Tick Tock

Clocks.

Have you ever thought there was more to time than that?

Always sitting there, happily ticking away. They’re everywhere. At home, in school, shops, doctor’s surgeries, and stadiums… the list goes on. Always telling us when to leave and how long until something finishes. Handy little things.

David doesn’t need a watch, or clocks in his apartment. He can just look out the window and there’s a giant one, sitting there, Big Ben.

The night when it happened was a quiet one. Only the occasional car driving by, and the sound of the light rain gently drumming against the double-glazed windows that keep out the sound of Big Ben’s chimes.

But because of the quietness, David was woken up by the midnight chimes. “Ugh. Stupid clock,” he muttered as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes. “May as well see what’s on TV…”

He grabbed a beer and sat down on the sofa, stifling a yawn as he reached for the remote. As the screen switched on, a man appeared in the middle of nowhere. He wore a jet black, tailored suit and held a silver pocket watch in his right hand. He did not speak, he just stared. Stared and stared. There was a ticking noise in the background, nothing else. Just silence.

“Pfft, cheesy horror movies.” David changed the channel. The channel name appeared, the channel was changed, but the same image. The same man, the face, the suit, the pocket watch. There was one difference, he had edged nearer, only slightly, but he had. David changed again and again, but nothing changed, but he still came closer, and the ticking noise was louder. Louder and louder. Big Ben began to chime outside. David had stopped pressing channel up. But the channel was still changing, Sky1, Gold, Dave, Comedy Central. When at last, all could be seen was the man’s face, Big Ben chimed one last time, deafeningly loud, and David lost his grip of the remote and it smashed, but he couldn’t see it. All he could see was the floor, coming closer to his face, and then he blacked out.