The Countdown

“Hrrrng” I grunt softly, as I slowly open my eyes. “Jesus, what the fuck did I do to my head?” But before I can even think of an answer to that mystery, another question arises. “Where am I?” Gripping my head with one hand, I use the other to push myself up off the cold, dirty ground and sit up. A shiver rolls down my spine as I peer into the darkness. “What is going on?” As a cold wind hits my cheeks, I zip up my jacket – and with the help of the bit of moonlight streaming down, my eyes finally make out what the big blurry shadows are… trees. And then it hits me. “I’m in the forest! … What? Why?” A million questions hit me all at once, and with no recollection of how or why I got here, I’m left with no answers. All I remember is leaving my apartment to go to the town square, to meet my friends for New Year’s Eve. I remember how I excited I was for the party – and for the count down. The count down is always a big deal in my hometown; every year, all the inhabitants of the little town – there’s not that many – gather on the town square to dance, drink, talk and party into the new year. They always mount a big screen onto the wall of the city hall and play one of those entertainment programs that plays music until the big countdown. Everyone chimes in for those last ten seconds, and then the mayor lights the big fireworks. It’s always a beautiful show – but never beautiful enough to keep all of us from sneaking away and firing our own stash of fountains and firecrackers. Tonight I was going to meet my friends at the town square and celebrate the start of 2020, preferably with lots of food, drinks and good music. “So what on earth am I doing in this forest? It’s not even on the way to the town square…” As I try my best to ignore the painful banging in my head, I push myself to my knees and eventually my feet. I’ll have plenty of time to find out how I got here later, my primary concern now should be getting out. I reach into my right pocket to grab my phone, but find nothing. “What?” A little more panicked, I reach into my back pocket. Nothing. “Where is my phone” I think, as I frantically pat down all my pockets – but find no phone. “Fuck!”

Sighing, I sink back to my knees and pat at the ground. “I’m sure I had it with me. It must have fallen out of my pocket.” My fingers keep gliding over the dirt and twigs and I’m close to losing all hope when my hands clash with something hard. It’s about the size of a phone, but when I pick it up, I realize that – whatever it is - it is definitely not my phone. It’s much bigger and not as heavy. I bring it a over a couple of steps, to a patch of moonlit ground, and hold it up. It’s some kind of… recording device? I once got a similar one for Christmas and used to spend hours playing with it – so I should know how they work. I don’t need to examine it for long to find the rewind button, and I hold it – though there doesn’t seem much to rewind. My finger hovers over the play button for a second, slightly trembling. “Am I really doing this? Am I really just going to play this weird tape I found after I woke up in the forest?” My finger still in place, I consider my options. I have no phone, no idea how I got here – and with no other clue of direction other than the vague sound of music in the distance, I’m not even sure how to get out of here in the dark. Playing this recording could be my best option of understanding what is going on.

Before pressing down on the play button, I consider my friends. Joey, Naomi, Jessie and Richard, they would all be waiting for me now – just like when we were young. We used to meet on the square with our bikes, and ride them around town looking for adventures to go on and mysteries to solve. We even called ourselves ‘the golden gang’. “Could they be behind all of this?” A shiver runs down my spine “Even with the joke-war going on between us – they wouldn’t be crazy enough to hit me over the head and leave me out here in the forest, right? With no phone? On new year’s eve?” Part of me wishes my friends to be the masterminds behind this strange evening. That might mean they’re insane, but at least I’d have a somewhat sensible explanation as to what’s going on. The other part of me knows it can’t be them though. They might be crazy, but not crazy enough to do all of this. They wouldn’t. Unfortunately, that only means that whoever is behind all of this, could have much more sinister things in mind than a simple prank…

“Okay. Either I wait here all night, with the chance of it not ending well – I still don’t know what’s going on – or I find a way out of here. I don’t want to freeze to death and I definitely don’t want whoever left me here to come back for me, so a way out it is. Starting with this fucking tape.”

I defiantly press play, regretting the decision almost as soon as the recording starts playing. A deep, distorted voice booms out of the device. “Hello Jake. Hope your head doesn’t hurt too much. It took a couple blows to knock you out.” Filled with disbelief, I feel my breathing getting shallower. “You don’t know it yet, but you’re lucky. Lucky I brought you here. Lucky I chose you. Now, you get the chance to be a hero. Or to watch everything and everyone you love go down in flames. But that is up to you.” By now, the disbelief has made way for confusion, and I feel as if I’m frozen in place, unable to move. “You should know I placed a bomb. Right in the middle of the town square. At the top of that beautiful old lantern. You know the one I mean. And this year, as the clock strikes midnight, the mayor’s fireworks will not be the only thing to go off, Jake.” I feel sick to my stomach and fall back, leaning against a big tree. “All of town, all your family and friends. They’re all at the countdown party aren’t they, Jake? Drinking, dancing, laughing. Talking about the hangover they’ll have tomorrow. They must be waiting for you by now, Jake. Waiting for you to join them. Waiting for you to come save the day. But… you’ll never make it in time now, will you? Midnight is coming fast, Jakey. Even if you do the impossible, and make it to town square. Do you really think they’ll believe you? Do you really think they’ll leave? Hmm… maybe you’re not so lucky after all.” The recording device clicks. That’s it. That’s the message. Nauseous and dizzy I fall to my knees. Supporting myself with one hand on the large tree, I take short and shallow breaths and feel waves of panic and despair washing over me. “This can’t be real. This isn’t real. Is this real?” A million thoughts seem to shoot through my head, but none of them land. All I hear is those words echoing in through my mind “maybe you’re not so lucky after all…” The waves of panic and hopelessness keep coming, but now – they’re joined by another feeling; that of determination. “If this is real… then I have to go. I have to find a way to save them, I have to tell someone.” I push off against the tree, getting up from my knees. Still feeling dizzy, I shuffle a little and strain my ears to drown out the pounding of my heart and focus on the music. “That must be the town square.” Before I can consciously make the decision to go, my feet are already carrying me in the direction of the sound. I run off path, directly towards the sounds of the party. Happy sounds. “I have to go faster. I have to reach them.” I keep running, barely flinching at the branches and leaves hitting me in the face. I think of my parents and my little sister, of my grandma and aunt and uncle, and of my friends. I think of their smiling faces, dancing away the night, waiting for the big countdown. “HELP” I scream, “HELP! SOMEONE! PLEASE!” But I know it’s no use. Everyone is at that goddamn party. There is nobody out here to hear me. Still, I scream. Time keeps ticking away and with the stomping of my feet on the frozen forest ground, my despair grows. “I can’t give up. I have to reach them. Please just let me reach them.” I pant and scream, I stumble and trip, but my feet keep moving. Finally, the music grows louder, the light grows brighter and I feel like I’m coming closer. “Just a little more. Please God. If you exist, PLEASE just let me make it in time. I’ll do anything. ANYTHING.” Just as my legs are about to give out, I see it. In the distance I see the tower of city hall. I stop for a second, catching my breath. I can hear people singing, I can see the little Christmas lights hanging from the tower. “I’m almost there. I’m making it. I’m coming to save you” I think, as tears well up in my eyes. I take a deep breath and keep moving. “Almost there!” I can almost feel a sense of relief creeping up on me when… 10, 9, 8 “NO!” 7,6 “No wait, not yet!” 5 “NO PLEASE” 4 “NO!” I scream, stumbling and falling to my knees. “PLEASE!” 3 … 2 … 1!