### Chapter 3: *The Final Tick*
Mia clutched the clock as the ground shuddered, cracks spiderwebbing through the ruined shop. The wild-eyed girl lunged, glass shard gleaming, but Mia dodged, tripping over debris. "You don't understand!" the girl screamed, voice raw. "It's eating us alive!" The sea roared, waves clawing at the cliffs, and the sky flared an unnatural orange. The clock pulsed hotter, its hum a deafening whine.
"Who are you?" Mia yelled, scrambling up. The girl's eyes softened briefly. "Lara. I had it before you. I saw - " She choked, pointing at the clock. "It shows the end unless you stop it!" Another tick hit, and Mia's vision blurred: Greyhaven ablaze, Lara's lifeless body in the ashes. Her stomach dropped. This wasn't just her fight.
Mia pried the clock open again, gears spinning wildly. Lara grabbed her arm. "Smash it! Now!" But Mia hesitated - what if breaking it trapped them in this nightmare? The hum peaked, a scream in her skull. She spotted a loose gear, yanked it free, and the ticking stopped. Silence. The ground steadied. Lara gasped, "You did it."
The clock cooled, lifeless. Dawn broke, soft and real. Greyhaven stood whole again. Lara vanished with a faint smile. Mia dropped the clock, shaking. Time was hers again - but its whispers haunted her still.