The 25th Hour

Dashi's dark, olive-green hair floated down over his tired eyes.He had been staring at the same page for nearly twenty minutes.He knew this because the clock on his desk had moved exactly twenty minutes since the last time he had looked at it.The page, however, had not changed.Neither had his understanding of it.He sighed and leaned back in his chair."Okay..."His room was quiet except for the faint music coming from the tiny MP3 player sitting beside his textbook.The device was old.Not ancient, exactly, but old enough that most people his age would probably laugh if they saw it.It was a Peapod MP3 player, a little plastic rectangle with a scratched screen and physical buttons that clicked whenever he pressed them.Dashi liked it precisely because it was simple.No notifications.No social media.No distractions.Just music.And right now, music was the only thing keeping him awake.Dashi rubbed his eyes and looked back down at his notes.Tomorrow was the test.The big one.The test his teacher had spent the last month reminding everyone about.The test that supposedly covered everything they'd learned during the semester.The test Dashi had promised himself he would study for weeks ago.He had, of course, not studied for weeks.He had studied tonight.There was a difference.He picked up his pencil and underlined another sentence.Then he stared at it.Then he stared at the next sentence.Then he stared at the wall.His eyes were beginning to feel heavy.Dashi glanced toward his Peapod.The song changed.He hadn't even noticed the previous one ending."What's this song again?"He checked his Peapod."Ah yes, the single from The Good Night Fridays' newest album."He turned another page.His head dipped.He jerked it back up."Nope."He slapped both hands against his cheeks."I'm awake."His voice sounded far less convincing than he wanted.Dashi looked at the clock.12:59 a.m.He still had several pages left.He reached for his pencil.Then stopped.For some reason, he didn't feel like studying anymore.Instead, he flipped his pencil around and began absentmindedly doodling in the corner of his paper.A circle.Then another.He drew two curved lines inside it.A pair of hands.He paused.Then, almost without thinking, he drew a small clock face in the center of the heart.Dashi stared at it.A clock inside a heart.It looked strangely familiar.Not familiar in the way a common symbol was familiar.Familiar in the way a childhood memory was familiar.Something he'd seen before.Somewhere.He couldn't remember where."Huh..."He tilted the paper toward the lamp.The symbol seemed almost too deliberate to have been a random doodle.He tapped his pencil against the desk."Where have I seen this?"Nothing.He tried harder.A sign?A logo?A picture?A dream?Nothing came.Dashi shrugged."Whatever."He put the pencil down.His eyes were closing again.The music from the Peapod continued softly beside him.Dashi leaned forward, resting his head against his folded arms.Just for a second.He'd sleep for a second.Then he'd get back to studying.Probably.His eyes closed.The last thing he saw was the heart-clock doodled in the corner of his paper.For a brief moment, the hands of the drawn clock seemed to move.Dashi didn't notice.He was already asleep.Dashi felt himself swimming through a void.Falling?No.Being pulled down.When Dashi opened his eyes, he was standing.He blinked.His bedroom was gone.His desk was gone.His textbooks were gone.Even the music from his Peapod had disappeared.He stood in the middle of a street.Except it wasn't a street he recognized.The buildings around him were tall, dark silhouettes that stretched into a sky with what looked like 3 sources of light.one was blue, the other was purple, and the one off in the distance was red.their lights intermingled.There were no cars.No people.No traffic lights.No distant sounds of civilization.Nothing.Dashi slowly turned in a circle."What..."His voice echoed through the empty street.He looked down at himself.Same clothes.Same shoes.Same everything.He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Peapod.The screen was still on.12:59.The number wasn't changing.Dashi pressed a button.Nothing happened.He pressed it again.Still nothing."Okay."He swallowed."This is a dream."That seemed reasonable.It had to be.He had fallen asleep while studying.His brain had simply decided to throw him into some weird nightmare.Dashi took a step forward.The sound of his shoe hitting the pavement echoed through the empty street.The thought hit him.This was his street.Just... Different.Then he heard something else.A noise behind him.A low, wet growl.Dashi froze.Slowly, he turned around.Something was standing at the other end of the street.At first, Dashi couldn't understand what he was looking at.It was shaped vaguely like a person.But only vaguely.Its body was twisted unnaturally, its limbs too long and its movements too sudden.Its face was almost completely featureless.Almost.Two pale eyes stared directly at him.Dashi's heart slammed against his chest."Nope."The thing took a step.Dashi took one backward.The thing took another.Dashi turned.And ran.His shoes hammered against the pavement as he sprinted through the empty streets.Behind him came the sound of something chasing him.Fast.Too fast.Dashi glanced over his shoulder.The creature was gaining."Oh, come on!"He turned another corner.Dead end.Dashi skidded to a stop.A brick wall stood directly in front of him.He spun around.The creature emerged from the darkness.Dashi raised his fists.He knew Taekwondo.Not exceptionally well.Not enough to fight monsters.But it was something.The creature lunged.Dashi kicked.His foot connected with its chest.For one beautiful second, he thought he'd actually done something.Then the creature looked down at his foot.Then back at him.Dashi's confidence evaporated."...Oh."It grabbed his leg.Dashi was thrown across the street.He hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs."Damn it!"The creature charged.Dashi scrambled backward.Then—BOOM!Something slammed into the creature from the side.It went flying.Dashi stared.A girl stood where the monster had been.She held a massive, glowing weapon over one shoulder.She grinned."Got it!"A second figure dropped from the roof above."YOU CALL THAT GETTING IT?!"The girl looked up."Yes!""You nearly hit me!""Then you should've moved!""THAT IS NOT HOW TEAMWORK WORKS!"Dashi blinked.Another person walked casually into the street.He was tall, wearing a long coat and carrying a sword that looked far too elaborate to belong in anyone's hands.He sighed."Can we argue after we kill it?"A fourth figure stepped out from behind him.He was shorter, wearing a futuristic sweater with shells around his neck.He looked at Dashi.Then at the monster.Then back at Dashi."Is that guy with us?""No," said the swordsman."Cool."The fourth Hunter nodded."Just checking."Dashi stared at them."So..."He pointed toward the monster."What the hell are you people?"The girl pointed dramatically at herself."We're the Phantom Hunters!"There was a pause.The tall swordsman closed his eyes."Please stop introducing us like that.""What? It's cool.""It's embarrassing.""It's extremely cool."The short one shrugged."I think it's pretty cool.""Thank you!""Don't encourage her."The monster roared.The Phantom Hunters immediately became serious.They moved together.The girl charged first, swinging her enormous weapon.The swordsman followed, striking with precise movements.The shell-wearing boy stayed behind them, shouting directions."LEFT!"The girl moved left."DUCK!"She ducked.The sword passed over her head."NOW!"The fourth Hunter threw something.A flash of light exploded against the monster.Dashi covered his eyes.The creature screamed.Then the swordsman drove his blade straight through its chest.The monster froze.Its body began to crack.Black smoke poured from the cracks in its skin.Dashi stared.The creature collapsed into a cloud of darkness.Silence returned.The girl rested her weapon against her shoulder."See?"She grinned."I told you this one wouldn't have a heartstone.""Whatever...""This one wasn't an original, it was a child!"The swordsman stared at her."You almost died.""But I didn't.""You almost got me killed.""But you didn't."He sighed.Dashi slowly stood.His legs were shaking.He looked at the four strangers."So..."He pointed toward the spot where the monster had disappeared."What was that?"The girl walked toward him."A Phantom.""A what?""A Phantom."She looked genuinely surprised."You don't know?"Dashi shook his head."No."The four Hunters exchanged glances.Kael, the swordsman, studied him carefully."You're not from here.""No.""Where are you from?"Dashi pointed upward."Earth?"The short Hunter frowned."That's not helpful.""The normal Earth.""Oh."He nodded."That's slightly more helpful."Dashi looked between them."So where exactly is here?"The girl folded her arms."The 25th Hour."Dashi frowned."The what?""The 25th Hour."Dashi pulled out his Peapod.12:59.He looked back at them."There are only twenty-four hours."Kael shook his head."Not here."Dashi opened his mouth.Nothing came out."Follow us."The Phantom Hunters motioned for Dashi to follow them.They moved through the strange city while explaining what little they knew."The 25th Hour exists outside the normal flow of time.""It's a world connected to the human one, but separated from it by a boundary most people never perceive.""And that boundary is beginning to weaken.""The Phantoms are part of the why it's weakening.""Wait... So, what are Phantoms?""They're remnants of people who commited suicide, twisted by the emotions they carried with them after death. Regret. Anger. Fear. Despair.""Those emotions eventually consumed them.""And when they became Phantoms, they wanted only one thing.""To escape."Dashi listened quietly."So you guys just... hunt them?""Pretty much," Reina said."That's our job.""Why?""Because somebody has to."Kael glanced toward her."And because if we don't, the world ends."Reina shrugged."That too. Another thing: the one we killed earlier didn't actually commit suicide, it was a child of the others."Dashi's eye's widened."THEY CAN BREED?""In some cases, yes. But it's awful to watch."Dashi wasn't sure whether she was joking.He hoped she was.They eventually reached an enormous plaza.Dashi stopped walking.His eyes widened.At the center stood a gigantic clock.It was several stories tall.Its frame was made from dark metal, but glowing crimson lines ran through it like veins.A heart.Beating with the flow of time.And at the center of its face was something Dashi recognized immediately.A twisted clock.The exact same shape he'd drawn on his paper.Dashi couldn't breathe.He slowly stepped forward."I..."His voice trembled."I've seen that."Reina looked at him."What?""That clock."Kael's expression hardened."Where?""I don't know."Dashi pointed toward it."I drew that.""What?""I drew this."The Hunters exchanged glances.Soren's calm expression disappeared."You drew the Heart Clock?"Dashi nodded."I don't know why."He looked at the enormous symbol."I just... knew it."The clock began to tick.Tick.Tick.Tick.Each sound echoed across the plaza.Soren looked at Dashi."This holds the key to your departure.""What?""The Heart Clock controls to the boundary."Dashi frowned."What does that mean?"Soren pointed toward the clock."The Heart Clock keeps the 25th Hour separate from your world."Dashi stared."If it stops...""The boundary collapses.""And then?"Kael answered."The 25th Hour merges with your reality."Dashi's face went pale."That sounds bad.""It's catastrophic."Reina lifted her weapon."Which is why we're here."A distant roar echoed through the city.Then another.Then another.The ground trembled.Milo pulled his shells over his neck."Oh, that's definitely bad."Hundreds of pale eyes appeared in the darkness.Then hundreds more.Phantoms began pouring into the streets surrounding the plaza.Dashi backed away."How many are there?"Kael tightened his grip on his sword."Enough."Reina grinned."Finally.""Don't sound excited.""I like fighting.""We know."Dashi looked toward the Heart Clock.The hands had begun spinning.Slowly at first.Then faster.Then faster.The crimson light inside the clock grew brighter.Soren's expression changed."Dashi.""What?""You need to leave.""What?""Now.""But—""You don't belong here."Soren pointed toward the far side of the plaza.A small circular portal had appeared.It looked like a window into Dashi's bedroom.He could see his desk.His textbook.His chair.His lamp.His world.Dashi stared."But what about you?"Reina smiled."We've got this.""You sure?""No."She laughed."But that's never stopped us before."Dashi hesitated.He looked at the Hunters.They were surrounded.Yet none of them seemed afraid.For some reason, that made him feel worse."Wait!"Kael looked at him."What?"Dashi pointed toward the Heart Clock."Why did I draw that?"Nobody answered.The question seemed to hang in the air.Soren finally spoke."Maybe you'll find out."The portal began shrinking.Dashi looked at it.Then back at the Hunters."Will I see you again?"Reina grinned."Probably."Kael sighed."Don't make promises you can't keep."Milo raised a hand."If you do come back, bring snacks."Dashi laughed despite himself.Then a Phantom slammed into the ground between them.The Hunters immediately turned."GO!" Kael shouted.Dashi ran.He sprinted toward the portal.The world around him began shaking.The Heart Clock rang.Once.Twice.Three times.Dashi reached the portal.He turned around one last time.The Phantom Hunters were already fighting.Reina's weapon cut through the darkness.Kael's sword flashed.Milo shouted directions.Soren stood before the Heart Clock.And behind them all, the massive heart continued beating with every tick.Dashi stepped through.He woke up with his face pressed against his textbook.He shot upright.His chair nearly fell backward."What?!"He looked around.His bedroom.His desk.His textbooks.His Peapod.Everything was normal.Dashi breathed heavily.He grabbed the MP3 player.01:00 a.m.One minute had passed.He stared at the screen.Then at his textbook.Then at the corner of his paper.The heart-clock was still there.Dashi touched the drawing with his fingertip.For several seconds, he said nothing.Then he looked toward the window.The night outside was completely normal.Cars passed.Streetlights glowed.Somewhere, a dog barked.Everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be.Dashi looked back at the heart-clock.He couldn't explain what had happened.He couldn't explain how he'd gotten there.He couldn't explain why the symbol had been in his head before he'd ever seen it.But one thing was certain.It hadn't been a dream.He knew it.Somewhere beyond his world, the Phantom Hunters were still fighting.And somewhere in the darkness between one day and the next, a giant heart-shaped clock continued to tick.Tick.Tick.Tick.Dashi stared at his drawing.For the first time, he wondered if the 25th Hour had found him.Rather than the other way around.