The Room

Chapter One

The drive home from the garage sale would be a long one, Raven thought as her car bumped down the road. She kept an eye at the sky. There was an increase in cloud coverage and she swore she heard thunder rumbling. Raven bit her lip nervously and looked back at the road. There was a stop light up ahead and she slammed on the brakes. She sighed. Several hours ago, she and her friend, Melissa were at her garage sale. Raven bought a broken antique pocket watch hoping she could fix it. She glanced at the little clock sitting on her coat. Could she really fix it, she wondered. The light flashed green. Raven took her foot off the brake pedal and sped forwards.

It was 10:25 by the time she reached her apartment complex. Rain was showering down in sheets and the thunder had gotten louder and more frequent.

"Great." She mumbled and pulled up to the parking lot.

Raven shut off the ignition and lied back in the driver's seat. There was no way she was going to  run out there in the storm. She hated the rain. Her phone buzzed from the dashboard. Raven lazily reached for it and checked her messages. Melissa had texted her.

-R U home?

Raven texted a quick 'yes' to Melissa before stuffing her phone in her coat pocket. She relaxed back in the driver seat, ignoring the occasional rumbles of thunder and jagged flashes of lightning. The seat was rather constrained and not comfortable. Raven shifted around, tossing and turning from left to right. She longed for her comfy bed and cozy covers. She bit her lip and looked back outside. The rain was becoming a light drizzle, but the thunder and lightning still remained. Time to make a run for it, she thought. She grabbed her coat along with the pocket watch and pulled her car keys out of the slot. Raven positioned her hand at the car door handle and counted to three in her head.

One...

Two...

Three...

Raven pushed the car door open and slammed it shut. She ran to the front of the apartment, almost slipping on the wet autumn leaves. She clutched the pocket watch tightly in her hands as she raced inside. She closed the double doors behind her and collapsed on a lounge chair in the parlor. She heaved deep breaths to slow her heart rate before taking the elevator to her apartment on the sixth floor. She glanced down briefly at the little broken clock that was still stuck at 5:00. The elevator doors parted and she was greeted with a long narrow corridor. Raven walked up to Room 143 and unlocked the door.

"Oh thank god!" She exclaimed and threw herself onto the couch. Her face pressed into the throw pillow, muffling her fake cries of joy. She got up and set the pocket watch down on the coffee table before turning on a lamplight.

"Now," she said pulling out a mini tool box from under the couch. "Let's see if I can fix it."

Raven sifted through the tool box until she came across a small screwdriver. She reached for the clock but was stopped suddenly by a buzzing sound.

"Dammit." She cursed under her breath and reached for her coat. Melissa texted again.

- Goodnight darlin

Raven's mouth twitched into a small smile as she texted back 'G'night'. She placed the phone on the coffee table and reached again for the clock. She turn it to the back and twisted the screwdriver on the faded gold screws. The backing popped off revealing a array of gears and springs.

"Oh right," She sighed slapping a hand to her face. "There aren't any batteries in this thing."

She poked around the cogs with the tip of the screwdriver, trying to see where the broken part was. There was nothing she could see. All of the springs seemed to be in place; so were the gears. Why was the little clock not working? Raven yawned and looked over at the stove clock. It was 5 minutes til 11. She needed sleep for school tomorrow. She put the pocket watch back together and shut off the lamp. She draped her winter coat over her and closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was the pocket watch before she blacked out.