Chapter 1
John Whittaker strolled into work on morning carrying a rather large and heavy box under his arm. He set in down on the counter with a thud, causing Connie to look up from washing the dishes.
“More books?” The red-headed teenager asked, rolling her eyes. That was the fifth box Whit had brought into his shop, “Whit’s End”, that week. And it was still only Wednesday, she realized with a shudder. “Do you think there’ll be room for more?”
Mr. Whittaker, or Whit, as he liked to be called, laughed. “I think so. But I didn’t have time to sort it at home, so I thought I’d do it here.” With that, he dumped the contents of the box rather untidily on the counter. A cloud of dust rose from the pile.
“And where exactly did you find this box?” Connie coughed, waving away the dust with one hand and picking up a book with another. “The Moon and Sixpence,” she read aloud. “Never heard of it.”
“That’s because it was written before I was born.” Whit took the book from her and wiped the cover off with a damp cloth. He then set it down in a clean box, ready to be taken upstairs to the library. “And I found this one in the attic.”
“I should have figured.” Connie grinned. “I know what your attic looks like.”
As it was several minutes before opening time, Connie helped Whit clean the books; she asking about certain titles, him supplying the answers. Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Scarlet Pimpernel, among others, were added to the pile before they reached the bottom of the old box.
Whit was about to break it down for recycling when Connie stopped him. “Wait. I think there’s something else in here…” She said. She reached her hand in and drew out what looked like a small, mid-19th century pocket watch. It had the colour of gold that hadn’t been polished in ages, with an intricate and somewhat familiar design. “Recognize this?”
Whit took the watch from her, turning it over and over in his hand. “No… and yes.” He said slowly. “I mean, I do… but everything in me tells me to ignore it.” He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. He looked up at her, and she was staring at him as if he were crazy. “Don’t you normally have brown hair?”
“Whit…” she said. “There! You’re ignoring it… and I just didn’t want to dye my hair this morning, that’s all. Think I’ll give it a break.” She paused. “Oh! The watch. That’s what we were talking about, right?” She looked at it nervously, as it was capable of jumping out of Whit’s hand and biting off hers. What possessed it to be able to throw off their minds like that?
“Yeah…” Whit said absently, staring at the old timepiece. He felt as if it were whispering to him, secrets of forgotten times and far-off places; of secrets never to be told and children long grown up and lost.
Ding! The bell over the door sounded as Eugene came dashing in, breaking him out of the spell the watch seemed to put over him. “Sorry I’m late!”
“Wow… for once…” Connie mocked him as he dashed by on his way upstairs.
“Do not tease me, Ms. Kendall! I have work to do!” He called over his shoulder. Footsteps were heard as he made his way to the Bible Room.
“Collision in 3… 2… 1…” Connie counted down, and as she hit zero a large bang was heard in the far left corner where the Imagination Station was. Whit looked at her quizzically, and she said, “He left all his tools out last night. I warned him, but he said it would be faster to just leave them out for work the next day.” She shook her head, and smiled. “He’ll never learn.”
“Yes… but maybe he can give us a few answers about this watch.”
“What wa-- Oh! Yeah, maybe he can run a few test on it or something.” Connie was frightened now. What was it that caused her to forget about it so easily? And why did it look so familiar?
“Connie…” Whit started, getting slightly nervous himself, “Do you have a watch like this?”
So that’s why it’s so familiar! “Yeah, actually, I do. But it doesn’t work or anything. I’ve thought to throw it out several times, but something keeps holding me back.”
“Huh.” Whit said, deep in thought. Something was nagging at him, like a mental itch in the back of his brain.
Connie went to the bottom of the stairs. “EUGENE! WE NEED YOU!” She called. Whit winced. “You could have used the intercom,” He said, rubbing his left ear.
“Sorry,” Connie grinned sheepishly, “But it’s faster this way.” As to prove her point, there was the sound of footsteps going from the Bible Room towards the stairs, and after a moment Eugene came to the front counter. “Yes, Ms. Kendall?”
“We need you to run some tests on something we found.” Whit said.
“Alright, if you will allow me to see this object, I will commence shortly.” Connie rolled her eyes, but not enough for Eugene to see and comment. There wasn’t time for that today.
Whit handed him the watch, and Eugene set it on the counter and took a magnifying glass out of his breast pocket. “You just happened to have one of those in your pocket?” Connie asked sarcastically.
“Of course,” Eugene continued to look at the watch, letting her sarcasm roll off him. “It just looks like a watch… why do you want me to run tests on it?”
“Well, this may sound weird, but we think that there is some sort of mystery surrounding it, and we thought that there might be some sort of markings or dust on it to help to solve it.”
Eugene looked up, and Connie could almost see the “do you know how stupid that sounds?” in his eyes. But he nodded, put it in his pocket, and took it upstairs to the computer room. He knew better than to argue with Mr. Whittaker.
“Connie, do you think that you could run to your house and get your watch? It might help.” Whit asked.
“Yeah, of course.” Connie reached for her coat. She slipped it on, and walked to the door. Jason Whittaker, Whit’s son, met her there.
“Oh, hey Connie,” Jason greeted her. She greeted him somewhat absently, and kissed him lightly on the lips before heading out the door. They had gotten engaged last month, and planned to marry in the near future.
“So… what’s up?” Jason asked casually. “...Dad?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry Jason. Just thinking.”
“Yeah, I could kinda tell. Anything you want to share?”
Whit thought for a moment before responding. “Well, it’s this fob watch I found in the attic. I accidentally brought it in with a bunch of books, and I would have thrown it away, if Connie hadn’t noticed it.”
“So? It’s just a watch.”
“Yeah, I know, but there’s something about it… that’s weird. I’m not exactly sure.” Whit lower his voice slightly. ‘I could have sworn that it was talking to me.”
“Talking to you?” Jason would have laughed if Whit didn’t look so serious. “Dad. Really?”
“I’m serious, Jason.” Whit did indeed look deadly serious.
“But… I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts and the like.” Jason was genuinely confused. Here was his father, going against something that he believed his whole entire life.”
“Now, don’t jump to any conclusions, Jason.” Whit smiled. “I never said I thought it was that.”
“But you thought it. Where is this watch now?”
“Eugene has it. I--” Whit started, then stopped as a loud crash was heard coming from the computer room. Whit and Jason dashed upstairs and into the secret room, only to find Eugene out cold with the watch in his hand.
Maybe there’s more to this watch than I thought.
Chapter 2
Connie pulled her jacket tighter around her as she walked against the wind toward the house that she and Penny Wise shared. She wondered where she left that old fobwatch... It was probably still packed away from the move. Or still in one of her mom's boxes.
Her mom. Connie smiled sadly at the thought of her mother, now three months dead. She would have loved this mystery about the watches... Come to think of it, mom knew about the watch. She reached back far into her memory and replayed the scene in her head.
Connie was just a tot then, no more than three. She loved going through the old boxes and junk that was in her mom's attic... And one day she found the watch. It was a beautiful thing, brighter and newer than Whit's, with the same pattern, only different; with more circles and dots. She picked it up to admire it, and started to try and open it with her chubby fingers.
"Connie!" Her mother called up the ladder. "Come for lunch!"
"OK mommy!" She said, walking back towards the ladder. "Look what I found! Isn't it pretty?"
Her mother stared at the watch, then slowly reached up and swung her down from the top of the ladder. She set her down, and took the timepiece carefully from her. Connie thought she saw a tear in her eye.
"Mommy, why are you crying?" She asked, hugging her around the leg. June smiled and stroked her head.
"When you're older, I'll explain, ok? You wouldn't understand, now. But let's go have lunch."
A car honked near by, waking her out of her reminiscence. Why had her mom cried at the sight of the watch? What was it? Or... What did her mom want to forget? The last thought hit Connie like a sack of bricks. Why did that sound... Right?
Connie reached her house several minutes later. She stepped in, calling, "Penny! You home?"
"I'm in the attic, Connie!" Came the faint reply.
Connie made her way upstairs and climbed carefully up the ladder. "What are you doing up here?"
Penny dusted her hands on the front of her already dusty pants, then wiped her forehead, leaving a grey streak. "I'm trying to make room for several paintings, but it's proving to be a harder job than I thought."
"Ok, but could you maybe stop for a break and help me find something?"
"Of course. What?"
"An old pocketwatch."
Penny surveyed then mountains of boxes around her. "Ok... Where do we start?"
"You take this side..." Connie gestured to the left side of the room, "...and I'll take this side." She walked over to a box on the right hand side of the dusty room and began to search through it. "It'll be on or near the top, as I saw it only two or three months ago. I put it on top of the junk in one of these boxes."
"Ok, that's good. But would you mind telling me why you need this old watch?"
Connie smiled. "Well, this is going to sound weird, but we think that there might be a mystery connected to it."
AIOAIOAIOAIO
"Eugene! EUGENE!" Jason called, slapping him lightly on the cheeks. Eugene groaned, then opened his eyes. He held out the watch to Whit. "I've finished the tests... There is indeed something supernatural about it."
Whit took the watch, and Jason helped him up and into a chair. "Are you sure, Eugene?" He asked nervously. Something supernatural?
"My brain tells me that of course not, but I can't deny what I've seen... And what it did." He looked at it apprehensively, as if it would do something else to him.
"Hold on, Eugene. You said it did something to you?" Whit said, gingerly setting the offending watch down on the table.
Eugene sat up a little straighted in the chair and adjusted his glasses. "I was doing a bit of research on this type of watch on my laptop, and I realized that I haven't even opened it. I tried too for a while, and when I did finally get it open, a bright golden light shot out and hit me in the face. It must have knocked me unconscious."
Jason raised one eyebrow. "A light hit you and knocked you out."
"Yes, Jason, I know it sounds ludicrous, but that's what happened." Eugene shot back.
"Ok, but I want to see this for myself." Jason reached for the watch, but Eugene grabbed his arm.
"No! You do not want that to happen to you."
"Why? Remember I'm an ex-NSA agent, I've been through more than a blow to the head."
"I know, but it was more. It was like... Like it got inside my head and played with my memories, showing me different times and planets and what he did to those who tried to stop him." Eugene started trembling, and Whit put an arm around him and gently helped him up.
"How about we go downstairs and have a coffee," He said. "That should help clear your head."
"Good idea." Eugene said faintly. As they left the room, Whit called over his shoulder, "Do not touch that watch, Jason!"
"Fine, fine." Jason watched them leave, then turned to the table. The watch sat there, looking so old and innocent. He? What did Eugene mean by "he"? Jason shook his head, as if to clear it, then followed them downstairs for coffee.
AIOAIOAIOAIO
"Found it!" Connie exclaimed triumphantly, pulling the old watch from the sixth box she was going through. Penny set the one she was working on down with a sigh.
"I'm glad that's over. Let's see?"
Connie handed her the watch, and Penny turned it over in her hand. "Well, it looks mid-19th century-"
"I know that, Penny. But I need to take it back to Whits End." She took it from her roommate and put her coat back on. "Will you be coming by the shop later?"
"Oh, you know me; I'll probably drop by later for a Raspberry Ripple." Penny grinned up at her.
"Ok, see you then." Connie stepped carefully down the ladder and out the door. This time, she hurried back to the shop, and was there just as Whit had finished making the coffee and was pouring Eugene a cup. He had regained some of his colour, and had stopped shaking so much.
"I got the watch," Connie walked up to the counter. "Sorry it took so long; I had to go through a few boxes in my attic." She handed it to Whit, and he looked at it closely with the magnifying glass Eugene had left there earlier.
"Well, it looks a lot like mine, only with more circular patterns. I wonder what it means?"
"Do you think it actually means something, Whit?" Connie asked. "I just thought it was some sort of design."
"Yes, if you look carefully at it-" he handed her the watch and glass, "-you'll notice that there is a pattern to it. It's not just random. And there are these semi circles and dots-" he pointed towards the middle of it, "-that appear more frequently than others. It's the same on my watch."
"So it's some sort of language?" Connie asked.
"It appears so."
"Eugene, why aren't you talking at all?" Connie looked over at him. He gulped his coffee, shaking his head and holding up a finger.
"Eugene had a misadventure with my watch." Whit filled her in on what happened. Connie's eyes widened, and she set the watch on the counter.
"Maybe we should just get rid of it," she said. "If it's going to hurt us, then I don't care about any mystery connected to it." She gestured toward the trash can sitting by conveniently. Eugene set down his mug and shook his head violently.
"No, no. A thousand times, no!" He put his hand protectively over it.
"But Eugene, it hurt you! You got knocked out!" Connie pleadingly put her hand on top of his.
"Ms. Kendall, if it was anything else, I'd agree with you. But this watch... I don't know. I'd go through it again just to find out its secret."
Connie sighed, and lifted her hand off his. "Alright then, if you're going to be so stubborn about it. But... be careful?"
Eugene grinned at her. "Aren't I always?"
Chapter 3
Penny groaned. She had been bending over in the attic for more than an hour, and her back was killing her. She straightened, dusted her hands on the front of her pants, and observed the headway she had made. Which is hardly anything, she thought grimly, but brightened when she remembered her promise to Connie about stopping by the shop for an ice cream. She quickly climbed down the ladder, cleaned up, and walked to Whit's End.
"Good morning!" She called cheerfully. Connie looked up from the cash register to face her roommate.
"Oh, hey, Penny." She said, somewhat absently.
"I'll have that Raspberry Ripple now," She smiled. "I deserve it after what I did in the attic."
"Oh yeah? And just how much did you do?" Connie asked skeptically.
"About... Half a wall."
"Yeah, I thought so." Connie rolled her eyes and giggled. She went into the kitchen to make the ice cream, and upon returning handed it to Penny.
"Thank you... this looks delicious!" Penny took a bite, then looked up at Connie, who was again staring off into space. "Connie?"
"Huh?" Connie jerked, then looked over at Penny. "I'm sorry Penny, I'm just distracted this morning." She relayed the previous events to her friend, who gasped.
"Is he alright?" Penny asked, worried.
"Yes, he's fine; he's up in the computer room now researching the watch." Connie sighed and shook her head. "He can be so stubborn sometimes."
"Not unlike some people," Penny winked, returning to her ice cream.
"...what's that supposed to mean? Penny!"
AIOAIOAIOAIO
"WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY..."
"What the-" Jason almost fell out of his chair, in which he had dozed off. He grabbed his phone, turning the volume off. "Connie..." He muttered, shaking his head and smiling slightly. "Hello?"
"Jason!" The voice greeted him. An all-too-familiar voice.
"Hello, Donovan." Jason said, letting a little annoyance creep into his voice.
"Look, Jason, I know that you're no longer an agent here with us, but we need you on this one!" Donovan spoke quickly, as if he was afraid that Jason may hang up on him, which had crossed his mind.
"Donovan, you know I'm done with the agency!"
"Yes, but we thought you might be interested in this one, as it's... more personal than normal."
"More personal?" Jason sat up a little straighter. "Ok, I'm listening."
"We've been tracking a rather mysterious person of late," Donovan began. "He's- or they, rather; more people have joined him since we picked up on him- have been moving from city to city, searching for something, and ransacking entire homes in the process."
"Ok... Why not just arrest them?" Jason was slightly confused. How was this personal?
"Because we can almost never catch them in the act or on tape, and when we do, they seem to have no memory of doing it."
"So?" Jason was completely lost.
"It's weird. We get a call saying that someone is stalking a person. Usually a man. Then his house is turned upside down, and the same man who was being stalked is caught robbing anything from a corner store to a bank. When we bring him in, he denies everything. Says he doesn't even remember leaving his house that morning."
"But Donovan, how is this personal?"
"Because we've been tracking a man for about a week now, and he was last seen about a half hour ago near Odyssey."
AIOAIOAIOAIO
Jason hung up the phone, and sighed. He wasn't sure what he should do, and he told Donovan he'd think about it for under ten minutes then call him back. What would he say to Connie, and his dad…
“Jason?” Connie called brightly, coming into the office where he sat.
“Hey.” She bent to kiss him on the cheek, then sat beside him behind the desk. “So… what’s with my ringtone?”
She giggled. “Something to wake you up.” She handed him a cup of coffee she had brought him.
“Well, it worked.” He took the coffee and thanked her.
There was a silence. "Jason... Is there something wrong?" She asked, putting her hand on his arm.
"Well... There is something." He filled her in on Donovan's phone call. She raised an eyebrow.
"Jason... How many times has he said 'this is the last time?'"
"I know, I know, but I feel like I have to help out... And I want to, too." He admitted, smiling sheepishly.
She smiled back at him; she couldn't help it. Sometimes he could be too adorable. "Well, at least you won't be leaving."
"Yep," he said putting an arm around her, "And if I take it, maybe you could help me out."
"We'll see." She snuggled closer into him.
Eugene came in. "Connie, Mr. Whittaker needs you to-" He started, then stopped. Connie sat up, and Jason put his arm down. "Oh... I apologize for interrupting you..."
"It's fine, Eugene; I'll go." Connie left, and Eugene was left standing rather awkwardly in the centre of the room.
"So... How goes the research?" Jason asked, breaking the silence.
"Not especially good; I can't find any watches online that have a pattern remotely close to Mr Whittaker's or Connie's. But I'll keep trying." With that, he hurried out of the room.
Jason picked up his phone, and dialed Donovan's number. "Hello, Donovan? This is Jason." He sighed. "I'll do it."
Chapter 4
"Well?" Constance asked brightly. "Where are we?"
"Not totally sure..." John spoke quietly, more to himself than his friend. "Somewhere off the northern coast of Midnight, I believe." He fiddled with the dials until a clear pictures came through on the screen. "Yep, I was right." He looked up and grinned. "Want to go exploring?"
She grinned back, and skipped towards the doors. "Wait!" John called after her. "You'll need a suit."
Constance turned, her smile now a pout. "But John..."
"I know you hate them, but the air is poisonous." He got two suits out of the closet, one red, one green.
"It's not that I hate it, I just look ridiculous." She took the green suit, and hesitated."Don't you dare laugh."
He smiled. "I'll do my best."
She sighed, slipping on the suit, complete with a helmet tinted green. "Well?"
John tried so hard not to laugh, but the effort was futile. She was right, she did look so funny.
Constance tried to scowl, but couldn't help smiling. "John..."
Whit awoke, laughing in his sleep. He sat up and glanced at the clock. 2:37. He sighed, and lay back down.
AIOAIOAIOAIO
"Shh." Whit whispered. He held out a hand, helping Constance up from the polished marble floor.
"Sorry," she whispered back. "But this floor is slippery."
They crept along, staying out of sight from the 55th Century high-tech security cameras. Constance almost fell again, but John caught her before she hit the floor a second time.
"Thanks," she said, then gasped. John followed her line of sight and smothered a laugh.
"We found it!" He took her hand. "Come on!"
They quietly ran towards the centre display. There, in their glass and diamond cases, stood the most beautiful vases Constance had ever seen. John took out his Sonic Screwdriver and started working on getting the case open.
"So... That's new. Where'd you get it?" Constance motioned to the Screwdriver.
"A friend gave me the plans, and I built one last night." John said, and after a second, the case popped open. Constance squealed, and John clapped a hand over her mouth. "SHH."
"Sorry." She grinned sheepishly. She took a sack out of her purse, which was bigger on the inside, and held it open. John slipped the vases inside.
"Why are we doing this again?" She asked.
"Because," John put another one it, "this time tomorrow this place will have vanished. 'The lost moon of Poosh' will become the centre of conversation and study for thousands of years. We'll return these to Poosh when we get the chance. They'll thank us." With that, he carefully set the last vase inside, and tied the top shut. Constance put the sack inside her purse.
"Why can't we just tell the president of Poosh that his moon and a museum on it will go missing tomorrow, and let them do this?" Constance asked nervously, looking around for security guards.
"You think they'd believe us?"
Connie shook her head. "No," she admitted. "So... How do we get out? We can't go the same way we came; the guard will be there by now."
"I know..." John thought for a moment, and started to say something, but was interrupted by a shout.
"Hey you! Stay where you are!"
"Feel up to running?" He grabbed her hand and grinned.
"When am I not?" She laughed, and they took off running through the hall.
"Slow down, John; you know I'm slower than you!" Connie said. She opened her eyes, and sat up. "That was... Weird." She said aloud. She glanced at the clock. It read 6:46, so she decided to get up. She showered, and walked to Whit's End just as the sun was coming up.
She stuck the key in the lock, but it was already open. She opened the door cautiously.
"Whit? Eugene?" She called. The only answer she got was the echo of her own voice bouncing around the empty shop.
Whit must have left it unlocked by accident, she rationalized.
She slowly walked towards the front counter, then paused. She took a deep breath, and quickly peeked behind the counter. Nobody. You're paranoid, Connie. She shook her head, and went to the kitchen to finish the dishes she had left the night before. She was trying to figure out what the heck was Poosh, when she heard a rather large crash upstairs. Oh no.
She went to the bottom of the stairs. "He-hello?" She squeaked. Visions of Hank Murray flashed through her brain, so she decided to call the police. Better safe than sorry, she decided.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ms. Kendall." Connie felt a hand on her arm, the arm with which she was holding her smart phone. She froze, too terrified to move.
"Who... who are you?" She whispered, barely audible. The hand was cold, with a scaly feel; with long fingernails that brushed her arm.
The hand moved up her arm to the base of her neck, nails brushing her throat; nails that could easily slice it. She caught a glimpse of a long forked tongue out of the corner of her eye. "That doesn't matter. What matters is you." The Thing chuckled, then hissed, "You, my dear, are going to help me."
AIOAIOAIOAIO
Ding! Eugene hurried into the shop.
"Apologies for being so late, Ms. Kendall, Katrina is down with a cold, and I needed to-" He stopped, eyes widened. "Uhh..."
"What, Eugene?" Connie smiled, perhaps a bit too wide.
"It's just that I've never seen this place so... Clean." He spun slowly around, taking it all in. "What time did you get here this morning?"
"Oh, around 7:15." She coughed twice, and cleared her throat.
"Are you coming down with something also?" Eugene moved towards her, concern written on his face. "Your voice is a bit dry."
"I'm fine." She quickly dismissed him, stepping farther back. "Just... Gotta get the voice down."
Eugene raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing, nothing." She continued cleaning off the counter, keeping her back to her concerned friend. "I'm alright."
"If you say so..." He slipped off his coat and hung it on the rack. Once he had disappeared into the kitchen, Connie took a deep breath.
"Get ahold of yourself." She dropped the cloth into the sink. "This'll never work if you slip up."
"Good morning, Connie!" Whit strolled in the door.
"Morning, Whit." She tried to sound as normal as possible.
"I had the weirdest dream last night," he said, setting several shopping bags on the counter. "We were traveling in this... Ship, of sorts."
"Oh really?" This sounded promising.
"Yeah, and you didn't want to put on a space suit."
"...is that all?"
"Yeah, I think so. Or all I can remember."
Drat.
"Alright, well, I'd better get to work." With that, he tied on his apron and went into the kitchen. Connie sighed, and unloaded the bags. Oranges, peaches, milk. Double drat.
She put the milk in the fridge. She turned to put the oranges away, and a wave of dizziness swept over her. She grabbed the counter for support, and stumbled to the closest booth, resting her head on the table. When she felt like she was able to stand again, she slowly made her way to the handicapped washroom. She locked the door behind her, then collapsed.
The Thing picked itself up, leaving Connie on the floor. It dusted itself off, smiling to itself. I was able to possess her for three hours and nobody suspects a thing.
Connie raised herself slightly off the floor. "Oh so that's what you look like," She panted, "I couldn't get a good look at you before you jumped into my body like that. Is that what you are? A body-jumper?" The Thing didn't reply, so she asked, "What do you want?" Fright wasn't the predominant feeling she had right now; she felt extremely annoyed and mad that her privacy had been breached in this way.
"Now that would be telling, wouldn't it." He smiled evilly. "But I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in telling you."
