《The Eleventh Hour》


 Chapter I: Even An End Has A Start

    Hey, a friend of mine told me about this website so I began writing a fresh idea and made an account. So this is my first work and my first post (yikes!) I''ve been writing a good 5 hours at the time of posting so if there''s mistakes I''m sorry and will read it over when i wake up :D Any feedback or criticism is greatly appreciated as is anyone who takes the time to read this and I''d be happy to hear from any of you people, this is all gonna be an original thanks again for reading.


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    It was one of those days where the sun was hanging low and there was a certain strength to the wind, not too mighty but enough to throw the autumn leaves into a tumble. The sky a light grey blanketed in thick cloud. Trees were swaying to the breeze, the evergreens rustling as small gales pass intermittently adding a sweet song to the cemetery grounds. Knelt, tending an aged gravestone, with a cherub statue missing an arm, was a man in a long rain coat placing flowers at the grave. The man¡¯s face placed forward looking at the foot of the small statue staring at a partially eroded and moss covered engravement. Scrubbing some of the dirt off with his hand he reads aloud ¡° A valuable gift taken too soon¡± The man let out a hefty sigh. The man pulled himself to his feet and looked at the sky.


    Darius awoke abruptly and in panic. Gasping and wheezing wildly as if he was suffocating beforehand. Stumbling onto his hands holding up his body, his head hung low gulping in air. As he regained his breath he started to notice his surroundings. A place he¡¯d not seen or recalled seeming familiar. He could see he was in an alleyway leading onto a road. Everything had a strange dark blue tint. Darius soon looked up to what seemed to be a dark blue moon. After clambering to his feet  he continued to look around himself bemused. ¡°... The Hell?¡± he questioned under his breath noticing his breath making a mist has he mumbled. He didn¡¯t feel cold though. He appeared to be wearing black breeches with a silver chain link belt. a long dark rain coat with white stripes at the edge of its stitching. it had a high collar which he found uncomfortable as it almost covered his whole neck and the edges of the top would get in his way when he turned his head. Darius stepped out of the alley way and looked left to see the road, seemingly endless and empty surrounded by what seemed to be huge brick buildings but with no windows or doors. Looking to his right he sees a blank sign with a navy blue background.Darius stepped towards it to get a closer look


    Upon further inspection he could see the sign had been painted shoddily as he could see brush strokes and bits of unpainted wood around the  edges. ¡°Okay¡­ what is¡­ going on?¡± he mused peering into the endless road behind the sign. Where am I? he thought. Where was I? he started to draw up blanks on anything other than his name. His age, where he is, where he was from all came back blank. Darius huffed and slumped to the ground below the sign and with his head hung in his hands sighed. ¡°Am I dead or something?¡± he joked to himself, starting to feel lost he did what he could. It was then when he heard the pitter patter of rain on his back. he felt a splash on his cheek. It felt oily, and lukewarm. He rubbed it with his hand smudging blue paint on his face and hand.


    Darius jumped up to look at the sign to notice paint was missing in the shape of a ¡°D¡± out of exposed wood. The absolute silence around him apart from his own voice bouncing off the buildings gave him a sudden chill. the light from this moon in the sky seemed to twinkle and flicker. ¡°Is this some kinda joke?¡± Darius was seeming a little more agitated now, fidgeting a little. Nonetheless he decided to feel the wood  and it was rough like the bark of a tree yet the paint felt smooth and flat despite being shoddy. ¡°I must be dreaming or something, or I took something I shouldn¡¯t or¡­¡± amidst his jesting to himself the light flickered rapidly and blanking out for a few seconds, during which a small gale howled down the road, excruciatingly loud, like the shrieks of a rollercoaster only these voices sounded in pain. Everything returned to how it was. Instantly the wind stopped. The Shriek stopped, it didn¡¯t echo and the light returned to its same dark blue hue.


    Darius while flustered felt a warmth in his chest. It became painful and he fell against the sign, using it for support. After a small while the heat subsided and he regained his balance. ¡°What the Hell was that?¡± he began but started coughing before he could finish. After clearing his throat and wiping his eye, he looked at the sign again. He saw his reflection this time. his fringe just sitting neatly above his brow. A rather sleek, slender face but not too sharp of a jawline. The reflection showed one eye blue one eye red. ¡°Eh? a mirror?¡± paint started to fade away while his reflection remained on the sign where there was paint, revealing the words ¡°Don¡¯t Fall Asleep¡­¡±  suddenly Darius felt himself falling. but not downwards; forwards, as if falling down the road to the right of the alleyway. He felt the gale that seemed to have waltzed by and could hear a loud, high pitched whistle blowing sound as the wind whipped around his coat which miraculously remained on his persons.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Falling forward but he couldn¡¯t shout or yelp or scream, in fact he couldn''t make a sound. He felt like there was no air in his lungs yet he wasn¡¯t suffocating. Everything seemed to be moving by super fast but it was dark, almost black with strobes of thick blue light burning out from the centre of the quickly passing horizons.


    it came to a sudden stop and as it did Darius flung forwards stumbling onto the red dirt and dust rose forever heavenswards. He felt the heat of sunlight on his back and looked up from the floor to see a dimly lit,  pulsating sun setting as it hung lowly in the sky. Its red light filled a seemingly empty desert with a dim sense of warmth.  Looking around he noticed he was surrounded by just flat red sand. The very  faintest of a breeze moved specks of sand around every once in awhile.


    Darius again lifted himself to his feet, this time brushing himself off in a faint cloud of red. ¡°Another empty place, okay this is one of them dreams. I can just wake up at any time, right?¡± The only thing that seemed to give him some comfort was a weave of sand sidewinding whimsically over the flat dusty plains he seemed to find himself. He considered just sitting waiting for himself to ¡°wake up¡± but decided he would walk in the direction of the wind.He didn¡¯t know why he wanted to either, but he started moving.


    After about five minutes or so of just walking, he wasn¡¯t sure which direction, Darius felt tired as he walked and let out a mighty yawn. he also gave out a great, big stretch. ¡°geez, i''m tired¡± he complained and his eyes felt really heavy, slowly seizing shut. Almost immediately he was awoken to the sound of violent wind. Red dust everywhere his face now covered in a scarf and now wearing orange tinted goggles. He noticed he had big boots on as well as  thick yet lightweight furs with leather stitching. Underneath the furs the white striped rain coat¡¯s  rear length hanged out of the back like a whipping flag in the wind.


    Among the chaos of the rapid winds and the lack of visibility caused by the dust being blown erratically Darius heard a woman calling out shouting through the storm ¡°You often find yourself in peculiar places?¡± she sounded jovial despite the circumstances they¡¯re were both in. The goggles kept the dust out of his eyes but he could barely see his own hand in front of his face. Finding it hard to move through the winds without being blown over he carefully trod forwards ¡°Y¡¯know it''s rude to ignore someone when they¡¯re speaking to you!¡± she called out in a playful tone. Darius stopped and shouted though muffled through the scarf ¡° What¡¯s going on?¡± he heard nothing back for a while but whistling wind ¡°What!?¡± she called back eventually. Darius shouted louder this time and his lip stretched over the scarf a bit and some of the dust stuck to it, getting in his mouth ¡°Scott¡¯s doing what?¡± he heard back,


    ¡°No!¡± he shouted ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you¡­¡± a small pause was filled by the winds ¡°Hold on¡± Darius stayed put and a short while later, felt someone grasp his wrist and at that moment the wind stopped and the dust started falling gently to the ground like snow flakes. ¡°Whoa. That was pretty cool¡± The woman said in astonishment, she was wearing a dark brown wolf fur pelt fashioned into a type of big hooded coat, with the hood being the wolf¡¯s head, partially swallowing the back of her own head; the eyes of the wolf shining black. She had a face scarf too, yellow in colour,  which strands of blonde hair curled over from under the hood and was wearing thin furs with polar white fur boots.


    ¡°So who¡¯s Scott?¡± She asked in excitement.

 Chapter II: A Change OF Heart

    ¡°What the Hell happened?¡± Darius asked in bewilderment.


    ¡°I dunno. I grabbed you and the wind stopped. Pretty neat trick you have there¡± The girl had bright green eyes and she pulled down her face scarf revealing a sharp grin.  ¡°I¡¯m Anastasia. Who, errr what are you?¡±


    ¡°What you mean what am I? Where the Hell am I?¡±


    Anastasia laughed and jumped before landing seated on a small dune of sand. ¡°Here? Here¡¯s nowhere strange man. You¡¯re not from Dial are you?¡±


    ¡°Dial?¡± Darius puzzled at the name ¡°Never heard of Dial¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a lost little sheep is what you are. Where you from?¡± Anastasia¡¯s voice was kinda gruff for a girl but soft enough, somewhat rusty. ¡°Erm, sorry I¡¯ve just been really confused. I don¡¯t know anything other than my name. I don¡¯t know where I have been or where I am going.¡± Anastasia let out a little giggle ¡°There ain¡¯t nowhere to go!¡± She cackled. ¡°Look, Dareee Huss, I weren¡¯t telling you no lies when I said this is nowhere. There really is nothing ¡®round here other than Dial. You ain¡¯t from there I don¡¯t think. There is no in between.¡±


    Darius felt that burning sensation he had earlier protruding from his left side and up to into his shoulder. ¡°Arrgh!¡± He yelped while falling to one knee writhing in pain.


    ¡°Huh? You okay?¡± Anastasia looked over her eyes barely open as if she had just woke up.


    ¡°No¡­ Argh, it hurts¡± Darius felt the burning subside  again. In this relief he held his head down, both of his hands pressed into the dirt, sweat dripping from his face.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done some strange things while you been here, y¡¯know?¡± A small wisp of wind roll through between them, bending pieces of the dirty sand around.


    ¡°Why are you here, then?¡± Darius scolded still short of breath.


    ¡°This is where I belong. There is never anything here y¡¯know. When I felt that wind, I¡¯d never felt so alive, not for a long time, I think.¡± Darius looked across at her as she stood up and held out her hand to help him up. ¡°Come on  get up Darus or whatever you¡¯re called¡±


    ¡° Da-RIE-Us. Darius.¡± He shook his head and grabbed her hand as she helped pull him up


    ¡°So¡­ you belong here? What you mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s home. Never left it. This is all I¡¯ve seen for as long as I can remember. I think¡±


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°Yeah all the time!¡± Anastasia gave out a big chuckle. Darius started to wonder about her. Then started to wonder just what was going on


    ¡°Hey! How did you get here?¡± Anastasia said almost threateningly  but she gave a wink at the end. ¡°You¡¯re eyes aren¡¯t the same colour either¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve only seen myself once. That I remember somehow¡± Darius looked confused has he finished the sentence with a small pause. ¡°Dial. It¡¯s a place?¡±


    ¡°The only other place I know¡±Anastasia fidgeted around in her furs ¡°This here!¡± She held a small bronze looking sundial, rather bland in appearance up to the dimly lit sky. ¡°This is a dial!¡±


    ¡°Yeah a sundial. You said it was a place, right? Dial you said it¡¯s the only other place you know?¡±


    ¡°Yep¡±


    ¡°Do you mean that sundial¡­¡± Darius said condescendingly. He started to pace with his head looking at his feet. He let out a small sigh. Anastasia dropped the sundial on the floor and sat crossed legged behind it. ¡°Come here, look at it.¡±


    Darius plodded over and looked at it. He then sat down.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Looking into it he saw it¡¯s shape as large celestial bodies. Stars of different sizes and colours and numerous beyond count. Everything fell silent to him. He could see the stars moving slowly clockwise around the edge. The middle of the sundial pitch black, He felt like he was floating now and the dial grew to an immeasurable size. Flying through the rim he passed all the countless stars. The silence was now accompanied by a soft ticking of a second hand. Darius felt a warmth through his whole body. His mouth open, screaming in pain but no sound could be heard.


    Darius opened his eyes laid on the floor gasping for air once again. Anastasia  was stood up seemingly shaking her face still and terrified.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­ the matter?¡± Darius¡¯s voice seemed deeper and still panting brought himself to his feet.


    ¡°What, what did you see?¡± Anastasia started timid and mousy but was yelling by the end of her question.Darius felt fully normal again though he had felt a cold shiver through him from his toes to his chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I. I saw the stars. I felt them.¡±


    ¡°You said you wasn¡¯t from Dial.¡± She had prepped her right hand like a claw and bent against her side. her other hand held outstretched and high in the shape of a fist. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t know who you were¡± Anastasia¡¯s hands began to spark red lights.


    ¡°What, look I¡¯m Darius that¡¯s all I know. Please, what in the name of God is Dial?¡±


    ¡°Did you tell me there was a ¡®time and place for everything¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I just met you¡­ right? Why are you being weird all of a sudden¡± It became immediately apparent to Darius she¡¯d been weird throughout this meeting.


    Anastasia¡¯s hand bolted a huge flash of red leaving a bright silhouette of a huge elongation of her arm. It was shaped like an anchor at the end. The silhouette dulled until it was gray, the edges were glistening in the red light and seemed sharp. At the tip was a sharp point where the two huge blades belled out.


    ¡°Have you seen this before?¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey what¡¯s going on, what are you doing?¡± Darius said with an increased pace, worry now filling his voice. Anastasia squatted a little so her legs were bent.


    ¡°You sent me here didn¡¯t you!¡± She exclaimed wildly and charged forward  swinging this huge bladed appendage  right for Darius¡¯s head all in one speedy leap. Darius somehow instinctively moved as if time suddenly slowed down and he just stepped to the side. He noticed as the blade cut the air a cut appeared letting in sharp white light then closing moments after the strikes.


    Yelling and wailing Anastasia continued a volley of strikes. Each time the same happened again and Darius moved. Still seeing the cuts in seemingly the air, leaking this white light before closing again.


    After a while Anastasia sat panting. ¡°How are you doing this?¡± She laughed maniacally


    ¡°Stop this!¡± Darius yelled calm and with reassurance ¡° I must learn of this Dial.¡± Darius did not know why but felt he must find it, feeling all his questions may be answered there.¡±These places I¡¯ve been lately, I do not understand them, where I am right now, I have no idea. Dial is the only place I know too, You know more don¡¯t you, tell me where it is, I beg of you¡± Darius felt that heat in his hand, it flashed white. His wrist now bore a silver chain bracelet with a solid block of circular silver hanging from the chain like a pendent. He held his hand out ¡°You know what this is don¡¯t you?¡± Anastasia saw the light and screamed as it burned her eyes. ¡°You know where it is. Between space and time, you said this, didn''t you?¡± She began to laugh a vicious cackle. ¡°The meeting of the horizon and the now. You said this didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.¡°What are you talking about?¡± He shouted frustrated at her chirps.. Around his hands started a glowing corona, burning a soft white light. A tingle swam through his hands. He held his hand up, four finger held strong and together, his thumb bent inwards  ¡°You must be insane, stop this and just help me please!¡± Darius pleaded towards her but Anastasia laughed again and charged forward swinging her blade towards him.


    Suddenly, an implosion of the red light hanging through the sands, flashing white as it fabricated into existence a huge white light shaped like Darius¡¯s hand. The structure moved just like his hand and grabbed the blade. Anastasia, amazed and immobilized, screamed. Darius instructed the hand to lift her into the air and throw her to the ground. ¡°Stop this¡± he said with a calm, discomforting tone, his voice a little deeper. ¡°Or it ends.¡± Anastasia¡¯s hand glowed red has she lay on the floor and the light scattered, beautifully and dissipated from existence, her hand returned to normal.¡±I¡¯m sorry ¡° She then paused, her voice quiet and quaky. ¡°You wanna go to Dial.¡±


    Darius, his hands still glowing felt the whipping wind around him accompanied by that familiar wail of before. ¡°Yes, I must go¡± during that sentence his voice softened back to normal and the light faded from his hands and the wind and it''s wail relinquished. ¡°Please, Anastasia, right? It''s the only thing I know that matters right now¡±


    ¡°Right now¡± she chuckled while still clumped on the floor she looked up at him. her face cut, small drops of blood slowly rolling down her cheek and her furs torn and covered in the red dust.


    ¡°That¡¯s funny¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Dial is between space and time? I think I understand strangely¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah you do.¡±


    ¡°And what just happened.... You can answer that, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah I can¡±


    Darius looked down at her seeing her laid looking up at the sky. Her cut weeping under her right eye and occasionally wincing. He noticed she seemed in pain. ¡° Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°Bah, of course not.¡± She jumped up to her feet and continued ¡°I have some things to set straight, then huh?¡±


    ¡°That on your hand you know what that is? I think I do!¡± She  said excitedly ¡°Listen that is something truly unique. That¡¯s your Henki. Certain life¡¯s are owed them. Here is a place of neither life or death. Time and space behave erratically. To harbour the union of space and time a council was formed by ¡®Those That Matter¡¯. That council, Horis Imperficitur. Affectionately known has Clockface¡± She chuckled and in the pause after, cleared her throat. ¡°Each of its members, The Hours were to govern the passage of time. Recently one of them is missing, completely gone and it has made them all behave to their own needs. Time is in disarray the land you may have known gone in an instance, left like this. Nowhere.¡± Darius looked around and stared into his Henki. Seeing his face reflected back from the solid silver circle. ¡°So this is my ¡®Henki¡¯? What is that exactly?¡± She pointed to the wolf¡¯s eyes on her hood, shining a thick black. ¡°Those eyes are mine!¡± She said gleefully her cut now scabbing over. ¡°It¡¯s your link to the physical world. This is neither a physical or meta-physical world in which time truly exists. This is your anchor. To you, your key. In Dial we¡¯ll see if we can find out who you are, and find your home.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what you know this?¡±


    ¡°I do. I¡¯m the Gatekeeper. The bridge between. That¡¯s my duty. I think¡± her confidence gliding downwards has she spoke.  ¡°The key is certainly there. One problem. I don¡¯t remember where it is¡­¡±


    Darius groaned in disbelief. ¡° Are you serious? I know I must go there.Somehow... ¡°Darius muttered the end of his words, looking into the distance briefly. ¡°How do you leave here¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t¡±


    ¡°What you mean you don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Well technically here, nothing really exists¡± Darius was left with a rather blank expression on his face. Then without further notice Anastasia grabbed his wrist and the whole world went black. No Sound, No Picture.


    The next thing Darius knew was the sound of rain. Then the feeling of it against his hood. He saw Anastasia next to him smiling. A distant thump of thunder sounded through the heavy rain. Her hood was now a rain coat with a smiling cartoon wolf fashioned into a hood. It was white with blue pinstripes. Big black wellies, which extended until covered under the rain coat, were spotted with mud around the edges. There she was splashing in a puddle. The puddle itself dancing hectically as rain pelted it all across its surface.  Darius looked at his wrist the bracelet hanging, slack from the top of his wrist. He stared into the blank silver circle. He then looked forward to see a muddy road leading through a small, hilly woods.


    ¡°Where are we now?¡±


    ¡°The road¡± She said bluntly.


    ¡°The road where?¡± he replied


    ¡°To, Dial, my sweet Darius. Come on it''s raining, the least you can do is brighten up.¡±


    Darius thought to himself I wish I knew what was going on


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m coming.¡± Anastasia started plodding hastily forwards into the uphill road leading to the woods.Darius was looking down again as he spaced out in his thoughts. ¡°Oh, okay, I¡¯m coming¡± and he set out into a small stride entering the dark woods, the rain sifting noisily through the trees, the occasional crack of thunder adding itself to the cacophony. Darius felt the blue light moving with the trees in the breeze. He noticed he¡¯d caught up to Anastasia and she¡¯d stopped.


    ¡°Come on slow poke, you wanted to go so bad¡±


    ¡°You know, Anastasia, right? I feel like I have been here before.¡±


    ¡°You have. I think¡± She said glumly. Darius looked at her puzzled.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It was you¡­¡± She began to cry.


    Darius instinctively held her cheek in his hand and softly stroked his thumb over the few tears that had rolled down it.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay this time, I promise.¡± Darius said softly. Not really sure of his words.


    ¡°You¡¯re not him, are you?¡± Anastasia said between choking on her tears looking into his mismatched eyes.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not him.¡± Darius spoke softly again but knowing he has never seen this woman before today. Well what he thinks a today is¡­


    ¡°But you have the same eyes¡±


    ¡°Is he in Dial?¡± He asked firmly this time and letting his hand rest slowly to his side.


    ¡°I Don¡¯t know.¡± She paused and gulped ¡°You know what you have to do?¡±


    Darius drew silent hearing yet another prominent crack in the sky. The trees still shaking, not violently but animated. The rain though heavy, sounded peaceful against the trees


    ¡°I think I do. I can feel it¡¯s presence.¡±

 Chapter III: Homecoming

    As the two stood there, the rain continuing to fall, the trees danced in the wind, a cumbersome dance nonetheless. Darius stood, arms hanging loosely at his sides, right next to Anastasia as she was looking down with her fist clenched. His gaze was straight upon a little wooden bridge, aged by time and weather, extended over a small stream, its water smoothly trickling down the hilly woods as the storm raged above the trees.  Darius turned to face her, her head still hung low.


    ¡°Why do I feel this?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Well, who knows. You know what I mean though.¡±


    ¡°Yes.. I do.¡± Darius had only one thought looming but couldn¡¯t steer it through his teeth. He was totally aware of what Anastasia was not telling him. He felt the silver bracelet with his other hand.


    Ever since staring into that sundial that burning sensation no longer caused him the same pain. That tingling in his hands hung around with him softly, almost unnoticeable.


    ¡°That, Sundial.¡± He asked hesitantly, ¡°What was it?¡± He continued after a short pause.


    ¡°The Sundial?¡± Anastasia replied, now lifting her head to look at him.


    ¡°You asked what I saw?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re not gonna believe this but wanna know what I think?¡± Darius held on without a change in expression or bodily language, a blank look on his face. ¡°I think, that when I said I was The Gatekeeper, I think I lied.¡±


    Darius''s face changed to one of annoyance. ¡°Okay. So what are you saying?¡± He uttered impatiently. ¡°Well. You see I said I¡¯d never been to Dial. Then I told you I HAD been, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Darius didn¡¯t really care he just wanted her to get to the point. ¡°So what do you know?¡± Darius chirped ¡°Why do I know that I have to kill this man?¡± He finally busted out, anger in his voice.


    ¡°Okay, okay, you got me! Calm down, kiddo.¡±


    Getting nowhere thus far Darius¡¯s frustration seemed emulated by the rain as louder cracks of thunder bellowed through the sky.  Anastasia sneezed, quite high in pitch but lasting only a moment. After her eyes were finished scrunching she looked quite surprised.


    ¡°Bless you¡± Darius said reluctantly, some pity  ran through him for her.


    ¡°I do know a tad bit more than I¡¯m letting on.¡± She began, coughing for a small while after then clearing her throat.  ¡°You see, the gift you have, it¡¯s not your own. You are a mortal man, in here, they are not. That man you have to kill, he is an Hour. These people have this gift you have. They have lived forever. Or so they say at least¡­¡± At the end of that sentence she looked down again.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been missing. Missing here doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s lost somewhere. It means he¡¯s nowhere, you following? So that is why you found me where you did, which happens not to be anywhere.¡±


    Halfway through she went from sounding sad to quite merry, finishing with a small giggle.


    ¡°I thought you was him.¡± She continued ¡°I only seen those eyes one other time, and that I know for certain. I know what you are though.¡±


    ¡°What I am?¡± Darius asked. Feeling quite offended.


    ¡°You¡¯re different. Some how. You¡¯re not from here.¡±


    ¡°So where am I from¡±


    ¡° I can¡¯t tell you who you are but I can tell you what you are. You¡¯re a mortal man. I myself, ain¡¯t never seen one but you¡¯re from far away. Some place in Space. Here is neither space nor time. It¡¯s just called Dial.Your Henki was brought here as a harbinger from ¡®Those who know¡¯. They sent you here to fix the Hours. That circle on your Henki. That¡¯s their gift. It will give you the ability to fulfil what you know you must do. Kill the Eleventh Hour.  He looks just like you. I mean exactly. That will guide you home and this will just be a dream to you. I think.¡±


    Drinking in all she said, Darius eyes started to close.


    ¡°That¡¯s rude, y¡¯know sleeping while someone¡¯s talking to you!¡± Anastasia yelled at him but he was none the wiser. In what felt like a dream he was atop of a building. He was having an outer body experience. Seeing himself standing in front of what looked like himself. This other Darius was wearing a suit of dark grey armour. The shoulders where large and smooth. Trimmed with white pinstripes along the shoulder pads and the top half of the torso. A helmet lay on the floor in the distance. Broken. It had an outward hinged visor that cover the face. Half of that was broken off but the bit that remained  was marked with roman numerals covering where the eyes would be. A small eye hole sat between the numbers. It was raining and thunder and lightning filled the air. This other self laughed and in a deeper but familiar voice, not too unlike his own said ¡°Harbinger.¡± Darius abruptly woke up.


    Anastasia was staring into his face, noses almost touching, her face holding a confused expression. Darius yelled out, shocked and uncomfortable at the proximity of her face. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He called out, his words rushing by. In his shock he stumbled over into the dirty forest road, wet from the dripping rain falling through the trees. ¡°What, what were you doing?¡±


    ¡°You fell asleep, so erm, I was looking at you. Do all mortals sleep standing up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t think so¡± Darius felt that it would be uncomfortable. ¡°I saw something.¡± He put his hand to his head feeling a little light headed. "What do you mean by ''Harbinger''?¡±


    ¡°Relax, will you¡± She said lazily ¡°Brighten up, it¡¯s dull enough here without that attitude¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you already said that¡±


    ¡°All you gotta, do is kill the Eleventh. You¡¯ll wake up tomorrow having not known a thing. You¡¯ll restore harmony to the passage of time. No sweat.¡±


    Darius felt a little mystified ¡°How will I do these things?¡±


    ¡°I told you, you have a gift. Only you can slay him. I know that!¡±


    ¡°So who are you, Anastasia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just what remains. Parts of people get lost on the passage to Dial, Those lost parts sometimes create images here. I exist here but I never really existed at all. I think, I mean I feel real right? They tell us we¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The Hours of course, stupid Clockface. To harbour the dying, To ship the passage of time. That¡¯s their job! You need to fix it. Only you can.¡±


    The two hadn¡¯t moved for a while now so after their conversation, they started to trek over the bridge and continue up the hilly road. The higher they climbed the thinner the woods became. Anastasia was whistling a tune. It was soft and melodic and Darius felt it was familiar. It comforted him as they walked, not many words exchanged during this walk as all Darius could do was think about when he defended himself against her. That tingle was still lingering in him. After learning he has to kill to be free. He wasn¡¯t even sure what it was that he missed, but he knew it meant everything to him. He knew deep down he had to do this deed. A bolt of lightening lit up the sky for a moment but no thunder came crashing afterwards. For a brief moment everything that could cast a shadow, did. Admist the rain feeling heavier with hardly any trees to umbrella the two. They¡¯d reached a part of the road where the incline started to level out. Looking behind him now, he saw the woods below him and saw trees scattered beneath him. ¡°Hey¡± he said softly but loud enough for Anastasia to hear him through the rain; she was ahead by a few strides.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to.¡± He said as she came closer standing next to him looking down on the hill. She put her hand on his shoulder. Darius didn¡¯t turn his gaze from the sight below. ¡°Look, Darius, right? They will look like me and you, but they¡¯re not people. They take that form because it''s all they know. You¡¯re doing him a service. He has lived since time began. He cannot die, except by your hands. Maybe he knew this, maybe that¡¯s why he¡¯s done this. Ruined all those lives who are ready to rest. It¡¯s selfish but could you really live and see all that is beyond you but never taste it. He¡¯s not evil. Y¡¯know you have to do it right, you know you will do it anyway, right?¡± Darius only felt worse hearing her words because he knew he could not stop himself. ¡°Harbinger¡± he said his voice as still as ice. ¡°Is that what I am?¡± He turned to look at Anastasia. She was staring into his eyes when he turned. He recoiled slightly, though not quite the reaction from the last time. Anastasia then turned around and sharply pointed over the hills top. ¡°Darius. I will help you. I owe that bastard a favour anyway. You will learn a lot in dial, I think.¡± She had an air of confidence about her as she spoke ¡° It¡¯s cool though, right, you¡¯re like a Time Lord or something¡±


    ¡°What the Hell is a Time Lord¡± Darius rallied back almost instantly


    ¡°I dunno. Sounds better than Harbinger though, right?¡± She laughed and Darius smiled for the first time. It did make him feel a little better he felt like whatever he had forgotten, it was the most important thing to him. He did not understand this place or Anastasia really. The sensation that everything was as it should be led him this way. He felt his Henki pulsating through him. He felt this power inside him softly ticking in his head. He wasn¡¯t really sure why, but he knew the path in which he walked was the only one he could.  As they laughed they walked over the peak of the hill and continued down the other side.


    The other side of the Hill looked exactly like the one they had come from. trees scattered below them as the road descends into the woods. Anastasia stopped and lifted her hand to her chin and began to ponder.  ¡°Where are we?¡± Darius asked


    ¡°Remember when I said I was the Gatekeeper, then I said I wasn¡¯t, I actually am!¡± She laughed with joy at the end of that sentence ¡°Had you fooled, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. What is the Gatekeeper, exactly?¡± Anastasia pointed with both of her hands slightly away from her face right at her own cheeks ¡°Ta da! Me, you silly goose!¡± Darius rolled his eyes and remained looking at her. ¡°Okay, you need a key remember, to get into Dial, you need a key.¡±


    She spoke quickly making it hard for Darius to keep up. ¡°So I give people keys to get into dial, those who are shipped here. But I have to find the gate. I can¡¯t remember where I left it¡±


    You can¡¯t remember where you left the key?¡± He questioned No sense of sarcasm in his voice.


    ¡°No! I always have the keys!¡± She scrounged around in a handbag in her coat, something Darius hadn¡¯t noticed she had up until now. She pulled out the bland bronze Sundial from before


    ¡°That¡¯s the key?¡±


    Anastasia nodded gleefully. ¡°Need a gate though.


    Darius looked at the dial again. He didn¡¯t feel anything strange it just seemed like a regular sundial. ¡°Hey¡­ What did you say you saw when you looked at it last time?¡±Darius paused in a trance looking at it before replying.


    ¡°Stars. A huge constellation of them shaped like the dial.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Does that help?¡±


    ¡°No. not really. Oh wait. Yes it does!¡± She didn¡¯t seem too sure but her eyes lit up. Anastasia ran to a small rock near a steep edge of the hill and placed it flat on top of it. ¡°Okay¡± she said firmly ¡°Come over here Darius!¡± He shuffled over intrigued at what she was doing. After catching up to her he felt a little excited.


    ¡°Okay. Listen buddy. This is what I remember. You see your Henki?¡± Darius didn¡¯t seem any the wiser, Anastasia pointed at the bracelet around his wrist, extending her arm and reclining it in repetition. ¡°Do you even listen? Geez try help a guy out..¡± She seemed a little disappointed as if proud she was able to catch Darius up with what is going on.  She grabbed his hand and held it over the sundial. Darius felt his hand tingle more violently. A rushing of air started to blow around them. The bracelet, his Henki, softly glowed a bright white. The shadow cast on the dial started to spin around the numbers on it edge. The wind picked up speed as did the rotation of the shadow.  It got so wild that all that could be heard was the shriek of wind, like someone writhing in agony. The shadow came to a sudden stop on the eleventh hour. And a huge black shadow extended across the small flat part of the hill before it started to descend down the road.


    ¡°Come on¡± she yelled. ¡°You opened the gate to dial!¡± She held his hand and stepped on the pitch black shadow pulling him with her. She looked into his eyes and told him ¡°Y¡¯know, you have blue on your cheek¡± Darius looked back at her and she laughed. The next thing he knew he felt like he was falling and nothing was around him, just darkness.


    Darius opened his eyes and the first sound he heard was the familiar sound of heavy rain as he felt it ricochet all over him and bouncing off his rain coat. He was laid belly first on the soaking wet floor. He looked to his left and saw the bark of a small willow tree. Pulling himself up for what felt like the twentieth time he saw Anastasia exactly as she was before, sat on a farmland fence that followed.a dirty path. Thin grass to its opposing side. Across from it the same only a weather cock was on a beam. It was spinning wildly in the wind. ¡°You¡¯ll get use to it¡± She called out while Darius walked over. ¡°Get use to what?¡± He said wincing a bit as he held his ribs, seeming a little sore.


    ¡°Time travel¡± She laughed. ¡°Come on don¡¯t look so glum. This is where you wanted to be!¡±


    Darius felt the place looked no different to where he was moments before. Only it was flat and a few meadows were present. It was the first time he¡¯d seen grass, at least that he remembered. ¡°Time travel?¡± He asked


    ¡°Well kind of. It¡¯s not really important, come on, I¡¯ll show you around. Welcome to Dial!¡± laughing as she finished her sentence. Not manically but happily.  ¡°This is your home isn¡¯t it?¡± Darius asked with a smile. She nodded.  ¡°I haven¡¯t been here since forever!¡± She was beaming despite the rain which she seemed to hate. They walked down the path until they came to a wooden gate sat between metal fences. All decorated with embalmed figures of gold, silver and bronze. Anastasia just pushed the gate ajar which showed the path leading down a hefty hill to what from up here seemed like a small town. ¡°We¡¯ll find him¡± She said. Grinning and rubbing her hands together.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find him.¡±