Counting the Seconds Read online

  Contents

  Preface

  Copyright

  Acknowledgement

  Prologue

  -

  "Seeing Butterflies"

  "Time."

  "Camp?"

  -

  "Theatre Show!"

  "...Hope"

  Epilogue

  Fin

  A little extra

  -

  Preface

  To preface the novel/novella you’re about to read (please do forgive the pun), I have to admit that I didn’t think this would be the first of my work to be publicly published and released out in the wild for all eyes to see and tear into. I always had manuscripts and story-lines drawn about more fantastical tales to be told but this… This is special.

  Why?

  Well, to be completely honest, this piece began from a prompt on a Reddit site. A prompt that seemed to resonate with some hidden creative juice that forced me to sit down and write a short concept of a story in a strange, but also real, world. And for the first time, in my short writing career, I was left with a story and an urge to continue said story.

  Yeah, but why special?

  It is special because it is far different from every other story I’ve set out to write. This is practically a science-fiction drama, which are two literary genres I seldom read and very rarely write but here I am, attempting to do both.

  It’s special because it took me to a place where I had to consider human interactions, where I had to place myself in some boots and almost weep at how inept I would be in said boots. It is special because it was a completely unexpected project that spawned from an unexpected prompt and now, is my first unexpected product. It has taken me the best part of about five months, going back and forth on whether or not I expand on it and make it some action epic story but I love how it turned out.

  That’s why it is special to me.

  All in all, I’m enormously glad that I get to be able to share this with you. I do hope that the story that commences after this page captures you in the way it did me.

  Thank you for joining the ride.

  See you at the end.

  I.Ogunbase.

  This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, certain characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Ogunbase, I. Counting The Seconds . Kindle Edition.

  Copyright © 2019 I.Ogunbase

  Front image by Jeff Ward, Stungeon Studios

  All rights reserved.

  My love… You kept me going on days when the way forward wasn’t clear. You are my light. You are my everything

  Ife, Ino, Hyd, Elf, and the rest of you wonderful lads and ladies,

  Thanks for being awesome, guys.

  Prologue

  There’s a hot cup of tea on the table next to me as I work on transcribing the interview I had managed to acquire with a top scientist from NASA. The details of his role were sparse and no matter how much I tried; he wouldn’t divulge any more than he needed to say. Still, it was enough to tack on to the beginning of the book.

  I enter the publisher’s email address, as well as the emails of a few other publishing companies that had been contacting me these last few weeks. I name the subject of the email as ‘Time Stop’ and proceed with composing a short email to be read.

  To Whom It May Concern,

  Please find attached, the complete record of the Time journal and their stories. As an introduction to the Time-Stop journal that has changed the world as we know, I believe it is imperative to get an idea of how things went down.

  The story of the men and women in the journal are important, not only as an inside look at the way they dealt with the freeze, also as a reflection of humanity in each and every one of us. It is this journal in which I hope to base my psychological thesis on.

  The interview between the scientist, a ‘Mr Dylan Jones’, and I will go up first, followed by the complete account of the journal. After that, I’ll line up a few extra interviews to get a feel for how this affected their lives.

  Lastly, the spacing of the journal was edited to drive home the stories therein. I hope you find it to your liking.

  Please enjoy.

  Signed,

  Chris Ferrera.

  I press [Send].

  ---

  [The room I’m sitting in is small in shape and slightly dark, like how interrogation rooms are depicted in TV shows and the likes. Sitting across from me, is Mr Dylan, a ‘top’ scientist from NASA who will be answering the questions I have and with some luck, help me with the work I’ve set for myself.]

  Good afternoon, Mr Dylan. As I explained on the phone, my name is Chris Ferrera and I am glad that you have taken some time out to answer some of the questions I have for you today.

  It’s my pleasure.

  I understand the last couple weeks have been busy, with the time-stop issue, the meteorite and the journal that just that contains the events of the time-stop. I know that I am taking some time from your work, so I hope to make it as smooth and quick as I can.

  No problem.

  To start with, can you please give a rundown of how Time flows for us? I have read some scientific works that detail the way Time runs, both for the world and for each person. Can you please clarify that for us?

  [He chuckles lightly before rubbing his hands together]

  Ah, no worries. Time flows linearly for the world and for everyone in a straight line. The same 24-hour slot is the same for everyone. For some reason that we are yet to crack, within this straight line of Time’s flow, each and everyone has a personal Time clock that works within the main one.

  For the sake of explanation, I’d like to refer to this as T2, or Time-Two. Time-Two exists underneath the main Time, the main timeline and obeys the same linearity of it. However, for us, T2 allows us to make one change in the whole course of our lives.

  You’re talking about the ‘Sense of Danger’?

  Yes. As you and everyone else know, when someone is in danger, Time slows for them, long enough for the person to escape said danger. As per my earlier explanation, primary Time does not slow. Time-Two is what does. It captures the affected person in a T2 bubble and awaits their solution before releasing them back into the primary Time.

  For everyone else standing around, Time never stopped. Because it never did. But the affected person would have existed and performed some activity in-between time.

  As you rightly pointed out, the effects of Time-Two are largely known to anyone and everyone. But I must ask, how is it possible for no one to encounter any danger of any sort till they become adults? Most of the men and women in the journal have been known to get ailments and illnesses while growing up.

  This is where science gets a bit funny. We, the scientific community, are largely divided on this. The sense of danger is supposed to mean whenever the affected person is in danger of being hurt.

  It wasn’t until a few years before the Time-Stop that a new thesis went around, positing that the sense of danger had to be far dire for Time-Two to activate.

  Ergo, if Time-Two fails see a threat to life, it will allow for the danger to happen. As expected, not everyone accepted this, with some bringing up anecdotes of how they survived from one issue to the other with the time-two and how they find it weird that the T2 would find such events dangerous to health.

  Some of us still look into it in our spare time, but our attention is primarily on, well…

  The meteorite.

  The meteorite. Along with the journal, was the multitude of notes explaining what was going on and what had to be done. I still can’t share anything as the information is still classified between the governments and the science communities but I can say that the men who worked on it during the time-stop did good work.

  I think they would have liked to see it work, assuming it does.

  We can only hope.

  Last but not the least, the journal. I have sent in another request for a chance to read and at the very least, copy out the journal. I haven’t received a reply and I hoped I could ask you directly as you’ve been the face of this whole issue.

  We still can’t give it to you, I’m afraid. We are still checking to see if there is any extra information pertaining to our investigations on the matter.

  I expected as much. What if I proposed to do the copying of the journal in your offices? A lot of journalists and writers have been clamouring for a chance to take a look at it. I was surprised I was even selected for an interview of sorts with all the other important eyes looking your way. If you’d have me, I can come to this office every day, and copy out sections of the journal here, in the sight of whoever. That way, it never leaves the building.

  That’s an interesting take on things. However, I’m afraid I can’t give an answer by myself. I will have to speak to my superiors and get back to you on that.

  No problem, I can wait.

  [He laughed quietly for a few seconds before fixing me with a stare]

  It might be a long wait. I would personally say that you just wait until it goes public. There’s nothing of importance worth waiting in this room for.

  I understand. But I find it to be of importance to me… And my work.

  In that case, let me step out to make a phone call. Once again, I have to stress that I doubt it will happen. Just to ensure you don’t get you
r hopes up.

  No matter. I’ll wait.

  It sounds like you have a vested interest in the journal.

  We all have vested interests in the journal. It’s a capture of a time when we were frozen in time. As you can imagine, a lot of people would love to have a window into what it was like. It is why a few have petitioned you for the release

  That makes sense, I guess. Once again, I make no promises this will actually be allowed. I can only ask.

  Asking would be enough. It would be something at the very least.

  Alright. I’ll make that call now.

  [He steps out to make the call.]

  -

  “Every second is of infinite value.”

  - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  "Seeing Butterflies"

  ——————————

  Day 1

  ——————————

  I'm writing this all down for posterity purposes. Not as a record, per se, but more as proof that what I am experiencing is not a drawn-out hallucination manifested by my mind. As a result, I will have to confess something that some of my family and close friends have whispered and said to my face, even though it has mostly been in jest.

  And it is basically this;

  I have never been in trouble.

  This is somewhat true. I have lived my life in a manner to not be put in danger, and not be in danger in any form. The world as it works, as you dear reader know, is such as to slow down time whenever someone is in danger. My parents have had this happen to them, and it's the reason why I am alive today. Otherwise, a drunk driver would have claimed three souls that day. Most of my friends have encountered the same, though how slow it became varied.

  I have never had time slow for me, because I have never been in danger. That's probably the biggest positive. Except, I think I am experiencing my 'one' time. I'm just unsure about what to do because time hasn't slowed down for me.

  It has stopped.

  Completely.

  ——————————

  Day 3

  ——————————

  Today is day three and the sun is still suspended in the afternoon sky like a lamp that won't turn off. And because of that, sleeping has been an issue. I think I have had like four or five single-hour nap in the last few days and suffice to say, I'm not coping well.

  On the plus side, food is relatively always fresh, so I have been eating well enough, I guess. I have spent the waking hours trying to figure out why Time has stopped for me. If I'm in that much of a danger. What could it be? You know.

  I walked away from the house, with the journal. I left my belongings somewhere by a police station after a few hours. Maybe it was a robber? or poison? or an allergic reaction? I don't know. I'm currently at Frank's house. Frank Grayson. He’s my best friend, more like the brother I never had really. We work in the same company, though in different departments.

  I’ve known him longer than I’ve known most people. I mean, he and I were neighbours growing up. We became close friends and we just never drifted through the years. Same high schools, same colleges and heck, we shared a crush between us. He won that bet though and proceeded to marry her.

  He's in the living room with Martha, his girl, and I guess they were (or are) watching a romcom. I knew he wasn't sick. He just wanted to spend the afternoon with his wife. He’s the more romantic one in the relationship, if I’m being frank. And from the way he’s head is tilted towards hers and that wolfish grin he has on…

  Let’s just say I kinda wish time doesn't start while I'm here.

  But I'd like it to start soon. Real soon.

  ——————————

  Day 12

  ——————————

  I don't want to write. I don't want to. This is just to ground me in some semblance of reality.

  I have been seeing butterflies everywhere I go, fluttering in the wind. I can't touch them. But I see them clearly, flying across my vision. They are beautiful. All majestic blue and fairy like. They fill me with a feeling I can't explain. I know they aren't real, but they are as real as the sun, still in the sky.

  It just hangs there, mocking me. Laughing at me. Never setting or dimming. It makes me itch all over. I’m hearing sounds that don’t exist. That don’t exist. My eyes are twitching, my body hurts and I just want to sleep. Or run. Maybe both.

  I believe I said fluttering in the wind, right? Fluttering. There is no wind. I know there can’t be butterflies. I innately know this but yet the sound is audible to me. I think I’m suffering from some mad form of sleep deprivation, if I’m to self-diagnose. I’d google but what’s the internet in a timeless void?

  Maybe… I don’t know… I just.

  Butterflies…

  ——————————

  Day 15

  ——————————

  I think I feel much better than I did 2 days ago. Turns out, I needed a good sleep, and no amount of covering myself with a duvet was going to help. I had, in my delirious state, stumbled into a basement and collapsed in the darkness of it.

  I never knew sleep was that important, or rather, that dependent on the sun's glare. With the long sleep, however, comes a bitter realisation. I'm still the only one moving around. Time is still frozen for the world around except me.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I've been playing around with the idea that I'm not the only one frozen in time. That maybe someone somewhere is feeling the same thing. This is a depressing thought too, to be honest, as it’s not like I can contact them, and they can contact me.

  Still, I take some silent solace in the hope that I'm not alone. It’s all I have to do at this point. The alternative might be harder to bear. But happy thoughts.

  Happy thoughts.

  ——————————

  Day 45

  ——————————

  There's nothing to write. I’m still here.

  I'm at my parent's house now, about 20 miles away from the city. They are frozen too. Imagine my surprise(!)

  Dad has a beer in hand and is sitting in front of the TV. He’s got that celebratory look on his face. The kind he gets whenever he’s watching a match and the team he supports is winning or is about to win.

  My mum is out on the small patio of their house. She’s trying to do some yoga, if I’m to assume based on the yoga pants she was wearing and the headband around her forehead. And yeah, I do mean yoga pants.

  I’m not going to suffer alone in this shit space. I don’t know who you are, be it future me or someone else.

  If you’re reading this, then I’m putting the image in your mind. Deal with it.

  ——————————

  Day 70

  ——————————

  If the long gaps in days are anything to go about, I guess I can admit that I'm not a good follow-up. Then again, most of the days I see the journal, I don't want to write. I don't want to have to remind myself of my predicament and record it down for the eventual reader.

  I mean, what the fuck am I meant to say?

  That things are looking good?

  I have considered killing myself, you know... A few times even. Almost even went ahead with it once before deciding against it. I have never been suicidal. If I was, and this was time's way of telling me to behave, that would be different, you know?