"Have you ever tried counting backward? 10, 9, 8, 7, ..., 4, 3, 2, 1, 0."

A clear voice rings through the room as students eagerly listen to Doctor Reyes explaining the simple phenomenon of time and numbers.

"Now, imagine your time running out."

She takes out a stopwatch and sets it to ten seconds, holding it up for everyone to see as the seconds go backward, approaching the dreaded zero.

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

The atmosphere in the makeshift classroom is tense while she observes each face closely, knowing that time running out is a fear most of them have.

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

The students draw in a collective sharp breath as the digit fades.

00:00

"What happens after this ultimate 00:00?"

One hand shoots up in the air and she smiles, nodding for the student to answer her question.

"Death?" The young boy replies but  he is uncertain. 

"Possibly," she nods, putting down the stop watch on the table. "But the question we seek the answer to is this... Does something else lie in wait beyond that last second?"

Silence grips the room as the students ponder on that possibility, failing to find a logical answer. 

What happens after time ran out?

No one knew.

Because no one has ever lived to tell that tale.

***

He could have watched the digits fading on his arm if only he wasn't chasing Will Salas, an alleged time thief. When the number struck zero, he collapsed, his legs giving way under him as the world started to spin. 

Lungs constricting and his body failing to function, all he could see were the retreating forms of the thief and his accomplice, disappearing through the plains. Panting, he managed to slide up the sleeve of his jacket, looking at the 00:00 imprinted on his arm. 

He had no time left. 

Thus, his eyes fluttered shut and darkness engulfed him despite the scorching sun washing over his body. Such was the helplessness of man against time. When the seconds ran out, only death awaited with open arms.

The eternal embrace of death could have engulfed him too if not for the mysterious group tracking him. As soon as the coast was clear, they came rushing up to him. Their faces were covered with masks but the crisp attires suggested that they weren't ordinary bandits.

A woman bent down to check his pulse and breathing, assessing that not long had passed since his time had ran out. The neurons in his brain had seven minutes to shut down completely but in her position, seven minutes were all she needed.

"Arthur, keep the shock ready," she whispered, taking out a time gun.

She placed the gun over his timer that had faded into darkness, punching in the digits 01:00:00 in the gun. That way she would be transferring one hour of her time to him. 

Upon her signal, she pressed the trigger, administering the time to him right when Arthur sent a shock to his heart.

From 00:00, the timer shot up until it reached 01:00:00 and slowly began to descend, like the digits on a stopwatch she had shown her students long ago, each second diminishing and heading close to zero.

A jolt went through the lifeless body of the man but he didn't wake up so she nodded for Arthur to administer the shock again.

He did as he was told and then revived by that electric jolt, the timekeeper's eyes fluttered open, clear blue looking up at the woman who had just brought him back to life.

***