Ryan couldn't focus on anything for the rest of the day.
Not the classes.
Not the teachers.
Not even Shaan's constant talking.
His mind was stuck on one thing only.
When they tried to save Mr. Halden, the timer reset… and became shorter.
Which meant interfering didn't stop death.
It changed it.
And if that was true… then trying to save someone could actually make things worse.
Ryan sat in the classroom, staring at his desk, his hands clasped tightly together.
"…This is bad," he whispered.
"What is bad?" Shaan asked from the seat beside him.
Ryan looked around to make sure no one was listening.
"The teacher," Ryan said quietly. "When we changed his path, the timer reset to 12 minutes."
Shaan leaned back in his chair. "Yeah. That means we changed the future once, and the future corrected itself."
"Corrected?" Ryan repeated.
"Think about it," Shaan said. "If the timer really shows death, and you stop that death, then maybe the world just finds another way to make it happen."
Ryan felt a chill run down his spine.
"The world… finds another way…" Ryan repeated quietly.
"Yeah," Shaan said. "Like a game. If an event is supposed to happen, and you stop it, the game just creates a new event."
Ryan didn't like that idea.
Not at all.
Because that meant one thing.
If Skye's timer said 30 days, then even if he saved her once…
She might still die.
Just in a different way.
After school, Ryan stood near the school gate, waiting.
He wasn't waiting for Shaan.
He was waiting for her.
Skye.
He had to confirm it again. He had to see the timer again. He had to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
Students started leaving the school in groups, talking and laughing.
Ryan scanned every face.
Then he saw her.
She was walking alone, holding a book against her chest, her long dark hair moving slightly in the wind. She walked calmly, like someone who was always lost in her own thoughts.
And above her head…
The red numbers were still there.
28:11:42
Ryan's chest felt tight.
28 days left.
It wasn't a hallucination. It wasn't a mistake.
It was real.
Ryan started walking behind her, keeping some distance so she wouldn't notice.
"Are you stalking someone?" Shaan's voice suddenly appeared beside him.
Ryan almost jumped. "Don't scare me like that!"
Shaan looked at Skye, then looked back at Ryan. "So this is the girl?"
Ryan nodded slowly. "Her name is Skye."
"And she has 28 days left to live," Shaan said.
Ryan nodded again.
Shaan put his hands in his pockets. "So the question is… how is she going to die?"
Ryan looked at him. "Don't say it like that."
"I'm just being realistic," Shaan replied. "If you want to save her, you need to know what's going to kill her."
Ryan looked at the timer again.
28:10:03
"I don't know how to find that out," Ryan said.
"Then we observe," Shaan said. "From today, we observe everything about her. Where she goes, what she does, who she talks to, what dangers are around her."
Ryan looked unsure. "That sounds like stalking."
"It's not stalking," Shaan said. "It's called investigation. Very different word. Sounds more professional."
Ryan sighed. "You're enjoying this too much."
"Of course," Shaan said. "My best friend can see death timers. My life just became a movie."
Ryan did not find this funny at all.
Skye walked to the bus stop near the school.
Ryan and Shaan stood a little far away, pretending to talk while actually watching her.
The timer above her head continued counting down.
28:02:11
28:02:10
28:02:09
Ryan couldn't stop looking at it.
It felt like a bomb timer that only he could see.
At that moment, Skye suddenly turned her head and looked directly at Ryan.
Ryan froze.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them looked away.
Then Skye started walking toward him.
Ryan's heart started beating faster.
"She's coming here," Ryan said quietly.
"I can see that," Shaan replied. "Try to act like a normal human."
"I am acting normal!"
"You look like a criminal who got caught," Shaan said.
Skye stopped in front of them.
Up close, Ryan could see her clearly. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp, like she was always thinking about something.
"You've been looking at me since yesterday," Skye said.
Ryan's brain stopped working.
"I—what—no—I mean—" Ryan started stuttering.
Shaan stepped in. "What my socially awkward friend is trying to say is that he wants to talk to you."
Ryan looked at Shaan with betrayal in his eyes.
Skye looked at Ryan. "Talk about what?"
Ryan swallowed.
He couldn't tell her the truth.
"Hey, you're going to die in 28 days."
Yeah, that would definitely sound insane.
"I just wanted to ask about the math notes," Ryan said quickly. "I heard you have the best notes."
There was a short silence.
Skye looked at him for a few seconds, as if trying to see through him.
Then she spoke.
"You're lying," she said calmly.
Ryan's heart almost stopped.
"…What?" Ryan said nervously.
"You don't want math notes," Skye said. "You keep looking above my head."
Ryan felt all the blood drain from his face.
Shaan slowly turned his head and looked at Ryan.
Ryan couldn't speak.
He couldn't breathe.
Skye took one step closer.
Her voice was quiet when she spoke again.
"…What do you see?" she asked.
Ryan's eyes widened.
"What?" he whispered.
"You've been staring above my head since yesterday," Skye said. "So I'll ask again."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"…What do you see above my head, Ryan?"
Ryan felt like the world had stopped.
How did she know?
How did she notice?
His mouth felt dry.
"I… I don't…" he tried to speak.
But the words wouldn't come out.
Skye kept looking at him, waiting for an answer.
Ryan's hands were shaking slightly.
Finally, he spoke.
"…A timer," he said quietly.
Shaan looked at him, shocked. He didn't expect Ryan to tell the truth.
Skye didn't look surprised.
She just asked one more question.
"…How much time do I have?"
Ryan felt his chest tighten.
He looked up slowly at the red numbers above her head.
27:23:18
His voice was almost a whisper when he answered.
"…27 days."
There was a long silence.
Cars passed on the road. Students talked around them. The world continued moving like nothing had changed.
But for Ryan, it felt like everything had changed.
Skye looked at him quietly.
Then she said something that Ryan would never forget.
"…Then it started again," she said.
Ryan frowned. "Started? What do you mean started?"
Skye looked at the road, then back at Ryan.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
"…This isn't the first time I've had a timer," she said.
Ryan felt a cold chill run down his spine.
"…What?" he whispered.
Skye looked directly into his eyes and said:
"…Last time, I died when it reached zero."