Tempus White's Arc

Chapter 1 of 8

Tempus White pressed his pink eyes shut and traced the worn edge of his pocket watch with one claw. The brass felt cold, familiar, wrong. This was not the timepiece he needed. Somewhere in this twisted carnival world called Demented Dreamland, the legendary watch stolen from his family's vault was ticking. His grandfather's masterpiece. The one that could bend moments like light through glass. He opened his eyes and stepped onto the cracked pavement. Rain had started to fall, turning the street slick and dark. His boots splashed through shallow puddles as he moved toward the notice board ahead. The wood was warped and peeling, covered in handwritten papers that flapped in the wind. Shattered glass crunched under his feet. He pulled a folded notice from his vest pocket and pinned it to the board with a rusty tack. The paper read: "Information wanted about stolen timepiece. Gold casing. Three hands. Reward offered." Someone in this broken place had to know something. Someone always did. Tempus scanned the other notices pinned to the board. Most were faded, torn at the edges. One caught his eye—a crude map sketched in pencil with an arrow pointing to what looked like stairs going down. The words "old station below" were scrawled beneath it. He pulled the paper free and studied it. The stolen watch had changed hands many times over the decades. Dealers and thieves used hidden places to make their trades. Underground spaces were perfect for that. He folded the map and tucked it into his vest. The subway entrance marked on the paper was only a few blocks away. If the legendary timepiece had passed through Demented Dreamland, someone in those forgotten tunnels would remember it. The rain came down harder as Tempus walked. Water streamed off his ears and soaked through his vest. He found the subway entrance where the map said it would be. Dark indigo stone framed the doorway. The glass doors were broken, held shut by a thick chain. Magenta and gold light glowed from somewhere deep inside. He wrapped his claws around the chain and pulled. The metal snapped. The doors swung open with a groan. Stairs led down into darkness. Tempus checked his pocket watch one more time, then stepped inside. The hunt had begun.