"The tick tock man?" Coraline asked because when she thought about Claire's nightmare and the long stretching corridors it was the tick-tock man that truly scared her. The terrible anticipation, the dread and the fear and that ticking. The constant ticking. "He's- he's here?"

Coraline bit her lip before stamping her closed fist into her hand. Coraline was brave and Claire was a superhero, they could take on one little tick-tock man. One terribly scary tick tock man. "We'll be okay Claire. I'll make sure we're safe even if it means we have to run away. I'll protect you."