The Clock of Turning Tides
Episode 4: The Mysterious Intruder
Reaching the ground-floor entrance hall, Julian found the heavy oak front door wide open, revealing a figure standing on the stone threshold facing away from him. The figure wore a tattered nineteenth-century keeper’s coat and held a brass winding key identical to the one Julian had used in the lantern room. As Julian approached, the figure turned around slowly, revealing a smooth, featureless face of polished brass where eyes and mouth should have been. The entity raised the brass key and pointed it directly at Julian’s chest, blocking his path to the outside world.
Resetting the Hands
With a desperate burst of courage, Julian lunged forward and snatched the brass key from the entity’s metallic hand, spinning around to face the master grandfather clock embedded in the lobby wall. The clock’s hands were spinning wildly backward, threatening to unwind the entire day into oblivion. Julian jammed the key into the central arbour and turned it forward with all his strength, fighting against the tremendous internal tension of the mainspring as the clock fought to maintain its reverse trajectory.