Countdown

In a haze of dreary confusion and utter anxiety, I stared, glaze eyed at the new pop up that flashed in front of me.

“5:45...5:44...5:43…..” I counted out loud in sync with the timer. What the end of this timer entailed… made me very nervous.

I broke my glare with the panel and willed it to disappear like I had with the others. To my disappointment, the panel did disappear, but the timer remained. It counted down rather ceremoniously, making me even more jittery and anxious.

5:37…36...35...

Every second that passed by only made my condition worse, and the constant reminder didn’t really help. It was like whatever did this, wanted me to feel every second of my ordinary life vanish away.

[Well, it’s not like my time on earth was anything great]

I lamented, getting a bit whimsical I reminisced about my life up until this point.

You know, things weren't always like this. I wasn’t always the background character whom nobody noticed. Believe it or not, I did have a point in my life where I was a little bit popular; Elementary school.

Well, to be honest, it’s hard to stay isolated in Elementary. I mean, back then, everyone’s just a bit more friendly and open. Everyone was everyone’s friend. I guess for me, that time was what you could call a pseudo springtime of youth.

I lived as rambunctiously as any other kid. And...I probably enjoyed such a life style.

I was when I got to middle school when everything change and things got worse. I was someone who constantly moved and transferred schools often due to the whim of my parents, who really couldn’t settle in one place for two long.

Eventually, whether it was through my own actions or something, when my family did eventually settle down, I had developed this isolationist type personality.

It’s not like I hated it, having this type of weird disposition… but at the same time, I don’t particularly like it.

In fact, if were talking all truths now, being lonely… isn’t nice.

Sometimes…

S-sometimes, I wish I had a friend.

Unexpectedly, tears began to gather in my eyes.

I know, I know, its a bit lame, especially since at this point, I’m basically crying at nothing. I mean, aside from the panels and the goblin that tried to kill me, nothing really tear worthy happened, right?

The realization that I might die is just something I conjured up in my mind right? I mean, surely things won’t be that bad. I’m just overreacting. Rather, its just stress. That’s right, it’s just stress that’s causing me to feel all these uncomfortable feelings and causing me to sweat out of my eyelids…

...Right?

Well, despite all that arduous self-convincing, I couldn’t help it, and no matter how hard I sniffled, renegade droplets still managed to squeeze themselves out of my tear ducts. Mixed with my coming hysteria and the prospect that maybe more of the goblins, or even worse creatures, might start pouring in about 5 minutes, shook me to the point of tears.

Not really manly, but I can live with that.

*sniff*

Surprisingly, the tears that fell across my face somewhat helped me to calm down. It was as if a little bit of my anxiety was mixed into those flecks of liquid.

After what felt like hours I snapped myself back into shape. I slapped my face a couple times, flaring up my tear stained cheeks in exchange for a little bit of focus.

I once again checked the on screen countdown to get a grasp on the current situation.

2:45...2:44… 2:43…

Unexpectedly, I wasted a lot of precious time feeling sorry for myself, and crying, and being just a general pussy.

I couldn’t afford to do that anymore.

Whatever’s about to happen, will happen, and I need to be prepared for that. If it’s anything like the goblin, then it won’t be a simple walk in the park.

I dashed out the doorway, unexpected determination welling up inside me. I tried running, but I had forgotten about my currently injured thigh, so at best I could maintain a somewhat fast hobble.

I didn’t really have a plan, I mean, I was a bit too nervous, and I’m not exactly a super human who can recover from near emotional and mental break down in the span of 2 minutes… but I atleast wanted to do something.

Right now, I determined I would at least warn somebody.

Really, anybody would do; A passerby student, a teacher, the principal, heck even Kido and his onboard harem would suffice.

I moved through the hallway, no particular destination in mind, but still vigilant for anybody I could call out to.

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t meet anybody for a long time. This didn’t come as much of a shock, considering this part of the building was old, and many of the classes were held in the newer sections of the school.

My class was just unfortunate enough to find itself situated here, away from almost everyone else.

Wait...my class?

“My class!”

I chided myself for completely forgetting.

If I was going to warn somebody, I might as well warn my class. They were the closest group of people to my current location, and, even if my warning might not do much, I would still make an effort.

That way, if I die, I can safely pat myself in the back while saying congratulatory words such as “good job!” or “you sure did try your hardest, didn’t you?”

With any luck, I could pass the pearly gates with flying colors.

I stopped in the middle of the long stretch of hallway, before I turned around, and ran off once more, this time, in the direction of my classroom.

[I’m going to warn them!]

[Whatever happens, I’ll get to that room and warn them!]

[Warn them!]

I pumped myself up as I continued to hobble, closing my distance as fast as possible.

When I got to the familiar corner which would bring me in front of the classroom, I briefly checked the countdown to see how much I had left.

...1:39...38…..36….

“Tch!” I grimaced and realized how close I was cutting it.

I began to worry that I might not make it in time, when I finally realized something odd was happening.

...why wasn’t anybody else outside, like I don’t know, panicking?

I mean, shouldn’t they be at least somewhat curious? Plus, I was screaming particularly loudly back in the bathroom. Even if it is so far from anybody else, you’d think at least one person would notice.

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Dread crept into my still fragile psyche.

Maybe I was the only one who saw the floating panel?

My frantic  hobbles unwinded.

[Maybe I was the only one who saw these things… Maybe I was just hallucinating… M-maybe, none of this was real… ]

As thoughts of self doubt ensnared my mind, I finally bumped into someone.

It was a teacher, one I often saw passing the hallways but never really interacted to. She was walking down, from the opposite end of the hallway, with a  haggard look on her face. Her face was sweaty, and she oozed tiredness.

She was looking down as she walked to it took a while for her to notice me. When she finally got closer, and looked up, she raised her eyes in surprise.

“What are you doing out of class?!” She asked as if the question was merely reflex.

I looked at her hollow eyed, the possibility that I might be insane took a huge toll on my mental state.

After 5 seconds, I managed to utter out a weak, “...count down…”

The teacher was going for my collar, obviously ready to take me to the principal’s office,  when she stops me and looks at me weird.

“You…” She hesitates for a moment.

“...Y-you see it too?”

“?...!” I widened my eyes in realization. He was referring to the timer! The floating blue panel that was the origin of my anxiety.

“Wait, it’s not surprising you can see it too.” The teacher chided herself. “Everyone in class can see the countdown too, so it makes sense that you could see it too.”

How I translated those slew of words; ‘I wasn’t the only one who sees it!’

Vigor and relief filled my once fish eyed eyes. It was a serious weight of my shoulder to find out I wasn’t insane.

“What are you doing here...what’s that all over your shirt?” The teacher whom I didn’t know began to question with a hint of shock and gentleness in her voice.

“I-I…”

I choked up as a wave of bitter relief washed over me. Seeing a role model like figure in the middle of my current breakdown was a huge lifesaver.

My face began to cramp out a smile as my legs buckled from sheer joy.

[Wait! It’s not time for that!]

I controlled myself before another full blown mental breakdown could occur. There were more pressing issues at the moment.

My mind jumbled and anxious, finally managed to spit out after much deliberation. “T-teacher, the time- no, why isn’t anybody else outside?” I asked, curiosity winning out in my scatterbrain train of thought.

“Why? Well…” The teacher sighed as she scratched the crease in her hairline.

“Well, I guess, they're all a bit hung up on what’s going on outside.”

“Huh? Outside?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah outside. The sky.”

“?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“You don’t know? My...where exactly have you been these last few minutes…” She chided me as she led me to an empty classroom with windows.

In the bathroom and at the hallway, there were no windows, well, no windows low enough for me to peer out on, so I was completely lost when she referred to the outside. I did not fully grasp the  unknown element that was the outside.

I followed her anxiously, fully aware that time was ticking downwards. Right now, it was down to less than 30…In comparison to this, the teacher was unexpectedly calm.

I guess you could call this the charm of age?

When we finally arrived, and I finally had a full view, I momentarily forgot all that worry and anxiety, and merely gasped in both utter fear and utter amazement.

The sky right now was… it was a mess.

The sky was scarlet red and the clouds lost their original white sheen only to be replaced by a menacing black. Scattered across the sky and the clouds, were various cracks that glowed a faint white light. The cloud themselves, covered by said cracks, were swirling around in one epicenter. It looked like somewhat familiar to a hurricane, or a tornado, well, with the exception of looking a lot more frightening.

At the center, the eye of this raging black and red storm, was a light. Unlike the white cracks, it pulsated a hue of green, as it rhythmically synced itself with the air that was physically vibrating.

I was mesmerized by this scene, as if it had induced a trance like state on my psyche.

I was finally brought back to cold reality by a faint beeping noise, which signaled that the countdown had finally entered the ten second mark.

10…

...9…

I quickly turned to the teacher, who was currently silently looking at me. I filled my voice with as much desperation and worried bravado as I could muster.

“M-more importantly! T-the timer! It’s drawing closer!”

“?” She tilted her head, confused. I was also confused; why was she confused?

“What’s wrong with the countdown?” She asked innocently.

….5..

...4…

“What do you mean what’s wrong! It’s all wrong!”

...3…

She laughed, which I found really annoying, especially during a time like this.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I mean, it’s just a count down.”

...2…

...1…

“What are you expecting? An apocalypse?”

...0...

Ding!

Hello, Hello again!

Unfortunately, preparation time’s over, so you all better have prepared yourself, since, after all, what comes next is a simple apocalypse.

With this new panel, came a roaring crash, as my ears filled with screeching  screams, and my vision was blocked by a giant shadow.

I felt a huge force lift me off my feet.  I soared and crashed against a pile of stacked chairs.

“....”

“....”

It would take me a few minutes to realize I had passed out, and the teacher I had been talking to, was dead, half eaten by a giant Minotaur.

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