeling rushing through my veins. There was still bread left out from yesterday. But didn’t I use it all yesterday? I rushed to the ice box and found the eggs, all of them. The creaking continued to my horrific shock, I saw myself walking down the stairs, ready to head out. What the hell? I was wearing the same clothes she was. I was? I started to panic. A deep pitch thump started to surround my ears as I saw myself start to get my boots on. Looking around, I made my way over towards me, dazed and confused as I saw in my reflection someone I recognized but did not know. My mother's eyes? The thumping kept growing louder, almost earthquake-like, consistent and muffled. The reflection stared back at me. I started to feel like I was underwater again, My vision deceiving me. However, I noticed the necklace around my neck. The once-open eye was now closed. The voice came one last time as I felt my body submerge against the water again.

“I will always love you…”

I woke up in a gasp. Feeling cold to the touch. I looked around the parlour. I noticed the day outside and the fire went out, and yet I could not pick out an ember still hot in the pile. I darted to the kitchen to check the ice box. The amount of eggs was the same, there was no bread left to be found, and the pounding of the door still wrecked my head. The Door! I rushed to the wet room and swung open the door to be met with none other than Ruth. “Bree are you okay? You didn’t show up to work yesterday.” I was stumped. “Yesterday? But I did. Today is my day off Ruth, unless I missed some calls?” Ruth looked rather confused. She shook off the feeling and continued, “Bree, what day do you think it is?” My eyebrows furrowed towards the ginger woman. There was a concerning look etched in her eyes that seemed all the more serious. “Well it's Friday, is it not?” I shuddered at my answer. Blinking a couple of times and allowing the silence to sink in. “Bree, It is Sunday.” My eyes widened, I did not expect any of this to be happening. I could not figure out what induced me that much. Unless it was. “You have been off your rocker Bree, what on earth is going on with you? The ladies and I are getting worried about you.” I ignored her. I slowly shut the door on her as I sunk to the ground, laying my back against the door. I could feel her presence still glowing behind the oak board. “Bree, what am I supposed to tell Dot?” I thought I knew with this weird phenomenon that I would be out of my system. I had to figure everything out. I breathed in and out, composing myself and my sentence. “Ruth, give me a week, I will return when I am finished.” My eyes were steady on the watch while I heard the echoing footsteps of her boots walking down the cobble. I could hear it still. Tick. Tick. Tick. I needed to know. I needed to find out why this was happening. Why did it have to be me? I felt angry, I felt disgusted. I knew the only way to get answers was from him.

“I need to find those twins.”