Tabula Rasa

Time. It moved slowly through here, syrupy. Getting caught on table legs, bunching up against items on shelves. Uneven. Unpredictable. It took us a few weeks to realise. Food on the shelves rotting within hours whilst items just next to it stayed fresh for weeks. We rearranged the furniture, avoided the hotspots. That was after the accident. Peters asleep in the corner after an incursion into the dead zone. Never woke up. Looked like he had aged 50 years. It was the same outside. Gnarled, twisted oaks appearing within days. Animals dragging one decrepit limb. Everyone changed their watches to chime on the hour, acting like Geiger counters. If it started pinging too quickly you knew you had to move. In other places time was sparse, watch hands barely move. That's were we are now. Me and you. You got injured in the attack, I dragged you out to here. Anywhere else you would have bled out in minutes. Here, we have more time. Had. I let go of your hand and drag a chair to the corner of the room. It gathers in the corners of the room.