{"id":487,"date":"2026-05-09T03:18:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T03:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/?p=487"},"modified":"2026-08-15T03:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T03:20:07","slug":"doorknobs-boomsticks-chapter-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/?p=487","title":{"rendered":"Doorknobs &amp; Boomsticks- Chapter 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chapter 3: Clockworks, Confusion, and Volta<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sore and confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink found herself on a tiled floor as her eyes blinked out the flashes that still burned her retina even after they were long gone. Growing accustomed to the darkness she saw streetlights bleeding their incandescence through large plate glass windows latticed with iron bars.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, curiosity is always a good antidote for fear, and Tink had the curiosity of ten average kids. Her breath ached where the tweed man had shoved her- doctor bag and all- through the light. She shivered in her night gown as much from the cold air as well as the confusion. So much had happened all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around her she began to notice, as the bright spots retreated from her eyes, a large storehouse of clocks. She stood unsteadily to her bare feet, and stubbed a toe against the leather bag. It lay partially on its side spilling its contents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around her clocks moved pendulums on walls. Clocks measured barometer pressure. Clocks had doors for cuckoos. Clocks rested on class displays with four-pillared gears spinning back and forth in a silent waltz. Grandfather clocks watched over the room. Ancient time pieces silently marked each moment. Buzzing, clicking, purring, and ticking, always ticking- the instant of eternity, never to be seen again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink crouched beside the doctor\u2019s bag and flipped it open again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything inside had been jostled loose, but it was immediately clear the chaos wasn\u2019t natural. Straps, loops, and fitted pockets lined the interior\u2014each piece meant for something specific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She began pressing things back into place, more from instinct than thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were nine leather slots for doorknobs. Only eight were filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each one was different- gunmetal dull, polished silver, brass, gold-toned, crystal-cut, even one painted a soft purple that felt like sanded wood beneath her fingers. No two matched. No two seemed meant for the same door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She swallowed and set them carefully back into their places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bag held more than doorknobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A small wooden box, velvet-lined, revealed a set of delicate instruments- fine, precise, and unfamiliar. Not medical. Not quite mechanical either. She shut the lid and slid it into a side pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another case, no larger than a deck of cards and warm to the touch, opened with a soft latch. Inside lay a pair of opera glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her mother had used something like them once, leaning forward in her seat at Much Ado, watching the actors as though she might step onto the stage herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink folded them closed and returned them without a second thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A metal circlet caught her eye next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It unfastened like an earring, and threaded along it were a dozen rings- each one different, each one worn smooth in places as though they had been used often. None would fit her fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Except her thumb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink frowned and set them aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along the length of the bag, a narrow zippered pocket resisted her at first before giving way. Inside was a leather ledger, worn soft at the edges. She flipped it open.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All blank pages\u2026 except one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The entry was written in careful, deliberate script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBowling Ball- 37 Greene Avenue, Harrisford, Ontario.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink read it again, more quietly this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBowling ball\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPut that down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The voice cut cleanly through the shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lights snapped on. Tink looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A woman stood in the doorway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tall. Severe. Beautiful- if you found a gaze that sharp and unyielding beautiful. Tink only knew she could not look away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She was dressed in tweed from collar to hem, a long petticoat falling in clean lines to her boots. A bonnet crowned her head, a single white feather trailing behind it like a quiet declaration. A watch chain ran from breast pocket to hip, glinting faintly as she moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In her hand she carried a rod. It spat small, bright sparks from its tip, each one snapping and dying in the air like distant fireworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDrop the bag.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She did not raise her voice. She didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink held her ground- though her grip tightened as her certainty slipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe sent me here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The words came out before she could stop them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDid he know you\u2019d be here too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman\u2019s eyes narrowed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sparks at the tip of her rod died instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She turned it in her gloved hands, collapsing it in a smooth, practiced motion until it was no larger than a pen, then slipped it into the purse hanging at her hip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only then did she move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d she said. Something in her voice caught Tink\u2019s ear. Not just the tone. The accent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sharp. Clipped. German. The same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink took a step back, angling the bag out of reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re\u2026 you\u2019re with him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re with the Tweed Man,\u201d Tink said, more certain now. \u201cYou talk just like he does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the first time, something shifted in the woman\u2019s expression. Her composure cracked- just slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIs he here?\u201d She turned, scanning the shop. \u201cHuygens?\u201d she called. \u201cHuygens, are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman moved. Not hesitantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Directly towards Tink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink stiffened, clutching the bag tighter, bracing herself as the woman closed the distance between them\u2026 and passed her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without a glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She continued on, peering down the corridor beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cExcuse me!\u201d Tink called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman stopped. Turned. Folded her arms, her expression tightening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m afraid\u2026\u201d Tink began, then faltered. \u201cI\u2019m afraid-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, I can see that,\u201d the woman snapped. \u201cAs well you should be. A girl- alone- carrying something she clearly doesn\u2019t understand-\u201d She stopped herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut never mind that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink swallowed. \u201cWhat I mean is\u2026\u201d she tried again, forcing the words through. \u201cIf he\u2019s the man you\u2019re looking for\u2026 he\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A beat. \u201cAnd he\u2019s not coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The words struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman seemed to fold in on herself, as though something inside her had given way. She sank onto a nearby stool, suddenly smaller, the sharpness gone from her posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh no,\u201d she murmured. Only the ticking of the clocks could be heard. \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her gaze dropped. \u201cWhy else would Huygens give his bag to a girl?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not- \u201d Tink stepped closer, then steadied herself. \u201cI\u2019m not useless. And he said he was being followed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFollowed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink saw it then- her eyes rimmed red, holding back something she refused to let fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNot here,\u201d Tink said gently, closing the distance. \u201cBack in my room. He came\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She hesitated. \u201c&#8230; through my closet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes\u2026 through a door,\u201d the woman said, almost absently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink blinked. \u201cYou know about that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman reached into her purse without looking and pulled something free, holding it out in her palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another doorknob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or something like one. Older. Stranger. More deliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWho\u2026 who are you?\u201d Tink asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman heaved a sigh and placed both hands flat on her thighs. Smoothing out her dress, she locked eyes with Tink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow listen please,\u201d she said in a very gentle yet curt manner. \u201cBe a good girl and give me Huygens\u2019 bag, and I will get you a lolly and help you find your way home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink\u2019s jaw tightened. \u201cMister Huygens told me to keep it safe. How am I supposed to know <em>you\u2019re<\/em> safe to give it to?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman looked flummoxed. \u201cHear now,\u201d she began but responded as sweetly as a tightened jaw allowed her. \u201cMy name is Volta. Mr. Huygens is\u2026 my mentor. If there is one person in the world he would like to have his bag, it would be me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink stood as strong and as tall as her sleep attire would let her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volta\u2019s face turned chalk white, and Tink wondered if she would faint. But the woman worried her lip and fiddled with bangles that fell down her silk gloves to her wrists.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She sighed mightily for a long moment before finally announcing, \u201cFine! Just fine! You will come with me, for now. Goodness. Just\u2026 Just goodness!\u201d Volta sprang off of the stool, and walked towards Tink with such purpose, the girl thought she might be run down, but again she passed right by her, towards an open storage closet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got little time, you know,\u201d she said and noticed Tink hadn\u2019t moved, still clinging to the bag. \u201cCome on, come on!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink shivered in the cool night air of the clockhouse. She reasoned that going with Volta now was better than being alone. Volta took a look in her leather purse, and Tink heard the clatter of several objects while she stirred the contents before pulling out another doorknob.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A simple copper coloured knob.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She pressed it on the storage door, and it clicked solidly. Two tugs to the left, and one to the right, and Volta shut the door. Immediately the red glow hummed to life along the cracks of the door frame beyond. Tink was beginning to understand and steeled herself for another bright flashing trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there was a strange mechanical chime and Volta frowned, turning the doorknob to the right stiffly and the ensuing ruby light in the cracks of the door dissipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead she reached down to the watch in her vest pocket and snapped it open. The interior sparked to life. Tink heard an attenuated voice, not different than using her own radio set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVolta?\u201d came the disembodied voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d Volta said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Dvergr are on the move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d Volta said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey went into a house on Hillcrest Avenue. They were looking at a light on the second floor facing east. A moment later, some kid climbed out his window, onto a nearby tree and down\u2026\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJack!\u201d Tink gasped.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The voice continued from the pocket watch. \u201c He ran through the backyard. I don\u2019t know where he went after that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volta looked up at Tink, jaw working in thought. \u201cHold for a moment.\u201d She muffled the pocketwatch with her other hand and whispered. \u201cDo you know this boy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink nodded fiercely. \u201cI know where he went.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volta\u2019s eyes locked with hers and nodded sharply uncovering the watch. \u201cWell done,\u201d she said to the voice on the other end. \u201cKeep back. The Dvergr will certainly track him further.\u201d She flipped the timepiece shut and replaced it in her pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reaching out with her hand for Tink\u2019s she said. \u201cCome on, little girl.. I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volta\u2019s eyes saw something on the floor and bent down picking up the glass doorknob Huygens had dislodged and tossed from Tink\u2019s bedroom door. Volta swallowed and blinked twice seeing the knob in her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tink looked at the crystal knob gleaming in Volta\u2019s hand. She looked down at the bag in her arms and realized she still held the leather ledger. On the open page, beneath the single entry now emblazoned a second one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Jack West, Hespeler Dump, Ontario.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volta saw the confusion and fear and pushed the glass doorknob in Tink\u2019s bag, closed the ledger and replaced it in the zippered pouch as if she intimately knew the medical bag herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCome.\u201d she said and pulled Tink back to the storage closet. Activating the doorknob, she wrenched the door open, and they disappeared together into the light bright as a burning sunset.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 3: Clockworks, Confusion, and Volta Cold. Dark. Sore and confused. Tink found herself on a tiled floor as her eyes blinked out the flashes that still burned her retina even after they were long gone. Growing accustomed to the darkness she saw streetlights bleeding their incandescence through large plate glass windows latticed with iron bars.&nbsp; But, curiosity is always &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"yes","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-novel-2"],"wppr_data":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":488,"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions\/488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackjward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}