Clocktown

Chapter 2
Part 2

Pulling away just as quickly as she had lurched toward him, Lindsay returned to her position on the bed, as if she could fool her father into thinking nothing had happened.

“What in god’s name are you doing?!” Mr. Tierney bellowed, marching toward her.

“Daddy, I wasn’t...“

“I know exactly what you were doing,” George said, suddenly turning to Seth, who didn’t know how to respond. The last ten minutes had turned into a bad Twilight Zone episode and he no longer knew who to trust.

“I have no idea what’s going on here,” Seth spoke hesitantly. “I don’t think Lindsay meant any harm, sir. She’s just...“

“Young lady,” George interrupted, inexplicably returning his attention to Lindsay, “what in the world has gotten into you?”

“I don’t know,” she stuttered, once again reduced to childlike uncertainty. Seth watched the transformation with awe. One moment Lindsay appeared to be a strong-willed young lady with a remarkable imagination, the next she was a shrinking, tongue-tied little girl.

“Well, I will deal with you later,” her father said sternly. “Seth, do you mind coming downstairs?”

“No, no,” Seth answered, standing up and gathering his things.

“You won’t need those,” George said. “We just need to talk.”

“Oh,” Seth replied sheepishly. “All right.”

As they left the room, Lindsay sat motionless on the lip of the bed. For such a willful girl, she failed to raise even a finger in protest against her dad. Whatever the case, Seth deduced that her family was keeping her in line somehow, though Lindsay’s own explanation seemed outlandish.

The house, now dark and somewhat foreboding, made Seth’s heartbeat quicken. At any rate, he no longer expected anything predictable to come from Mr. Tierney’s mouth. While not particularly frightened of the man, Seth realized Lindsay’s warnings had colored his expectations - and not for the better.

“Have a seat,” Mr. Tierney said, pointing to a chair at the kitchen table. Seth acquiesced, and as he did, George poured himself a cup of coffee and ran his hands through his hair. His tone sliding back into casual, he walked up behind Seth’s seat and grabbed the back.

“Well, I should have known,” he remarked unceremoniously. “Lindsay’s had some problems lately. She’s always been a handful for me and her mom.”

“Well, I think all girls that age...“ Seth almost stopped himself when uttering that phrase, “go through some sort of phase.”

“Oh, I guess so,” George said, taking a seat across from Seth. “She’s got her mother’s will, that’s for sure. Lately, she’s taken to telling wild stories, making up the craziest things. I’m sure she probably treated you to some far-fetched fantasy too. Oh, where are my manners. Would you like some coffee?”

“Wouldn’t mind a cup, actually,” Seth said, feeling much calmer now.

Mr. Tierney poured the hot liquid slowly, as if something else were on his mind. Handing it to Seth, he mustered a peculiar grin.

Seth continued. “Lindsay told me that you, umm...”

“Yes, what did she tell you?”

“Well, this was certainly out of left field. She told me you have a device that can change people’s ages and that you can turn people in children,” Seth tried not to snicker as he recounted the story.

Growing very sober, Mr. Tierney sat down and appeared to analyze Seth’s face. “And did you believe her?”

“No, of course not. Why would I?”

George stared at Seth for a few long seconds. “Well, because it’s true.”

“What?” Seth nearly choked.

“It’s true. My great grandfather was a physicist, lived in this town all this life. He was laughed out of the academy and spent the rest of his years trying to prove certain theories. Time travel theories,” Mr. Tierney said, swirling some sugar into his beverage.

Stunned, Seth found he had no reply to what he was hearing.

“Anyway, he perfected a machine and named it after his deceased partner, Jack Creason. And we still own it today.”

“You’re saying you have a machine that can alter people’s ages,” Seth repeated. “You know that’s insane.”

“Ha,” George laughed. “No, I assure you it’s quite sane.”

“So what Lindsay told me was true?”

“Lindsay has the tendency to embellish, Mr. Travers. While it’s true we use the device now and again, we don’t go around flashing it off,” George said, taking another sip. “It’s true she’s not as young as she seems, but I...“

Seth felt his blood pressure jump again. The night was getting weirder and weirder.

“You punish her with that thing? Make her little again?”

“Seth, it’s not what it seems. Last week she came home drunk with a boy she picked up at a bar. He was later busted for drugs. She’s not the innocent little girl you might think,” George said regretfully. “Regressing her to a manageable age is far more lenient than a jail sentence. We just want the best for her.”

“Still, it seems like it’s every person’s right to grow up, Mr. Tierney,” Seth argued, thinking of Lindsay’s version of events. “If you really do have a device like the one you’re describing, which I doubt you do, you can’t keep her a little girl forever.”

Hearing a challenge in Seth’s words, Mr. Tierney stood back up, walked down the hallway, and came back moments later with a cardboard box.

“How old are you, Seth?”

“Thirty-seven. Why?”

“Starting to notice any physical problems?”

“Maybe a little lower back pain. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Retrieving a metallic gun-like device from the box, George began a proposition. “Seth, what if I told you I could make you twenty-one years old again right now?”

Backing up a little, Seth had worry written all over his face. “I’d say you’re out of your mind.”

“Oh, but I can. With this machine I can add or erase any number of years to a person’s life. You’re telling me you wouldn’t like to be a carefree man of twenty-one again? Think of all the things you could do differently, with your old experiences,” Mr. Tierney tempted his guest.

By now Seth’s fascination had turned to fright as George waved the time-altering device in front of him. The dials and buttons on the top appeared strangely old-fashioned like some retro-futuristic hybrid, the kind you might see in an old sci-fi b-movie. On the surface it was hard to take Mr. Tierney seriously as he toyed with the machine, but if it was all true, it could mean a new lease on life. While not unsatisfied with his career and financial situation, the prospect of returning to a younger, fitter body was attractive to Seth.

“How do I know you’ll return me to twenty-one?” he asked, shocked he was actually entertaining the thought. “What if it malfunctions?”

“I very much doubt that,” Mr. Tierney said, tapping the side. “How about I just give you a little dose?” With that, he fired the invisible beam at an unsuspecting Seth.

“Wait, what did you just do to me?”

“Just a taste, Mr. Travers.”

In seconds Seth noticed a light sting running down his arms and legs. Nothing painful per se, but enough to let him know Mr. Tierney had in fact exposed his body to something. Invigorating but unnerving, the sensation reached a climax about thirty seconds later and Seth realized his gut was shrinking. Holding it with his hands, he could feel his body toning up, becoming harder and stronger.

“Am I... ?”

“Getting younger? Yes, Seth. The cells in your body are recycling themselves, reversing their genetic course,” George said, placing the device on the table and leaning forward. “How does it feel?”

“I feel... great,” Seth responded with surprise. “I can’t believe this.”

“Go take a look in that mirror,” George motioned toward the living room.

In it, Seth saw the reflection of a man in his mid twenties - thicker hair, athletic build, and a wrinkle-free face. Immediately he imagined all the women he might be able to pick up now.

“I look like I’m twenty-six again.”

“Twenty-five to be exact,” Mr. Tierney corrected him. “Believe me now?”

My ex will faint, Seth thought. In less than a minute, twelve years had vanished like that, leaving him a fresh-faced, and eligible, bachelor. Speechless, Seth lifted up his shirt to admire the new physique. All those years of a sedentary lifestyle washed away with one click of a button.

“You realize you could make millions with a machine like that,” Seth said.

“Oh, I know. But I prefer the small town life anyway. As mayor, I have the ability to keep law and order without firing a shot, so to speak. We have no need for jails or even much in the way of hospitals. We can heal people by heading off the disease and we can reduce our criminals to kindergarteners,” George explained. “It’s almost perfect.”

“Almost?”

“Well, the device can’t solve everything. People still misbehave and the occasional fight breaks out. And obviously it can’t make our children any more responsible,” Mr. Tierney sighed. “Which reminds me...”

George raised himself up and headed for the stairs. “Just a moment.”

Lindsay was flipping through a picture album when her father entered with the device. She quickly sat up.

“Daddy, I’m sorry. It was a mistake,” she pleaded. “Please.”

“Lindsay, every time I think I have you reigned in, you go and embarrass yourself and this family. I thought, as an eleven-year-old, you could control yourself,” Mr. Tierney said, nonchalantly adjusting the dials. “But I see I was wrong.”

“But Dad...“

“No, Lindsay, this is for the best,” George sighed, aiming the machine at his daughter.

Lindsay’s body absorbed the undetectable beam with the typical sensation. In mere moments, her modest breasts disappeared into her gown and her shoulders narrowed, leaving one strap dangling at her elbow. The meager offerings of early puberty departed rapidly, swiftly demoting her to a petite preadolescent.

“Please, Daddy, that’s enough!“ she cried, unable to escape. “My clothes...“

“I won’t have you kissing Mr. Travers again,” George said, squeezing the trigger tighter.

Now dipping below double digits, Lindsay’s voice had risen to an even more childish tenor. She struggled to maintain her composure as her nightie clung tenuously to her shrinking body while the bottom pooled at her feet. Eventually the gown slipped completely, leaving Lindsay topless. By that time there was little to show, as two insignificant pink nipples were all that remained.

“There, I think that will do,” Mr. Tierney remarked, grabbing his daughter by the hand and leading her out of the room and down the stairs.

Still marveling at his reflection in the living room mirror, Seth turned when he heard Mr. Tierney approaching. Floored, he watched as George paraded a seven-year-old Lindsay, holding a bunched up nightie around her chest, down the hallway and into the master bedroom. The door slammed.

“Damn,” Seth mumbled. The cute preteen who had desperately kissed him earlier that night was now primed for the second grade. What if he fell out of Mr. Tierney’s good graces? he wondered. The image of a scrawny, freckled elementary school boy suddenly crossed his mind.

“I’ve got to get out of here.”

 

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