Chapter Five: Platform Zero

Trains reached Platform Zero only at times that did not exist. Tang pulled Shen into a bankrupt watch shop. Hundreds of clocks were each one second slow. A child's watch beneath the counter had no hands. When she buckled it onto Shen, the officers outside walked past as if the pair had been cut out of time. Inside the strap was a rule: A CLOCK WITHOUT HANDS IS CORRECT ONCE EACH DAY. DO NOT BOARD THE FIRST TRAIN. IF YOU SEE YOURSELF DISEMBARK, DO NOT LET HIM RECOGNIZE YOU. The rear door opened beneath the abandoned clock tower at Linchuan West Station. Backcity's platform was crowded with undocumented people. Names moved across a display; whenever one appeared, a face in the crowd went dark.