Prior parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

I hope you  enjoy.

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Purvell was caught quite off guard at what happened. It could’ve been a really serious injury and they managed to get away with a fair bit of luck. It could’ve been worse, they supposed. They could’ve taken the injury, but now this was something that piqued their curiosity. Naturally, it reminded them of what happened earlier, thought that one had to do with it already being on their mind.

They wondered about what the chances of two objects breaking near them in one day were, and they wondered about many more things, but now was not the time for questions. Now was the time for them to try and work out why the ceiling fan fell.

Purvell touched one of the blades, just to see if they could tilt the fan slightly and it did until they took their finger off of it, which it them responded by moving back into its original position. One of the blades had snapped, but the other two were fine, which was a relief they supposed; it meant less work being done to fix the thing.

Purvell thought about what was happening and thought that maybe there was a link between the issues with the house and the fan falling. Carefully they examined the wires but the wires seemed fine. Of course they were broken – they had to in order for the fan to fall the whole way – but they looked like they’d snapped of their own volition rather than anything that came from age.

As far as Purvell was aware, the fan was attached and sturdy, but it break between the fan and the ceiling was clean, as though someone was holding it up and let go before attaching. It was an odd break and it probably suggested something greater than just a break, but Purvell didn’t have much of an inclination to grab a ladder at that particular point and go climb up to see if there was anything else.

They wondered if the whole house was about to experience a whole load of issues as it seemed like, at least over the past two days, that that was the case. Maybe everything was coming to a head at this point. Maybe these were always here and they should have been more thorough when checking things out before they bought the place. Whatever the case, this was now something that had to be dealt with and so it was something that Purvell had to handle.

They took the fan out of the room and moved to one of the rear rooms where they stored a few sets of tools. They were not good at these things, but there were some things that Purvell could handle and repairs such as these were fine, at least until someone better qualified could do the proper fixes.

Purvell switched the light on but the light wouldn’t switch on. It was a sunny day, but that extra light was needed in this room. They tried the switch a few times and nothing. Purvell then went to grab a stand and a torch and set the torch up on the stand on a bench. They knew the batteries were charged and it was a relatively new torch, but when they tried to switch it on it refused. They tried a few more times before receiving a shock. The torch then started flickering heavily, making it not useful for working with. Purvell tried to switch the torch back off but each time they got a shock; at first minor and gradually increasing into something more and more painful.

Soon after Purvell gave up, the torch stopped, though by this point Purvell’s attention was elsewhere. They were moving quickly to the front of their house after hearing a loud smashing and scraping. They stepped outside and, much like some others, moved toward the site of a car rolled onto its roof, the wheels still trying to accelerate.

There was a person in there looking dazed. The doors were jammed shut in a way that seemed as though they were refusing to open. It was strange, to say the least, but thinking about that had to wait until later. For now someone needed help and a window needed to be smashed.

Someone grabbed a mallet from their own place and started taking to the windows. It wasn’t long before they gave out and shattered, and someone else reached in, undid the seat-belt and pulled the person out. The car’s wheels were still accelerating and, whilst the steering wheel wasn’t turning, the wheels were.

The person was bloodied and definitely dazed, but they seemed somewhat aware. They were asked if they were okay, to which the person advised that they weren’t sure what happened. Purvell and some others guided them to a bench whilst someone else called emergency services.

It appeared as though the driver was mostly unharmed. Whilst bleeding, it didn’t seem severe or significant, though it was a bit and so the group[ tried to address the wound. Slowly the driver became more coherent and started explaining that they were heading out of town when they forgot something at home, turned around and the car started driving itself.

The car had begun to accelerate and, despite attempts to press the brakes, the brakes wouldn’t trigger outside of on their own. The doors wouldn’t open and the car began to steer itself in an erratic manner. The driver considered smashing a window to get out but because the car was moving so fast and erratically they weren’t sure if they could get out. Finally it rolled over and slid, and for a moment they passed out.

One of Purvell’s neighbours suggested that maybe the car’s computer was on the fritz, but the driver advised that it wasn’t a car that had that much automation.

Purvell saw that the driver was well addressed and so they walked back over to the car. It still was trying to accelerated and drive away, and when Purvell thought that, they thought it was funny to think of a car trying to do those things and not just doing those things. It was an odd moment, but they brushed it off as it wasn’t important then.

They tried to look inside for anything in the car that would provide useful, but other than the driver’s belongings there was nothing they could discern. They took the keys out of the ignition and the car kept on trying to accelerate and turn. Purvell then walked back over to the driver and gave them their belongings. Thankfully everything seemed intact.

The driver advised that they wanted to go, but the people around requested that they stay, that it would be safer for them to stay. Still, the driver insisted and still the people insisted. Eventually the driver gave up.

The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a blur for Purvell. The ambulance and police officers came along, everyone provided information, the driver had no alcohol in their system and eventually relented about going to hospital. The car’s wheels kept on accelerating and turning, though eventually they died out just as the tow truck arrived to take the car away. Eventually people dispersed and Purvell was left standing there, wondering what had just happened. Of course they knew, but they were left with questions and a great deal of stress ab out what was going on. It had already been a long day and even though this had gone by fast, it also stretched into eons beyond what Purvell could perceive.

They thought that maybe they’ll speak to either Rigby or Clay about this, but then decided against it for now. Maybe they’d head on over to one of theirs the following day and go from there, assuming they weren’t all working of course.

For now there wasn’t much to do and so Purvell decided to go back inside, but before going through their door they found themselves no longer feeling safe. Maybe there was something going on. Maybe there was something more to Mercury retrograde and maybe that difference to how it usually appeared meant something. Maybe the planet was trying to tell Purvell and those two others something.

Purvell wondered how many people saw it and wondered if it was just an illusion or not, and Purvell realised that sleep had been lacking and they were overthinking it. Of course, however, they had data and they could still work from home, so maybe that would lead to some answers. However, they decided it’d be better to get away from the house for a bit and let themselves calm down. Being inside wasn’t going to help; they needed to feel safe before anything else and going inside was just not happening yet.

They went walking for a while, watching the later afternoon shift into dusk and into twilight and didn’t get back home until late. It was too much exercise for one day, they thought, but it allowed them time to think this time, at least. They could appreciate the trees and listen to the sound of crickets going off trying to attract something, and they could hear other sounds of other animals too, but the crickets were the loudest and those are what stuck out the most.

Purvell got home and unjammed their front door, then unthinkingly went to switch their light on. As they did they pulled their hand away, but the light turned on without any issue. No shock; no flickering. Nothing. Maybe it was all in Purvell’s head and they just needed sleep. Maybe there were no issues other than the three breakages they saw, and so much like most nights Purvell got ready for bed and went to sleep, though this time much earlier than usual. It was a deep sleep and heavy, and it was much needed, but Purvell forgot to switch the light off, though they wouldn’t have been able to anyway as, despite the light turning on when they went to hit the switch, they never did; it turned on of its own accord.