Fifty-nine seconds
The air seemed to freeze.
Forty
A bead of sweat rolled down someone's temple.
Thirty
Hearts started pounded louder than any clock, or even the timer that was doing the countdown.
Fifteen
The room held its breath.
Ten
The tension became suffocating as the final countdown of the remaining nine seconds began. Every second was dragging the world closer to what felt like the edge of existence. Each number weighted with the dread of an inevitable end.
Nine
Eight
Seven
Six
Five
Four
Three
Two
One
Zero
END!
But nothing happened.
No earthquake. No volcanic eruption. No apocalyptic rain. No swarming hordes of the undead. The world remained eerily, impossibly still.
And yet, Grace and the others huddled in her apartment couldn't breathe a sigh of relief. The silence wasn't comforting - it was the kind that seeped into the soul, whispering that the worst had already arrived.
