A Pocket Watch (Time Stop)

Flipping open the lid, a small shimmer strikes her eye as the light bounces off a small pocket watch. Picking it up by the chain, Eliza’s caught off guard by the weight of the whole thing. It’s heavier then she would have thought being so small. The chain and cover of the watch is gold plated, and because of the weight, Eliza’s pretty sure that it’s actual gold. Eliza wonders why her grandparents would keep something so valuable locked up in their attic rather then in their safe. It’s not like it was well hidden, nor was it hard to get into as she had opened it with a simple hammer. Eliza examined the watch further.

The cover was indented with what Eliza could only describe as a runic symbol. Glossing over it, Eliza clicks the top button, opening the watch. Looking at the face, she’s surprised to find that it’s still ticking away. Everything up here had a thick layer of dust on it, so for this pocket watch to still have juice in it is remarkable. It did show its age, as the glass inside was scuffed up, though it was still completely usable.

There were two elegant looking hands that told the time. The hands pointed towards Roman numerals rather than numbers, making it slightly harder for Eliza to read. Though, Eliza notices something that confuses her. In the middle was four small boxed 0’s, separated into pairs like a digital clock would be. Was this a hybrid watch or something?

Remembering back, Eliza remembered fiddling with a watch like this before. Pulling the little button on top would allow you to change the time. Interested if the mechanism still worked, Eliza did just that. The tab extended outward with a satisfying clicking noise. Eliza spun the little button, only to find that the hands didn’t move. What did move was the four numbers in the middle. With her small twist, the last two numbers went up to 25. Curious about the change, she reclicks the tab back in to see what would happen. She watched as the number began to count down, the numbers spinning similar to a odometer in a car. A stopwatch? Eliza thought to herself, it seeming out of place with the age of the device.

Thinking not much of it, she places the watch into her pocket. Eliza figures she’ll see if her grandparents still wanted it, though the thought of selling it was pretty tempting. While lost in thought, Eliza bumps into a pile of boxes that she placed near the door. Cursing herself, she instinctively reaches to catch the falling box. It falls for a second, but then...stops. Eliza can’t believe her eyes, she must be seeing things. The box still floating in air, frozen in mid fall. Cocking her head to the side, she pokes the box. It moves with ease, only to freeze again once she pulls away.

“What the fuc-EEK” Eliza yelps as the box crashes to the ground, the sound of multiple glass objects shattering. She stares blankly at the box, wondering what she just witnessed. After a few moments a thought pops into Eliza’s head. Bringing out the watch, she opens the lid. It seems normal, as everything was back to how she originally found it. Eliza ponders for a moment. It couldn’t have been the watch...could it? Only one way to find out.

Pulling the tab, she turns it so the middle numbers show 60, then presses it back in. The numbers spin down like before, but this time she notices something she missed before, a faint glow on her fingers. Closing the watch, she gawks at the face for a few seconds, not sure at what she’s looking at right now. The runic symbol on the face was glowing a soft white light. She stared in awe for a few seconds, before she remembered that she was trying to test something.

Eliza digs through her other pocket and brings out her wallet. Holding her hand out, she drops it. It falls for only a moment before freezing in the air like the box before. Eliza’s mouth is gaped open as she watches the marvel in front of her. Looking back at the watch, she opens it, watching the middle numbers count down to 0. Once it does, the wallet instantly gets its momentum back, flopping onto the ground. Eliza couldn’t believe it, she had found a watch that could stop time. The possibilities flew through her mind, though her mind stopped on one specific thought. Eliza knew exactly what she was going to do with her newfound power.