Inspect the Locket

You had given a story to your friends about how you given their attacker the slip and dragged them to the car, though it did little to lessen their concern. “Marcus is bleeding,” Tina said, pressing a towel to your friend’s scalp. “What the fuck are we going to do about this? What if she comes to our homes?”

“She doesn’t know who we are,” you replied, pulling up in Marcus driveway. Once you parked, you turned to inspect your friend. “You ok man?”

Marcus winced, but offered a thumbs up. “I’ll live, but Tina’s right. We need to be careful,” he pushed out a breath, “that bitch killed people! She woulda killed us too, no question!”

You nodded. “Yeah, but we knew these people were dangerous,” you rubbed your face, feeling exhausted. “Look, let’s take you to a doctor, yeah? We’ll tell them you fell down or something.”

They both agreed to that and a half hour later you were sat in the waiting room while Marcus got seven stitches across his head. Tina had paced about, her eyes wary about every person who entered the clinic, but you were calm. You had a name to follow up on, ‘Mr X,’ and you had the locket.

On instinct you reached into your pocket and took it out. Using your jacket you conceal it, you gave it a quick examination. It was small, but within the gold and silver were inscriptions marked in vivid detail. The gem that sat within it shone like a blood ruby, occasionally changing to purple, green, or blue depending on the light.

It seemed in that one moment that the locket was the only thing in the world and a wave of vertigo smashed over you. The ring began to burn on your hand and when you tore your gaze away, the strangest thing happened. Everything and everyone in the clinic were frozen in place. Tina was mid stride in her pacing, her expression frozen into an awkward half-scowl. The nurse at the reception had paused while bringing her phone down, while two other people waiting a few seats away sat with their mouths open, speaking a conversation that had stilled. When you looked up, you saw that the clock was fixed in place.

But then your ring and the locket began to glow.

Tina began to move again, though this time in a strange backwards walk. Everything sped up, but in reverse. Soon everything became a strange blur of colour and light as the world around you began to shift and morph. Your nose began to bleed, your head aching. The two artefacts burning like tiny suns in your hands.

Things came to a halt and you found yourself standing in a clinic, much changed from the one you knew. People were sat in different chairs, a different nurse in a different uniform sat at the reception. You felt your mouth drop when you looked up at the strange, old fashioned tv mounted on the wall. A news report was playing, and on it the two anchors were discussing….live footage of the Berlin Wall coming down.

“What the…” your whole body trembled. “This can’t be real.”

“ I know, pretty crazy,” a woman came to stand beside you, looking up at the tv while nursing a coffee. “Strange times we’re living in, but the wall’s finally coming down.”

You stared at her, then back at the tv. Thoughts wouldn’t come, your mind felt like it was stuck in molasses. After several moments of silence you managed to find some words, though your voice came out strained. “Weird question but…what year is it, exactly?”

The woman stared at you in total confusion. “Ahhh is this a trick question? It’s 1989.”

You stared at the locket in your hand, its glow now dimmed. Well, fuck…