Chapter 4: Chasing Time
I awoke to darkness. For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I was or even if I was still alive. The ground beneath me was soft, cold, and damp. My body ached all over, and as I tried to move, sharp pains shot through my limbs.
What happened? My last memory was of Henry—the kiss, the sudden tear in the sky, and the impossible chaos that had followed. I forced my eyes open, blinking against the dim light filtering through the trees. The woods around me were eerily silent, the air heavy with a sense of unease.
Where was Henry? Was he safe?
“Henry,” I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper. I struggled to sit up, but the weight of exhaustion held me down. Forcing myself to breathe, I tried to gather my strength. I needed to find him. I needed to know what had happened.
I pushed myself up onto my elbows, wincing as a sharp pain throbbed through my side. I looked around, trying to orient myself. The landscape was different—darker, more oppressive. The stars were barely visible through the thick canopy of trees, and there was an unnatural stillness in the air.
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence. “You’re awake.”
I turned sharply, my heart pounding in my chest. Henry was leaning against a nearby tree, his expression unreadable in the faint light. Relief flooded through me, and I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the pain.
“What… what happened?” I asked, my voice trembling.
Henry didn’t answer right away. His eyes flickered toward the horizon, where the remnants of the tear in the sky still shimmered faintly, like a wound in the fabric of reality. “We crossed a boundary,” he said quietly. “Time fractured.”
“What does that mean?” I stepped closer, my pulse quickening. “Where are we? Are we stuck here?”
Henry sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked exhausted, worn down by the weight of whatever burden he carried. “We’re still in the past, but time is unraveling. Callum—he’s trying to stop us. He’s manipulating time, trying to break the connection between us.”
I frowned, confusion swirling in my mind. “Why? What does he want?”
Henry’s eyes darkened, and he looked away, as though he couldn’t bring himself to answer. “It’s complicated. But he’s dangerous. If he succeeds, we might never be able to return to our time… or each other.”
The thought sent a chill through me. I couldn’t imagine being trapped here, in this fractured past, with no way home. But more than that, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Henry. Despite the danger, despite the mysteries surrounding him, I knew I was drawn to him in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Then we have to stop him,” I said, my voice stronger now. “We have to fix this.”
Henry’s eyes softened as he looked at me, and for a moment, the tension between us melted away. “You’re brave,” he murmured, stepping closer. “Braver than I deserve.”
I shook my head. “I’m not doing this just for you, Henry. I’m doing this because… I don’t want to lose you.”
His expression shifted, a flicker of emotion crossing his face that made my heart skip a beat. And then, before I could say anything else, he closed the distance between us, his hands gently cupping my face. His touch was warm, grounding me in the chaos of the moment, and I found myself leaning into him without hesitation.
“Olivia,” he whispered, his voice full of emotion, “I’m afraid.”
I looked up at him, surprised by the vulnerability in his words. “Of what?”
“Of what I might have to do to protect you,” he admitted, his brow furrowing. “Of what I might lose.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I did the only thing that felt right. I reached up, threading my fingers through his hair, and pulled him down into a kiss. It was soft, slow, and full of unspoken promises, a desperate attempt to cling to the connection we shared. For a moment, the world around us disappeared, and there was only Henry—his lips on mine, his hands steadying me, the warmth of him chasing away the cold.
When we finally pulled apart, breathless, I rested my forehead against his. “We’ll find a way,” I whispered. “We’ll fix this. Together.”
Henry nodded, his eyes searching mine for a long moment before he stepped back. “We don’t have much time. Callum’s already started. We need to find him before he causes more damage.”
I nodded, the urgency of the situation settling in. “Where do we start?”
He glanced down at the pocket watch in my hand, the one that had been at the heart of all this chaos. “That watch—it’s connected to everything. It’s more than just a timepiece. It’s a key, a link between the timelines. If we can track Callum, we can stop him.”
I looked down at the watch, feeling its weight in my hand. “How do we use it?”
Henry took my hand, guiding my fingers to the dial on the side. “The watch reacts to time. If you focus on the fracture, the tear in reality, it should lead us to him. But it’s risky. If we get too close, we could fall deeper into the fracture.”
I swallowed hard, my heart racing at the thought. But I didn’t hesitate. “Let’s do it.”
Henry gave me a nod, his hand tightening around mine as we began to walk. The watch hummed softly in my palm, the hands spinning faster as we moved through the trees. The landscape shifted around us, the air growing colder, heavier, as though time itself was warping the world.
The tension in the air grew thicker with every step, and soon, the watch began to glow faintly, its light pulsing like a heartbeat. I could feel it now—something pulling at the edges of reality, twisting and warping the world around us.
And then, suddenly, we were no longer alone.
A figure stepped out from the shadows ahead, his silhouette tall and menacing. Callum. His eyes gleamed in the dim light, a cruel smile twisting his lips as he regarded us.
“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” Callum said, his voice cold and mocking. “But you’re too late. Time is already unraveling. You can’t stop it.”
Henry stepped in front of me, his posture tense, ready for a fight. “We won’t let you do this, Callum. Whatever you’re planning, it ends here.”
Callum’s smile widened, and he held up a hand. “Oh, Henry. You always were the hero, weren’t you? But this isn’t about you. It’s about her.”
I stiffened, my heart pounding in my chest. “What are you talking about?”
Callum’s gaze shifted to me, his eyes gleaming with something dark and dangerous. “You’re the key, Olivia. The reason time fractures, the reason it’s falling apart. And as long as you’re here, it will continue to unravel.”
My breath caught in my throat, the weight of his words sinking in. Could that be true? Was I somehow responsible for all of this?
“No,” Henry growled, stepping closer to Callum. “You’re lying.”
But Callum’s smile never wavered. “Am I? You’ve felt it, haven’t you? The connection between you two—it’s unnatural. Time itself is trying to correct the mistake, to erase her from this timeline. And once it does, everything will return to normal.”
My heart raced, fear and confusion swirling in my mind. Was I really a mistake? Was my very existence tearing time apart?
Before I could process it, the ground beneath us trembled again, and the sky above began to crack, jagged lines spreading across the heavens like shattered glass.
***
The fracture was opening wider, the air around us vibrating with tension. Henry grabbed my hand, pulling me back as the ground began to split beneath our feet. “Run!” he shouted.
But it was too late. The fracture exploded outward, and the world around us began to collapse. Time was slipping away, and I had no idea if we would survive the fall.