And the watch! It _ticked, ticked, ticked!_ It was like a hammer.
He had heard the sound of it first coming up through her hair.

But it was not in her hair now.

It was over him, about him--it was no longer a ticking, but a throb, a steady, jarring, beating throb.

It grew louder, and the air stirred with it.

He lifted his head.