Clockwork | ONC 2021 Entry (at first)

Chapter Four

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"What?" Saoirse shrieks.

I'm sitting in her house about three doors down, cup of mint tea in hand and attempting to smile as she yells at me. "Ana! How could you just let him get away? You're better than this!"

"I panicked, okay? That's the first time that's ever happened to me!" I attempt to argue, averting her eyes and looking at the light blue grandfather clock about an hour after I'd first freaked out and just a minute after Saoirse had let me in. She's nocturnal, and absolutely refuses to sleep during the day for some unfathomable reason. Her blonde hair's still in rollers, and a strawberry face mask covers her skin. She glares at me angrily.

"Yes, and at this point it won't be the last," Saoirse snaps. "Ana, do you realize how you might've just killed us all?" Years of hard work will amount to nothing, and death warrants will be on our heads as a bonus!"

I sigh sadly, giving in. I can never argue with Saoirse. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what was going through my head at the time." And I mean it, too, but tears are already starting to fill her eyes. She's a 6, like me, and only two years my senior, except she's secretly married to a 7 and has to stay separate from him often.

"Ana... what am I gonna tell him?" she asks, lip quivering, attempting to hold in a sob. "We know things between us won't work out if the clockwork system stays this way. We knew that from the moment we became engaged."

Tears cloud my vision in response to hers. "Oh, Saoirse, I'm so, so sorry I'd never want you guys to stay this way or worse because of me, you know that. I'll find a way to fix this... somehow."

Saoirse nods, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "I'll help you."

I nod in response. "Let's get Amaris and the others ASAP in the morning in our usual place. Remember code word Zebra? Say that in a text and they'll know exactly what you mean.

Saoirse tries to smile. I remember. I'll get in contact with them immediately. But right now, you try to get some sleep, ok? I'll wake you up when they turn on the sun."

"Thank you so much," I respond, hugging her tightly. She hugs me even tighter back. "Let's just make sure this doesn't end the plan, okay?"

I nod. "Okay."

I fall asleep a little while later in her bed, but it's not a restful sleep. A sentence keeps running through my mind as I slowly succumb to fatigue--What's to come will most likely not end well.

Word Count of this chapter: 440 words

Total Word Count: 4,166 words

*NOTE: Saoirse's name is pronounced "Seer-sha". It's an Irish name that I absolutely LOVE, and if you've watched the movie Song of the Sea you'll know who I named her character after. :)))

lmk how im doing so far! any predictions for the plot?

also... i may just end up writing little snippets of chapters at a time as i go so you can get to read the story faster! that's kinda what happened here hahaha