The Spleen started to rumble, and one of its many mouths opened wide, ready to speak.
"Mary, these are simply new times. Time gas gotten creative."

"But How?" Mary asked, "I just can't seem to grasp this concept. So time... is alive?"

-"No, Mary. Time just is."

"But I though time was irrelevant!"

-"Time is irrelevant to those who choose."

"Right."
After a moment of silence, she plucked up the courage and took a breath -
"But what about corpses? Will there be dead people hanging in trees next?"

-"Only time knows. But if I were you, I'd whisper. You wouldn't want time getting any fancy ideas of that sort."

- - -

"Which way should I go?" Mary asked, gazing at the many, many mouths of the hideous creature facing her, then the darkness surrounding them. The only distinguishable thing in the area was a thin silver line, that stretched both ways endlessly.
"You go backwards. I'll go forwards," said the Spleen in his favorite voice.
Mary twisted her eyebrows in confusion. "I thought we were in this together."
The Spleen turned, and started crawling away, uttering: "We will be, in the end."