
The Final Countdown
You don’t realise how precious time is until it is coming to the end. The end of a perfect day, of a month, a year. The end of everything. Suddenly you realise how important every last second is.
Now, at the very end of the year, the time towards the midnight hour ticks past so quickly. Our neighbourhood has decided, in a stubbornly blinkered way, to continue with the New Year celebrations as normal. Everyone around me is doing everything within their power to forget reality, to forget they will never see the dawn of the New Year.
People are gathered around a blazing bonfire, faces strangely ethereal in the flickering light as if they are already beyond life, shadows of their former selves. How can they celebrate? I stand on the outside looking in, and I am terrified. The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast across the nation, joined by the bells of our village church.
As time runs out, the group by the fireside shouts out the countdown to midnight, defiant until the last.
Ten – my body turns to ice.
Nine – fear shoots through my veins with every rapid beat of my heart.
Eight – my mouth is dry and I choke down a sob.
Seven – I wipe my clammy palms on my skirt, clenching the fabric in fisted fingers.
Six – I gasp for breath. I’m not ready for this. I need more time.
Five – for the first time I wish I were religious, that I could believe in something… anything. Then, perhaps, I wouldn’t be so alone at the end.
My mind goes utterly blank. I’m frozen in place, completely seized by terror. Somehow I miss four, three and two. How can I lose three precious seconds, here at the end of time?
One – the night sky explodes in fiery light as a huge meteor bursts through Earth’s atmosphere and blazes across the night sky. A spectacular firework display, the likes of which has never been seen in living memory, heralding a new year that no being on Earth will live to see.
I fall to my knees…
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleBeautifully paced drama. This is one of those “one breath” stories. Everything happens in a few seconds and then … We especially liked the phrase “stubbornly blinkered”. Great writing!

Thank you so much for your kind comments. I really enjoyed the theme for this competition.
Hi Carrie this is so powerful and full of emotion I was holding my breath at the countdown not wanting to get to the end. So real and so terrifying – well done.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you, Sandra. I’m happy that the build up in the tension worked for you.
Hello, Carrie. You hit me to the bone. The emotion and tension are really realistic, Carrie. I was so carried away by your story. Well done for another beautiful story.
Thank you Lotchie, for reading and for your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleYou’re most welcome, Carrie.
Shivers run down my spine, chilling me to the core while reading about the end of time in your story! It had that effect, loved it!
Thank you Greene, I really appreciate your comment. I wasn’t sure if the story would work or not, but it seems to be having the desired effect!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleWhat a great story Carrie, one of your best. Absolutely gripping, from the buildup to the explosive ending. Fantastic!
Aw, thanks Linda, that’s a kind comment. I tried to drip feed what was happening, without revealing exactly what until the end. I had to cut about 146 words from it, so was worried it wouldn’t be effective. Glad you liked it anyway.
Love the fiery explosion and the finite end, Carrie.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you Margarida. Glad you liked how it ended. Bruce Willis obviously wasn’t around to save the day on this occasion!
Such a breathtaking story, Carrie! You had me begging for more information from the beginning!
Thank you so much, Arianna
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThis story was an exciting one, Carrie. I really enjoyed the counting down from ten. Between five and one my heart skipped a beat and the ending was just fantastic. I think this may be one of your best, or I should say one of my favorite when it has to do with the “time” category.
Thank you, Melissa, that means a lot. Really glad you enjoyed it 🙂
What a thriller, Carrie! Knowing your love of happy endings, I expected your protagonist to be saved at the last minute. Ha! Silly me. Another great story from your prolific pen.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThanks for reading, and for your kind comment, Fuji. On this occasion, time is finite. There was nothing left to do but to wait for the end. As I said to Margarida, there was no Bruce Willis to come to the rescue ?
Carrie, I had chills reading this. Wow. The building of suspense, the vivid imagery, the powerful and devastating ending…you nailed this. (As always!) Love reading your stories.
Thank you, Heather, for your incredibly kind comments. Apologies for not replying sooner, I’ve been completely out of things with some sort of virus that I can’t shift. I’ve really struggled with writing too. It was a real effort to get a second story submitted before the competition closes.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleOh no! Feel better! I go through phases where I can’t seem to get anything on the page as well. I also write over at Reedsy Prompts and they only give you one week to complete your short story. Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen for me and other times it comes together. My biggest problem is that I over think everything and it slows me down. Hope you get your creative mojo… Read more »
Carrie, your story evoked feelings of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, desperation and in the end the knowing that you can do nothing to change what is about to happen. Such a captivating story, one that I didn’t want to end. I certainly didn’t want to hear “one”. Great story.
Thank you Marianna. I don’t think I would want to hear one either if I was in my protagonist’s position. I certainly wouldn’t be one of those partying at the fireside!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleAn excellent little story. Well written and thought-provoking. Thanks, Carrie ????
Thank you for reading and for your kind comment ????
A not expected ending! Well done!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you, Henry, this is one story that just couldn’t have a happy ending.