Eclipse Moment

The fog in Blackreef has weight. It climbs up from the sea, bends time, softens memories, and turns living people into endless clocks. Old Tom, the longshoreman, died in the fog. The left hand has been tempered, and the knuckles are flexing and stretching on the corpse, as if someone has wound him up. This is the third incident this month. The rail agency said it was a work-related injury. Leon Cast Iron didn't believe it. His left eye can see the layers of time. He saw a man wearing a copper ring, pressing Old Tom's wrist bone and twisting it fifteen times. No more, no less. Then he slipped a brass gear between his fingers. There is a dark red groove on the back of the gear, and something in the groove is moving. It's counting down. Engraved with two words: watch the clock. Deep under the city, the clockkeeper is assembling human body parts into a large counterclockwise clock. Human bones are used as teeth and blood is used as oil. Those who were made of steel did not die completely, they became the rotating parts in the clock. Leon must check. But it's not just the docks. Assistant Vivian has a mark on the back of her neck, and she wakes up every Wednesday with an extra mark. There was a metallic sound in Sheriff Conard's spine as he bent over. And the same shape appeared in Leon's own palm. There was a bell ringing in the fog. It's boring and far away, coming from the layer beneath time. Not telling time. It's the countdown. [Steam Suspense·Cthulhu Strange Tales·Group Strategy]