A/N:
I usually write in present tense, but because Sanji is only 10 years old at the moment, I figured past tense might make more sense. Please let me know if you catch present tense verbs that shouldn't be there. I have to admit this past tense thing is a little awkward for me.
Also, give me a shout if you do decide to write a story this month. I'm binge-writing to fend off anxiety, but it can still get lonely sometimes.
The Time Chamber 2
Sanji was falling. At least that was what he thought he was doing because blurry patches of black and gold were moving upward all around him. It reminded him of that story of a girl falling down a rabbit hole, where she falls for such a long time that she finishes reading a book before reaching the bottom. Sanji would rather not fall for that long regardless of whether he had a book to read. In fact, he would much rather not have an adventure down an unknown pit. He was happy being in that dark stuffy closet all by himself. Just him, the pile of clothes, and his furious mind thinking about the old geezer.
As soon as the thought came to pass, Sanji stumbled into what felt like another pile of clothes. It took him a couple of seconds to figure out which way was up and to untangle his limbs. When he sat up, he found himself back in the closet. The back wall was no longer glowing, and it was dark again save for the stream of light through the gap on the folding door. He barely let out a sigh of relief for coming back to a familiar place when he realized that something was still not right. Sanji may not be the most observant kid around, but he clearly remembered seeing the light stream fade before finding the glowing patch on the wall. The sun must have set by now, even if he hadn't just seen it happen with his own eyes.
Sanji stood up and straightened his clothes before opening the folding door. The glare from the red setting sun blinded him momentarily. He raised a hand to shield his exposed eye and soon noticed that the watch on his wrist was no longer ticking. He stared dumbly at the watch for a few seconds, waiting for the second hand to start moving again. When nothing happened, he gave the wrist a shake and brought the watch to his ear. Zeff had changed the battery for him a few weeks ago. Maybe it was broken this time? He crossed the room to open his desk drawer beside the window to find a spare button cell battery, but the lack of sound from beyond the window drew his attention from the desk.
The street outside was jammed with cars as usual, or at least it looked that way at first until Sanji opened the window to get a better look. None of the cars were moving. Well OK, they wouldn't usually move during a traffic jam at this hour anyway, but not even that one car in the middle of a left turn at the intersection was moving. There was no noise from any of their motors, no smoke from the exhaust pipes, and absolutely no honking of impatience. In fact, there was no noise from anything outside this window, not even the wind or the ocean waves that could be heard in the middle of the night when nothing else moved. Sanji tilted his head to look out to either side and found birds and tree leaves seemingly frozen in midair. He poked his head out of the window frame and squinted at the car windows below. They were all empty.
Sanji gasped and backed off from the window until his back hit his desk. His heart pounded in his chest, and fear gripped his stomach. He needed to find Zeff, their current fight be damned. He needed the shitty old man to explain to him what was going on. He needed to hear from his father that everything was fine.