As tension gripped the country, the army stepped up its presence in major cities, in case the rebels strike first.

He paused at the landing, and a fierce tension suddenly gripped his features, as if he found it painful there.

A new stark tension gripped her.

A strange tension gripped her, making breathing difficult.

The prickling of his neck had become a squeezing of his stomach as tension gripped him.

Again tension gripped him.

He had thought never to feel that way again, and he felt tension he hadn't known gripped him gradually uncoil and relax.

Earlier in the evening, tension gripped the capital as it became clear the margin in the race was razor-thin.

But tension gripped the room, anticipation and nerves.

A feverish tension gripped her, her body automatically straining away from him.