Timepiece (Hourglass 2)

I nodded.

Michael continued, “When you landed in the rip, the whole skeleton was there, and when you came out of the rip, you brought the leg bone with you.”

“Yes.” I dropped the leg bone on top of my shoes and shut my closet door. “This makes my head hurt.”

Em had been quiet. Michael leaned over, bumping her shoulder with his. “What are you thinking about? Because I know your brain’s going a thousand miles an hour.”

She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “The rips. They just keep getting stronger, changing. Suddenly, the people in them don’t see us, and now we can physically remove things. I’m just waiting for the past to overtake the present.”

“What about the future?” I frowned. “Everything we’ve seen so far has been from the past. No rips from the future.”

Michael didn’t answer.

“When’s the last time you saw a rip from the future, Michael?” Em hugged her knees more tightly to her chest.

“A while. Since the end of the summer. They started disappearing around the time the full scene rips showed up.”

“Around the time Jack started messing with the time lines,” I said.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Em said. “And it’s not very comforting to know that you don’t, either.”

“Jack is still doing damage to the continuum,” Michael said. “If I’m honest, I don’t think we have until Halloween to find him. I’m afraid the world won’t last that long.”

Chapter 17

If the world was in danger, it stood to reason that Lily and I had a lot of work to do.

Murphy’s Law was so full I’d had to wait for a seat at the bar. Everyone else had a laptop open in front of them, plugged into a power strip in the wall. I tried to look busy and important as I sent a few texts, but I only got dirty looks from people waiting for a seat.

“Not. Now.” Lily swung past me with a steaming coffeepot, and I pulled back just in time to avoid being smacked in the face with it. “My grandmother is in the kitchen.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know,” I said. “Where do you want me to go?”

Smiling, she topped off the cups of the people at the table closest to me, pouring with grace and precision. Obviously, she’d almost hit me because she wanted to.

“Clock tower steps. Twenty minutes. Get out.”

The stone clock tower served as the perfect testament to how far Ivy Springs had come. Connected to the old train station, it was now home to the chamber of commerce. It even had ivy climbing up the side. The clock hands moved via electricity rather than clockwork, leaving enough space that the top two floors could be rented for meetings or parties.

I sat down at the far left side of the steps and leaned back on my elbows.

Michael had made it very clear that we were running out of time. While he and Em continued to help my dad solve the riddle of the exotic matter formula, Dune and Nate would continue the computer and physical searches for any kind of records about Jack.

That left me to pair up with Lily.

“Kaleb?”

Nervous excitement. I opened my eyes to see the source. A blond girl I almost recognized. “Yeah?”

“I’m Macy?” She said it as if she weren’t sure herself. “We met downtown last summer? You let me drive your Jeep down Broadway.”

I’d let her park it, too.

“Macy.” If I leaned back another half an inch, I’d be able to see up her incredibly short skirt. Patting the space beside me, I grinned. “I remember.”

Her laugh reminded me of wind chimes. She lowered herself gracefully onto the step above me, grinning back and extending smooth, bare legs. “I’m shocked you remember anything about that night.”

“I remember watermelon lip gloss.” I winked and got the laugh again. “But I do not remember getting your number.”