Tempus Fugit [All done!]

[HephaestusOS]

2.

The woman leaned onto the counter at the hotel, frightening the clerk a little with her dinginess. She was breathing heavily from the long walk, and her tiredness was obvious. They were still for a moment, staring at each other with wide eyes. She shook her head in disbelief of the service.
“Well?” she asked. The clerk merely stared back at her, scared out of his mind.
“This didn’t happen yesterday,” he muttered. She lowered her eyes into a glare.
“You’re supposed to say ‘may I help you, ma’am?’” she said. The clerk gulped.
“May I help you?” he asked. The woman looked at him, expectantly. “Ma’am?” he finished. She smiled and stood at her full height, placing her hands on the counter, still mostly leaning.
“I was just in an awful shipwreck with these three,” she motioned behind her at Dave and his children, who were both asleep in his arms. He tried a smile, but an awkward grin was all that he could manage. The woman continued. “And we need a place to stay. I have my money, and I’d like to book myself…” she paused and turned to look at Dave. She smiled and turned back to the clerk. “I’d like to book us two rooms.” She turned back to Dave to see that he was smiling. His lips moved, but no sound came out. “Thank you.”
She nodded and once again turned back to the clerk. He remained motionless. The woman waited for him to move. He didn’t.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed. “Reach under the desk, there should be a big ol’ book under there.” The clerk fumbled under the desk until he pulled out a large, red book.
“Now,” the woman continued. “Open it.” The clerk did so. “And book us some rooms!” The clerk remained motionless. The woman let out an aggravated sigh and pulled the book towards her, spinning it around to face her. She grabbed a pen from the holder behind the desk and she wrote her name in for one room, and Dave in for the adjoining room. She then pushed the book back toward the clerk, making him jump. “Now,” she said. “Give me the key to room, 301 and 303.” The clerk stood motionless for a moment, then decided that he could do this part. He reached behind him and took two keys from the hooks marked 301 and 303. He held them out and the woman snatched them up, then began walking to her room, motioning for Dave to follow.
As they walked down the hall Dave looked around at the décor.
“This place looks like it could’ve been taken right out of the fifties,” he whispered. The woman began to notice, too, and she nodded.
They reached their rooms and the woman unlocked Dave’s room for him, before entering hers.
Dave went into his room and carefully dumped his children onto one bed, then threw himself on to the other. It had been a long day. He turned his head to look out the window at the dismally gray sky. The prospect of tomorrow was awful to him. He wished it would all just end.
For him, it did, through sleep. Within mere minutes of lying on the bed, his mind was taken by the sweet symphonies of REM.

Lizzy awoke with a start. There was a noise. A loud noise that kept repeating itself. She nudged Meg, who slowly woke, then clung to her.
“What’s wrong?” Meg asked, whispering.
“The noise,” Lizzy replied. Meg sighed and hugged her sister.
“It’s just the clock tower,” she said. “Nothing to be afraid of.” She counted the remaining tolls and added them with her estimate of how many there was before. “Eleven,” she muttered. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was fairly dark, so it was hard to see, but she could barely make out the hands pointing to…
“Eleven, eleven,” she corrected. “Either our clock is fast, or the clock tower is slow.” Lizzy hugged her tighter.
“It’s scary,” she said. Meg sighed again and held her sister tighter in turn. She began rocking back and forth, humming a lullaby their mother had always sung. It wasn’t long before Lizzy fell asleep again, but Meg remained awake, humming.
And hour later, she glanced at the clock. Her eyes had adjusted more, so she could easily see the hands pointing to twelve eleven. But the clock tower wasn’t ringing. She waited for five minutes, listening for the twelve tolls of the midnight bell, but they never came. She eventually drifted off to sleep, wonderings about the clock tower following her into her dreams.  

[HephaestusOS]

3.

The morning greeted them with a big dose of sunshine, right to their eyes. Dave was the first to wake up, being the most rested. He didn’t even have a clue that both of his daughters had awaken in the night. He stood and stretched, letting a groan escape from his throat. He hadn’t really looked around the room until then, and he could see that it wasn’t too shabby at all. There was no television, but there was a little kitchen in one corner. The bathroom was in the opposite corner and was very spacious. There was a sink just outside the bathroom, with a large mirror and small drawers, but inside were a large tub and a comfortable looking toilet. He heard someone stirring and left the bathroom to see who it was. Meg was sitting up now, rubbing her eyes. Dave smiled at her and she smiled back. Her hair was still a little smolder-y, but some of it had rubbed off onto the blankets on the bed. Meg pulled herself to the edge of the king-sized bed, then hopped off. Dave watched her go towards the kitchen, as though she’d been there before. She rummaged through the cupboards for a while, eventually pulling out a box of cereal. She smiled and opened it, pouring it into a bowl that she’d found. She left the cereal box on the counter and pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge. She sat at the small table and poured her milk into her bowl, then grabbed a spoon that was lying in a pile in the middle of the table and began to eat.
Dave smiled as he watched her make her breakfast, then finally came and sat by her.
“Are you okay?” he asked. She nodded vigorously as she ate.
”Did you sleep okay?” he asked. She nodded again, then donned a look of confusion.
”There was no midnight last night,” she said around her the food in her mouth.
”What do you mean?” Dave asked, perplexed. She shrugged and took another bite.
“The clock tower. It didn’t strike midnight.” She swallowed her food and looked her father in the eye.
”I’m sure it’s nothing,” he replied. “Probably just something wrong with the mechanism.” There was a groan and Dave turned to see Lizzy waking up. She sat up and smiled at him, then crawled to the edge of the bed. She sat for a moment, with her feet dangling over the edge of the bed, then hopped off and came to sit with them.
“G’morneen, Daddy,” she said. Dave smiled at her.
“Good morning, sweetie.” He brushed her hair behind her ear and she smiled and pulled away.
“That tickles!” she exclaimed.
“Oh, really?” he asked. “Not as much as this.” He lifted her out of her chair and playfully tossed her onto the bed, then ran to her and tickled her. She erupted in a rage of giggles, trying to push him away. Meg laughed and leapt from her seat to help her sister’s plea. They played for a moment until there was a knock on adjoining door.
Dave stood and walked towards it, shushing the girls. They giggled quietly, following him. He unlocked the door and opened it.
The woman was standing there, looking expectantly at him. She looked surprisingly clean, now. She could obviously tell that he noticed and she gave little laugh.
”I showered,” she explained. “They also had some clothes in the drawers that fit surprisingly well.” There was a moment as the two stood there, examining each other. Meg and Lizzy giggled.
“May I come in?” the woman asked. Dave gasped, realizing how impolite he’d been.
“Oh,” he said. “So sorry. Yeah, come in.” He moved out of the way and the woman walked in. Dave closed the door then knelt down to his daughters.
“Why don’t you two take a bath? Get cleaned up?” Meg nodded.
“Okay!” she said.
“Do you need any help?” he asked. Meg rolled her eyes and turned to walk towards the bathroom, Lizzy in he wake.
“Geez, Dad. I’m not four!” she said.
“Hey!” Lizzy exclaimed, just as Meg closed the door behind them. Dave stood and walked to the table, where the woman was now sitting.
“Rough day, huh?” she asked. He chuckled and nodded.
“I never did get your name,” he said. She smiled.
“How do you know I have one?” she asked. There was an uncomfortable moment as they exchanged glances, then she waved her hand and laughed.
”I’m kidding,” she said. “Katherine. Katherine Little.” He smiled and she extended her hand. He took it and they shook.
“I’m Dave,” he said. “David Roberts.” She nodded.
“I know,” she said. “I heard you talking to the captain on the boat.” He smiled uncomfortably.
”What are you, a reporter?” he asked.
“Something like that,” she replied. They laughed for a moment, running out of things to say. It was eventually Dave the broke the silence.
“What’s your plan now?” he asked. She shrugged and began digging through her purse.
“I don’t know. I’ve got to get out of here. I’m supposed to be at work by tomorrow. My boss’ll kill me if I’m gone or even late.” She continued digging through her purse, eventually pulling out a pack of cigarettes. “What about you?” she asked, lighting one and putting it in her mouth. She inhaled, then exhaled, the plumes of smoke curling around her.
Dave shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I might stay here a couple more days. There’s no rush, really.” She looked at him inquisitively.
“What?” she asked. “You don’t have any place to be? No family to get back to?”
“Something like that,” he replied.  

[HephaestusOS]

4.

They sat in silence for a while, both not wanting to say something that may upset the other. Finally, the door to the bathroom opened and Meg and Lizzy ran from the room wearing fluffy, white robes.
“Look, Daddy!” Meg said.
“Yeah! Lookit what we’ve found!” Lizzy added. Dave laughed.
“You look very nice in those robes,” he said. “Now, you stay here and chat with Miss Katherine while I go take a shower and get out of these filthy clothes!” They nodded and he kissed them on the foreheads. As he entered into the bathroom, he paused at the door, watching them get into the chairs and stare at Katherine. He shook his head, smiling, then entered the bathroom.
“Hello,” Katherine said. “My name is Katherine.” Meg smiled and Lizzy giggled.
“We know,” Meg said.
“Daddy just told us!” Lizzy added. Katherine blushed and looked downwards.
“Right,” she mumbled. Meg and Lizzy giggled again.
“What are you doing?” Lizzy asked. Katherine looked at her quizzically.
“I’m not sure what you-“
”She means: what is your job?” Meg corrected.
“Oh,” Katherine said. She took a puff of her cigarette. “I work for the government.” She held her finger to her mouth. “But don’t tell your daddy. It’s a secret.” She didn’t find any harm in telling these two little girls the truth. It’s not like they’d be credible contenders. Meg smiled and pulled two fingers across her mouth, as though closing a zipper. Katherine smiled back and they sat there for a moment, Lizzy giggling periodically every five seconds. Again there was a silence in the room as they sat there, awkwardly. Katherine was getting uncomfortable when Dave came out of the bathroom wearing a fluffy, white robe and toweling his hair.
Lizzy giggled at him and he shook his head.
“What have you guys been talking about?” he asked.
“Katherine is-“ Lizzy blurbed, but Meg interrupted.
“Girl talk!” she said, covering for both of the other girls. They smiled at each other and nodded discreetly. Dave rolled his eyes.
“And I thought that didn’t start ‘till adolescence.”
“What’s aboledance?” Lizzy asked. Dave and Katherine smiled.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” they said in unison. They exchanged a look, then looked away, laughing.
“But I wanna know now!” Lizzy pouted. Dave shook his head, still laughing.
“It’s nothing. Just a phase of growing up,” he explained. Lizzy was almost glaring at him, now.
“Promise?” she asked. Dave nodded.
“Say it,” she commanded.
“I promise.”
“Double promise?” she asked. Dave rolled his eyes.
“I double promise,” he replied. Her angry demeanor immediately vanished and she giggled.
“How about we get dressed?” Dave asked. Meg and Lizzy nodded and went to the dresser. They opened a drawer and pulled out a men’s shirt.
“That won’t fit!” Meg said, throwing it onto Dave’s bed. She opened another drawer and pulled out something yellow.
“Perfect!” she exclaimed. She grabbed Lizzy’s hand and they rushed to the bathroom.
“Your kids are great,” Katherine said. Dave merely nodded.
“Well?” Katherine asked. “What are you waiting for? Get dressed!” Dave looked at her.
“Um…” he began. “Could you…” A look of shock fell across Katherine’s face, then she blushed.
“Oh!” she said. “Sorry!” She picked up the pack of cigarettes and her lighter and went into her room. “Sorry,” she whispered as she closed the door. Dave laughed and went to his bed. The shirt laying there looked like it would fit him perfectly. He took off the robe and put on the shirt. It was a little tight, but there was nothing wrong with that. He opened another drawer and pulled out pants and underwear, then put them on. They fit perfectly. He found some socks and put them on, too. His shoes from before were still pretty fine, so he put those on and tied them. Just as he was finishing up, Meg and Lizzy rushed from the bathroom, each sporting a yellow-checkered dress.
“How do we look?” Meg asked.
“Absolutely ravishing!” Dave replied. There was a knock on the adjoining door again and Dave went and opened it.
“So what’s your plan today?” Katherine asked. Dave shrugged.
“We’re just going to look around town. Find a bank, maybe buy some food.” She nodded in acknowledgement. “Do you want to come with us?” he asked. This time she shook her head.
“Naw,” she said. “I’m gonna see if this place has a Rent-A-Car. I need to get outta here.” There was yet another awkward silence. “Thanks for offering, though.” Dave nodded.
”Sure.”
“We’re probably never going to see each other again,” she said.
“Aw…yeah. Well, it was nice meeting you.” He held out his hand and she shook it.
”You, too,” she said. They nodded and smiled and he closed the door. He turned to his daughters and rubbed his hands together.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” he said. They smiled with mock innocence at him.
“You like her, don’t you!” Meg said. Lizzy giggled.
“You’re in luuu-huuuv!’ she said. Dave shook his head and laughed.
“No, I’m not,” he said. Meg and Lizzy started dancing around in circles.
“You’re in love! You’re in love!” they chanted.
“Let’s go!” Dave said, pushing them towards the door.  

[HephaestusOS]

5.

They walked around the town, looking into the windows of the shops. Most of them were closed this early. Dave glanced up at the clock tower, peaking above all of the other buildings. It was just before eight. A few store owners started trickling onto the street, heading towards their shops. None of which looked appealing. There was a flower shop opening and a dress shop and an antique shop. The place that looked most appealing remained closed: a book shop. After a moment, a man on a bicycle sped down the street. He hopped off, put his bike in the rack and pulled out a key, unlocking the book shop. Meg tugged on Dave’s arm.
“Let’s go to the book shop, Dad!” she whispered urgently.
“I have to go to the bank, first, Meg,” Dave replied. “We can’t buy anything without money.” She groaned and stopped tugging.
They managed to find the bank in no time. They went inside and walked up to the counter. The clerk stared at him, wide-eyed. Dave pulled out his wallet, dusted a patch of ash off of it and placed two traveler’s checks on the counter. “I’d like to cash these,” he said. The clerk continued to stare at him.
“Um…um…” he managed. Dave pushed the traveler’s checks towards him.
“These. I’d like to cash these,” he said again. The clerk picked up the checks as though unsure of what to do with them.
“You do know how to do that, right?” Dave asked.
“Oh, yeah,” the clerk said, nodding. “It’s just…it’s just been a while.”
Lizzy tugged on his shirt. “Can we go, now, Daddy?” she pleaded.
“This will only take a second,” he replied. “Then we can go to the bookstore.”
“I’m going to need to see your ID,” the clerk said. Dave fished it out of his wallet and handed it to him. He seemed to be more fluid now, surer of what he was doing. He nodded and handed the card back to Dave. He typed a few things into the computer and then opened up a drawer and pulled out some cash. He counted it, placing it on the counter, then Dave took it and put it in his wallet.
“Thanks,” he said. The clerk nodded and Dave turned to go.
“Okay, guys,” he said to his daughters. “We can go to the bookstore now.”
“YAY!” they said at once.
They left the bank and walked back down the street towards the book store. They entered, the little bell ringing above them. Dave smiled at the man behind the counter, but in return, the man grew wide-eyed. Meg and Lizzy immediately found the children’s section and ran towards it. Dave walked up to the man. “Nice shop you have here,” he said. The man said nothing. “The weather’s pretty nice, today,” he said. This man wasn’t into conversation, was he?
“Y-yes, it is,” the man replied blankly.
“Considering the storm the other night.” The man slowly nodded his head.
“We hardly ever have bad weather here,” the man said.
“I guess that storm was a change, then.”
“The storm went around us. We didn’t feel any of it.” Dave looked at him, perplexed.
“How can that be? That storm wa-“
“What are you doing here?” the man interrupted, whispering.
“We were shipwrecked,” Dave said, more confused than before.
“You’re not supposed to be here!” the man quietly urged.
“What are you talking about?”
“Leave! They’ll kill you!” The bell rang again, signaling the entrance of someone to the store. Dave turned to see a petite woman wearing all pink and delicately holding a pink purse. Upon seeing him, he could tell she was frightened. Dave turned back to the man.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“You must go! I have a customer!” Dave slammed his fists on the counter.
“Tell me what’s going on!” he yelled. Meg and Lizzy looked up from the book they were reading. The man’s eyes were deadset and unmoving. This man had a will of iron.
“I have a customer,” he said through gritted teeth.
“James,” the woman pleaded to the man behind the counter. “Make it stop. This isn’t the same!” Dave turned to her.
“What isn’t the same?” he asked. She burst into tears and sank to the floor, crying. Dave gave an exasperated groan and threw the door open.
“Meg, Lizzy, come on. We’re leaving.” Meg and Lizzy hopped up and rushed through the open door into the street. Dave threw one last cold look at the man, only to see that he was on the ground, holding the girl.
“It’s all right, Lucy. The man’s leaving. He won’t come back. It will all be fine.” Dave pulled the door closed and put his face in his hands. What is going on, he thought.
“Daddy!” Lizzy said. “What’s wrong?” Dave knelt down and looked her in the eyes.
“Nothing,” he said, running a hand through her hair. “Nothing.” She drew closer and hugged him and Meg joined. Dave hugged them back, then noticed something.
Across the street, Katherine sat on a bench, her legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. Dave nudged the girls and pointed at her.
“Look,” he said.
“Katherine!” Meg called, running towards her. Katherine finally saw the three and smiled. She quickly put her cigarette out and stood. Meg reached her and hugged her, though due to the height difference, only reached to her stomach. Lizzy laughed and skipped towards her. Dave followed.
“I thought you were leaving,” he said. She groaned and threw her hands in the air in frustration.
“I was,” she said.
“But?”
“But, there’s no goddamned rent-a-car here!” Lizzy giggled.
“Goddamned,” she repeated. Dave pointed at her.
“Don’t say that!” he said. She giggled again and bit her lips.
“Sorry,” Katherine said. “There also happens to be no bus line that travels through here. I’m officially stuck unless I can get a ride from someone.” She sighed. “But looking around, I don’t think anyone here even owns a car.” Dave looked up and down the streets. Not a single car was in sight. A few bicycles were in the racks, but even those were few in numbers.
“Well, for now, I say we head back to the hotel,” Dave said. “There’s something I want to tell you about.” She nodded and they headed back.
“Goddamned,” Meg said.
“HEY!” Dave scolded.
“Sorry,” Katherine said.  

[HephaestusOS]

6.

They arrived back at the hotel and Dave ushered the girls into the room.
“Go…do something,” he said. They laughed and leapt onto the beds, jumping up and down. He smiled and watched them for a moment, then turned back to Katherine and motioned for her to follow him to the kitchen area. It was far enough away that if they spoke quietly, Meg and Lizzy wouldn’t hear them over their own laughter. The two sat and Dave leaned over the table.
“Something happened,” he said. She nodded.
”You told me that part already,” she said. “What happened?”
“The clerk at the bookstore. He said we were going to be killed.” Katherine wrinkled her forehead.
“What?!” she asked, still trying to be quiet.
“I know. He said that we aren’t supposed to be here, and then he said…” he paused, remembering.
“What?” Katherine urged.
“He said they're going to kill us.” They sat in silence for a moment, Katherine expecting more.
“Who?” she finally asked.
”I don’t know!” Dave said. “He just said they were going to kill us. Nothing more except that we should leave.” Katherine scoffed.
“That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” she said. Dave nodded, then remembered something else.
“There was another thing,” he said. “Did anyone you talk to say anything about…” he paused, trying to think of how to express it.
“Seriously,” Katherine said. “You have to finish your sentences. It’s killing me!”
“Sorry,” Dave replied. “Did they say anything about…this is going to sound weird…did they say anything about not having to do this yesterday?” There was silence again, save the giggling from Meg and Lizzy. Katherine slowly nodded.
“Now that you mention it, they did. They looked so confused about why I was there.” There was another pause as the two thought about it.
“Well, maybe they’re just really used to the same thing,” Katherine reasoned. Dave shook his head.
“You’d think they’d at least welcome us to the city, maybe be nice to us because we were in a shipwreck. And nobody’d threaten us just for coming into their shop.” She nodded. “Something’s wrong, and I think we should get to the bottom of it.” Katherine stared at him.
“Are you nuts? Why should we get into it! It’s their problem, if it is one!”
“He said they’d kill us unless we leave. And who knows how far away the next city is, plus there’s no buses or cars. We’re stuck here for now, at least. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get to the bottom of this than be killed.”
“What if getting to the bottom of this gets you killed?” Katherine asked. Dave considered.
“I’ll be careful,” he replied. She rolled her eyes.
“You know you’re crazy, right?” He smiled and nodded a little.
“And you’re not going to survive without me,” she continued. He looked at her expectantly, still smiling.
“So, through fear for your life, I’m going to have to help you,” she finished. Dave smiled.
“You’re in?” he asked. She rolled her eyes again and sighed.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m in.”
The clock tower chimed and Dave counted the tolls. 2, 3, 4. Four o’clock? He glanced at the clock in the room. 4:11. He shook his head.
“I guess time flies when you’re having fun,” Dave said loudly. “Come on girls, let’s have something to eat. I’m starving.” He stood and searched through the cupboards. The girls stopped jumping and hopped to the ground, laughing. They all took seats at the table and Katherine started to stand.
“You should have dinner with us!” Meg said.
“Oh, no,” Katherine said. “I really should go.”
“Come, on!” Dave persuaded. “You don’t want to eat alone, do you?” She laughed and shook her head, then sat down again. Dave frowned at the prospects in the cupboards and turned to the rest of them.
“How does room service sound?” he asked.
Shouts of joy came from Meg and Lizzy. Dave laughed and went to the phone on the table between the two beds. There was a menu underneath it and Dave slid it out. He quickly decided on what he was going to eat, then they all passed it around. Once they all had chosen, Dave picked up the phone and waited for the clerk to answer. It took a while, but he eventually did. Katherine watched Dave as he communicated to the clerk what their orders were. There was something…off. He eventually hung up and joined them sitting.
“He did it again, didn’t he?” Katherine asked.
“Yeah,” Dave said, nodding.
“Did what?” Meg and Lizzy asked at the same time.
“Nothing,” Dave said. “The food’ll be here in about a half hour.”

They waited for their food, speaking very little. Once the food arrived, they ate, then called for room service to take their dishes. Afterwards, Katherine went into her room, thanking them for the dinner. The little family brushed their teeth and got ready for bed, then with a groan, Dave climbed into the comforting sheets. Lizzy and Meg shared a bed, and Lizzy fell asleep quickly. But Meg remained awake. She was waiting for something, or rather, she was waiting for the absence of something.
She waited for a long time, at each hour counting the tolls of the bell. Finally, she glanced at the clock. 12:10, one more minute. The last minute was the most agonizing. It went terribly slowly until finally, she watched the clock in the room tick forward by one minute. The world was silent. There was no noise. She smiled as she nestled herself deeper into the covers. There had been no midnight striking again. Maybe the clock was broken, but in Meg’s mind, a dark conspiracy unfolded.