Gryffon sat back, once again having to push himself away from his sister. His head and ears buzzed and he could feel his eyes flickering all over the place, trying to take in as much as they could.
"Tick tock, tick tock."
He shook his head and pulled at his hair, trying to ground himself again. No, don't lose it . . . "Jay, are you okay?" He blinked over to her, but all she did was glare at the walls expectantly, but again there was nothing to look at. The colors were arranged in blues, greens, and reds, but aside from that, there weren't even eyes to analyze. "Jay?"
"Tick tock, tick tock."
She raised a hand to him, to shut him up, and sank closer to the floor of the boat. The bit of water that had settled there covered her feet, knees, and hands, but still she pressed closer to the point her ears barely poked above the boat. "You don't hear that?"
"Tick tock, tick tock."
Of course he did, but he'd rather try to ignore it. Too bad it wasn't that easy.
"Why? Where's the clock?" Jay murmured to herself, running a hand over her face. "Ow," she grumbled, looking down at her gloved hands. "What the - "
"You clawed at yourself," Gryffon explained, looking down at the red smears on her gloves. "Your nails somehow cut through to your face." Jay nodded at him slowly, her jaw clenched. He found himself rolling his eyes at her, pretty much taunting her befuddlement. She was being childish, stupid, and completely selfish . . .
"We need to get out of here as soon as - Gryffon, duck!" He narrowed his eyes at her the same moment she jumped over to him and pushed him down, forcing his head to hit the side of the boat in the process. A second after they fell onto the wet ground of the boat, something like a wall dropped behind them and caused large ripples to push the boat onward.
"What the hell was that for!?"
"It had pikes . . . It would have hit your head as we passed," Jay mumbled, sitting back and offering a hand to help him up again, though he denied it and pushed himself up. "I'm sorry about your head . . . "
"Not like I'm not used to it anyway, whatever," he scoffed as he rubbed a hand to the back of his skull. "What's one pain more or less?" Their eyes met and he held her glare easily, noticing then how the illusion of his broken fingers did a great job at tricking him. She was still nothing more but an angry little girl with more fears than things to be brave about; Jay wouldn't have had the courage to hurt him that way. Yes, she still hated he never said 'thanks' to her, but he never believed she did anything to deserve it. Not once did he actually respect her the way she wanted, but she never did, either. Either way, and no matter what she believed, he did care, and would much rather go the rest of this trip without her worrying him, or harming him herself in attempt to be helpful.
That's what his sarcastic words and glare said.
"It's a lot, actually," Jay sighed after she looked away. "But okay, 'whatever'."
"Tick tock, tick tock."
She glanced upward and groaned, her eyes reflecting the dark blue light that spread itself over the river. "Found it . . . "
Found what? Gryffon's gaze made its way to the ceiling and he instantly wished he hadn't. The top wall was nothing but a huge circle, one with twelve different points and two hands: a long one and a shorter one. They were arranged to face in between the twelfth and first points, and the eleventh and twelfth points respectively.
"Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock."
A clock, the ceiling was a huge clock, but the ticking wasn't coming from it; it was far too erratic and pitched to be coming from something so big.
"We're not even close to done yet," Jay breathed, rubbing the side of her arms. Gryffon glanced back down at her, an annoyed huff escaping his lips. Why couldn't she just not put that idea in his head . . ?
"Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock."
Gryffon jumped when the boat rocked and something splashed out of the water beside them and disappeared into the air.
"The clock struck one, away she run - "
A loud gong echoed into the expansive room and caused the water, the boat, and the tribute to vibrate then settle again.
" - hickory dickory dock."
A louder thud made the boat bob in the water and Jay scream. When Gryffon managed to shake the water out of his eyes, all he saw was a bloodied pile of . . . something in between them, the only recognizable thing being the large round ears that stood out from the rest of the mound. Well, now wasn't that weird . . . And disgusting.
"Hickory dickory dock, the bird looked at the clock."
A loud, shrill cry came from above their heads, and when Gryffon looked away from the coiled flesh, he caught sight of a large bird circling near the clock. It let out another loud and prolonged chirp as it crashed into the longer of the hands and pushed it toward the second point.
BOOM
"The clock struck two, away she flew, hickory dickory dock."
Jay curled up and bit her tongue to keep from falling apart at the sight. She busied herself by scanning the walls again, making it seem like she missed the singing dolls whose voice still hadn't left. Was that little Capitol girl really better to endure than this ticking clock?
Gryffon preferred these quick events to the manipulation . . .
"Tick tock, tick tock."
He would easily live without the ticking, though. It would be so much better without it . . .
"Tick tock, tick tock."
Something rancid writhed around him, making him want to shrink back as close to the side of the boat as he could, but he was already as far as he could be without leaving the boat.
"Hickory dickory dock, the dog barked at the clock."
Gryffon flinched at the new set of words, now appearing louder than before. Somewhere along the river a pack of dogs barked and growled and snarled, and a loud scratching sound caused several loose rocks to tumble from the wall into the water. He gasped, trying to get the foul scent out of his memory, but it only grew stronger, quickly overtaking any other smell that could have served as a distraction.
"The clock struck three, fiddle-de-dee, hickory dickory dock.
Whatever light that had lit up their path vanished and left them in utter darkness, the only source of brightness coming from the faint, dark green glow of the numbered points that made up the clock on the ceiling.
When Gryffon looked up again, he noticed there was another image perched on the big hand. Its outline reminded him of a grizzly, but he couldn't tell if it was just projected there or if it was perhaps another mutt. If it was, they were screwed. It fell, they would sink, and would stand no chance against it with the useless items they had that they couldn't even see at that point.
"Hickory dickory dock, the bear slept by the clock, the clock struck four - "
A loud 'tick' exploded through the tunnel and the big hand shifted down another number, waking the bear up. It stirred and leaped toward the wall, disappearing from sight the moment it left the clock's surface.
" - he ran out the door, hickory dickory dock."
"G-Gryffon," Jay squeaked, her voice seeming muffled to him. His eyes dilated as much as they could, but still her form didn't come into view. They were completely blind and helpless. They could do nothing but sit there and wait, merely tolerating the constant beat of the repetitive song.
"I hear buzzing," she continued after a moment of silence. Buzzing . . . The only buzzing he could hear came from the ticking and the tocking of the distant clock.
"Hickory dickory dock, the bee buzzed 'round the clock."
Jay gasped, and Gryffon could just see her holding her hands to her mouth to stifle the scream he could only imagine coming from her. Just as he was going to ask what the matter was now, he felt a quick-paced flutter hit his ear; it circled his head a few times, landed on his shoulder, and that's when the sharp prick hit his neck. His hand flew up and clamped around the stinging area, but he felt nothing under his palm but pain.
"The clock struck five, she went to her hive, hickory dickory dock."
"Tracker jacker, Gryff', that's what that was," Jay whispered, her voice strained as if it took every effort to speak without crying. "It was only one . . . Is it gone?" But he couldn't answer. His lips were forced in a line and his eyes glared into the nothingness. He saw nothing and heard nothing but that persistent ticking.
"Tick tock, tick tock."
A shuffling sound disturbed the silence, and when he focused his eyes, he managed to see a white light hovering in the darkness. It was distracting and rather strange, but he stared at it, his glare narrowed and curious.
"Hickory dickory dock, the hen pecked at the clock."
A clucking sound echoed above his head and reverberated into the air, causing the light to multiply and spread across the sky around them.
"The clock struck six, oh fiddle-sticks, hickory dickory dock."
The boat bobbed up and down again, but little water trickled in this time. The boat just seemed to get heavier, but it didn't seem to ever stop bobbing. It just kept tilting this way and that, and a hissing sound came from the middle, as well as a scent similar to fire wafted around Gryffon. He groaned and tore his glare off the white light, and came face-to-face with a fiery outline that stood on top of where the bloody mound had been. He rubbed his eyes and heard a rapid beeping coming from his pack, but he couldn't remember where it had rolled to reach for it.
Beep, beep, beep
"Hickory dickory dock, the cat ran 'round the clock."
A growl, and a sort of slurping sound made Gryffon freeze and lock his eyes on the red mound, trying to make it out, but at that point there seemed to be at least seven red figures standing or hovering in front of him.
"The clock struck seven, she wanted to get 'em, hickory dickory dock."
Beep, beep, beep
Jay let out another screech and the red mound and its many other bodies scattered, appearing all over the place, and nothing else seemed right or straight anymore. Gryffon growled and covered his face with his hands, trying desperately to block everything out but the more he suppressed it, the louder all the sounds and singing got.
The sound of teeth crunching bone sent cold shivers down his spine, the screaming and panting made him want to strangle something, and the song and ticking and beeping made him want to just throw himself off the boat and swim the rest of the way! Too loud . . . It was too loud . . .
"Hickory dickory dock, the horse jumped over the clock, the clock struck eight, he ate some cake, hickory dickory dock!"
Gryffon clenched his eyes shut and begged for the world to just vanish around him. He hated how he felt like everything was spinning out of control, and how he felt lost and confused like a child. He hated how the ticking just grew louder, almost overpowering the song. He hated how the splintering of bones or wood made him cringe every time it happened. He hated how even his lids seemed to explode with millions of little lights, hurting his eyes . . . He just hated everything at that moment.
Especially the fact that he felt crazy. This wasn't normal. He wasn't supposed to feel this way.
"Hickory dickory dock."
Fuck, go away, go away! Gryffon moved his hands to his ears no pressed hard against the side of his head. He had blocked most of it out, he had ignored some of the song, but why had it grown louder!? He wasn't supposed to hear anymore of it!
"The mouse ran up the clock! The clock struck midnight, oh what a fright! Hickory dickory dock!"
"Tick tock, tick tock."
Popping and fizzing came from the walls, ending the song, but the ticking of the clock didn't cease. It just got louder.
And louder.
And louder.
Like counting down their lives, as if it was marking how many heartbeats they had left before they collapsed.
"Tick tock, tick tock."
The lights of the tunnel flashed and intensified, but rather than being one straight color to guide them, it was a spasm of colors. Blue one second, green the next, purple after, then red and yellow, and it went like that over the entire color spectrum. Colors repeated or combined, or flashed in one area and not another - they all just blinked rapidly, as if scared they would lose a turn if they didn't go that very second.
Gryffon's eyes were opened, but he couldn't see anything. Whatever he did see looked like a dark rainbow, and what he didn't remained in his ears to hear.
The red mound was no longer in front of them, but neither was Jay. Gryffon's hands brushed against the wet floor of the boat, and he managed to get in contact with his pack again, but the only other thing he reached was the pile of flesh. He felt a shiver hold his arm in place and he swore what he touched just have been a stomach, or maybe a lung . . . It was rather tough, so maybe a heart . . ? No, a brain . . .
"Tick tock, tick tock."
His skin went pale and his stomach churned and growled, and he felt like he was going to throw up whatever water he had in his system still. He couldn't believe what he was touching . . . Oh god, why did the Capitol do that . . . Why would they do that? Why would they drop an open body in their boat . . . Why would they let him touch it!? Why would . . .
There was some sort of sticky substance over the body, like slobber or something of the sort. It was revolting, but he couldn't move . . .
Gryffon had said he was ready, right? This shouldn't faze him . . . He couldn't let it.
"Tick tock, tick tock."
Taking in a deep breath, closing his eyes to block out the many colors, he stumbled up to his feet, but found himself falling backwards, and not onto the boat. Something brushed against his chest and forced him farther back than he should go, and he only realized when the empty space whisked past his head.
"Gryffon!"
A loud crackling sound cut through the air and sent a hot flare into the air, shoving pikes of agony into his open wounds before he hit the cold water back-first. Instinct told Gryffon to flail his arms to stay afloat, but it did nothing other than quicken his sinking. Not again! He didn't like suffocation! He'd rather be torn apart, he'd rather be burned to death, or even stripped and gutted! Losing his breath and feeling his lungs contract and his throat close was the worst torture; it allowed him to feel himself die.
"Tick tock, tick tock."