Necromancer For Hire- Arc 3

Arc 3, Chapter 7

The Tertiary

Once again, Umbra was standing in that same wretched spot on the mall's carpet.

"What is this? Some kind of sick joke?!" Umbra gasped, rubbing his chest. His breathing had sped up exponentially, and he was sweating more than ever. Strangely, his armpits and back were previously dry- there was no evidence of prior sweating from his other experiences. He truly seemed to be starting anew everytime he found himself in this place.
The only thing that seemed to stick was the ever-growing rash on his skin.

Brushing past his shoulder, Umbra saw the woman he had heckled the first time he had done this.

Will she remember me? Umbra thought, heart pounding.

"Excuse me," Umbra whispered, touching his shoulder. His voice was hushed with stress, cracking in tone at several points. When she turned to meet his gaze, he searched for any sign of recognition in her eyes. "Can you t-tell me the...time?"

She drew away from him, focused on the red hives that covered the entirety of his arms and neck. "It's, um, ten thirty, sir."

How is it possible for it to be ten thirty a.m. three times in one day?! Umbra bit his lip, backing away from the woman. There's something seriously wrong with this place. I gotta get out of here!

Umbra took off running, shoving past the scarce shoppers and out the door. He sprinted blindly into the road, desperate to escape whatever supernatural force had him in its clutches.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, a tractor-trailer truck also chose to speed down that same street.

It happened very, very quickly.

-----

Predictably, Umbra was in the middle of the mall again.

He took a deep breath, attempting to sooth his frayed nerves.

Okay, so I died, right? He rubbed his chin, stumbling to a nearby couch and flopping onto it. It seems these...repeats...are caused by my death every time. The first two times some kind of allergic reaction killed me. They seemed to both be within the same time frame- around fifteen minutes.

He ran his hands down his face, sighing. Images from his previous 'repeat' flashed in his mind. Jumping into traffic perhaps wasn't my greatest idea. I've been very rash these last few...experiences? I need to calmly deal with this problem, panicking will only make this worse.

He pulled out his phone, clicking through his apps until he came upon the stopwatch. He set the timer for fifteen minutes and silently watched the seconds tick down.

Now I'll have at least a time frame of when my next 'attack' will happen. I want to be prepared. Umbra stood up, dusting off his vest. I might as well take a walk before I violently suffocate and die.

He placed his arms behind his back, phone still in hand, and calmly rode the escalator to the next floor, the one that held the various restaurants and cafes. The pleasant smells of food and drinks hit his nose, causing a smile to arise.

Now that he had accepted the fact that he was being forced to repeat the same fifteen minutes and die graphically every time, he felt a lot better than he had earlier.

"Yo, Umbra!" Umbra stopped in his tracks at the calling of his name. He turned around, mind racking for the source of the voice.

A tall, eerily familiar man was causually making his way towards Umbra, a gentle smile on his face and his hands in his pockets.

The stranger had vivid blue hair that was spiked to opposite direction of Umbra's. He wore a red and blue flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and plain denim jeans. At least three watches each were attached to his wrists, while one large clock implanted in leather served as a choker.

As he came closer, his eyes took Umbra's breath away. They were a constant, swirling kaleidoscope of blues, purples, pinks, and yellows, all meshing together in an otherworldly, mesmerizing pattern.

"Hey, hey!" He called happily, raising up a hand. "Call me Time!"

Authors note: and he arrives.