Rush Against The Clock
772 Words
The piercing beeping from the backpack filled the narrow alley, echoing off the brick walls like a relentless countdown. Zara’s stomach churned as panic gripped her, but Elias was already moving.
“Get the bag!” he barked, shoving the man aside.
Zara’s feet felt like lead, but she forced herself forward, grabbing the backpack and yanking it open. Inside was a tangled mess of wires, a circuit board, and a small digital timer glowing red.
The numbers glared at her: 00:02:31
“We don’t have time to run!” Elias said, crouching beside her. “We have to disarm it.”
Zara’s hands trembled as she looked at the device. “I don’t - I don’t know how to do this!”
“Focus,” Elias said sharply, his voice cutting through her fear. “Listen to me. I’ll guide you.”
The man they’d chased stood frozen against the wall, his eyes wide with terror. “You can’t stop it! It’s encrypted!”
Elias shot him a glare. “Shut up!”
Zara swallowed hard, forcing herself to concentrate on the device. “What do I do?”
Elias leaned closer, his fingers tracing the wires without touching them. “Okay, look for the main power source. It’ll be the largest component - probably a battery pack.”
Her eyes darted over the device, finally landing on a black box with two wires running from it. “I see it!”
“Good. Now, the wires - one will be live, the other neutral. We need to cut the live wire to stop the current.”
“Which one’s live?” Zara asked, her voice rising in panic as the timer ticked down to 00:01:45.
Elias studied the wires carefully. “Red and blue. Red is usually live, but not always. Look closely - are there any signs of tampering?”
Zara squinted, her breathing shallow. The red wire had tiny scorch marks near its connection point, while the blue wire appeared clean. “I think…it’s the red one.”
“Are you sure?” Elias asked, his voice steady despite the tension.
“No!” she snapped. “I’m not a bomb expert!”
Elias placed a hand on her shoulder, grounding her. “You can do this, Zara. Trust your instincts. They’ve brought you this far.”
Her heart hammered as she reached for the wire cutters Elias had handed her earlier. The timer ticked to 00:01:00, the beeping growing louder and faster.
She hesitated, the blades hovering over the red wire. Her mind flashed back to the vision - the faces of the people on the platform, the little girl clutching her stuffed rabbit.
“I have to try,” she whispered.
With a deep breath, she snapped the wire.
The beeping stopped.
The alley fell silent, the oppressive tension lifting like a fog. Zara stared at the now - lifeless device, her chest heaving.
“It worked,” Elias said, his voice low with relief. He reached out, gently pushing the backpack away from them. “You did it.”
Zara sank back onto the wet pavement, her hands still trembling. “I thought we were dead.”
Elias gave her a small, approving nod. “You trusted yourself. That’s what matters.”
A Moment of Truth
The man they’d chased was slumped against the wall, his face pale and drawn. Zara turned to him, her fear giving way to anger.
“Who are you working for?” she demanded, her voice sharp.
He shook his head, tears streaming down his face. “You don’t understand. They’ll kill me if I talk.”
“They’ll kill a lot more people if you don’t,” Elias said coldly, stepping closer.
“This wasn’t just about you, was it? Who gave you the bomb?”
The man hesitated, his gaze darting between them. Finally, he let out a shuddering breath. “I don’t know their real names. They called themselves The Collective. They find people like me - desperate, invisible - and force us to do their dirty work.”
Elias’s jaw tightened. “Where are they now?”
The man hesitated again, then mumbled, “They operate out of an old warehouse on the east side. Near the docks. But you didn’t hear it from me.”
Elias nodded, his expression grim. “We’ll handle it from here."
Zara stood, her legs shaky but her resolve firm. She looked at Elias. “What now?”
“We stop The Collective,” Elias said simply, his eyes burning with determination. “Before they can hurt anyone else.”
- Writer
