29:16:04:59 by Joshua Johnson

I didn’t have much time.
                  I tucked the handgun into my belt, making sure the safety was on, as I climbed the stairs. I hardly made it to the second story before the first person entered. The flora was thick enough to hide behind so I ducked along the side of the railing as.
                  “Where’d he go?” a voice echoed through the overgrown theatre.
                  “Why are we even chasing him? He doesn’t even look like one of them. He looked fucking normal, didn’t he?” another voice asked. “I didn’t think they could had guns either.”
                  “Better safe than sorry, I always say,” a third, female voice interjected. “Spread out, groups of three, move slow and steady. Find him, but don’t kill him. Got it?”
    I didn’t understand. How was looking normal a reason not to be chased ? Why was I being chased in the first place? I glided along the railing, keeping silent as possible. There were several doors that led to other theatres or projection rooms. I chose one at random and tried to open it, struggling with all the vegetation that covered the door. I passed through the door and entered a hallway, sliding carefully before shooting out of the hall and into the seating area.
    A stream of light shot through a hole in the ceiling. A large screen that would have displayed the films was set against the far wall. Rows of seats were covered in moss and algae-soaked cushions, aged the color of dirt, and dust hung in the air. I moved towards the screen and stepped through a rip in the material onto the other side. There was an exit over to the right. I opened the door and nearly fell over the side of the building. Something had ripped the entire half of this building off, and a straight drop onto bricks below awaited my exit.
                  “Shit,” I whispered.
                  The drop was too far. I’d break my leg, if not worse, trying to jump to the ground. There wasn’t exactly a ledge to grasp or an easy way to get out of this. I thought maybe I could hide, wait for a moment to leave, and pray no one would find me.
                  Suddenly, like I hadn’t noticed it initially, my head tilted upwards against my will. Slightly bending my head, I squinted against the rays of sunlight that assaulted my vision. The structure I was staring at was still a few blocks away, but it was one of the biggest buildings in this city so it was as clear as day. It was a broken tower, leaning against another. The mass of clouds was so close, so black and spiteful. Yet it was the numbers that kept me fixated.
                  This was what everyone was talking about, what Kelly was shouting about and what Glasses wanted me to see: a timer, ticking backwards with deep, red numbers.
                  “ What do you think?” Kelly’s voice echoed in my head.
                  “I have no idea,” I answered my imagination. I knew the numbers wouldn’t be stationary, but I didn’t think they’d be ticking backwards either. I had only seen a timer like this on my digital wristwatch, before it ran out of battery, but that one ticked forward. Therein was the other question: just how the hell was it being powered? Why did it exist? This was more bizarre than anything else in this already bizarre world.
                  “ Any thoughts?” Glasses’ voice said, adding his voice to Kelly’s in my mind.
                  “Not exactly,” I whispered. My attention remained absorbed with the approaching mob that was seeking me out. There was something interesting about this clock, something I couldn’t exactly put a finger on. Then it hit me. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” I blurted out.
                 
    29:16:04:5 9 blared in deep crimson.
     
                  “ What is it?” a million voices asked in my mind. Kelly raged.