Five Minutes

[b]5[/b] The clock’s tick is a slow blade, cutting through the silence, fingers cold on metal chains— it’s only minutes now, my breath tearing through my chest. [b]4[/b] I can hear them—footsteps, too close, too far, scraping keys, rattling, the air, thick— I choke on it, wait. [b]3[/b] The light through the bars feels wrong, like it’s burning me— I can’t escape, the walls closing in. [b]2[/b] The door cracks open, a figure, a shadow, they’re coming, they’re coming for me. [b]1[/b] It’s time.