The shop bells jingle as a man steps in from the storm raging on outside. He looks around the store at all the clocks and gadgets. The store clerk smiles and stands up,

    "Ricky! How have you been?" The clerk says and Ricky smiles.
   
    "Hey Lance, I heard about Angie and those grave robbers...some people are just sick. I know it's been a few years since I was deployed and since we've seen each other, but I want you to know I'm here for you now," Ricky says stepping close to Lance and putting his hand on his shoulder.

    Lance frowns and sighs, looking over at their wedding picture, and looks back to Ricky. Ricky waits for a moment and nods in understanding. He steps back and sighs,
   
    "Just let me know if you need to talk, I know it's been a year since she passed but it's okay to feel that sting..." Ricky starts to drone on, but Lance isn't listening. The ticking of clocks and gears fills his head and before he knows it Ricky is leaving waving goodbye.

    Lance looks over to his storeroom and walks back there, flicking the lights on and walking over to his masterpiece, a lifesized clockwork doll modeled after his late wife Angie. He smiles as he runs his hand against her metallic skin, he attaches a few more gears and puts a vibrant green dress on her. He steps back and frowns, she's still missing something. He thinks to himself for a minute and then snaps his fingers, oh yes that's it!
   
    He rushes out of the store room and grabs his keys, quickly exiting the shop and locking up behind him. He speeds home and rushes inside wasting no time he climbs the stairs to his attic. He looks around and his eyes land on a specific crate, he smiles and stops rubbing his head in thought.
    "Well, how am I going to get you downstairs?" He asks out loud.

    He looks outside to his truck and then sighs, he's going to have to bring his creation here instead. He runs back down the stairs into his truck and drives back, paying no mind to the speed limit in such dangerous conditions. He gets there and carefully extracts his creation. Once it's safely secure in his truck he repeats the journey and meticulously carries it upstairs avoiding knocking into anything. When he reaches the attic and sets it down he sighs and wipes his forehead.
   
    Now, turning his attention to the crate, he opens it and looks down at his wife's mummified body, even in death she's beautiful. He slowly picks up her body and gently places it into the clockwork body. As a final touch, he slips on their wedding ring.

    "Oh Angie, look at you," He says tearing up and placing his hand on hers, their fingers intertwining.

    The thunder and rain outside pick up as he's lost in the moment, failing to understand the danger of the storm, lightning flashes a few times as Lance adjusts some of the gears. Then suddenly, and without warning, a mighty bolt of lightning crashes through the glass and strikes the clockwork contraption.
   
    "My god!"

Lance screams and tumbles to the ground holding his head that's now ringing from the crash of lightning. His vision blurs and he tries to regain his balance but can't find his footing. Then, a hand grabs his arm and pulls him up, he blinks a few times and sees Angie, but integrated into the Clockwork Bride.

    "Angie? Is...is that really you?" He asks and fixes his gaze on her.

She seems more human-like now, almost as if Angie's body took over the Clockwork Bride. Instead of gears, her body is made out of porcelain flesh, so white it burns to look at.

"Lance? What's going on?" Angie says, taking a step towards him.

Lance can hear the clicking of gears and crackles of energy inside her body, but can't seem to find the words to say. Her green glass eyes stare up at him with pure emotion, somehow...someway this is Angie.

"You..." Lance clears his throat and continues.

"You were in a very serious crash a year ago, I...I thought I lost you." Lance says deciding to keep it simple.

"Why do I look like this?" Angie looks at her body and frowns.

"I don't know how it happened but, somehow your spirit was transferred to this clockwork body," Lance says putting his hand on her shoulder.

Angie twitches and the gears start moving more rapidly. Lance backs up slightly and Angie grasps her head screaming,

"IT'S SO LOUD" Angie yells swinging her arms which have been compressed to a fine point at the end.

Lance stumbles back to avoid her blade-like arms, he hits the floor hard and backs up. This isn't how he pictured his Valentine's Day would go.

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" Angie cries out lashing out at anything in sight, in a blind furry.
Angie glares at Lance with pure hate in her eyes. Lance doesn't recognize his wife at that moment, whatever happened here, the Angie he knew and loved, was gone.

Lance gets up and sprints down the attic stairs almost tumbling down, Angie growls and chases after him, even in heels she's fast.

"Lance! Get back here! I'll show you what this is like!" Angie yells, and Lance darts down to the first floor, running into the front door, and slamming it open.

He runs into the storm as he sees a truck pull up and flash him with the headlights, Lance squints his eyes and tenses up, then Ricky steps out of the truck and yells over the rain.

"Lance! What the hell are you doing outside?" Ricky asks.

Lance runs up to Ricky panting and stammers out a jumble of words. Ricky holds his hand up to stop him.

"Woah! Woah! Lance slow down. What happened? I came here to see if you'd like to have dinner at our house, nobody should be alone on Valentine's Day." Ricky says.

Lance turns around to his house and doesn't see Angie anywhere, he looks all around shaking from fear and the cold rain.

"Angie...she...she's out here" Lance stammers out still looking frantically around.

Ricky gives him a pitiful look and steps out of the truck, sighing as he looks at Lance,

"Listen, Lance. I know losing Angie was-" Ricky is cut off as with a flash of lightning, Angie appears right behind Ricky and slits his throat.

"Ricky! No!" Lance screams and stumbles back crying and falling to the floor.

Angie twitches and shakes in rage. She holds her head again as the clicking sounds inside of her rise in volume, she screams again, but this time as she screams a pulse radiates around her.

This pulse hits the truck, shattering all the windows, and cutting the lights, similar to an electromagnetic pulse. As the lights are cut, the environment around Lance plunges into darkness. All he can hear is the clicking of gears slowly approaching.
   
    He stands up and looks around, a flash of lightning revealing the direction of his house but also how close Angie is. She swings at him, missing as he runs to the house.

    Angie screams again as the pulse hits Lance in the back sending him tumbling forward into the front steps, his face smacking against the wet concrete, as he struggles to stand.

    "You should've left me in my grave!" Angie screams as the clicking gets louder and Lance cowers and looks desperately around.

    "I was at peace! I was happy!" Angie yells, this time from another direction. The clicking approaches him.

    Lance tries to stand but a sharp pain shoots through his legs, something down there is broken.

    "But no! You couldn't have left good enough alone! You just had to tempt fate!" Angie yells, louder.

    Lance crawls up the stairs and reaches around the dark to find the doorknob, pulling himself up and pushing inside his house.

    "Do you even know how I felt waking up in this cold, metallic body? How empty I feel? How loud it is?" Angie says, her voice following him inside as he crawls to the living room.

    Lance knows his house even in the pitch blackness, he knows where the landline is...maybe it still works. Maybe he can call for help.

    He hears the clicking disappear, now's his chance, he stumbles into the living room and grabs the landline before pausing. Who can he even call? The police won't believe him, his only friend is dead outside...
   
    As he brings the landline to his ear, he realizes it doesn't matter, whatever that pulse wave did, it caused the landline to fry. He hears the ticking of the gears coming back and Angie humming.

    "Lance, these eyes I have can see you so clearly. Even in the pitch black, I see your stupid face cowering in fear" Angie says, her heels clicking against the floor.

    Lance freezes in place, his blood runs cold. Angie's voice seems to be coming from all around him, almost like she's moving locations. Lance feels around the walls and pushes on a window, he tries to lift it up but it's not budging.

    "Haha, you look so pathetic right now Lance, this is what happens when you play God!" Angie cackles

    Lance sobs and feels his hand against the window, he smashes his fist through the window and starts to crawl out, cutting up his body, and he jumps out into the cold, wet night.

His leg is burning as he limps towards the woods, another flash of lightning shoots across the sky and he looks back seeing Angie climbing out of the window with a wicked grin.

    He stumbles into the woods and runs towards the center, he knows that the woods here lead to a popular spot, especially on Valentine's Day.

    Lance sees a car with its headlights on ahead, yes that's Lovers' Peak. If he can get there, maybe those people can help me out. A bolt of lightning lights up the area and he glances back, Angie is nowhere in sight.

    "Hello? Someone help! Please!" Lance yells and a couple exits the vehicle and rushes over to him.

    These seem to be college kids or at least seniors in high school. Lance stumbles and the guy wraps his arm around him and looks him up and down.

    "Damn man, what happened?" The guy asks and the girl runs over to help up the other side.

    "We need to get him to a hospital Blake!" The girl says grimly.

    "I know that Lauren. Let's carry him to my car" Blake says and Lance glances all around them.

    "She's out here! Somewhere, watching us!" Lance screams and the two exchange glances.
   
    "Who's out here?" Lauren asks.

    "My dead wife, she's a clockwork machine now, she killed my friend and now she's mad and coming for me next," Lance says and Blake sets him in the backseat and closes the door.

    "Dude this guy is crazy," Blake whispers to Lauren who nods and opens her mouth to respond as a shriek fills the air, the car lights cut and the battery dies, leaving the three of them in the dark.

    "It's her!" Lance screams and starts to climb into the trunk from the backseat, cowering in fear.
   
    Blake reaches over into the glovebox and pulls out a flashlight, turning it on and he screams in terror as the flashlight shines on Angie, Lauren stares in horror as Angie climbs onto the cars hood, the metal creaking and denting under her heels.

    She grabs the windshield and rips it off throwing it off into the distance, she looks at Blake and Lauren and narrows her eyes.

    "Where is he?" She demands.

    "In the trunk!" They both scream.

    Angie raises her arms to strike but stops herself.

    "Go, leave this place," She says.

    They waste no time unbuckling and reaching for the doors, Angie looks over and sees bruising on Lauren's arm. She grabs Blake by the throat and stares over at Lauren.

    "Hold it. Who did that to you?" Angie says, her grip tightening on Blake's throat.
   
    Lauren looks over at Blake and looks back at Angie with a pleading look, Angie understands instantly and looks at her.
   
    "Get out of here." She orders and Lauren runs off into the woods.

    Lance covers his ears as he hears the ripping of flesh and screams of terror as Blake is pulled apart. After a few moments of silence, she opens the trunk and stares down at Lance.

    "No! Go away! I'm sorry! Help me, someone!" Lance starts yelling and throwing random objects from the trunk at her.
   
    He looks up and only sees two glowing green eyes staring down at him, a flash of lightning then revealing her whole body. She stares at him with a blank expression, drenched in blood. The light previously behind her eyes is gone, in its stead is pure malice. She raises her arm and brings it down.