Okay, hi hello.
If you’re reading this then it’s the first good thing to happen since this whole nightmare scenario started. To start, I work at one of the side-of-the-road convenience stores. I have been working here for well over 5 years and nothing strange or spooky has happened. There’ve been a couple oddball customers but that’s to be expected with every job in customer service. It’s almost guaranteed you get some weirdo who oversteps in a few areas but as far as I’m concerned this place has never been haunted or possessed, or science-fiction’d into another plane of existence.
To start, I worked a simple 9-5 shift. Nothing too crazy, just show up in the morning and stay at my till until either my supervisor or a coworker shows up and tells me to clock out. I plopped down in my chair in the backroom and started checking inventory, doing the regular routine of doing about 5 minutes of work and taking a quick break to stretch or check my phone to look at Twitter or YouTube. I had around 10-15 customers in-between the hours of 9-12 which is when I usually break for lunch. I took a bag of Doritos and popped them open, savoring some of the dust that always magically ends up all over my hands. A few moments after noon, a guy shows up dressed in a full tux. I’m talking the James Bond type of affair. I was concerned that this guy was going to ask for directions because I was fairly new to the area myself but he just stepped in, asked for some cigarettes and walked out. I saw him through the window talking on his phone, nodding along to whatever the other guy was talking about. Other than the suit, the guy was fairly unremarkable. He had to be at least 6 feet tall, brown hair- normal looking dude. He shot me a look through the window suspecting I was prying into some private matters so I just looked back to my till and pretended to work. The guy left and then I was by myself again.
I felt odd for the next few hours. I didn’t know what was wrong with me besides the fact that I ate a bag of Doritos and those are always pretty bad for you. Something about this feeling was different though. It made me dizzy. Kind of like a light headed sense of unease you get after riding a scary ride. There was a moment where I was going to call my supervisor to come in and take over early but I decided against it, seeing I only had a couple hours left in my shift. I really wish I did call him seeing the predicament I’m in now.
Around 3:45 the power to the whole building went out. I was confused and so was the customer I was serving. I told them I’d be back in a minute and did the whole ‘walk past the garbage to the back of the building’ thing. I checked the fuse box and mucked around with it for a bit until I heard the power come back on. Weird for the power to go out like that on a summer day but I was never the one to ask questions.
I walked back in and finished with the customer that was there. Sweet old lady that just wanted some ice cream and a couple lotto tickets. I waited patiently again for the end of my shift to come, waddling around the aisles cleaning and doing miscellaneous tasks. I got bored so I went to the back to check my phone again.
Dead.
The power outage probably fucked it over due to the surge. I tried to plug it into another charger but it didn’t light up. I took one of the phone chargers we had off the shelves and thought it would work but surprise, surprise- It didn’t. Great, now I was working without a phone for the next thirty minutes. I knew someone would come within the next 5 or 10 minutes so I just sat myself at the counter and looked presentable. Time drifted by carelessly, I remember sitting there for what seemed to be hours. I looked back at the clock on the monitor. Still 4:30. I look at the analog clock we have around the self-serve coffee machines- 4:30. I look at the digital watch that is on my wrist- 4:30. I painfully stood there for another long while. I swear I could’ve been standing so long that my legs were about to give out from underneath me. 4:30 on all of the clocks in the nearest vicinity. I go outside and hop in my car and what else is on the goddamn clock other than 4:30. Despite me moving from inside the store to my car which I KNEW for a fact was about a minute walk away, getting the keys out of my pocket and turning it on- which takes about thirty entire seconds. It still said on the clock, plain as day “4:30”. I didn’t know whether I was imagining things or the planets aligned to freeze time at the exact moment I was about to get off work as a personal “fuck you” to me. It was like I looked at god in the face and he said “No, you’re staying here”. I ‘calmly’ got out of my car and headed back inside.
I remember not even bothering to check the clock when I got back in because I knew what it would say.
The phone that we had in the store still worked so I decided to try and call my supervisor there and explain my dilemma. I dialed the number and waited for him to pick it up. “Come the fuck on, Josh” I’m just sitting there cursing under my breath hoping that he’d at least check his voicemail. I knew he was driving so it wasn’t guaranteed that he’d answer since our store is located way out in the sticks. But surprisingly, he picked up.
“Hey, what’s up?” I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh good, hey Josh, something is going on with the clocks here they’re all stuck at 4:30.” I hear him audibly sigh “It is 4:30 dipshit”. I looked at the clock, then stared back at the phone. “Yeah, but it’s been that way for a while? I mean, I think I’ve been sitting here for ten minutes trying to figure-“
“Yeah, the end of the shift is always pretty painful to get through, I know. I’ll be there in 10 alright? See ya”
He hung up and yet again, I was standing there, bewildered at the clock not even remotely moving. Looking at my watch, the seconds weren’t even counting up anymore; the time was just stuck at 4:30:00. I was amazed I hadn’t checked sooner but every single clock was just stuck at that point in time. Had I slipped into a coma? Was I experiencing some sort of time freeze moment like in some cartoon? If that was the case then Josh wouldn’t have picked up. Is it a bubble? Does it only affect me?
Questions flooded through my mind as I tried to comprehend the nature of how and why I ended up here. I struggled to come up with any reasonable explanation. Then I remembered the power going off. I thought maybe that had something to do with it- maybe it just froze all the clocks at 4:30. Maybe it was just a power surge that knocked out the CMOS batteries. So, with me settling on the conclusion that time is still moving, I just waited.
A customer pulled up to the parking lot outside which washed me with relief. They wanted some propane and some water so I just rung them through then sent them on their way. Sometime later, another customer came in and wanted some lotto tickets. Things felt normal again, I wasn’t experiencing some time fluctuation. I felt like things were going to be fine, things were okay and I wasn’t going crazy looking at the clocks anymore.
Moments after the last customer left another person came in looking for some magazines and some cigarettes. He decided to make some small talk “Hot day out there isn’t it?” “Yeah” I replied.
I got curious so I asked him “Hey, uh- all the clocks around here are broken- what time is it?” The guy pulled out his phone and checked. “Oh, it’s uh- 4:30”. All I could utter was a panicked “what?” before the guy nodded and left with his stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever had an actual panic attack in my life but after he had left, I think I had one. My heart raced and I could feel sweat flooding from every orifice of my body. My chest felt tight and I could feel my balance going. I got to the back room and my legs gave out just as I fell into my chair. I woke up later to the sound of someone coming into the store. “Hello? Chris? You here?” I got up and dusted myself off before coming out. Thank god it was Josh. “Hey Josh, listen can I go home? I think I’m having a-”
“OH, good! You’re here! I was worried for a second. Here, I have something for you”
He handed me a box. “So, here’s some signage. I know it’s a half hour before your shift ends but can you please set these up before you pass off to Rose? I’d really appreciate it” I was dumbfounded. He just completely blew off my question about going home. I butted in “Yeah sure but I really gotta tell you something-” He looked at me with a squint. “What is it?” Wanting to not annoy him and keep my job I muttered out “Th-the time it’s stuck- I think there’s something wrong with the clock”. He rolled his eyes and checked the time on the till. “Yep, seems about right” He took out his phone and from over his shoulder I saw the ominous glow of his phone pull out from his pocket. 4:30. The phone said that was the time so it HAD to be right.
“OH, what the fuck” I let out my frustration. “Language!” Josh had to be trolling me at this point. I looked him dead in the eye. “Do you not remember me calling you earlier? You said the same thing, 4:30” He scratched his head, thinking. “I don’t remember you calling me on my way here, man.” “Are you SURE I didn’t call you? Because right here I-” As I went to check the phone for a call history, I noticed the screen was completely blank aside from the time. I looked back over to Josh “I’m sorry, I’m just really freaked out”. Josh looked at me with a glimpse of understanding in his eyes. He put a hand on my back “Alright, you can leave. Just make sure Rose is here before you go. Here, I’ll give you her number”. I jotted down the number and made sure to leave it somewhere behind the till so I wouldn’t forget about it. I nodded as he left. I watched his gray silverado pull out and ride past the tree line. Once again, I was left with a decision to either stay or try to reach out to another lifeline.
I decided to call Rose after helping another customer that told me it was 4:30 yet again.
“Hello?” she sounded muffled but I could just make out her voice. “Hey, this is Chris from work. I’m wondering if you can come in early. I’m feeling pretty shit right now”. Again, my coworker sighs in response to my suffering as she responds with a “Yeah sure, I’ll be there soon-ish”. I felt like I was close to going home yet so far from it. “Okay, just try to come soon”. I hung up and wandered around the store again, doing small duties trying to make myself busy for whatever reason. Another customer came in, a tall guy in shades. He wanted a bunch of soda for whatever reason. I get it, it’s hot outside but come on guy, you’re not buying these for a party way out here. He paid for his shit and got in his car. In my mind, I kept track of time and after about an hour, Rose finally showed up. I looked at her as she entered, she had a huge smile on her face- something about her felt off. “Hey, Rose. Glad you’re here on time” I tried to jog her memory of calling me before she got here. Rose shook her head “No, I’m here early” She pointed to her watch. “See, it’s 4:30, silly”. At this point I was just relieved I could go. I nodded “Yep, you’re here early. Now, Josh said I could go since I’m not feeling too well so if you could take care of some of this signage-” I looked for the box that Josh dropped off and I couldn’t find it anywhere. It’s like it just de-spawned out from reality. Rose cocked her head to the side curiously. “What signage?” I shook my head, trying to air out the confusion. “You know what, never mind just take over please” I took my name tag off and left it on the shelf in the backroom and got into my car.
I was finally going to go home and forget about this whole thing. I wasn’t going to look at any clock, I was just going to sleep and leave this whole clusterfuck of an event in the back of my mind. I turned the radio on to no avail. All the stations were static which in these parts, wasn’t too much of a surprise but there were still one or two stations that still came through. I disregarded it and just drove out of the parking lot.
I was on the road for maybe five minutes before I felt really sleepy. It was like a sudden wave of tiredness just hit me like a brick wall, forcing me to fall asleep at the wheel. I struggled to step on the breaks or put on a turn signal or anything. It was like my entire body was fighting against me, forcing me to drive off the road and crash. Every single instinct of mine was telling me to stop but as I lost consciousness, my foot just felt like lead dropping right onto the gas as I lost control.
I woke up in a rolled over car, my leg and arm clearly twisted or broken. I glanced up and the sun was still out, the evening glow was still here, taunting me. I assumed not much time had gone by but as I got up, I felt stiffer than cardboard. I checked my watch and unsurprisingly, it was still 4:30. I went to check my phone and sure enough, it was still dead. No power, no car and no physical ability to get out. I thought to myself that I should just rot there but another part of me felt it’d be an unfitting end to my story so I found the strength to pull myself out. My car landed just at the foot of the woods and as I looked from one end of the road to the other, I noticed that all the trees looked nearly identical. Living in a wooded area, you’d assume there to be some trees that look samey, but I looked up and all the trees were just plain pine trees. Large evergreens stretching over the road, almost threatening me to get back in my car. I struggled to get myself up and put my weight on my good leg as I hobbled over to the tree line. The air felt cool but there was a sound there that I wasn’t expecting. It sounded like the ring whenever someone opened the door to the convenience store. I looked behind me and I nearly screamed. The store was right there, behind the very spot that I crashed.
I think at that point, if I had a weaker mind I would’ve gone entirely insane. I lost a large quantity of hope but I still didn’t count myself out. I grabbed a hockey stick from the back of my busted up car and used it as a crutch to walk back to the store. The lingering air of mystery still hung over me but nonetheless, I still felt like I needed to see the end of this. Whatever was going on now sat on my shoulders, nagging me until I eventually find out what the fresh hell is going on.
Coming up on the store, weakly hobbling to the parking lot, I noticed a car sitting in one of the parking spaces. Checking around the building, it didn’t seem to have an owner. What was even stranger about it, was that it had no license plate. The car on the inside was just unremarkable. Leather seats, no real indication that anyone’s ever driven the thing. I shrugged and went inside the store, thinking the owner must’ve been inside and waiting for some service. I hobbled in expecting Rose or Josh to ask me “what the hell happened” Or maybe even greeted by a customer but alas, there was nothing. A chill ran up my spine as I looked around the small assortment of aisles and freezers to find absolutely no indication of life.
I logged onto my till and was greeted with the all too familiar time; 4:30.
It’s been four years since then- according to my makeshift calendars. There’s been quite a few happenings including me somehow getting a hold of a gun, some ammo and a half-decent internet connection. I’ve been using the computer from the till to try and communicate with family, friends- honestly anybody sending back some sort of response would be incredible at this point. There’s quite a bit of interference so checking for replies is quite slow. I’m surprised I even made it this far considering I’ve only had to eat and drink what’s been in the store. Josh and Rose are just completely untrustworthy and I’ve marked them out of my helpline a while ago. If anyone has any useful tips to possibly get out of this predicament, it would be greatly appreciated.
Your truly,
Chris.
Addendum: I wrote a second part to this, here’s the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/w493fn/i_clocked_in_four_years_ago_and_i_havent_left/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3