7 Hours

4:36 am

I enter the dark tower through the smallest door to the left. On the inside, it was just a hollowed square, with a mouldy staircase on the corner. The ceiling were high and leveller out just about my head. Something about the this claustrophobia induced room made me want to run away I the other direction as fast as possible. Instead, I keep moving up the stairs. If walking hurt, climbing was impossible. I used a long discarded woodden stick to heave myself up.
2nd...
3rd...
I reached the top when it felt like my leg had been amputated. This was a far larger room than the other. It had a sweeped concrete floor and windows on every side. The clock itself was placed on the north wall, with its gears clicking away maddeningly. Who knew something so simple as a clock had something that intricate beneath. But then again, who 'ever' knows the true meaning of things...

I sigh and pull out a small Swiss army knife from my pocket. A long rope and a small package that had mattered so preciously followed. I walked up to the clinking gears and tried to calculate. I picked the small iron bar to the left of a large gear. It was the one. My hands fumbled with the rope as I tried to tie it with precision. Then, I walked over the other side and brought out my other package. I gingerly held it up. A small mechanical beat emanates from it. I pull the other end of the rope and start wrapping the packaging. In a few minutes, after I was satisfied with my work, I smirked. My job was done. I threw the package over the edge, the rope trailing down. Just before it hit the ground, it stopped. Perfect.

Now to just wait. Now to just wait for time to tick away. I limped to the edge and squatted down. It was a long night, and it would end with a friend coming to accept me.