The following time, is gripped by an awful fear (5)
I believe the answer is:
after
'the following' is the definition.
(following can mean after or as a result of)
'time is gripped by an awful fear' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'is gripped by' is an insertion indicator.
'an awful' indicates anagramming the letters.
'fear' is an anagram of 'afer'.
't' inserted into 'afer' is 'AFTER'.
(Other definitions for after that I've seen before include "In the time following" , "Behind; seeking" , "In pursuit of, behind" , "Looking for" , "Following - behind" .)