• He was running. Running as fast as his short childish legs could carry him. The clocks ticking around him, the bells ringing. His legs moving faster and faster as his small limbs grew longer and longer. He had to get away from it. He had to. The clocks were ticking louder and louder, the ringing of the bells growing more overwhelming for each strike.

    As he grew older, he could feel it doing the same. Getting bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger, faster and faster. His heart pounding in his chest with the same beat as the bells and the clocks. The ticking grew faster and faster, and both of them aging quicker and quicker. Fear coursing through his veins. He could feel it. He could hear it. It was gaining speed as its feet grew longer. It was closing in.

    The bells were ringing so loudly now. His entire body vibrated with each sound wave, shaking, shivering. He fell down to his knees, the bells too loud, he couldn't move. The bells were ringing, it was coming closer and closer. The bells consumed everything. The bells consumed him. Everything ended.

    -----


    He was hiding among the clocks. The clocks were bigger, louder and just more than before. There were so many of them, hundreds upon hundreds, thousands upon thousands. He could feel it coming closer, searching after him. But he knew, he knew he was closer than ever before.

    There was no deafening sound of ringing bells, only the calming sound of ticking clocks. Ticktock, ticktock, ticktock. Over and over.

    And underneath the sound of ticking, he could hear it breathing. A heavy breathing, as if it hurt its throat for every inhale and exhale. It's breathing was monotone, like its breathing froze during a tick, but continued at the same time, as if time was starting and ending, continuing and stopping for it at the same time.

    He pressed himself further against the clock behind him, hoping against hope that it wouldn't find him amongst the clocks. The boy shivered. He was afraid. Afraid about what would happen if the creature found him.

    «Whatever you do, don't look at it.»

    A beautiful voice, fair and comforting. Of course he was going to listen to the soothing, melodious voice. And yet... He felt his unending curiosity rear it's ugly head. He wondered what it looked like.. He wanted to know.

    And so, his green eyes looked upwards. The first he could see was it's shadow, moving amongst the clocks. He couldn't tell whether it walked on two legs like a human, or four legs like an animal, or flew like a bird or if it was slithering like a snake.

    And then, his eyes were met with another pair of eyes. At least, what remained of the eyes. He stared into two bottomless black pits, which seemed to swallow the little light there was. Blood trickled down on black skin, - Fur? Feathers? He didn't really know - from the two abysses.

    A chill went up his spine, but he didn't break eye-contact with the terrifying eyes. He was enthralled, unable to tear his gaze away from the hideous sight. It was enclosing in on him, but he couldn't move.

    It started running, but the eyes kept him in place. The fear, the eyes, the blood, the abyss, the clocks ticktockticktockticktock. The voice, in his head speaking and yet he couldn't make out a single word. The creature was coming, and he had nowhere to go. He could only stare into the bottomless pits as it came running, closer and closer until it was above him.

    He could see no more.