Vic sat on the edge of the rooftop, feet dangling over the edge, watching the sun set over the skyline. Forty-nine floors below, the the empty streets flowed, silent asphalt rivers. He had set off alarms and broken locks to get to the roof, but no one came to stop him. Everyone was busy doing whatever they thought they should do in preparation, and in another three minutes, it would not matter.
He sat kicking his feet, drinking occasionally from a brown bottle. Vic checked his wrist, which was wrapped in an array of 8 watches, all different, all in perfect synchronization. All were counting down, showing two minutes remaining. Like every other clock on the planet.
Six months ago, every timekeeping device from government atomic clocks to fake Rolex’s from a street vendor started counting down. No one knew how or why.
Vic looked towards the setting sun one last time. He let the bottle slip from his fingers, to drop to the street below, and soundlessly counted down the seconds with the world.
Three.
Two.
One.
∞