Pitch
Young Nim has only ever known life in the clock repair workshop with his elderly mentor Per, but when strange things start happening, and the world around him appears to suddenly pause, he realises that he may be the key to defeating the evil Mechanic and his time control machine! With the help of ‘The Committee’, Nim is faced with the task of confronting the Mechanic, and preventing him from destroying the world with his elaborate invention.
The Timekeepers is an upper middle-grade novel which explores the nature of time, and what could go wrong if the power to control it got into the wrong hands. Investigating science and physics in a fun way, and with a healthy dose of fantasy, this is an epic adventure where Nim’s quest takes him on an adventure to discover his own origins and save time itself!
Chapter One
It was the silence that startled Nim awake that morning. He lay still, cocooned in the old grandfather clock that served as his bed, trying to make sense of the quiet. He was too big for the clock-bed now, even with the weights and pendulum removed, but Nim liked the feeling of being wedged in place as he slept. Safe. Secure. Dreamless.
He clambered up, pulling the tight neck of his brown woollen jumper over his head (another thing he was too big for now). The weak early morning light cast long shadows around the workshop, but everything looked the same; the old silver watch Per had been working on was still on the bench, its tiny screws and gears laid out neatly on a square cloth, Maud Jenning’s cuckoo clock was still sitting on the low shelf where Nim had left it after supper, and the small pile of wood was still in the freshly cleaned stove, ready to take the chill off as they worked.
He padded across to the heavy wooden door which separated the back room from the shop and edged it open. The padlock on the cash drawer was secure and the sign on the door was turned to ‘closed’, exactly as they had left it last night. Nim glanced up at the clocks. All of them told the same time, thirteen minutes to six, yet none of the hands moved, and the ticking and tocking that were the soft heartbeat of Nim’s life were disturbingly absent. The silence was deafening now. Nim clapped his hands together, just to check he could still hear. The crack of his palms echoed around the room.
‘Per?’ he shouted. ‘Per! Come down! All the clocks have stopped!’ He was flustered for a moment, suddenly doubting himself. Had he somehow gone to bed without winding them last night? Would Per scold him? But he knew it was impossible.
Continued…