The fluorescent lights flickered overhead.  Annalise watched uninterested, head resting on the understuffed pillow on top of the too small cot in the corner of her hospital white cell.  Two chairs placed in the center of the floor facing each other made up the only other furniture in the frigid room.  Marcus brought them in earlier with no explanation.  Not like Annalise needed one.
“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock,” she sang slowly and softly, the lights flickering in sync with her voice.  “Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. T-.”  She stopped once they stood outside her door.  Buttons beeped, the lock groaned, and the pair stepped cautiously into her room.
“Annalise,” said Marcus’ deep, throaty, condescending voice.  Annalise smirked, lifting her top half slowly from the bed.  Her black eyes skipped over Marcus’ unflattering green scrubs and focused on the pale, skinny boy behind him.  His trepidation was palpable despite the unperturbed facade he attempted.  Her smirk widened.  The lights flickered.  “I’ll leave you to it,” Marcus told the boy before exiting the suite, locking the door behind him.
Wordlessly, Annalise moved to the chair nearest her, eyes never leaving the boy.  After a few moments, he sat in the chair opposite her.  After several more moments, he opened his mouth.  “Hi, uh, Ms. Annalise. My name is Miguel, and, uh,  my friends and I were hoping -- we are hoping -- for your, uh --”  He stuttered.  His voice shook with fear, and his nimble fingers fidgeted with the strings of his red hoodie.
“I know who you are,” Annalise interrupted, amusement clear in her voice.  Miguel shut his mouth.  “I know who your friends are.  I know why you’re here.  You delved into a magic you don’t understand and tried to fight an entity you can’t possibly hope to defeat.”  Her voice flowed like liquid, deep and languid.  “You and your pack unleashed a force not even the Big Man Above can face.”
“I’m sure He can,” Miguel challenged indignantly.  Annalise almost forgot of his devotion.
“If you’re so sure, then why are you here?”
Miguel didn’t have an answer.  His long, bony fingers gripped the hem of his hoodie, and  his knee, which peeked through his ripped jeans, bounced rapidly; Annalise heard his heart pounding against his ribcage.  She watched the battle rage in his mind, amber eyes displaying the conflict consuming him.  She almost smiled.
“It’s ok, Miguel,” she said soothingly and insincerely.  “Sometimes you can’t fight evil with good. Considering the past of you and your pack, I thought you would know that.  You have friends in low places because they have what you need. You’re here to add me to that list of friends.”  Miguel nodded, relieved that Annalise saved him from explaining the situation himself. 
“But you know, Miguel, my services come at a price,” Annalise informed, conspiratorially .  Miguel’s eyes widened even more. 
“What do you want?” He asked, shakily.
“Don't worry, darling.  You’ll accept the cost either way because the lives lost to the creature if you reject my help will cost more,”  Annalise said.  “So, we have a deal?”
Miguel remained silent for a long time.  The battle behind his eyes grew into a full blown war and the witch in front of him fought on the winning side.  Annalise rolled her head back, dark eyes turned towards the sickly light shining down on them.  “Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock,” sang her hauntingly beautiful voice, filled with the sins of hell.  The lights guttered in time with her song, more intense than the gentle prance they performed before. Miguel sucked in a breath, his fingers gripped his hoodie tighter, his knee bounced with enough force to break through the stone floor, and his heart lodged itself in his throat.
“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.”  Annalise’s voice crescendoed, her rhythm gaining speed.  A second voice joined hers, then a third, a fourth, until every ghost of every life already gone sang to Miguel, warning him that time continued ticking, and each second meant another victim.  The lights flashed on and off with increasing fervor, the windows shook, the door rattled, and the earth quaked beneath him. 
Annalise’s voice rose above the clamor, laced with poison, “Time ticks, Miguel.  Think of all the blood on your hands.  Think of all the souls waiting to drag you down to hell with them once the creature finally kills you.  Decide soon.”
Miguel covered his ears with hands. “Please, make it stop.  Make it stop.  Make it stop,” he begged.  Annalise ceased singing, and the lights cut off completely, leaving them in total darkness.  The world sat in silence for a moment.  Then, Annalise laughed, a shrieking, maniacal laugh that shattered Miguel’s covered eardrums.  He let out a scream.
“Fine!  I accept your price!”
Annalise stopped.  The lights cut on again revealing her smiling face.  “Wise decision.  Now, call for Marcus.”
Too frightened to disobey, Miguel called for the nurse to return.  Buttons beeped, the lock groaned, and as soon as Marcus opened the door a piece of glass struck his heart.  He looked down at the damage, failing to comprehend the situation at hand, then fell to the floor.  Miguel looked towards the unbroken window then towards Annalise, pale face starch white.
“You have no idea how much I hated him,” Annalise said by way of explanation. “Let’s go.  Time ticks.”