(Elira POV)
I know what you are probably thinking right now.
It's just a clock tower. Why the hell would that be shocking?
And honestly? Normally, you would be right. A clock tower is just a clock tower. It stands there, tall and dramatic, pretending it's the center of the universe while pigeons treat it like a public toilet. Nothing special. Nothing shocking. Just a big piece of stone telling people they're late.
But here's the thing, baby.
This clock tower?
It was working. And that—trust me—was the shocking part.
That clock tower hadn't worked properly in years. Half the time it showed the wrong time, and the other half it just… didn't move at all. People joked that it had retired early but forgot to tell anyone.
For years that tower had been nothing more than decoration. A dead thing made of bricks and rusted gears. Everyone in the city knew it didn't work. Kids made jokes about it. Tourists took pictures with it like it was some historic relic. Even the birds didn't bother sitting on the hands anymore because they hadn't moved in forever.
Yet now, in a town where every single human being had turned into a statue, that clock was the only thing still moving.
So when I looked up at it that night, something felt… wrong.
My eyes narrowed slightly as I stared at the massive round clock face glowing faintly under the dim streetlights. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Maybe I was tired. Maybe the night air was messing with my brain. Maybe I needed sleep and a therapist.
But then I noticed the hands. They were moving. Slowly. Smoothly. Tick. Tick. Tick. I squinted harder.
"…No way," I muttered under my breath.
"Why is the clock the only thing working right now?"
The minute hand crept forward with quiet determination, like it had suddenly remembered it actually had a job. The hour hand followed obediently, doing its slow majestic glide like it had all the time in the world.
And the time displayed on the clock made my stomach twist slightly.
11:59.
One minute before midnight. One minute before a brand-new day. I leaned closer, still staring at the tower as if it might suddenly start laughing and say Gotcha!
Five seconds before midnight. I don't know why I kept staring. It's not like watching a clock reach midnight is some rare cosmic event. People do it every day. New Year's Eve, birthdays, random nights when they can't sleep.
But something about that moment felt… heavy. Like the air itself was holding its breath. The city around me was strangely quiet. The distant hum of traffic sounded softer. The wind barely moved the leaves. Even the stray dogs that usually barked all night seemed to have decided tonight was not the night for nonsense.
Three seconds. Two seconds. One second. And then the clock struck twelve.
TING.
The sound echoed through the night like someone had struck a giant bell inside my skull.
I flinched so hard I nearly fell off my skates. "OH COME ON!"
"I swear I just saw my ancestors waving at me," I muttered, rubbing my temple. "I did not survive sixteen years of emotional damage just to die from a clock tower!"
For a second I honestly thought I was hallucinating.
You know those moments when something weird happens and your brain just goes nope and shuts down for a few seconds?
Yeah. That. But then something else happened. And suddenly I saw red. Not blood. Before your imagination runs wild, relax. Nobody was dying dramatically in front of me. What I saw was in the sky.
Something… falling.
At first I thought they were shooting stars. That would've been the logical explanation. Meteor shower. Beautiful cosmic rocks burning in the atmosphere. Very poetic. Very Instagram-worthy. But the longer I stared, the more wrong it looked. They weren't tiny streaks of light.
They were bigger. Much bigger. And they weren't just glowing—they were burning.
Each one left a blazing trail behind it, like a rocket tearing through the sky. Long tails of fire painted the darkness crimson, turning the night into something that looked like the heavens themselves were bleeding.
Like the entire world had suddenly decided to become dramatic at the exact moment I turned sixteen.
"Okay," I whispered slowly. "That… is definitely not normal."
The sky looked like it was on fire. Like the sky was burning crimson.
The streaks weren't falling randomly either. They all seemed to be heading in roughly the same direction—far away from the crowded parts of the city. Somewhere beyond the edge of town where the land turned wild and empty.
Which meant, logically speaking, the correct reaction would have been to run in the opposite direction. Far. Far away. Preferably somewhere underground. Preferably with snacks. But instead…
I started running toward it. Yes. Toward it. Let's pause here for a moment so we can all acknowledge the obvious. This was an incredibly stupid decision. I knew it. My brain knew it. Every survival instinct inside me was screaming like an alarm, a siren.
"DANGER! FIRE! POSSIBLE DEATH!"
And yet…
My feet were already moving. Faster. Faster. Go ahead. Judge me. I deserve it.
"I know, I know," I muttered while pushing off with my skates. "Congratulations, Elira. You officially qualify as an idiot."
Seriously. Something mysterious and possibly dangerous is falling from the sky like fiery doom…
And what does my brilliant heart decide to do? Let's go check it out. Genius. Absolute genius.
Now, before you judge me too harshly for skating directly toward a flaming object falling from the sky…
Let me explain something. There was a pull. A strange feeling deep inside my chest. Like something invisible was tugging on my heart. Calling me. Pulling me closer. My mind was screaming at me to stop. My heart was yelling the exact opposite.
And naturally, those two started arguing. Inside my head. AGAIN!
"…Okay that's creepy," I muttered.
My mind immediately started screaming warnings. Loud ones.
Mind: Danger detected. Unknown fiery objects falling from the sky. Suggestion: run away immediately.
Heart: Oooooo shiny.
Mind: That is not a valid reason.
Heart: But what if it's cool?
Mind: IT IS LITERALLY ON FIRE.
Heart: Details.
Mind: "DON'T GO THERE."
Heart: "Go."
Mind: "That thing is literally on fire."
Heart: "Still go."
Mind: "You will burn alive."
Heart: "Worth it."
Mind: "ARE YOU INSANE?!"
Heart: "Adventure!"
Meanwhile I was stuck in the middle of this ridiculous debate.
"Okay," I muttered while skating faster. "Can we all calm down for a second?"
The argument inside my head continued.
Mind: "Listen to me for once in your life."
Heart: "No."
Mind: "You will regret this."
Heart: "Maybe."
Mind: "Definitely."
Heart: "Still going."
I sighed. "Great."
Then I waved a hand in the air dramatically. "Both of you shut up."
Mind crossed its imaginary arms angrily. Heart just laughed and did a little victory dance.
Yes. My brain had officially turned into a full theater production.
Mind stomped away grumbling. Heart high-fived… something. Meanwhile I kept skating like an idiot toward the giant flaming mystery falling from the sky.
Now you might ask why I didn't just listen to my mind.
That would've been the logical choice. The smart choice. The survival choice. But there was a small problem.
Curiosity.
And curiosity is a dangerous thing. You know the saying. Curiosity killed the cat. But you know what they don't say? Sometimes curiosity also saves the cat. Or at least gives the cat a very interesting story.
And honestly?
If I didn't follow that curiosity…
My brain would've spent the rest of my life replaying this moment.
"What if?"
"What if?"
"What if?"
And trust me—overthinking is far more dangerous than a flaming mystery rock.
So yes. I followed the pull.
The wind grew stronger as I left the busy streets behind. Soon the buildings thinned out. Then disappeared entirely. The road led toward the cliffs outside town.
The crimson light in the sky grew brighter. And brighter. And brighter. Until the entire horizon glowed like the sunset had decided to happen at midnight.
I was just near the place those burning things were falling.
Mind: Turn around.
Heart: Keep going.
Mind: You could literally burn to death.
Heart: But what if something amazing is there?
Mind: Amazing things do not fall from the sky like flaming death.
Heart: You don't know that.
I groaned out loud. "Oh my God, shut up both of you," I said, waving my hand like I could physically dismiss them.
Mind crossed its imaginary arms. Heart stuck its imaginary tongue out.
Meanwhile my skateboard kept rolling forward.
Because apparently my body had already chosen a side in this argument. And spoiler alert—it wasn't the logical one.
The wind rushed past my face as I sped through the quiet streets. Streetlights flashed by in glowing lines. My wheels hummed against the pavement, the familiar sound strangely comforting in the middle of all this cosmic weirdness.
The city slowly faded behind me as I followed the direction of the burning streaks. Buildings grew smaller. Roads became emptier. The air felt colder out here, like the night was deeper beyond the lights of civilization.
Above me the crimson trails were fading, but their direction was still clear. And I was getting closer.
My heart started beating faster. Not from skating. From anticipation.
Pull: Come.
Mind: Absolutely not.
Pull: Come closer.
Mind: We are going to die.
Me: "If I die, I'm haunting both of you."
I was just a few meters away. I could feel those burning crimson near. For the first time since this whole thing started…
I hesitated.
"…Okay," I whispered nervously. "Last chance to turn around."
Mind immediately jumped in.
Mind: YES. LET'S DO THAT.
Heart leaned forward excitedly.
Heart: Or we could go look.
Pull: Closer.
I sighed. "Yeah… I knew you were going to say that."
So I stepped forward. One step. Then another. The strange glow grew brighter with every step. The shadows of the trees stretched across the ground like long fingers pointing toward whatever had landed here.
My breathing slowed. My senses sharpened.
And then…
I reached the place where the crimson fire had fallen.
And the moment I saw what was there—
My jaw dropped.
My eyes widened so much they probably looked like they were trying to escape my face.
Every single thought inside my brain evaporated instantly.
Shock slammed into me like a truck.
My senses packed their bags and left the building.
Bye-bye common sense. Bye-bye sanity. We had a good run.
But apparently tonight was the night everything changed.