He was clubbing the clock with a baseball bat.

“Whatcha doin’?” she asked.

“Killing time.”

“That’s dumb.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s not time. That’s a chronometer. It just measures time. It’d be like trying to kill a virus by smashing a thermometer.”

He slumped. “So, what? I need like a time vaccine?”

She shook her head. “That would stop time, but you already have time.”

“What do I do?”

She shrugged.

“If I can’t kill it, what if I just pass it?”

He tried walking back and forth over the mangled clock....