This is my first time posting my fan fiction, so your feedback would be very helpful in writing better stories in the future. I am aware that the past and present tense change occasionally, but I thought that messing around with time was particularly appropriate. The style will calm down in another chapter or so… Enjoy!

Two green eyes shift between clocks. Several wall clocks, alarm clocks, and watches are positioned all over a small room. Tick-tocks begin, quietly at first, but growing in strength and speed as the eyes move faster and faster. When the noise is almost unbearable, everything is suddenly silent and the owner of the green eyes is revealed. She sits, hands folded, on a small, metal framed bed. As more of the room is revealed, it becomes apparent that she is in a hospital of some sort. The bed, a simple bedside table, and a wooden wardrobe are all that resides in the room besides the overabundance of clocks. They are everywhere, covering the walls, much of the floor, and the table and bed, but the girl wears no watch. A small window lets in light, but it remains a dark setting. The girl sits perfectly still, staring forwards blankly. She is dressed in a white dress. Her eyes suddenly dart to the door as a sharp knock resounds off on the walls. She does not respond, and eventually an elderly woman with thinning grey hair and deep wrinkles enters. She is dressed in a nurse's uniform and she smiles warmly.

"My dear Grace! How are you today sweetheart?" The girl turns her head to look at her, but doesn't speak. The old woman frowns unhappily and steps fully inside. She is carrying a card in her hand and the girl, Grace, eyes it uncertainly. "Oh, don't worry darling, it's a card from your friend, Doctor Gregory. It's for your birthday; you know it's your birthday, right?" Grace glances at a clock on the bed beside her. The woman laughs. "Of course you do, silly old me!" Grace doesn't laugh. "Oh, well, here you go. Breakfast is at the usual time." She hands Grace the card and leaves, throwing a sympathetic glance her way before closing the door.

Grace looks at the card in her hands. The front has a caricature of a doctor on it. She slowly opens it and holds it close to her face. It reads,

Happy birthday from the staff at the London Mental Heath Home. Beneath that, in neat, slanted handwriting it says,

Grace McCarthy, Please come to my office after breakfast. We can celebrate your 14th birthday with a special, one on one session. Doctor Greg.

Grace sits alone at a table in a crowded cafeteria. Her tray is nearly empty and she is again staring blankly ahead, but now the index finger on her right hand is tapping to the sound of a clock on the wall of the lunch area. Time seems to speed up as the tapping gets louder, and louder, faster and faster until a lunch lady approaches Grace.

"You done with this Miss McCarthy?" She asks, motioning to her tray. Grace looks up sharply. The woman smiles and picks it up. "Aren't you supposed to be in Doctor Gregory's office now?" Grace stands and dashes off, the sound of clocks following her. She walks quickly down several hallways and stops suddenly at the office door of her doctor. She knocks quietly and a tall man with graying hair and thick glasses opens the door, ushering her in. He smiles heartily at her and offers her a seat in front of a large oak desk.

"Well Grace, big day isn't it?" He says. She nods a little and turns her attention to an ornamental clock on his desk. He turns it away from her. "No, no Grace, what did I tell you about the clocks?" There is a pause while Grace looks at the floor. "What did we say about the clocks?" Gregory encourages. Very quietly, Grace says,

"We said I don't have to watch them."

"That's right!" Says Gregory happily. "And why don't we have to watch them?"

"Because they'll keep going, even when I'm not watching them."

"That's it! That's it exactly!"

"But what if something goes wrong?"

"Oh dear, Grace, don't start this again…" Doctor Gregory begins, sighing heavily.

"No, but suppose the clocks stop working, and someone has to fix them?" Gregory speaks slowly and clearly.

"Grace McCarthy, nothing will happen to all of the clocks. People didn't watch them before you were born, and we've made it this far!"

"No." Grace whispers.

"Sorry?"

"No!" Grace says louder. "They did watch the clocks, and now they stopped, and if I don't, than the clocks will break and no one will be there to fix them!" She settles back into her chair and frowns. Gregory removes his glasses and rubs his eyes, exasperated.

"Who are they?"

"The clock people, they fixed all the clocks." A tear slides down Grace's cheek, but she doesn't appear to be sad. Gregory stands and steps around his desk and kneels on the floor in front of her. He brushes the tear away with his sleeve.

"We're done for today." He says, and escorts Grace out of the room.