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The sun shone with an orange glow across the city of Bridon. Everything- people, pets, and buildings- seemed to sparkle in the warm light. Along the streets, couples posed for photographs, the nearing golden hour making their skin and hair glow. Food vendors happily prepared some dishes for the couples, the aroma filling the air all around.
Tourists lined a few of the roads, fixing themselves for the camera before them. In the background, the giant clock tower towered over the city, the hands on its face showing just a few minutes before 5 PM.
Elsewhere, families chat amongst themselves around a dinner table. Smiles lit up their faces while they talked amongst the people they loved most during this nice September evening.
For one man, however, the joyous atmosphere was the opposite of what he was currently experiencing. He strayed away from the crowds, instead running through the shadows of alleyways. His footsteps were loud and his breathing was erratic. As someone in his forties, he was clearly not built for this much exercise anymore.
Occasionally he would glance behind him, as if waiting for something, someone , to appear at any given moment. Even though he didn’t see anyone, he continued his escape, refusing to slow down for even a second to catch his breath.
He made a right turn down another dark alleyway.
He continued running, feeling like his legs were about to fall off and his lungs were burning. Sweat clung to his face, and with his shirt sleeve he wiped at it before it could drip into his eyes. He let out a groan, every muscle fiber in his body begging him to stop.
He slowed down. His eyes widened as he realized his fatal mistake; this particular alleyway was a dead end. With how close the buildings were to one another, and the sun hidden behind them, it was impossible to see the end due to the shadows everywhere.
He went to the nearest wall and leaned on it. He gripped his chest with his fingers, his heart racing. Feeling his legs shake, he turned slightly and slid his back along the wall, landing on the ground with a thump. He gasped for breath, stopping only occasionally to swallow the saliva that built up in his throat.
It was too risky to go back the way he came. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t move. Lactic acid ate at his calves and thighs, deeming his legs completely useless for the time being. He leaned his head back against the wall and stared upwards. Maybe whatever it was that was following him wouldn’t decide to go this way. Though, just to be safe, he unholstered the gun from his hip and lazily held it in one hand.
“Oh, so you’re finally here. How nice of you to join me.”
The man’s breathing stopped for a second. He moved his head in the direction of the sound, eyes darting everywhere in hopes of a clue to where the voice came from. He brought his weapon up to his chest.
GONG.
There was a whoosh as something sailed through the air, followed shortly after by a pair of thuds as boots landed on the hard ground. The man pointed his gun at the sound, feeling himself start to panic.
GONG.
Slow footsteps could be faintly heard in between echoes of the clock’s chime. They crept closer, louder, but with a calmness that suggested there was no urgency.
“S-stay away!” The man shouted into the darkness.
GONG .
A pair of eyes floated in the shadows. Bright purple irises bore through the dark, straight into the man’s soul. He could feel his breath catching in his throat as pure terror overtook his body.
GONG.
The stranger crept close enough that the silhouette of his shoulders and hat-wearing head could just barely be made out. His glasses reflected what little light there was, hiding his eyes momentarily.
The man didn’t hesitate, and fired his gun once, twice, thrice. Yet somehow, the stranger evaded every bullet. Or perhaps it was due to poor aim…
GONG.
In an instant, the hat-wearing man rushed forward, his hands wrapping around the man’s throat. The man had no time to react, and was pushed to the ground, the other on top of him. He pressed his firearm against his chest and pulled the trigger.
There was a click, but nothing came out.
Registering that his gun was practically useless now, the man dropped it in favor of using his own fingernails to claw at the hands covering his airway. He could feel himself becoming lightheaded, and with his exhaustion from earlier, his efforts to free his neck were futile.
“Tell me,” the stranger began. His voice was low and commanding as he spoke. “Where the money is.”
The man coughed. “I… I’m not… going… to tell you.” His voice was shaky and weak, barely above a whisper.
“Shame.” There was the sound of light shuffling, then the feel of cold metal push onto his temple. The man froze, realization setting in that a gun was being used against him. There was a click, followed by the sound of the revolver cartridge turning in place. “I gave you three shots, and you missed. Do you think I can hit my target in one?” He challenged the man to speak, knowing that he was at an obvious disadvantage.
The man scoffed with the last bit of breath in his lungs. “You… won’t kill me… You need me ali-”
A bullet embedded itself in his cranium, not letting him finish his sentence. Glowing purple eyes were the last thing he saw before his demise.
The other man sighed and sat himself straight, removing his hand and weapon from the skin of the now-deceased individual. He frowned, recognizing the disgusting feeling of blood on several of his fingers.
“Shit… this is why I hate using this.” He rose to his feet and stored his revolver in one of the pockets of his trench coat, wiping his hands on the black fabric after. “I guess I’ll need to get this cleaned tomorrow,” he mused to himself once his hands were free from the red liquid. “I'll offer to take Vein’s things with me too.”
Another sigh left his lips at the thought of having to spend the day tomorrow doing laundry, but it was better than feeling others’ blood soaking into his fingers. He instinctively wiped his hands again, just in case there was still some left.
Satisfied with himself, he stuffed his hands into his trench coat pockets and started walking back towards the entrance of the alleyway. He hummed a simple tune, keeping his steps in rhythm to it.
He froze just before reaching the exit. His eyes widened and breathing paused. The hairs along his spine stood on end.
Something was wrong, he could feel it. It wasn’t anything tangible or easily understood, but he could sense it nonetheless, like a rush of adrenaline. He swallowed the saliva that was building in his mouth and closed his eyes, his brain and heart going into overdrive to figure out what just happened. His hand rushed to his forehead and fingers lightly tapped the skin in his concentration.
He focused on everything he’d ever known and experienced up to this point. Behind him, water dripped down into a puddle on the ground. Its steady drops were barely detectable, but with the man’s heightened senses, they were clear against his eardrums.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Like the second hand of a clock, constant and rhythmic.
Clock… Time…
His eyes shot open and his arm stiffened; he figured out what it was. Without wasting a second more, he snatched his phone from another pocket and turned it on.
September 12. 17:05.
A breathy laugh came from his mouth, almost refusing to believe the truth that he had just concluded. He screenshotted the screen and covered his eyes with his free hand. His laughter became more erratic and loud, as if he was still in shock.
“I can’t believe it…” he whispered to himself during his epiphany. “How long? Two? No, three years.” He grinned at his phone, at the time shown on the screen, in glee. “Someone just reset the timeline.”
Vein was eating at a table outside of a restaurant. He quietly and neatly used his chopsticks to lift the noodles in front of him and bring them to his mouth. His eyes closed into pleased crescents as he savored his meal.
His long, scarlet hair was currently twisted into a neat bun on his head, with a few hair pins holding it in place. He had on a beige turtleneck, the sleeves extending just past his wrists, and the waist loosely tucked into his dark pants. His large black coat hung over both of his shoulders like a cloak, giving him the appearance of someone not to be messed with.
“This food’s good,” a voice from across the table sounded out. Vein looked up from his meal just long enough to catch his partner, Xia Fei, stabbing his noodles with a fork and bringing them to his already-full mouth. He was dressed in a nice, dark red long sleeved shirt and white jeans. His bicolored hair was a bit messy, him having hurried to meet Vein here immediately after he was finished with his photo shoot for the day.
Vein could feel his eye twitch in horror and shock as he watched his partner eat his meal. “Why…” he began, “are you using a fork? And where are your manners?”
“Dunno how to use chopsticks,” Xia Fei replied simply around his food. He reached for one of the steamed buns at the center of their table, only to wince as Vein slapped his hand away. “Ow…” he whined after swallowing his bite. “What was that for?” His light brown eyes blinked at Vein with an expression suggesting that he was about to cry.
“Don’t give me that look.” Vein spoke with a tone of indifference. “You’re the one who suggested this place, and yet you can’t even be respectful enough to use the correct utensils to eat it.”
Xia Fei’s frown deepened, though it was clear that Vein wasn’t going to be changing his mind soon. He gave up the argument and returned back to eating his noodles.
He paused and glanced up as his phone buzzed, and put his fork down to check the notification he had received.
“We are eating,” Vein warned him in a cold voice, hoping that the reminder would be enough for the other to put his device down.
Xia Fei waved his hand dismissively at the comment, earning himself a disapproving glare. “It’s from Liu Xiao. He found the guy you were looking for and is following him. Though he says that he might not get any information out of hi— OW!”
“Keep your voice down,” Vein hissed through closed teeth. “Don’t forget that we are still in public.” He pulled his foot back from where he had kicked his tablemate.
“No one cares about what we’re saying.” Xia Fei pouted and rubbed his sore leg with the calf of his other one. “That hurt, by the way.” As soon as he finished his sentence, the large clock tower at the center of the city began to chime. Its sound carried throughout the area, signaling the fifth hour of the afternoon.
Xia Fei glanced up as it played, and Vein took this opportunity of momentary distraction to snatch one of the steamed buns in front of him. He bit into the soft outside, hoping to enjoy it for even a second before Xia Fei noticed.
He was right in doing so, for just a moment later the blond looked back at him with wide eyes. “Vein!” He gasped in disbelief at the fact his partner had used the chance to take a warm steam bun. “You’re so hypocritical, telling me I can’t have one, and then taking one for yourself.”
“I only said that because you were trying to get one with your fork.” Vein sighed at the end of his words and thought back to Liu Xiao’s message. “Why did he message you?”
Xia Fei shot him an ‘are you serious’ stare. “He probably texted you too. You’re just too old-fashioned to check your phone.”
“Do you want to be kicked again?”
“…No.”
The two went back to their meals in silence, occasionally glancing around to pass the time. Vein watched a pair of young girls run around in the open streets near where he and Xia Fei were sitting. They giggled and chased one another while their mother sat nearby with a placid expression.
Vein smiled softly to himself as they played with one another, choosing to ignore the confused stare Xia Fei was giving him from his peripheral.
Suddenly one of the girls was on the ground, crying for her mom after her fall. Vein’s breath caught in his throat. What the fuck just happened? A wave of unease ran along his body.
The child falling wasn’t the issue; what was was the fact that one moment she was standing, and the next she was crying on the ground. It was like the action of her falling was completely erased, leaving only the before and after. It was such a tiny detail, yet Vein caught it completely, and it unnerved him.
“Did you see that?” He asked in a low voice, refusing to take his eyes away from her for even a second.
“Huh? No…” Xia Fei sounded confused, then concerned. “Vein, is something wrong?”
The older man ignored the question and rose from his seat, so quickly that the coat on his shoulders slid off and onto the filthy ground. He didn’t notice, just like he also didn’t seem to care when everyone’s eyes were now on him from how rapidly he left his seated position. He took a few steps towards the family, his gaze still locked on the scene.
“VEIN!” A hand grabbed his and pulled him back, forcing him to turn away from them. His wide eyes met Xia Fei’s anxious ones, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. “What is going on?” Despite how they bickered sometimes, they still cared deeply for each other, and it was clear just how concerned Xia Fei was for his closest friend.
Vein looked at him for several impossibly long seconds. “Something’s not right.”
“Well yeah, the kid fell, but-”
“It’s not that!” Xia Fei fell silent, sensing the hint of fear in his voice. Vein’s ruby irises scanned his face for any hint that he might’ve understood what he just saw. “You… you really didn’t see anything, did you…?”
The blond took a second prior to shaking his head slowly. “No, I didn’t.”
So it’s just me then. “What time is it?”
“5:05,” Xia Fei answered after turning on his phone.
“Grab my coat and come with me,” he instructed his partner, reaching for his own mobile device from his pocket. Liu Xiao might’ve felt it too…
“But.” Xia Fei watched as his friend began walking away without waiting for him to catch up. “You owe me next time!” He shouted, and then hurried back to the table they had been sitting at.
Sorry, Xia Fei, but this is a little more urgent. Vein finally found Liu Xiao’s contact number on his phone, and was just about to press the call button when his screen flashed with a call from Liu Xiao himself.
“Liu Xiao, I was just about to-”
“You sensed it, right?” Liu Xiao sounded slightly excited about something. It wasn’t an emotion Vein was familiar with coming from him, but still he decided to ignore it.
“What was it?”
“Someone just reset the timeline for the last three years.”
Vein’s steps stopped. So that’s what it was, that strange feeling he had earlier… the strange event with the child…
Xia Fei returned to him, his black coat hanging on one arm and the last two steamed buns in his hands. He offered one to Vein, who shook his head, choosing to focus on what Liu Xiao had just told him instead.
Vein took a fast glance around to make sure no one was nearby, then put the call on speaker so that Xia Fei could listen in. “And you’re sure about that?”
“It was the exact same feeling as when I use my power, except there was nothing around.” Vein knew that Liu Xiao had the ability to jump timelines at will, but he needed a television in order to activate it. Liu Xiao continued, “When I looked back at my memories as well, the ones from the last three years seem different, like they’ve been altered just slightly.”
Xia Fei swallowed the bite of the steamed bun he had in his mouth while Vein replied, “So you’re saying that we all ended up jumping into a new timeline simultaneously?”
“It’s a possibility. I’m still not sure about most of it yet…” The man on the other end of the phone sighed. “I’ll meet you both at the House tonight. It will be easier to explain there.” The call ended before anyone else could get another word in.
Xia Fei groaned at his words. “I have an early shoot tomorrow…”
“You don’t have to go.” Vein was already using his phone to look up clues for the strange timeline behavior. He glanced up. “After all, you were the only one of the three of us that didn’t notice anything.”
The blond seemed almost offended at his words. “All the more reason for me to go! Besides, the three of us are a team; it wouldn’t make much sense if you and Liu Xiao were the ones working while I did nothing.” He quickly finished the last of his food and watched Vein.
Vein said nothing, instead putting down his phone and motioning to a cab driving nearby. The vehicle pulled up beside them, and Vein opened the door, sitting in a seat behind the driver. He turned his head back to his partner, the door still open. “Well? Are you coming?”
“Yeah!” He jumped in beside Vein and pulled the door shut. Vein gave the driver an address near the House, and they were on the way.
Vein and Xia Fei arrived at the House by 5:45, having left their transport and walking for the remainder of ten minutes to reach their destination. Xia Fei had tried a few times to convince Vein to explain to him what was going on once they were alone, but the older man refused to say anything about it.
He’s always so lost in thought, Xia Fei had thought at the time. He was analyzing Vein’s face and body language for any hint into what happened, but turned up with nothing. Lost in thought and hard to read… typical. He sighed, giving up on trying to figure things out and instead concentrating on what he knew so far.
Vein was panicking about that kid earlier… and then after, Liu Xiao had mentioned something about his power being used..? Maybe? He sighed, rubbing the back of his head in slight annoyance. I wish they would both tell me what exactly is going on.
When they finally reached their meeting place, Xia Fei wasted no time in heading straight for the sofa in the center of the room-like space. He felt almost at ease with the dim lights and shadowy corners, or the numerous steam pipes and static televisions behind him.
He turned on his phone and pulled up images of himself in his photo album. I suppose that if they end up needing me at all, I might as well get a head start on investigating.
…Not that I actually know what to look for, anyway.
Still, Xia Fei took a breath, his beige irises changing to a vibrant orange as he activated his powers. He blinked, and his entire surroundings changed in that instant.
He was overlooking the city, his view seemingly from one of the high buildings. He had a clear view of every street, and could hear the vehicles below as they drove on the paved roads. Although it was a good spot to look from, it wasn’t what he needed right now.
When he blinked again, he was inside of a hair salon, the view from one of the fashion magazines on the wall. This is useless…
He continued trying to find anything, but was quickly exhausting both his available photos and mental strength. His power was extremely useful, but worked best when he had a general idea of who he was looking for and where they might be. He could spy on them in real-time, able to hear anything that happens in the vicinity as well. And currently, he knew neither what to search for, nor where to find it.
“Take a break.” A hand suddenly patted his shoulder, making the blond jump in shock. His focus was broken, and he nearly threw his phone in surprise.
“Hey, what the hell?” Xia Fei whirled his head around and frowned as he discovered painted fingernails and a black trenchcoat. He lifted his gaze to meet the other’s, confirming his suspicions about their identity. “Liu Xiao? When did you get here?”
“Almost twenty minutes ago,” A third voice came from behind, and the next second Vein joined the two of them. “You’ve been looking at your phone for a while, so I told him to tell you to relax.” He came around the back of the sofa, carrying two glasses of tea in his hands. He extended one out to Xia Fei, who took it without hesitation. The redhead then seated himself on a seat opposite the other two.
“Thank you.” The blond brought the liquid to his lips, pleased to find that his partner had used the perfect amount of sugar in his beverage.
Liu Xiao followed Vein’s action as well, choosing to sit on the cushion beside Xia Fei and leaning his elbow on the armrest. “So,” he began as soon as he sat down. The older two turned their attention to him. “I have found the general area where this time anomaly originated. Like I’d told you two before, when it occurred at 5:05 earlier, I could feel my own body react to it. It was the same as if I’d activated my power and jumped timelines, which wouldn’t be possible in that situation I was in.”
“Okay..?” Vein tapped his shoe on the hard ground impatiently. “Get to the point. Where did it come from?”
“I’m getting there,” Liu Xiao muttered, though happened to be quiet enough that only Xia Fei could hear. “When I finally realized what had happened, I found that my memories of the past few years are different from what I know them to be. Moreover, when I tried to activate my abilities shortly after, I had a sense echo in my head, telling me that it was from back in China, near where I grew up. It would’ve been a few minutes after midnight there.”
Xia Fei sat up, realizing that this may be his chance to offer help, now that he had a general idea of the location.
However, the black-clothed man put his hand up to stop him before he could speak. “Don’t. You’ve already exhausted your power for now.”
“But-”
“He’s right,” Vein told him. “You should rest your powers until we need them later.” Then he turned back to Liu Xiao, his voice now sounding more serious. “Are you able to track who did it?”
He let out a sigh, slumping ever so slightly. “I think so. If I fully activate my power there’s a chance that the person’s face is ‘printed’ on the timelines. It will at least be something.”
The red-haired man nodded slowly, taking this in. “You do that. Once we have a face, I can look through the internet to find a match.”
“I can help too!” Xia Fei chimed in, eager to be of some help.
“Alright,” Liu Xiao answered Vein. He stood from his position and strode towards the wall of staticky televisions they had set up specially for him. “I won’t be long, hopefully.”
“You’d better not,” Vein replied, his voice tinged with a hint of annoyance (though Xia Fei could tell he was concerned mixed into his words as well). “We’ll both be here.”
The other nodded at him, his irises glowing a shade of bright purple. He turned back towards the televisions.
And then he was gone.
Minutes passed, with Xia Fei and Vein not saying a word. The only sound accompanying the silence was the occasional sipping as one of them drank from their tea.
The quiet was loud, and Xia Fei hated how his skin pricked uncomfortably; there was a question he’d had since this whole event even began. Should I ask it? Do I even want to know..?
“Vein…” the blond began, speaking slowly from his nervousness. “Do you have any idea why I didn’t sense anything like you or Liu Xiao?”
There were several more seconds of silence, so that Xia Fei wondered if his senior had even heard him. When he finally spoke, he realized that he was instead trying to decide how to respond.
“There’s only one way that I can think of.” More silence. Vein tapped his finger on the rim of his glass. “Then the time reset happened, it bounced off of Liu Xiao’s ability. Why, I don’t know. Though in doing so, it moved both him and me into this timeline.”
“…So you’re saying-”
“You’re not our Xia Fei.”
… Oh.
Of course. That was the only explanation, wasn’t it..? So I don’t even belong here…
Before he could continue his thoughts, he heard the sound of boots land on the floor. Liu Xiao had returned, and sooner than either of them had expected.
“Did you find anything?” Vein asked, rising from his seat. He placed his empty glass on the small table in front of him, focusing his attention on Liu Xiao.
“Young adult. Male. Chinese. He has white hair and bright blue eyes, though I believe that’s actually from him activating his powers of some kind.” Upon speaking those words, Liu Xiao let out a tired sigh. “I saw him in the static when I was switching timelines.”
Vein wasted no time in typing the information onto his phone, and Xia Fei did the same, hoping to distract himself.
It wasn’t hard to find something, since the person had such an unusual hair color that matched his age. The only difficult thing about it all was the fact that there seemed to be so few photos of this stranger.
As Liu Xiao plopped himself into his spot from earlier, Xia Fei selected one of the few photos from online to show him.
The particular photo depicted the young man on a bed with his head resting on a pillow. His face was turned to the side and lips were parted slightly as if he was asleep, and his messy white hair and white t-shirt only enunciated that idea. The only thing disproving this idea was how he had one arm outstretched towards the camera, showing that he was awake and clearly taking his own picture.
Liu Xiao barely analyzed the screen for half a second before he confirmed, “That’s him.”
Hearing this, Vein rushed to the two of them to watch as Xia Fei clicked the link attached to the photo. It brought him to a website for a small photo studio, located in China.
“Time Photo Studio…” Vein read the shop’s name aloud.
“…Run by Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang,” Liu Xiao muttered aloud, continuing to read. His lips curved into a smile. “Lu Guang…” he repeated, louder this time. “That’s him.”
Vein let out a laugh. “Lu Guang… Light… We found you.”
He grinned as he left the room, and Xia Fei could see that he was already looking up flights to China on his phone. When he glanced at Liu Xiao, he found him on his own device, sending a message to his 'friend' back home as well.
Xia Fei looked back at his phone, realizing that what he did now was up to him. If they're both planning a visit over there, so it might be best to at least give them a reason when they confront that Lu Guang guy. He smiled slightly to himself, managing to read the website tab enough to press the option to reserve a photo. In the little Chinese he knew, he typed out a message to them:
Hello!
I’d like to visit the studio soon to print some photos.
The air turned cold. He hit send.
The plan is in motion.