25min Timer Novels & Stories

“It’s cute, huh?" Then I caught Valen’s gaze with concern written on his face and a sad grimace. “We can win this and get the hell out of here.” Valen muttered to me, our mind-link seemed disabled. I wished I could believe him, so I did not respond. Being closer to him would have helped more. A timer appeared above her head with four silver zeroes. After that, it changed with digital counting sound effects to reflect three minutes and thirty-four seconds. “Once the timer hits zero, you fail and will be eliminated. If you fall, the river of molten iron at the bottom awaits your death.” Gracefully lifting her right arm in arabesque, she persisted cheerfully. “Let us begin.”

I dragged it out into the light, my hands trembling so bad I almost dropped the damn thing. It was this small, matte-black box. No label, no brand name, nothing. Just a tiny red light on the corner, blinking slowly like a heartbeat. *Blink.* *Blink.* *Blink.* A timer. Wired straight to a block of dark grey clay wrapped in thick plastic. A literal, actual bomb. My brain just went totally blank. I couldn't even scream if I wanted to. The digital readout on the side was counting down from **03:45:00**.

“We need to go, NOW.” The hotel door suddenly slammed shut before any of them could reach it. Then the countdown timer appeared on the television screen again. 00:05:00 [Survive the punishment.]

The timer appeared on screen. Fifty-nine minutes. Fifty-eight minutes. And the world waited to see what we would do.

Marcus spread his arms. “Well?” “You two are ridiculous.” “You love it.” I did. God help me. I absolutely did. Jarek came over and kissed my forehead. “Last chance.” I smiled. “No.” His eyes softened. “Good.” Marcus handed me a little digital timer. “Two hours.” “And fifteen minutes?” “Head start.” “And no GPS?” “No GPS.” “And if I win?” Marcus grinned. “Baby doll, if you somehow outrun us for two hours, we’ll spend the rest of our lives hearing about it.”

And the timer. Two minutes. The beeping sound was sharp, steady, cutting through the air like a countdown to something final. People were starting to notice. Their voices rising, confusion turning into panic. I didn't have time for that. "Scissors," I said, my voice loud enough to cut through the noise. Someone handed me one with shaking hands. One minute, twenty seconds. I crouched down in front of the bomb, blocking everything else out. "Boss, we should leave," Baron said, his voice tight.

Roughly 15 minutes. The countdown began…

I was completely unsympathetic, and I soon pulled out my new phone and turned on a timer. “Five minutes. If you don’t give me a proper explanation, then I’m never giving you another chance. I won’t wait forever, and your time starts now.” I turned the timer on and deliberately amplified the sound of the timer, giving him an indifferent look. I got the intended reaction immediately, for William was visibly panicked the moment he heard the steady ticking of the timer.

“Then we disable it first.” “We don’t have time.” He grabbed my wrist. “Demi, look at me. We need to go. Now.” The urgency in his voice snapped my head up. “What aren’t you saying?” His grip tightened. “The timer’s not just for the servers. It’s for the building.” Ice flooded my veins. “He’s bombing HQ.” A beat. Then Jeff’s mouth set in a hard line. “We have twenty-three minutes to evacuate everyone.” I turned back to the screens. Julian’s smirk taunted me.