11th Tick: Memory Lane
1047 Words
Thomas walked up to the girl.
She stood there, breathing hard, her arm burning from her own attack. The entire town had its landscape changed, the ground became uneven, the houses had all collapsed, nothing was left. Thomas just hoped Rose was safe, judging by her magic, there was no need to worry. Thomas looked down, the girl standing over his own dead body. She turned around, sending him, her hair completely white and her eyes weak and unfocused. She stumbled towards him, punching him weakly in the chest. Thomas grabbed her wrist and said, “I’m sorry.”
Revival by humans was unacceptable, Thomas had seen how it ruined lives. He had revived a few, but that was by reversing time, it was different to those who used lives to revive another. The girl weakly attacked, a small ball of light floating in front of Thomas. She had tears flow down her cheeks as she collapsed on her knees, too tired to continue fighting. Thomas crouched and touched her neck, feeling no pulse and no heat, she had died.
Thomas looked at the small ball of light and reached out, curious.
“Hey, ClockKeeper.” Someone said.
Thomas retracted his hand and faced the person who spoke. The boy hovered in the air, smiling brightly. “What do you think? You just killed a father and his daughter.”
“It was necessary.” Thomas replied, walking up to Wish.
“Necessary?” Wish laughed, his laughter permeating the silent atmosphere. “If you didn’t do anything, they would have been alive for another few months at most before they simply died.”
The boy flipped, hanging upside down and staring at Thomas, his paper still covering his face. He asked, “Was the toy I prepared fun?”
Thomas clenched his fists and swung at him, the boy disappearing. Wish sat in the air some distance away, laughing. “I fulfil wishes none of the other myths bother with helping. I give them what they want, I make sure of it. What ever I take back is slightly different though.”
Thomas looked at the distraction around him and sighed, walking away. Wish asked, “Don’t you want to fight?”
“With who?” Thomas asked, not turning back.”
Wish appeared in front of him, pointing at himself. Thomas brushed past him, saying, “Myths are not allowed to fight each other.”
“But you’re going to fight Truth?” Wish asked.
“Shut up.”
“But what if, just what if.” Wish continued. “What if I said your female companion made a wish.”
Thomas turned around. “Zeroth Hour.”
Time stopped and he walked towards Wish, warming up his arm. Thomas, with all his might, punched Wish in the face, his body moving backwards slightly. Time resumed and Wish’s head moved slightly, he turned back, a mad grin on his face.
“I don’t care.” Thomas waved him off.
Wish frowned, scratched his face and stomped, the ground shattering before he disappeared. Thomas reached out to touch the light, thinking Wish was probably lying. The light passed through his hand, remaining hovering in the air. All of a sudden, it shot itself straight into Thomas’ head, Thomas losing his sense of sight.
He looked around him, wondering why the town was restored. He looked to the side, a man held a girl by the hand, the girl smiling widely and laughing. Thomas followed after them, in their house was a small temple with a picture of a woman. The scene shifted and it showed the girl was surrounded by the other kids of the town. They seemed to be telling her something, mocking, insulting. She had ran back to her father who then punished them severely. The girl was upon an old man, the head of the village.
“Sacrifice.” He had said.
She was to be the sacrifice for when the demons went to their village. Her father was against it, he had shown his unwillingness to let his daughter go by hitting the elder. The girl, too young to understand, simply looked. From then, they were shunned by the villagers for not accepting the responsibilities given to them. They said that he ruined the village, destroyed their future, doomed their children. It was just like humans, selfish beings, humans complain about doing things for the greater good, but refuse to give up whatever little.
Thomas watched as the young girl was one day dragged out of her house by a few villagers. Her father laid on the ground, blood flowing from his head. The villagers handling the girl seemed more interested in getting her from one place to another instead of her safety. She was dragged, a few kids nearby throwing rocks at her, mocking that she was going to be a slave. A bigger rock hit her in the head, and her body went limp. Without realising, the men continued to drag her body across town, she was already dead.
She was like Rose, about to be given away to appease the demons.
The father had knelt, clasping his hands together. “I wish upon WishEarth, please, please give me the power to exact revenge on these villagers, give me the power to revive my child.”
Wish appeared, smiling.
“I’ll grant your wish.”
Thomas snapped back to his senses. He looked at the dead body of the girl, then at the destroyed village. Wish had made the man a vampire, gave him the ability to control people by sucking their blood. He could therefore amplify their magic output. He consumed blood and was therefore able to use that blood to revive his daughter.
Like father like daughter, they were similar in nature.
“What a pain.” Thomas sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
He walked around town, holding his pocket watch in his hand. He put his other hand in the sky, a clock appearing above the city, the hour hand pointing at the number two. “Second Hour.”
Time went back for the city.
Around him, Thomas was surrounded by people, happy people. He walked around and saw the man and his daughter, the girl still had some of her abilities, the effects of time unable to completely revert her. She saw him, a look of familiarity crossing her face, but she looked away. She was going to protect the town, Thomas knew she was.
He walked over to an isolated part of town that time did not reverse. He looked around the empty building, but did not find her. He cursed, scratching his head. Wish did not lie, he would never lie.
- Writer
