To the East

The sun rose again, despite Williams best efforts. William was absolutely certain that last night would be his final one, and prayed that today would be. To the east. The Locket was speaking to him again. No, not speaking. Commanding. Sure, you could resist. Walk west. Before you know it, the sun is at your back as the stars begin to wake. William couldn’t remember the last time he tried to resist the commands. It terrified him. Not in a pulse pounding fight or flight kind of way in books or movies, it was a like a cold spike inserted itself into the bottom of his stomach. It’ll fade. He knew his weak attempt to convince himself that the fear would leave him was a mere hope. He was beginning to lose the ability to distinguish his own thoughts from the command of the locket. Was he losing himself? Or was he becoming like the Locket? It was innocent looking. A heart shaped casing hiding tumblers, springs, and perhaps something sinister. As he made his way eastward his mind went elsewhere. That was probably the only good thing about the situation. He could be on autopilot all day, although eventually he would feel the strain. He No longer felt pain or hunger. Not that his mortal body would sustain itself, he was commanded to eat whatever was near when the Locket deemed it lunchtime using some inexplicable method of telling time. Can it see what I see? Can it hear my thoughts? You have to tell me if you can hear my thoughts, otherwise it’s entrapment. William chuckled to himself. No. I am not losing myself. I will get out of this. The fear melted like ice, giving way to a smile.

William didn’t know how far he had come, but he had a pretty good idea. He knew the United States was about Two thousand five hundred miles to about Three thousand miles or more, depending on the part of the coast you start counting from. He has started in Oregon, crossed the Rocky Mountains, crossed the plains, and had finally crossed the Appalachian Mountains. He wasn’t sure if that last one was a week or a day ago. He had lost time while being controlled. Not just days or weeks, he had lost months, if not more. He lamented not being able to search it the way he could look up facts when the inter-. He heard it before he saw it. He lifted his eyes met a pair of red glowing orbs in the shadow of a nearby building. A low growl rattled his bones as the air grew colder.

He was able to stop, which was bad, since the locket was acknowledging this as a real threat. William recalled all of his training he needed to get his yellow belt when he was 7, but this did not console him. He wanted to say something, anything, but his voice was caught in his throat. A moment elongated into a minute and then he lost track of time, something he was starting to get used to. The tension began to ease for some reason. The shadow was no longer glaring at him, maybe it never was. He could feel something unseen struggle, and suddenly, the shadow was gone. He started to wonder if the locket had protected him, but his thanks was soon replaced with annoyance as the locket reiterated its daily command. To the east. Something clicked. William finally noticed a pattern. The locket needed to reissue commands once it relinquished control. And when it was fighting the shadow earlier the lockets presence was only faint to William. He strained will all of his might for some control of himself. The Locket reacted by changing to an Arctic cold while still around his neck. Is this cold in my head? I don’t know what anyone could do about a frostbitten chest. Last rites, I guess. He willed himself to grab the locket. Besides eating, this was the first willful thing William had done with his hands in a long time.

The cold bit at his hand as he held it. He contemplated how he was going to get home. He really didn’t want to walk, and monsters suddenly becoming real put quite the strain on the travel infrastructure. He couldn’t celebrate just yet. He still had to break all the way free. He took the key from his pocket, almost shocked that he still had it. Then he remembered he just saw a shadow come to life and his suspension of disbelief was made real. He inserted the key and the locket opened. His eyes went wide.

For the second time in his life, his world was irrevocably changed.