He felt the tension building up inside him. Everything seemed to slow down as the second hand lurched closer to the 12. His eyes stayed locked to the small clock waiting for the next minute to begin. Taylor looked over at him, concerned. "Fred? You've been staring at that thing for 10 minutes. What's wrong?" she asked as the second hand passed 12. Fred sighed and then looked at Taylor. "5 months. Markus has been gone for 5 months..." Fred said.

"Where did he go? You're the only one that he told."

"He just said he was gonna visit a friend in Europe. I figured that the stress got to him and he just needed a break, except it seems he's off the grid entirely."

Thomas overheard the conversation and came into the room. "Hey guys, I heard you talking about Markus. I found this poster outside the farmers market the other day," he said as he set a missing poster in front of them. "Tom, I've already seen thi-" Fred cut himself off as he read the poster. He stood completely still with his eyes fixed on a few words on the poster. He got up out of his chair and left. Thomas and Taylor looked at each other as they heard Fred speed off in his car.

"What just happened?" Taylor asked.

"Well, if i'm not mistaken he read the last seen date and location. See here? 'Last seen on August 1, 2016 leaving Gatwick Airport in London'," he explained. Taylor immediately grabbed Thomas and got in her car.

*     *     *

The outside noises could easily be heard in the apartment. Markus stared outside as he held a brightly colored bracelet. He felt the bed shake as someone sat on the other side of it, but he continued to stare out into the sky. The person on the other side of the bed turned around to look at Markus. She placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "Markus? You alright? You don't normally stare outside for this long." She waited a few seconds before shaking him, snapping him out of his trance. "W-wha? Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking about my friends at home. My dreams have been messing with me recently," he said weakly.

"Listen mate, whatever's going on over there, they're okay!" she said consolingly. They both got up and prepared to leave for a party. The trip in the car was dead silent. Everyone felt like they needed to say something, but they couldn't bring themselves to. Jay was driving, Sofia sat still, and Markus continued staring out the window.

At last, they arrived at their destination. They scrambled out of the car and got ready to head in. Sofia looked at Markus concerned. "Markus, are you sure you're ok? You've seemed really down this whole time." She asked.

"Sofy, I promise you. I'm okay. Let's just go," he responded as he walked in. There was only a few hours left until midnight, and the party was teeming with life. Jay walked ahead of the two and began to talk with a friendly-looking arctic fox. The both of them turned around to look at Markus. At the instant he looked at his face, Markus froze. The fox realized at the same time Markus did. They stared at each other for a few seconds until they simultaneously said, "Holy hell...".

*     *     *

The night was calm as the plane tore through the clear Atlantic sky. The muffled sound of the jet engines filled the silent cabin. Fred sat aisle, while Tom sat window. Taylor sat between the two with a mask covering her eyes. The boys started whispering to each other.

"Sigh, I still can't believe you guys followed me."

"I already told you, it was her idea not mine!"

"How would this concern her? I've known Markus longer than she has, I don't see why she feels the need to come and drag you along too."

"I think it might be because she knows about my brother. He lives in London. In Lambeth. He hosts these mad parties every New Years' Eve and has many connections. Maybe she thinks he can help?"

"Hmm, that sounds reasonable. I haven't seen him in years so that'll add onto just finding Mark. So, how extensive are his connections?"

"Well, they're extensive to the point that he knows too many people across the British Isles. If Markus is still in the UK- Hell, if he's still in London, then Austin can probably narrow down where he is easily."

As Tom finished his sentence, Taylor ripped the mask from her face, smiling. "I was right to bring you along," she said joyously. A second passed before the pilot came onto the intercom and announced that the plane would be landing in an hour. The three of them felt a wave of relief following the announcement.

The time came when the plane finally touched down. The trio exited the plane and an uber. "Hey, so uh how come we're not asking someone who works here about Markus?" Taylor asked. Thomas turned to her with a confused expression, "Why do you think the people here would remember? He was last here 5 months ago." The car then arrived and they made it to Austin's house.

"Ah, just in time. Midnight is approaching quickly, so he's still sober," Thomas said whilst walking in. The bright and vibrant party of the inside contrasted heavily with the dark and gloomy-ish atmosphere of the facade of the house. The soundproof walls allowed for the loud music and cheers to be masked from the outside world. The group made their way to the center of the action, where Austin resided. Absent from their knowledge, Markus was among the partygoers sticking close by to Jay and Sofia.

"Hey bro!" Austin shouted as Tom came into view, "glad to see ya here! It's been too long! So, what brings you here?"

"Heh, well I was dragged along by Taylor here to look for a friend of ours that's gone missing. Do you think you can find him?" Tom had a nervous expression on his face as he saw Austin's face morph. He whispered something under his breath before changing back just as quickly as he did. "Of course! What's his description?" Tom handed him the missing poster and Austin's face turned to confusion. "What? What's wrong?" Taylor asked.

"Odd. He disappeared 5 months ago... but he's here."

"What?" the three said in unison

"Yeah. He's at this party. I talked to him when he arrived, I'd say an hour or two ago," he said as the trio stared at him in shock. Fred immediately piped up, "WHERE IS HE???" calling the attention of all the people around him. Embarrassed, he looked around and saw Markus' sandy ears. He gestured towards Taylor and Tom to follow him and they headed over in his direction. As they approached the feline they could hear his voice getting louder until they reached him.

Markus turned around and laid his eyes on them. "Guys? Y-you came looking for me?" he said, starting to tear up. "Of course we did buddy, we care about you. Why'd you leave?" Fred said, embracing him.

"I- I was tired of all the attention. I figured that all this stress was affecting me enough that I was also affecting you at the same time. I didn't wanna do that to you guys so I went off with two of my old mates here. I didn't think you guys would still want me..." he finished as he began to cry. They all embraced each other for a few seconds until Markus began to experience extreme pain and fell on the floor.

Everyone panicked and quickly rushed to his side. He had his hands locked onto his head, grasping tightly. Everyone kept freaking out as they knew nothing about what to do in this situation. Markus then froze, got up, and ran out of the building. In their confusion, the room became dead silent. Jay spoke up, "I'll go get him. This happens sometimes," and then proceeded to walk out too. Thomas darted his gaze over to where Markus had collapsed and noticed his phone was still there, vibrating. He bent over and picked it up to read the texts that were being received:

Messages: 31/12/2016 - 23:13
Bruno: marko? that just happened to you too right?
Messages: 31/12/2016 - 23:13
Bruno: was it the clocks for you? i need to know. this stuff is connected in some way
Messages: 31/12/2016 - 23:14
Bruno: you need to come back to olisdale. we need to figure this out

Thomas handed the phone over to Fred. Fred gave the phone back after reading it through. He chugged the rest of his drink and walked off.

"Okay I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea what's happening."

"Me neither Tay. Let's just stay here for now."

*     *     *

She could remember it like it was yesterday. The echo of her footsteps rang throughout the home. With every step, Angel couldn't forget what happened. Footsteps seemed to slow to a crawl as Angel stopped in place. She picked up a mug of coffee and drank from it, drowsily. "Ugh... I need to stop staying up so late.." Angel said. As she kept drinking, she heard her phone buzz.

"Oh, it's Fred. Maybe he's wishing me a happy new year," she accepted the call, "Hey Fred, what's up?"

"Hi Angel, um... Odd request, but can we meet up?"

"Huh? Heh, you never wanna meet up with me. Is it a new year's thing?"

"Well, not really. I need a favor from you, but I doubt you would accept. So uh... basically i need you to look into a possible case of convoquer..."

Angel froze up at the utterance of that word. She struggled to respond back to Fred, "C-convoquer? What are you talking about? That hasn't been a th-thing in more than 15 years..."

"Okay, yes, I know it sounds unbelievable. I-I'm gonna send you an address in London soon. I need you to meet me there on Wednesday, okay?

"I mean I-I don't know Fred, I don't think I can handle that still-"

"Please Angel. It's for a good friend of ours' sake. We need your help."

Angel bowed her head and reluctantly agreed.

---