Ticking Secrets At Maydale

Chapter 11

She closed the diary with a sharp snap, her breath hitching in her throat. "No," she whispered, disbelief across her features. "It can't be." I could see a flicker of fear in her eyes, mingled with something deeper, something I couldn't quite grasp.

"What can't be?" I asked gently, though a knot of anxiety twisted in my stomach. She stared at me for several moments, her eyes revealing a vulnerability that made my heart race.

"Tell me everything. Everything," she insisted, her voice steady but laced with urgency.

I recounted everything, carefully detailing each moment, ensuring not to leave out any crucial information.

"So, no one else knows?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"Except for my mum," I replied, glancing at Ben, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange.

"Good." Jan began to pace the room, deep in thought.

Ben broke the silence, his voice laced with suspicion. "You know something, don't you?"

"You both need to leave," Jan's tone was cold and final, leaving no room for argument.

We exchanged shocked glances. "What? Why? We can't just leave like that—" Ben began, irritation creeping into his voice.

"Stop yelling, boy," Jan snapped. "Things aren't what they seem; it's dangerous for you both."

Suddenly, a chilling memory surged through me, compelling me to speak. "I had a vision," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. The room fell silent as I continued, "There was a man, and he was screaming, begging me to let him out. He called me 'my girl.'"

The silence lingered, heavy with tension as I recalled that terrifying night.

"This changes things," Jan said, her gaze locked onto mine. She seemed to be lost in thought for a while, after some contemplation she said "You may have connections to something bigger, Alani" this was the first time she had used my name, and it sent a shiver down my spine. "something like this has never happened to anyone before, I could use it as an advantage-" 

"Look, Jan," Ben said, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "things have been hard for her." He turned to me, his expression softening. "We just want to know what happened with the diary so we can leave."

I glanced down, feeling grateful for his support and the warmth of his words.

"I understand," Jan replied, her voice softer now, "but things aren't simple. Let me explain. Before that, I'll introduce myself. I am 

-Jandice Wixx."

We gasped simultaneously. Dice Wixx was Jan—Dice.

"Forty years ago, I made a terrible mistake, something I can never forgive myself for," she confessed, her gaze falling to the floor in shame, the weight of her words heavy in the air. "I betrayed someone who trusted me."

She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling as if she were bracing herself for the painful memories to come, each one like a sharp shard of glass. "We were studying to create an invention—something you might describe as a time travel machine. We entwined it into the clock tower, a beautiful structure meant to stand the test of time. But when my parents died, in a moment of desperation, I selfishly used it to try to save them, thinking I could rewrite history." Her voice trembled, quaking with the enormity of her confession, and I could see the anguish across her face like a scar that would never heal. "But then everything turned horrific."

The silence in the room grew thick, and I felt the air grow colder as her sorrow enveloped her. "Everyone just... disappeared, and only I remained." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, brimming with sadness and bitterness, a reflection of the weight she carried for decades. "I can't tell you how much I regret it all."

Without thinking, I reached out and clasped her hand in an attempt to comfort her, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine. To my surprise, she didn't pull away; as if she found solace in the simple gesture.

"Maydale was empty, barren, and I was here all alone. I cried for days, for weeks." Her voice was barely above a whisper, each word dripping with the pain of isolation. "The empty houses, the silent village—those echoes of laughter and joy became a haunting picture in my mind. Sometimes, as I walked through the deserted streets, I could still hear the voices of friends and family, their laughter echoing in the wind. It was then that I realized I could never grow older or age, it must have been an effect of the time travel. I knew I could never outlive my mistake and that drove me to the brink of insanity."

I watched as her eyes seemed to drift to some faraway place, where shadows of the past lingered like ghosts, haunting her every thought. "I might have ended it all if I hadn't met Old John. He was passing through one fateful day and found me, a lost soul wandering in the remnants of my own making. Together, we gathered people and rebuilt Maydale, brick by brick, heart by heart."

As she spoke, I could see her other self, the broken one. "But I still keep my distance from them all because the guilt haunts me." She sighed heavily, the sound echoing with an emptiness that resonated in the corners of the room, filling it with a sense of longing and regret. "Every time I look at the clock tower, I'm reminded of the choice I made—of the lives I shattered in my quest to hold onto the past. The very thing that was meant to be a beacon of hope became a monument to my failure."

The atmosphere thickened with her sorrow, wrapping around us like a shroud, and I felt a deep sense of empathy for this broken girl who had grown into a haunted woman. In that moment, the weight of her story settled upon my heart, intertwining with my own fears and hopes. I realized that beneath her tough exterior lay a fragile spirit, yearning for redemption in a world that had been altered by her actions.

"The person I betrayed— it was Darya," she paused, her sorrowful expression shifting to one of fear. "She says she's coming back."

"Those visions you had—they remind me of someone," she said, squinting as if trying to recall a distant memory.

"Who?" My heart stopped, a wave of dread washing over me.

"I don't quite remember," she admitted. "I know I told you to leave, but if you stay, your visions could really help me assess things better."

"We will be staying," I stated firmly, determination filling my voice. "We still need to find answers for our article, but I guess I can help you too." Doubt fluttered in my chest; I wasn't looking forward to another one of those episodes.

"You sure about this, Alani?" Ben asked, concerned.

I nodded, my heart aching for Jan. I wanted to help her; her eyes screamed of pain and regret, and I couldn't bear to see her suffering. Yet a part of me yearned to uncover the truth behind the voice that had haunted my visions. Jan had hinted that it was someone she knew, and now, I felt a glimmer of hope.

"You can stay with me," Jan offered, her voice softening.

"But I have one rule—"

Her voice sharp and low.

-you can never enter the clock tower."