chronometer

recollect

A/N: So I decided for the banner at the top I'll post the song I was listening to while writing this. I can't promise that they'll have any relation to the chapter itself because this one definitely didn't LOL

I apologize for my absence as well these past few days, long story short I've spent a LOT of time in a hospital forty-five minutes away (not for me) and my car also tried to kill me. I'm verrrrrry groggy.

Enjoy!

Believe it or not, I needed more time. As soon as I left the restaurant I bought more clothes, a car and most importantly-- a gun. This had left me with approximately thirty years, and that wasn't enough to keep me going in Houston for long. A terrible panic settled into the pit of my stomach quickly. I needed to put my mind to use right away to figure out how in the world I would find more time. I couldn't rob a bank on my own, and I certainly couldn't kill anyone. It was late day by now, night was beginning to fall and reality was crushing me like an enormous weight. What in the hell was I thinking coming here alone? I couldn't change anything by myself, and I had really screwed up by telling mom that. I'll probably die before I even make a dent. Is this the false power people felt when they had a lot of time on their hands?

I duck into an alley and lean against a brick wall to breathe. I need a second to think before I really begin to lose my mind. I had made some kind of accomplishment today, and that was getting info on one of the richest families in the timezones. They are having a party tomorrow night, so their address is mine. They have a lot of bodyguards for their (unfortunately) stunning son, which meant that there were probably a hundred times as many at the mansion. I wasn't sure what I would do with that information quite yet, but it was enough to flex with.

There's a shuffling next to me followed by a 'thump', and my eyes follow the sound. Dread is creeps into my veins as I look for the source of the noise. Suddenly, my gaze falls on a male face-down at the end of the alley. My first thought is to run as far as I can and never come back, but curiosity gets the best of me. I walk as light on my feet as possible over to the person before I'm standing right over them. They do not move. I look around suspiciously again, afraid my life's in danger. My hand brushes against the weapon concealed in my pants, fingers locking around the grip panel. I reach down and turn their arm over.

[00:00:00:00:00:00:00]

With both arms, I turn them over completely. The person is male, seemingly my age. He is dressed like he's from here, and my suspicion rises. He's dead, so I reach down to sift through his pockets to find the cause. In one pocket, my hand bumps someone cylindrical and thin. I pause to pull it out. A needle. My eyes roll, and all guilt about this person's death washes away. I toss it to the side, looking through the other pocket. This time, I run into something much larger and metallic. It slides out easily with my tight grasp and I feel like I'm going to black out the moment I look at it. It's a time capsule, a portable bank of time. Much like the things they called 'credit cards' way back when. Whatever it is, it's hope for me.

I slowly turn it over to read the timestamp on it, throwing a million prayers through my mind.

This time, I do black out for a good twenty seconds.

I'm not sure if I really passed out or not, but I forget what happened when I read the numbers across the digital screen. All I remember is thinking that this man's death is really unfortunate but a blessing for me. I press my wrist against the reader, distributing all one thousand years to me. All at once I feel my world rebuild around me. Stress dissipates into nothingness, I can finally breathe in fresh air and I'm able to re-analyze my situation. I do not have to worry about time for a while permitting that I am smart. I try terribly hard not to feel resentment towards myself for taking from this man, but he is dead. He had an empty needle in his pocket. His intentions couldn't have been any more clear.