James woke up in the most normal way, and he got ready for school in the most normal way. Everything was normal and boring, as usual.
Although, James didn't feel normal.
James was tired and groggy but, nevertheless, he slumped into the kitchen of his single story house. His parents usually sit in the living room in the morning, so he went on his way of making his usual bowl of cereal. However, the coffee pot went off and his mom decided to get the coffee that She needed to start her day. She got her coffee as she usually would and James say at the dining room table in the next room. His mom decided to join him.
"Feeling awake yet, sweety?" his mother asked in her usual, happy-go-lucky voice that drilled into James's head in the morning. He managed to lift his head up and actually look at her, but he couldn't believe what he caught a glimpse of. Right above his mother's head there was a number.
2d,5h,26m,57s
And it was counting down
James rubbed his eyes hard but the image of numbers and letters always floated just the slightest bit above his mother's head. He remained calm and kept it to himself, but then his father stood up.
6d,3h,47m,21s
And just the same, it counted down.
Now James was terrified, but again, he kept it to himself as he usually did with how he felt. He went through his morning routine as best he could and made it to the bus stop as soon as he was able to. The bus arrived, and James got on. Unfortunately, to his surprise, everyone on the bus had a different set of numbers.
These can't be counting down to death, James thought to himself, can they?
James found an empty seat and didn't speak a word the entire ride, as per usual. He eventually reached his high school and met up with his friend Jake. Jake's number, to James's dismay, displayed:
0d,0h,12m,34s
F
rom what James could decipher, Jake had about 12 minutes until what it was that was supposed to happen. James was really too horrified to speak about it, so he waited.
9 minutes left and Jake was still happily talking to his friends.
5 minutes left and James can't decide what to do.
2 Minutes left and nothing dramatic happens.
10 seconds left, and Jake starts making faces. Jake has completely stopped talking and is barely breathing.
The click guys zero. Jake lets out a sneeze and the clock resets to a seemingly random number.
2d,5h,7m,59s
"WHAT THE HELL?!" is all James can say.
