I used to own a watch once. Expensive bit of metal. It would sit on my shelf, staring me in the face, but never once did I even think to give it a second glance. I regret taking it for granted now.



When the world ends, you lose track of time. It just passes by, and no one can do anything to stop it. Trust someone who has personal experiences with trying to track time. When the first emergency broadcast played, the TV clock read 4:56 PM. "Lock your doors", they said. "It's being taken care of", they promised. After the broadcast, I went upstairs. I grabbed that watch and I begged for my dad to come home safely at his usual time of 5:00 PM. He was ten minutes late.


At 5:10 PM on June 4th my dad arrived home. But it was too late. Out the window, I saw the blood. The missing face. I knew as soon as I heard the screams. The shouts, the pleads, the growls, the grunts. As soon as my mom opened that door to let my dad in, I knew our fates were sealed. Half a minute passed on the watch and more hungry growls could be heard downstairs. It seems more of whatever kind of beast my dad had become had decided to join.

Two minutes later, at 5:12 PM, the only sounds left were the gurgling, grunting sounds of snacking.

5:13 PM- I finally moved. Just a shift of my foot. The bedside table rattled, bumping the wall. Downstairs went silent. The stairs creaked. They were coming.

5:14 PM- rusting and moaning and groaning echoed down the hall two doors down. The beasts moved into the other rooms one by one, searching for the noise. Or the cause of it.

5:15 PM- they kept getting closer. Curiosity of the other rooms gone, mine was the last. Suddenly, I was by the window. When had I gotten there?

5:16 PM- my dad, or what had taken possession of him, stared me in the face. Half of his own face was gone and his teeth were bared in a snarl. But that wasn't what had my attention. It was the look in his eyes, switched from brown to an icy white. Feral. That was the only word that could explain what his eyes showed.

5:17 PM- he lunged. Hands curved into claws reached for me. Snarled mouth snapped open and closed, awaiting my flesh. Feral eyes zeroed in on my every move. Then, I jumped.


The world officially ended on June 4th at 6:00 PM. My world ended on June 4th at 5:10 PM. Now I sat across from the mother of two as she asked what time of the day it was, as though anyone knew anymore, and I laughed.


When the world ends, time doesn't exist. When the world ends, time is nothing. When the world ends, time is only a countdown of your downfall.



When the world ended on June 4th, time, for everyone, stopped.