Fantasy Short Stories

Time's Up

Written by: Hazel Yap

The white lights hit his barely open eyes and blinded him in an instant without mercy. "He's waking up! Get the doctor!" a voice never sounded so deafening to him before. The scent of disinfectant hit his nose and his senses were all overwhelmed, as if they hadn't been used in a long time. By now his eyes had partially adjusted to the lights, but all he could see was dark, blurry figures hovering over his own body. A deeper, clearer voice asked, "Are you awake?" or at least that was what he assumed they had asked. "Yes," he replied, but all that came out was a croak because his throat was so dry and it was hard to speak. The voice continued "you were in a car accident, then in a comatose state for a month," The voice slowly faded away as he noticed why the figures didn't look human. Above each person, there was a small rectangular box with words that he squinted to see. Name: David Lee, Age: 43, Occupation: Doctor, Time: 2300. "Was it already 11pm, but how could that be when the sun is still up?" He thought to himself. That same day, he was discharged to go home.

"It's been quite a while, maybe I should take the train home" He could take the bus, but it would mean that he would get home faster, which meant that he would have to spend more time alone. And when he was alone, he would start overthinking, and that's never a good thing. As he walked to the train station, he noticed that everyone had the same small box over their heads, and everyone had vastly different numbers under "time". "Train doors closing," he heard the familiar beep on his way up the escalator and immediately dashed in, barely making it in time. "Wow, it feels like nothing has changed at all," He thought. Surviving a near death experience, he thought that the sun shone a little brighter, the skies were a little more blue and that maybe even he, too could have a second chance at life. Wait... why does everyone in the train have the same number beside their time column, and why are they all zeroes? It suddenly struck him as he saw his own reflection in the train windows. Name: Peter Tham, Age: 51, Occupation: unemployed, Time: 0. His eyes lost focus on his reflection, and all that he could see was the train coming from the opposite direction, coming directly at him.