The numbers on my clock glowed in the dark. 11:47 PM. My heart beat fast. Too fast. The note was in my pocket. I touched it. The paper felt rough.
I KNOW ABOUT THE WATCH.
MEET ME AT THE OLD TRAINING GROUND. MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE. OR I TELL EVERYONE.
Who wrote it? How did they know? Instructor Valerius? She said not to trust anyone. But she helped me. Maybe it was a trick.
Leo was asleep in the next bed. He snored softly. I was glad he was here. But I had to go alone.
The watch was in my pocket. It was warm. It ticked. Always ticking. Sometimes I heard the voice. Sometimes not. It said it was my friend. I wanted to believe it.
I got out of bed. The floor was cold. I put on my shoes. I was still in my day clothes. I did not want to change.
I looked at Leo one more time. Then I opened the door. It made a small sound. I froze. Leo turned in his sleep. But he did not wake up.
I slipped into the hall. The lights were dim. Everything was quiet. Too quiet.
I walked fast. My footsteps echoed. I felt like everyone could hear me. I kept my hand in my pocket. I held the watch. It made me feel a little better.
The old training ground was far from the main buildings. No one used it anymore. It was a place of broken things. Broken machines. Broken robots. Broken dreams.
The moon was bright. It made long shadows. The wind blew. It sounded like whispering.
I stood at the edge of the training ground. I looked at my clock. 11:59 PM.
I was scared. My hands were cold. Why did I come? Maybe I should run back.
But then they would tell everyone. About the watch. About what it could do. Then people would take it. They would hurt me to get it. Like Instructor Valerius said.
So I stayed.
Midnight.
A figure stepped out of the shadows. It was tall. I could not see the face. The moon was behind them.
"Kaelen," a voice said. It was a man's voice. I did not know it.
"Who are you?" I asked. My voice shook.
The man came closer. The moon lit his face. He was young. Maybe twenty. He had blond hair. Blue eyes. He wore a nice suit. Not a uniform. He did not look like he belonged here.
"My name is Julian," he said. He smiled. It was a nice smile. But his eyes were cold. "I'm a friend."
"I don't know you," I said.
"But I know you," he said. He walked around me. Like a shark. "I know about your little watch. Quite a treasure you found."
I said nothing. My hand tightened around the watch.
"Don't worry," he said. "I don't want to take it from you. I want to help you understand it."
"Understand what?"
"What it really is," he said. "What it can do. And what it wants."
I felt cold. "It doesn't want anything."
He laughed. It was not a nice sound. "Oh, Kaelen. You are so naive. Everything wants something. Especially powerful things."
He stopped in front of me. "The watch is not a tool. It is a cage. And you are not its master. You are its... keeper. For now."
The voice in my head. ...trapped... help me...
"Is there someone inside?" I asked. I had to know.
Julian's smile widened. "So it talks to you. Interesting. What does it say?"
I shook my head. "I don't know what you mean."
"Don't play dumb," he said. His voice was harder now. "It called you, didn't it? It brought you to the storage room. It wanted to go home. To see if its prison was broken."
Prison. The word made my stomach hurt.
"The box that was stolen..." I said slowly.
"Was its original container," Julian finished. "Yes. We took it. But we were too late. You had already taken the prize."
"We?" I asked.
"My... organization," he said. "We study these things. We understand them. We can help you control it."
"Why would I need to control it?" I asked. "It helps me."
"Does it?" Julian asked. He looked at me closely. "Are you sleeping well, Kaelen? Are your dreams... normal?"
I thought about my dreams. The strange voices. The feeling of being watched. I did not sleep well. Not since I got the watch.
"It's changing you," Julian said softly. "Slowly. It's wrapping its time around you. Soon, you won't be able to tell where you end and it begins."
I felt sick. Was this true?
"Let me help you," Julian said. He held out his hand. "Come with me. We can teach you. Protect you."
I took a step back. "No. I don't trust you."
His friendly face disappeared. Now he looked angry. "You are a child playing with fire. You will burn down everything."
"Or maybe you just want the watch for yourself," I said.
He smiled again, but it was ugly. "Maybe. But I'm not the only one who wants it. Others are coming. They are not as... polite as I am."
He looked over my shoulder. "Speaking of which... your friend is here."
I turned. Another figure stood at the edge of the training ground. It was Instructor Valerius. She had a gun in her hand.
"Step away from the cadet, Julian," she said. Her voice was like ice.
Julian laughed. "Ah, the good Instructor. Always watching. Always too late."
"Kaelen, come here," Valerius said. She did not look at me. Her eyes were on Julian.
I stood between them. I did not know what to do.
"The Agency doesn't know what they have, do they?" Julian said to Valerius. "They think he's just a lucky kid. But you know. You've always known."
"Shut up," Valerius said.
"He's special," Julian said. "And the watch knows it. It's waking up. And when it does, it will need a new home. A new heart."
He looked at me. His eyes were hungry. "And it has chosen yours."
My heart felt cold. A new heart?
"I said, shut up!" Valerius raised her gun.
Julian raised his hands. "I'm going. But this isn't over, Kaelen. We will meet again. When you're ready to listen."
He stepped back into the shadows. And he was gone.
I stood alone in the moonlight with Instructor Valerius. She lowered her gun. She looked tired.
"What was he talking about?" I asked. My voice was small. "A new heart?"
She did not answer. She walked toward me. "Give me the watch, Kaelen."
I backed away. "No."
"It's not safe with you," she said. "You heard him. People are coming for it."
"You said I should hide it!" I said. "You said to keep it safe!"
"I was wrong," she said. Her face was hard. "It's too dangerous. You're not ready."
The watch in my pocket was very hot. I could feel it burning my leg. The ticking was loud in my ears.
...don't let her take me... the voice whispered. ...she will put me back in the dark... please...
"I can't," I said. "I won't."
Valerius's eyes softened. Just a little. "Kaelen, listen to me. That thing... it's not what you think. It lies. It uses people. It will use you."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because I've seen it before," she said. Her voice was quiet. Sad. "A long time ago. It had a different keeper. A friend of mine. It... consumed him."
I thought about the voice. It sounded so small. So sad. Was it lying?
"I need to know the truth," I said. "What is it?"
Valerius looked at the sky. The moon was bright. "It's a piece of a broken god," she said. "A piece of time itself. And it's hungry."
The watch burned in my pocket. The ticking was like a heartbeat.
My heartbeat.
And in my head, the voice whispered one more time.
...she is the liar... I am your only friend... trust me...
I turned and I ran.