The 90th Minute

The stadium was silent. Not the normal kind of silence.This was the kind that made thousands of people feel as if they were holding their breath at the exact same time. 89:47. The scoreboard flickered. CLUB WORLD CUP FINAL NEXUS 1 — 1 BARCELONA ORB One minute remained. The rain poured across the pitch as the Nigerian goalkeeper looked toward the other end of the field. His teammates were exhausted. Some were barely standing. But one player was still running. Seventeen-year-old midfielder wearing number 10. Jayson Max. "MAX!" His Goalie screamed. The ball came flying toward him. Jayson controlled it. One touch. Two defenders rushed toward him. He sprinted between them. 89:52. The crowd exploded. "GO! GO! GO!" Jayson could hear nothing except his own heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. Then— Everything stopped. The rain froze in midair. The players froze. The crowd froze. Even the ball stopped moving. Jayson stood completely still. His eyes widened. "What...?" A strange golden glow appeared around the ball. And then he saw it. A vision. Not a dream. Not imagination. The future. He saw himself shoot. He saw the ball enter the net. He saw Nexus win. Then the vision changed. The stadium was empty. The lights were gone. The World Cup trophy lay broken on the ground. And above the stadium was a sky filled with enormous black cracks. Something was coming through them. Jayson gasped. The world suddenly moved again. 89:57. The defender was already in front of him. "Where are you going?!" Jayson looked at the goal. Then at the ball. His hands were trembling. He didn't understand what had just happened. But one thing was clear. If he scored this goal...something much bigger than football would begin. He took one final step. 89:59. Jayson swung his leg. And as the ball left his foot— A voice whispered directly into his ear. "Don't score." 90:00.