[IC] Out of Time (BethHarrisonxPyroman)

[Beth Harrison]

The floor underneath of her feet pitched forward and back and for more than a few seconds, Beth was fully convinced she was going to faint. Beth never fainted, she had a stronger stomach than most due to the long hours she spent working as an EMT. It was a part time gig that paid the bills, and gave her the constitution of a bear. Yet here she was, feeling her stomach go through an entire cartwheel before it settled back into place, and she really did lose her lunch in an opportunely placed wastebasket.

Gripping the edge of the chaise lounge that held the focal point in her small bedroom, she looked down at the golden watch that was nestled in the palm of her small, pale hand. The front covering was etched with an old fashioned looking globe, there was a name for it that she couldn't remember, but it was the inside that was truly unique. On first impressions, it appeared to be simply an old fashioned pocket watch with the gears visible as on so many other vintage watches. Oh sure, there were the typical markings for hour, minute and second, but there were two additional settings. The first was numbered one through twelve, much like the hour markings. One the second rung the numbers one through thirty one were just barely able to be made out. Upon further inspection, it became apparent that the second hand was bi-layered, and the second layer could be manipulated by a separate knob on the apex of the watch. Two other gears held smaller markings that it would take a magnifying glass to discern. Beth had been fiddling with it moments ago, trying to figure out the extra features and what they could have possibly been used for. Moments ago before she had felt her entire body shatter into a million pieces only to be reassembled on some dirty sidewalk where she had nearly been trampled by a man driving a buggy lead by two large horses. it was all that she had been able to see before being pulled back apart and placed neatly in her bedroom.

The minute hand on the watch ticked and Beth nearly jumped out of her skin, tossing the watch away from her onto the chaise. There was no way, there was no possible way she had been anywhere a second ago other than right here in her room. It was a virtual impossibility. And yet, somehow, she had been. Pushing a hand through her dark mass of hair, Beth picked the watch up and palmed it again. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she quickly grabbed her jacket off of the back of her bed and threw it over her shoulders. One way or another the watch was an antique, and perhaps someone well versed in the field of antiquity would be able to explain exactly what it was and what it did. Luckily, Beth had a fair idea that she knew just the person.

[pyroman]

Alexander had yet another late night of working. To some it have have seemed like tedious and tiring work, but to him it was practically a dream He was a history teacher that believed in the supernatural just as much as science. He knew as much as he could about the civilizations that thrived before him, and he had only wished that he was there to make sure that the information that he had was true. There had been more than a few cases where he had seen papers or theories that were seemingly completely solid, but his love for history made him read things constantly over and over again to make sure that every piece of the puzzle fit perfectly. He used many sources to make sure that what he was reading over was true, and the question still nagged him if a link between civilizations could actually exist. The only thing that seemed off to him was how it could possibly happen, the paper he was reading had stated that many past civilizations were some how linked to each other, but the difference in time and location simply told him that it wasn't possible at all. Everything he looked at was telling him that it wasn't possible. If anyone else had read the paper before he did, they would have outright said that it was impossible. He wanted to know if it was true or not, and he had sat at his personal study for quite some time and just asked himself how the similarities were there.

He sighed lightly and muttered under his breath about how crazy, yet how possible the theory on paper seemed. It was a long day and he had others to read over for hours on end to make sure they were perfect. He wasn't really one to postpone his thoughts, but so far it was all he could do. It was only a theory anyway, so the possibility of failure was always there, but he had hoped that the theory was true in some way or another. Without the evidence to confirm it, he simply set down the paper and turned his attention to the pile of papers he had yet to read over. He had gotten through more than half of them by now, and if he hadn't taken so long on the previous one, he could have already been just about done.

Alexander picked up another paper and ready through it thoroughly, looking over every single word and thought about how it contributed with the paper as a whole. He wished that he wasn't the only one doing this, but there he was, sitting at his desk in his study reading all of these papers the same day he had received them when he knew that he wouldn't give the grades out for another few days. He was tired from all the reading and finally decided to take a break, his eyes moving over to his computer screen to see if had any messages he had seen yet. He just wanted for something, anything, to distract him for even the smallest of moments just to that he wouldn't have to sit around and read more papers