ENOCH (But the Clock is Jammed)

Classification: Pre-Canon-to-RESTART, Canon-to-RESTART, Pre-Canon-to-Original-OFF, Non-Canonical-to-Original-OFF

Time Frame: ? ? ?

Location: Not in RESTART

RATED: M

WARNING: Contains graphic murder, high mental instability, depictions of self-harm, and heavy 'drug' abuse. Reader Discretion is HIGHLY Advised.

You made your choices, Enoch. Grief is a horrible beast, isn't he? The maze he led you through is at its end, but the events will continue forever.

Once upon a time, just after the zones had come into existence, there was a man. He, along with his family, lived in the industrial area of zone 3. The man was the proud father of his daughter and his son, the lights of his life. Both children were brilliant minds at merchantry, just like their father. He desired nothing more than to stay like that forever, happy.

"Who are you?"

Then there was the accident and everything went wrong. A worker in the factory brought word to the man that his daughter and another worker had been in an accident. When he arrived, his daughter was alive, but horribly scarred. The worker had died. The man and his son spent days nursing the daughter back to health, watching for her to wake from the dark sleep that had her mind.

"What are you talking about? How do you know about that?!"

Then one day, the daughter woke and the man and his son rejoiced. The family was reunited, but the man felt guilt every time he saw the scars roping his daughter's skin. He felt he should have been there for her. Deep in his self-loathing, the man did not notice. The son, now that the sister was injured, had to take up the merchantry work for the both of them, and went out to other zones to sell. Busy with his work, the son did not notice. The daughter, trapped in her own skin, wandered the factory with glazed eyes. So intent on her goal, she noticed.

The worker who had burned, had burned sweet. It had tasted like pure sun and joy and she wanted more. So she went around, looking for the sweet powder the worker had become. She could not find any, so she thought 'If the worker burned, and the sweet came, then if I burn another…' And so she did. She burned one, and gorged herself on the sweet powder. Then she burned another, and another and another. With each one she ate, she took their head and put it on a string and giggled. Such pretty puppets they were.

"Be quiet! You know nothing about what happened!"

The man noticed. He saw his daughter descending the steps of sanity, and he had to make a choice. He chose to do nothing, happy his daughter could still laugh, even if it was induced. After all, she was happy, so it was good. It was the wrong decision and one day, the daughter lost her mind.

And then the man had to make another decision. So he did.

"Stop. Just stop!"

.

.

.

Enoch stood at the door to the furnace room, listening to Sucrose's giggles. "He he hee! So nummy :-)!" A rustling of movement. "You make such pretty puppets ;-)." Enoch pushed the door open, and stopped.

The room was filled with Elsen. Unmoving Elsen, with empty eyes, piled up like blankets. Sucrose was sitting by the furnace, tossing them in. She giggled, rolling her head back to look at the giant man. "Hi Daddy! I'm making the sweet powder! :-* It's so yummy!" Enoch flinched at her smile.

"I said stop now! You don't know this! No one knows this!"

Sucrose scooped up a handful of the powder, pouring it into her mouth and licking her lips. "Sucrose." Enoch had to pause. He didn't know how to continue. "You need to stop." Sucrose froze in the middle of licking her hands. "This is making you sick."

She lowered her hands, facing away from Enoch. "…stop? Why would I stop? o.o" She stood up swiftly, turning to face her father with a wide grin, her cheek circles stretched. "I won't stop! You can't make me!" Enoch saw what was in her hand a moment too late, and he rushed to grab her. Sucrose tossed the burning arm into the pile of Elsen, and the room went up in flame. Sickly sweet smoke filled the room, stinging his eyes. Tears streamed down his face as he fought to see, searching for his daughter.

"Stop! I'll make you stop!"

"All the sweets, all for me! On a beautiful day :-)." She spun around in the rising flames, arms spread without a care. Enoch grabbed for her, missing. "I'm ignoring…why everything's so frightening…" He grabbed again, missing. The flames burned his hands.

"Sucrose!" Enoch roared, as she danced her way into the fire. He lost sight of her as the flames grew, and her giggling grew fainter and fainter. "Sucrose!" Enoch stumbled back from the flames, unable to move forward and unable to hear Sucrose anymore. Faltering in his steps, Enoch made his way outside, and watched the flames engulf the factory, Sucrose still inside.

"I WON'T HEAR IT! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

Enoch had left his daughter to die.

Falling to his knees, Enoch sobbed. How awful. How wretched. He left his daughter to die. He caused this. He could have stopped her early on. This was all his fault. Deep within his grief, long after the fire was extinguished and the substance—sugar, he would call it, after her—was gathered up, did Enoch realize Zacharie had never come home. He sent messages out to all the zones, but no one had seen him.

And so Enoch lost both his children. Sitting in his office, Enoch looked at himself in the reflection of the window. Raising his hand to his cheek, he traced the red circles he shared with his children. He didn't deserve them. He didn't deserve to share that trait with his children.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

And so Enoch carved them out of his face, blood pouring down and staining his white dress shirt a dark red. It kept getting darker as he bled, until no longer was his shirt red, but black. Placing his tongue through the gaping holes in his cheeks, Enoch sobbed. He wanted Sucrose. He wanted Zacharie.

"no no no no no no no"

He was such a failure as a father. He was worthless, scum. He was trash, who didn't deserve his wonderful children. Sitting there in the quiet office, his blood plinking on the cold floor, Enoch broke. He had made the right decision.

"it's over never happened over can't happen again"

So why was it more painful than his wrong one?

Not really anything to say here, huh? It's just generally kinda messed up. Whoops. Anywho, let me know your thoughts. I find them interesting.