The Clock Tower

Text 1: The Twelfth Step, by Priya Marden

An original short story extract.

Imani knew there were one hundred and twelve steps to the clock chamber. She had counted them on her first morning and climbed them every Tuesday since, carrying the oil can in one hand and keeping the other on the smooth rope rail. Usually, the tower felt solid beneath her feet. Tonight, at step eighty, it seemed to lean into the storm.

At the top, she pushed through the narrow door. Rain rattled the clock faces, and the tower took the wind into its mouth and roared it round the chamber. The four great dials flashed silver whenever lightning crossed the town. Imani set down the oil can and reached towards the nearest gear.

The door slammed behind her.

She caught the handle and pulled. The door did not move. She pulled again, using both hands, but the wood only gave a small, stubborn groan. Her phone showed one bar of signal; it blinked like a green eye and closed before she could make a call.

Behind her, the mechanism began to wake. A cable twanged, a gear clicked and the great pendulum answered with a slow iron sweep. Imani told herself that the chamber was exactly the same size as before. Yet each return of the pendulum seemed to shave another inch from the air. She pressed her back against the door. The lamp above her flickered once. Twice.

On the third flicker, the chamber went dark.

How does Priya Marden use language and structure to show that Imani feels increasingly trapped and afraid in the clock tower?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.