Chronomentrophobia

Tick

The walls and my brow drip with moisture, each bead of perspiration trickling with the slow determination of a serpent, leaving fresh tracks in the dirt on my skin.

Tock

It's far too hot in here. The air is thick. It is difficult to breathe.

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My coat. Perhaps if I remove my coat…. Is it still on? I can't see. (Do I want to see?) It's too dark.

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A faint grey square of light. A hatch. I am below deck. The ship's hull comes into focus. The walls curve inward, its beams like monstrous ribs inside the belly of a beast.

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NO! No, mustn't think that. It isn't real. It isn't real….

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But what if it is? What if you're just in denial and can't accept the truth? Oh, that blasted ticking! Stop. Make it stop!

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It's not the crocodile. It can't be. You know that. Then what is it?

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Where is it coming from? Is it in front of me? Behind me? I can't tell. It's both. It's EVERYWHERE! Oh, God…. How can I get away from it when I can't tell where it is?!

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I can't move. Why can't I move?! Chains. They have me in chains. That's right. You couldn't be chained if you were inside the crocodile.

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Just try to slow your breathing. Focus. Try counting the seconds.

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One. Breathe in.

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Two. Breathe out.

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Three. Breathe in. Surely it has been more than three seconds?

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Four. Breathe. In. This isn't working!

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Five. BREATHE! Can't breathe! Can't breathe!

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Mad. You're going mad! It's inside your head. You could smash every clock in this room, every clock in the world, and you would still hear it.

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MAKE. IT. STOP!

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What if it does stop? What then? What happens when the clock runs down? Does that mean your time is up?

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What if it never stops? What if this goes on for eternity? What if there isn't anything else out there? What if there never was? What if this is your entire existence and the world you thought you knew was but a figment of your fractured mind?

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No. No, she was real. I know that for certain. Cling to that thought.

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I can hear her screaming. Sorry. I'm sosorry!

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No. It isn't her. One of the boys? Am I never to escape the ghosts of my past transgressions?

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It's you. You're the one who is screaming. But I can still hear the ticking.

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My head is pounding. It's so loud. Why is it so terribly loud?

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They're coming back for me. Why should they?

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They wouldn't leave me here forever. They don't care about you. No one cares about you.

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They are coming for me. They promised.

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You don't really believe that, do you? If they were coming, shouldn't they have already been here by now?

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I don't know. How long has it been? A few hours? No, no. That can't be right. Just a few moments ago you were counting… No, not a few moments. A few seconds. Has it really only been a matter of seconds since this madness began?!

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MERCY! Have mercy! Please! I begyou!

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Look at you, weeping like a frightened little child, down on your knees in the dirt begging for mercy! Pathetic. You showed others no mercy. Why should they show mercy to you? This is your penance. Stop writhing like a cowardly codfish caught on your own hook and accept it like a man.

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Please….

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If you are out there, if you're coming for me…please

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Hurry.

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