Chapter 7: The Time to Choose
“The world was gone—disappearing into a whirl of colors and shadows, a blur of memories, possibilities, and lost moments. I was adrift in time, with no sense of up or down, no clear path forward. Only the sensation of falling… and of Alexander’s hand slipping from mine.”
I reached out desperately into the void, my fingers straining to hold onto him. But no matter how hard I tried, the distance between us grew. His figure became smaller, fainter, as if time itself was pulling him away from me. Panic surged through me as I screamed his name, but my voice was swallowed by the endless dark.
The spinning seemed to last forever—seconds stretched into minutes, minutes into hours—until, with a sudden jolt, the world solidified again. I hit the ground with a painful thud, gasping for breath as my head swam. It took me a moment to realize I was no longer floating in the strange limbo of time, but back on solid earth. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, and looked around.
I was standing in the middle of a vast, open field, the tall grass swaying gently in the wind. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting the sky in shades of pink and gold. It was beautiful, peaceful even—but my heart pounded in my chest as I frantically searched for Alexander.
But he wasn’t there.
“Alexander!” I cried out, spinning in a full circle, my voice trembling with fear.
Silence answered me.
***
Just as I felt the crushing weight of despair, a soft voice behind me whispered my name. “Hannah.”
I turned so quickly I nearly stumbled, and there he was—Alexander, standing just a few feet away, his dark eyes filled with relief and something else… something deeper. Without thinking, I rushed toward him, my feet barely touching the ground, and threw myself into his arms. The warmth of his body against mine was grounding, pulling me back from the edge of panic. He held me tightly, as if he had been afraid I would disappear too.
“You’re here,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “I thought I lost you.”
His arms tightened around me, his breath warm against my ear as he spoke softly. “You’ll never lose me, Hannah. Not while there’s still breath in my body.”
I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, searching for the truth in his words. And there it was—the unspoken promise we had been making to each other all along. No matter the danger, no matter the chaos of time, we would always find our way back to each other.
Slowly, his hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb gently brushing away the tears I hadn’t realized were falling. His touch was tender, comforting, but there was an intensity in his gaze that made my heart race.
“I’ve spent so much time running,” he said, his voice low, filled with regret. “Running from the truth, from my past, from the things I’ve done. But with you… I don’t want to run anymore. I want to stay.”
I stared at him, my heart swelling with a mix of love and fear. “Then stay. We’ll face this together.”
His gaze softened, and for the first time since we’d met, I saw the walls he’d built around himself begin to crumble. He leaned in, and when his lips met mine, it wasn’t like before. This kiss was different—deeper, more raw. It was as if all the barriers between us had finally fallen away, leaving only the truth of what we felt for each other.
The world around us seemed to fade, the golden light of the sunset casting everything in a dreamlike glow. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, and I let myself get lost in the sensation of him—his warmth, his strength, the way he made me feel like I was the only person in the world.
For a brief, stolen moment, it felt like everything would be okay. Like time itself had stopped just for us.
But deep down, I knew this wasn’t the end. Our time together, fragile as it was, was running out.
***
We stood there for what felt like hours, wrapped in each other, but reality came crashing back when a sharp sound cut through the air—a crack like thunder. Alexander pulled away from me, his eyes wide with alarm, and I felt the weight of the moment settle over us like a heavy cloak.
“They’re here,” he said, his voice tense. “The ones after you.”
I turned to follow his gaze, and my stomach dropped. In the distance, dark figures were approaching, their forms blurred and distorted as if they were flickering in and out of time. I could feel the same cold dread I’d felt back in the chapel—the weight of their presence pressing down on me.
“We have to go,” I said, my voice shaking.
But Alexander shook his head. “No. We can’t run anymore, Hannah. We have to face them. This is it—the moment we’ve been trying to avoid.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confusion and fear swirling inside me.
He looked at me, his expression grim. “They want control of time, but they need you to do it. You’re the key, Hannah. The power that runs through your family’s blood—it’s the only thing standing between them and control of everything. If they get to you, they’ll rewrite everything.”
My mind raced, trying to comprehend what he was saying. “Then… what do we do? How do we stop them?”
Alexander’s gaze flickered with pain, and for a moment, I saw the weight of the impossible choice he was about to make. “There’s only one way to stop them,” he said, his voice breaking slightly. “You have to leave, Hannah. You have to go back to your time—and you can’t come back.”
My breath caught in my throat. “No. No, I’m not leaving you.”
He reached for me, his hands trembling as he held mine. “If you stay, they’ll take you. And if they take you, it’s over. You have to go.”
Tears blurred my vision as I shook my head. “I can’t. Not without you.”
His grip tightened, and I could see the conflict in his eyes—the struggle between wanting me to stay and knowing I couldn’t. “I’ll find you,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “No matter where you are, I’ll find you again. But right now, you have to go. It’s the only way.”
***
The ground beneath us began to tremble, and the dark figures in the distance were closing in fast. Time was running out—both literally and figuratively.
Alexander pulled the glowing watch from his pocket, his fingers brushing against its surface as the light grew brighter. He pressed it into my hand, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that stole my breath.
“Take it,” he said urgently. “It’ll take you back to your time. Don’t think, just go.”
I looked down at the watch, my heart shattering. The figures were almost upon us now, their presence suffocating, overwhelming. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave him.
“Please, Hannah,” he begged, his voice breaking. “I can’t lose you. Not like this.”
With trembling hands, I activated the watch, the light blinding as it wrapped around me. I could feel the pull of time, dragging me away from him. Tears streamed down my face as I reached out for him one last time, my fingers just barely brushing his.
“I love you,” I whispered, my voice lost in the roar of time.
And then, everything went dark.