The town clock had never lied, until today.
At noon, its iron hands paused. The pigeons scattered. Then, with a deep, metallic groan, it chimed once… twice… thrice… all the way to thirteen.
People froze. Dogs howled. In the silence after, no one moved.
Mrs. Ellory whispered, “It’s back.”
Beneath the clock tower, the stones trembled. A hairline crack split the earth, and something ancient stirred below.
Tommy, watching from his bedroom window, felt the pull. Not fear. Curiosity.
He took a step forward.
One more chime echoed.
Somewhere, unseen, a door opened that was never meant to