“It’s one of your greatest fears: time.â€? More ticking came, this time a clock appeared as well. Another popped up. And another. It would not stop. There were clocks everywhere, all ticking at different beats. I turned every which way to evade the attack of the clocks, as stupid as that sounds, but there would be another one there.

Voices came in the background. Was I hearing things? Probably. I heard laughter. Sobs. Yells. Whispers. All from conversations I’ve had before. Images of my past played in random order in front of me. “Hunter!â€? I called. The ticking. The voices. The images. My heart pounded hard. The sound of my heartbeat joined the chorus of noise. The tempo sped up. Then there was a steady but sure crescendo. “Hunter!â€? My hands flew up to my ears. My eyes were shut.

“Emma. You have to face it,â€? he yelled over the noise. “Emma! I’m here with you.â€?

“I can’t. Hunter, I can’t,â€? I sobbed. “Make it go away.â€? I could feel more clocks appearing, taking up the space we were in, suffocating me.