Pendulum

by: Joey Mauro

Abe stroked his long white beard and looked lovingly at his latest piece of art as he finished putting the last screw into it. He KNEW it was art, after all. Nowadays, he thought, people didn't appreciate clock making. What he finished was a clock that may be seen at the top of a church or in the front of town hall, but this clock in particular would never see anything similar to those...it was just, another clock, and it would stay in Abe's house.

Abe was 85, he had been making and repairing clocks all his life, and he loved it. He had been making clocks at "Barnie Brother's Clocks" since he was 22. Every year, Abe's fellow employees seemed to be less and less enthusiastic about clock making; to them, it was just a job, and they treated it as if they were manufacturing potato chips or license plates. Abe would always be nostalgic, always looking back at the past hoping it would be that time again. He kept mostly to himself in his later years. He found it harder to get along with new people every year, plus, he really didn't like most of them anyway.

However, there was Stevie Donner. Stevie was a young kid, 25 years of age. Abe noticed Stevie's interest and love for clock making. Stevie reminded Abe of himself when he was younger. They had become very good friends, they would meet at Abe's house all the time and exchange stories while making a new personal peace.

Abe was still contemplating as he looked at his latest work. He thought for a long while, and decided he was going to tell Stevie something that was very important to him. He called Stevie on the phone and asked him to meet him at his house.

Stevie knew that whatever was going to happen was serious. He softly and nervously knocked on the door. Abe greeted him with joy as they sat down next to the new clock. "Now, Stevie", Abe whispered. "I have to tell you something that may sound a bit strange and unbelievable.". "Don't worry Abe, you can tell me", Stevie said with care and assertion. "Well", Abe said nervously, "I made a clock....that does something quite interesting, but I don't want to attempt to use it, unless I have someone with me. Someone who knows clocks.", "What, um....does it do?" Steve said with a bit of fear. "Here I'll show you" Abe had gotten up from his chair and lead him to the basement.

As Stevie walked down to the dank, unfurnished cellar, he began to see a grandfather clock. There it stood, it was at least 10 feet tall, and 4 feet wide. "Now look Stevie, I'm going to have to be blunt." Abe blurted out. "Please go ahead", said Stevie. "Okay....", he sighed, "I believe that this clock can travel to the past." Stevie immediately thought Abe was crazy. "uh...." Stevie stuttered. "Look, do you see the glass door in the clock with the pendulum inside it?" asked Abe. Stevie nodded. "All I ask" Abe said with innocence, "is that you and me go in that door.", "Alright, fine." Stevie said, he knew it would be the quickest way, to end all of this and go back home.

Abe had turned back the hands of the clock many times and climbed down from the ladder . Abe insisted that Stevie go though the door first. Once Stevie had done so, Abe cautiously shuffled in afterwards. Abe looked forward and shut the glass door. The glass door made a loud and an abrupt *click*. Before both Stevie's and Abe's eyes, the basement and everything outside of the clock seemed to burn away like film melting in front of a theater screen.

After a few moments, a new world began to fade into existence. It was a fully furnished room with a rug, couch, and numerous, beautiful clocks. Stevie was in complete awe. Suddenly he began to hear a voice, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?". Abe realized that, the voice was that of Orson Welles, from the radio show, The Shadow. He turned in excitement and noticed the big radio that the voice was coming from. The two had traveled back to the 1940s, Abe's favorite time during his life. Abe and Stevie both walked out of the clock. Abe was overjoyed, he could not believe what he had accomplished. Stevie began to join in on the excitement. Abe was in the same house he had been in when he was in his 20's. He admired the clocks, which were in brand-new states. He and Stevie looked at the surroundings and walked around the suburban town for hours, admiring all of the old-fashioned clocks that seemed to be everywhere. Then, Abe stopped and looked straight up.

It was the first clock he had ever worked on, it was the clock at the top of St. Conan's Church. He had worked on that clock with a team of men, and at the time he had never been more proud of anything else in all his life. He looked up at it for a very long time as tears built up in his eyes. Suddenly, the sky began to get dark, it was as if the darkest of rain clouds were covering the town. He saw a giant crack quickly move down the middle of the church. Abe and Stevie became very frightened. Cracks were beginning to start on the ground and on other buildings.

TICK.

Abe looked to his right, slowly but persistently, he saw a giant black pendulum swinging down from above the clouds.

TOCK.

He and Stevie were in a panic, it swung right passed them. A huge gape in the earth had opened up.

TICK.

Stevie had fallen in, he tried to grab the ledge, and missed. Abe saw him fade away into the hole.

TOCK

Abe lost his footing, fell back grabbed the ledge. He screamed in fear.

TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK.

"Hello, my name is Stephen Donner." Stevie said nervously, "Thank God, you're here. Maybe you can make some sense of this." said the nurse from behind the counter. Stevie and the nurse traveled down a brightly lit corridor. The nurse began, "This man was found ranting and yelling on a neighborhood street. We've had him here for the last few hours, he has been screaming your name in the middle of his ravings."

Stevie looked in the small window at the top of a door, inside he saw a padded room and the screaming man the nurse had been talking about. Steve was very shaken. He whispered, "That's Abe, a man I've been good friends with. He works with me at, Barnie Brother's Clocks....he hasn't been good at all lately, he would sometimes trail off and mutter incoherent words, here and there. I had thought he was developing Alzheimer's or some sort of schizophrenia".

"Well, thank you for coming down", the caring nurse said, "At least now we know who he is.", "It's no problem at all, I'm glad I could help. He was a good man."

Stevie walked back to his car and exhaled deeply, knowing he would never have his friend back.... but to Abe: They were still in 1940.