When Worlds Collide (MxM)

Chapter 2 - Passing the Time

~ 3 Years Later ~

"Almost ready Capone!" Kade called from the top of the clock tower. He excitedly set the mechanism in motion and climbed down the ladder to join the crowd below.

Three years he'd been trapped in this dimension. Three years with no sign that anyone was coming to rescue him. Luckily the kind beings he'd encountered had brought him to a halfway house, and helped him adjust to living in this new world.

He learned their language, though it had many words that were hard for his human tongue to pronounce. Thus he was often told he had an accent.

Staring up into the sky, the red sun was nearing its center, where it'd be hidden behind the planetary ring for twenty minutes. He'd learned this planet had a 26-hour day instead of the 24-hour days back on Earth. They were already using candle clocks and sundials to keep time, so it was easy for him to create a more modern mechanism based on their existing measurements.

"What are we waiting for?" Capone, the metal smith, stood by Kade's side. Capone had a loose cloth wrapped around his body, with a belt at his waist and cloth shoes with wooden soles. His blond hair was long and weighed down by decorative stones, and he had sharp squarish swirls under his cheeks and over his arms.

Kade learned that the locals called themselves Terrans, and their race had a few distinct traits that set them apart from humans.

First, their ethereal hair. While it felt like normal hair, it had a tendency to float about their heads. Thus they would either cut it short or tie it back with weights.

Second, they had long prehensile ears that looked elflike and reacted to sound and emotion.

Lastly, their body markings. Each Terran had a unique set of patterns that they were born with. These patterns stretched along their backs, hips, arms, and occasionally their foreheads and cheeks. He'd seen a few with only stripes instead of swirls, and some with spots. But one thing was for certain. Each Terran had some kind of marking, while Kade did not.

This was what made him stand out the most. Not his skin or hair color, or even his 'stubby' ears. It was simply unheard of in this society to not have markings.

Kade was cut from his thoughts as the bells started to chime, giving way to a short symphony as it signaled for noon.

The crowd murmured in delight.

"It's making music all on its own!"

"How is that possible?"

"Is there someone else inside ringing the bells?"

Kade smirked triumphantly. He knew the locals would find his little recreation amusing. Their whole society still operated like the Middle Ages, where everything was done by hand and mechanical creations had yet to be imagined.

Though their king seemed to want to change things. A year ago, when he'd finally gotten the hang of their language, he learned that the king offered villages extra funds if they were able to produce some sort of discovery for the betterment of the kingdom.

The three-story clock tower was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. Thanks to how fascinated the Terrans were with Kade, he made friends easily and convinced Capone to help him make the parts for the clock. The downside was that no one could read the time it displayed. He'd tried explaining it to Capone once before.

"I wake up when the sun is out, and sleep when it goes away. That's all the timekeeping I need." The Terran would say, and dismiss him.

Another thing about Terrans was that they were ridiculously strong. He hadn't expected them to be able to carry huge stones to build the base of the tower, let alone finish the design in less than four months. The longest part was putting together the clockwork pieces, which was completely up to Kade since he was the only one who had any idea what he was building.