172 Days Novels & Stories

And our deadline counted down with mechanical inevitability. Seventeen days to finish what we'd started. Seventeen days to prove The Balance's faith justified.

"Naomi too." "One woman once went thirteen days without water, though the average is about three. You're tough. I think you can handle another day or two before it gets really serious." I don't answer him. Conserving my energy is more important right now than making conversation with a monster like Frank. He's just playing games anyways. If he allowed it, he could have three or more Warriors just come in here, hold me down, and let them do whatever they wanted with me. But he won't do that. He's purposely waiting for me to give up, because he gets some sick pleasure from this.

He still seemed to regret the father’s departure, even if it was only for a few days. “Two weeks.” Not only Alpha and Kaelen, but I too was surprised by the duration the father had proposed. Father, that’s far too long! Didn’t Father notice the frown returning to Alpha’s brow? “No, five days is enough.” “Fourteen days,” Father said again. My eyes widened in disbelief. My racing heart felt like it had left my body. Cold sweat began to pour down my face. “No, seven days. I’ve already been generous enough.”

“No. About fifteen years?” “Fourteen years, five months, two weeks, and eight days.” That had him blinking. “That’s precise.” I nodded. “It is. Because do you know how long I’ve known this moment would come? Except, instead of you standing here, I figured it would be Dec?” He cleared his throat. “Fourteen years, five months, two weeks, and seven days?”

Panic rose in his chest. Right at that moment, the number above his head that was originally fewer than 100 days suddenly flashed eerily, and the number jumped from [89 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes] to [125 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes]. This was the first time the number had actually gone up.

I asked him instead. “Why suddenly ask that?” “Just answer me.” I begged. “I think eighteen days have already passed since then. Why?” I placed the cup of coffee on the zinc and ran to the balcony again. I tried to count the remaining pearls in my bracelet. There’s only twelve days left. If my hunch is correct, I only have ten days left here. I’m gonna check again tomorrow if another bead disappears so I can confirm. I can’t believe I’ve been staying here for twenty days already. And I’m still alive after all those tragedies that happened to me.

Ifenna looked away and didn't say a word. Fifty-five seconds passed. "If seventy-nine thousand, two hundred seconds make up a day," Ifunanya said, staring at the wall," then it means, it will take roughly ten thousand days for about seven hundred and two million seconds to pass. And ten thousand days is almost close to thirty years. So, we can basically say that it will take close to thirty-five years for you to tell my sister that you love her a billion times. And that will only work out if you tell her that you love her every second which is nearly impossible since you must sleep, eat and go to work."

Did he, by any chance, find out? Melissa almost swore she felt her heart sinking into her stomach, she was already feeling nausea and her skin had turned deadly pale, almost plain white, her hands were shaking really badly that she looked epileptic. From the rear mirrors, she could see Gerald's black eyes shooting lasers. “I want to go say goodbye to daddy before heading to see ‘gwandpa’ and ‘gwandma’ “ Roberta voiced out trying to unbuckle her seat belt as her blue eyes glinted with excitement.

"Not up to 3 days, I don't think it's even up to 2 days." An impish grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "2 days doesn't seem much. We've been here for 2 weeks now and we'll leave here soon in the next 3 to 4 days to look for the gem. It's going to be the crimson moon soon and that's the perfect time to strike."

She did not look up. She did not look up because she had been told for twenty-one years not to look up. I would change that. I would change that after the Council. I pressed my palm to the cold glass of the window. The bond mark on my wrist was warm. The pendant at my collarbone was warm. The knuckles of my right hand were warm where Kael's mouth had been. I had eighteen days. Eighteen days of strategy. Eighteen days of his hand brushing mine across a desk. Eighteen days of a cook in a kitchen who had been waiting for me to come and find her by name.