Tick, Tock, Clack!

A tiny mechanical heartbeat was hammering inside the dark! Tick! Tock! Tick! I scrambled right along the wooden shelf toward the shiny metallic casing. A round alarm clock with brass bells on top! I tapped its cold dial with my bony fingertip—clink! Then the second hand jerked forward, and my feet began to stomp in rhythm right against the board. Click-clack, tick-tock, click-clack! It sounded like a two-piece band performing just for the shadows!