A Short Story Collection

Acrylic Watch

His feet swung back and forth.

The grandfather clock's wooden case protruded from the wall and the glass panes reflected on his face.

Light shone slowly and dust hung in the air.

The man coughed and smiled. His whole body had slowed to a steady pulse and his lungs pumped air slowly.

He kicked off his shoes and relaxed. The man stared longingly around the room and then looked forward.

His keen eyes were examining a shattering vase hanging in midair. The small shards blossomed toward him. The man slowly blew the pieces and they sped into the wall.

Quickly, his feet began to start twitching and the shards ricochet into the thin drywall, smashing thickly plastered holes into his home. His eyes adjusted to the speeding light and he sat up tiredly. Linen began to drop in the empty space and he gazed at the dark glittering sky.

All was quiet, for a few seconds.

His watch twanged and he grunted in dissatisfaction.

He gazed outside his home. Squinting, the man saw tiny glittering jewels of light blasted his eyes and he began to cringe.

Wooden scratching lambasted his ears and he rubbed his forehead. Loud screeching led him to look at his watch and hoist it upward.

Smash! Wood splintered forth and the watch smattered across the wooden floor. The watch hung in the frowning creatures crystalline eyes, it swung they're and the hound-like creature slumped away with the watch.

The man gasped with relief and he patted the ringed astronaut suit. It looked back at him and the man gazed at his reflection. A smudged nametag held his name and a toolbelt around the suit's waist contained small metal tools.

He looked outside at the debris of the massive rocket that had brought him to the abode and wrung his hands. He was lucky to have had the watch.

He shuttered as he recalled what he had seen in the past hour. His friend had been ripped apart alive by the hound-like creature.

Another suit hung on the same rack. Near it was some large dark brown stains that splattered across the tiled floor.

The man looked down at the floor in a detached state. Sighing, he began to walk up the stairs.

The broken vase recollected itself and his feet shattered up the stairs. His friend slowly reformed and the door closed.

Bed sheets floated up in the air with invisible hands, and their suits, hanging from the rack, unwrinkled.

The man awoke from sweat and he looked at the tan mark that had been his watch.

The white hole that had brought them their whorled with mad anticipation, streaming strange creatures from other universes and other places.

Strange things crept in this alternate universe. But the scariest things came from the white hole.