Stay ~TicciWork~

Chapter 7: Ann.

Clockwork jumped at the noise. The piercing scream still echoing and the sudden stir in the house below. Toby and Clockwork took care in getting down to the ground and running into the house. They were both unarmed and were unprepared for any sort of battle. Clockwork felt a tickling sensation at her ankles and looked down, black swirling shadows etched up her legs before a sudden burning took over the tickling sensation. She screamed out and she dropped to her hands and knees on the ground. As she regained herself she quickly found her face to collide with the wooden floors harshly, her legs pulled back as she was shoved against the kitchen counter. What being had the power to manipulate shadows? Certainly not one Clockwork knew about. She out stretched her arms in search of something she could grip and protect herself but she came to no prevail.
She heard a shout and a whimper as a limping husky came to her side in aid. She recognised him as SmileDog, the beloved hound of Jeff. The old dog was coated in a sticky layer of what looked like blood and fur was burned off his hind legs, revealing burned scars over his paws.

Clockwork felt as though time had become suddenly very slow. Everything slowed down around her and she could pull herself off the ground. Everything was slowing, so painfully slowly, falling to a completely stop. And then she saw her. A lady wearing a rust coloured leather jacket with black shorts layer over a pair of fish net tights and a pair of sneakers on each foot. Her hair was a deep burgundy and small areas of her face revealed the muscle and bone beneath. The areas were small and very nauseating. The girl could have only been sixteen, one part of her lip split so at that her teeth could be seen through the area. She looked like a mess, a pocket watch in hand and a smile etched into her face as she began to walk forward, her eyes glistening blue.
"Give it up....Clockwork. You're time is up." The sentence the girl before her spoke caused memories to flood back into Clockworks mind. She felt like screaming yet couldn't find it in her. She felt her stomach twist as the girl before her's face twisted into a sadist grin, etched upon a distorted face. Her laugh echoed so loudly and continued to ring in her ears for what seemed like minutes.

Clockwork turned her head to see Smile as he violently trashed against multiple ball shadows ripping at his back legs. Clockwork dragged her suddenly tired and lazy eyes up to see Toby, Masky and what seemed to be Ann fending back against one girl.
Clockwork screamed out as she witnessed it, the moment that changed the whole game. A female, with black hair and a straight cut fringe which cascaded over her eyes making them practically invisible, ran towards the trio before her and the scream was deafening.

"ANN!" Someone screamed out as time seemed to return to normal.

Clockwork felt a sudden determination deep within herself. She lunge forward, swiping a knife from the kitchen table and sprinting towards the raven haired girl who turned to her with mock shock upon her lips. Clockwork drove the knife into the girls chest and a smile dotted over her lips as she turned to a black shadow and practically melted into the ebony coloured floor. The enemies fled and left them all wounded or in the case of the nurse Ann, the lady who had helped clockwork with recovering, deceased.