Ryan did not sleep that night.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same thing again and again.
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
00:00:00
The sound of the boy's head hitting the metal railing kept echoing inside his mind like a broken recording that refused to stop.
He turned in his bed and looked at the clock on the wall.
2:17 AM
"…This can't be real," Ryan whispered to himself.
But he knew it was real.
He had seen the timer.
And he had seen what happened when it reached zero.
Which meant only one thing.
The timer showed when a person was going to die.
Ryan sat up and held his head.
"If that's true… then…"
Then the girl he saw at school.
The girl with the calm eyes.
The girl with the red timer above her head.
29 days.
"…Skye," Ryan whispered.
He didn't even know why he remembered her name. She wasn't in his class, but everyone knew who she was. She was quiet, smart, and rarely talked to anyone. The kind of person who stayed near the window and read books while the rest of the class was making noise.
And above her head…
29 days left to live.
Ryan lay back down and stared at the ceiling until morning.
The next day, Ryan reached school earlier than usual.
Very early.
So early that even the school courtyard was half empty.
He didn't come early because he was a good student.
He came early because he wanted to check something.
He stood near the school gate and watched people entering.
Students. Teachers. Staff.
And above some of their heads…
Timers.
Red timers.
Some had years.
Some had months.
Some had days.
And some…
Some had only hours.
Ryan felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the numbers floating above people's heads like invisible clocks counting down their lives.
"…So it's real," he whispered.
"You look like you discovered the meaning of life," a voice said behind him.
Ryan turned around. It was Shaan, holding a cold coffee bottle and looking half asleep as usual.
"I was looking for you," Shaan said. "You left school early yesterday. And you didn't reply to my messages."
Ryan looked at him seriously. "Shaan… I need to tell you something important."
"That already sounds like trouble," Shaan replied. "Go on."
Ryan pointed toward the school gate. "Look at the people entering. Tell me what you see."
Shaan looked. "I see students who are depressed because it's morning and teachers who are depressed because they chose this career."
"I'm serious," Ryan said. "Look carefully. Do you see any numbers above their heads?"
Shaan looked again, this time more carefully. Then he shook his head. "No. Nothing. Just heads and bad hairstyles."
Ryan swallowed slowly.
"I see timers," Ryan said. "Above some people's heads. Red countdown timers. Different times for everyone."
Shaan didn't laugh this time.
He looked at Ryan quietly for a few seconds.
"Okay," Shaan said finally. "Explain everything from the beginning."
So Ryan did.
He told him about the man at the crossing.
He told him about the student on the stairs.
He told him about the moment the timer reached zero.
And then he told him about Skye.
When Ryan finished, Shaan was silent.
"So," Shaan said slowly, "you're telling me… you can see when people are going to die."
Ryan nodded.
"And you watched a guy die yesterday exactly when the timer reached zero."
Ryan nodded again.
"And now there's a girl in our school who has 29 days left to live."
Ryan looked down. "…Yes."
Shaan took a long sip of his coffee.
"Ryan," he said, "if this is a joke, it's not funny."
"I wish it was a joke," Ryan replied.
Shaan looked at him for a long time, trying to see if he was lying or joking.
But Ryan's face looked pale and serious.
"…Okay," Shaan said finally. "Let's assume you're telling the truth."
Ryan looked up, surprised. "You believe me?"
"I didn't say I believe you," Shaan replied. "I said let's assume you're telling the truth. There's a difference. So let's test it."
"Test it?"
"Yeah," Shaan said. "Find someone with a short timer. Then we watch and see if something happens."
Ryan didn't like that idea.
It felt wrong.
But he also knew Shaan was right. If they wanted to understand this, they needed proof.
Ryan looked around the courtyard again.
Timers.
Timers everywhere.
Then he saw one.
Above a teacher walking toward the main building.
00:48:12
Ryan's heart started beating faster.
"There," Ryan said quietly. "That teacher. 48 minutes."
Shaan looked at the teacher. "Mr. Halden? The physics teacher?"
Ryan nodded.
"Okay," Shaan said. "Then for the next 48 minutes, we stay near him."
Ryan felt nervous.
Very nervous.
But he agreed.
For the next half hour, Ryan and Shaan stayed near the physics building.
They watched Mr. Halden teach his class.
They watched him walk through the hallway.
They watched him talk to another teacher.
And the whole time…
The timer above his head kept counting down.
00:21:33
00:15:12
00:09:44
Ryan's hands were cold.
"What if we stop it?" Ryan asked suddenly.
Shaan looked at him. "Stop what?"
"Stop whatever is going to happen," Ryan said. "If the timer shows death… then what if we prevent it?"
Shaan thought about it.
"…That's actually a good question," Shaan said. "If you can see death before it happens, then maybe you can stop it."
Ryan looked at the timer again.
00:05:02
His heart started beating faster.
"Let's try," Ryan said.
"Try what?"
"We keep him away from danger," Ryan said. "Just for five minutes."
Shaan nodded slowly. "Okay. Let's do it."
They followed Mr. Halden as he walked toward the staff room.
00:03:11
Ryan quickly walked up to him.
"Sir!" Ryan said.
Mr. Halden looked at him. "Yes? You are… Ryan, right?"
"Yes, sir," Ryan said nervously. "Sir, the principal is looking for you. He said it's urgent."
Ryan had no idea why he said that. It was the first lie that came to his mind.
Mr. Halden frowned. "The principal? Now?"
"Yes, sir," Ryan said. "He said to come immediately."
Mr. Halden sighed. "Alright. I'll go."
He turned and walked toward the administration building instead of the staff room.
Ryan and Shaan followed from a distance.
00:01:22
Ryan's heart was pounding.
00:00:40
Nothing happened.
00:00:10
00:00:09
00:00:08
Ryan held his breath.
00:00:05
00:00:04
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
00:00:00
Ryan looked at Mr. Halden.
Nothing happened.
Mr. Halden was still walking.
Still alive.
Ryan's eyes widened. "We… we did it."
Shaan smiled slightly. "Looks like you just saved a teacher's life."
Ryan looked back at Mr. Halden.
And then his smile disappeared.
Because the timer above Mr. Halden's head had appeared again.
A new timer.
A red timer.
But this time, it was much shorter.
Ryan felt his stomach drop.
00:12:34
"…Why did it change?" Ryan whispered.
00:12:33
00:12:32
Shaan looked at Ryan's face. "What happened? Why do you look like that?"
Ryan spoke very slowly.
"The timer… reset."
"Reset?" Shaan asked.
Ryan nodded, his face pale.
"It was 48 minutes before," Ryan said.
"Now it's only… 12."
Shaan's smile disappeared.
They both looked at the teacher walking away, completely unaware.
Ryan felt a cold fear spread through his body.
"…I think," Ryan said quietly, "when we try to save someone…"
He looked at the red timer counting down from twelve minutes.
"…the timer doesn't disappear."
"It just… changes."
"And I think… the way they die changes too."