Thunk! Thunk! A thin boy struck the shovel on the groundand tossed the soil beside him. He looked around for a while, shivering from the cold breeze. The torn clothes could not block the cold. A piece of wood came flying and crashed on his bloodstained hand. Shovel slipped from his grip and fell on his foot.

  "Ouch!" He cried for a second. Then, he took a deep breath and sat down on the slippery mud with his eyes closed. What happened last night was nothing a child of age 13 should experience. It was gruesome.

  ***

  The night was rainy. On a sandy sea beach, a ship had just docked and dropped a ladder. The boy digging the shovel was taking a stroll with a bunch of big people.

  "Rocks, tonight is the day I die. But I want to make the most out of what life I have left." An old man with a chubby face full of scars looked at his watch.

  "Boss, you did tell me about this clock but, what if the clock turns out to be wrong and just a false myth? I still don't trust this thing." Rocks looked at the other people. They were a few steps behind, busy in their own gossips.

  The boss replied, "Kid, I ain't boss for nothing. The legends speak truth. At least for this one. Saying this from experience, even the god can't kill you if the timer is in your side. But, when it ends, even the god can't save you."

  "I won't let it end here. This gang is my only family. What will I do without it?" Rocks looked down, trying to hide his tears. He tried to speak again but his voice cracked. So, he kept his mouth shut.

  After a few minutes of no words, they stopped in front of the giant ship that had just docked earlier. It stood out amongst the ships on the port. It was the largest one with a flag similar to that of skull and crossbones. The difference was that a face of lion was biting the skull and its neck hair was made of fire. It was a pirate ship.

  Pirates were unloading the cargo from their ship. One of them had fit a sword on his hand, one wore an eyepatch and one was bigger than the 2 meter cargo box both height and breadth wise. But one was quite different from the others. He was average sized, wore normal clothes and stood out for not having any quality at all. Still, he led the rest of them.

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  The boss walked through the masses and stood in front of the normal looking guy. Somehow, the prate leader seemed to match his aura. "Hey fucking pig, you still playin' gangster or what nigga?"

  Both of them grabbed each other's throat and people from both sides began charging onto each other. The fight was brutal. Knives stabbed at throats, chests and limbs. Knuckles clashed and the sounds of clashing could be heard from the main port.

  Civilians walked on the busy area of the port, taking a glance of the battle afar. Parents closed their childern's eyes. The youths gathered and enjoyed the gruesome battle. Some called the cops. The navy began evacuting people away from the port. The sailing of ships was postponed and the port was emptied.

  Navy ships approached the battle from the sea. They began shooting bullets at random people. With first wave of bullets, more then half of the people were sweeped dead. Panic began amongst pirates and hoodlums. Rocks pulled the boss away from the battle with him

  "Boss, this is your perfect chance. The timer has only a minute left. If you survive, we can continue our gang again." Rocks said in one breath and took heavy, quick breaths.

  "No way am I going to run away like a coward. Today is my only chance to kill him. He took everything away from me back then. I at least want to die without regrets." The boss took off his t-shirt. He had a small bomb attached with his chest. With a final grin, the boss ran back inside the battlefield and jumped on the pirate leader's throat.

  The timer of his life was on Rocks' hand. Rocks looked at the ticking number, frozen where he stood. 3... 2... 1... Boom! The bomb on the boss's chest exploded, taking away the whole beach. Tears dropped from Rock's eyes as he began running from the port. He ran without turning his back even once.

  ***

  He was at the same beach. The blast had caused the sand to blow away and the sea water had covered the beach for a few hours. The ground was still bloodstained and by the time he returned back, someone had buried the dead bodies.

  He opened his eyes and gasped. The day had almost past. It was evening and the rays of sun was hitting straight on his eyes. He stood up, tucking the mud off his back. No one was visible from where he was. He thought, "Oh yes, the timer."

  Taking the timer out of his pocket, he looked at it. The lid was closed. He remembered his boss telling him, "When I die and you see this timer, its lid will be closed. If you open it, your death day will be decided at that moment. I don't know much about this but be careful before opening this. I want to destroy this thing but it is unbreakable. Not even bombs work."

  He smiled and thought, "The only that fucking mattered to me is gone. Who cares about my death anyway?"

  He could not help but yell, "Fuck this thing!" And so, he tossed the timer high up in the air with what bit of energy he had left with him. The timer splashed on the waves of the sea. A person came out of a hut that stood on the corner of the beach, beside a cliff.

  The person walked slowly to the seashore and picked the timer up. He was a lean man who looked neat on a tuxedo and a shining set of leather shoes. His hair was neatly arranged. Rocks was lying on the ground, thoughtlessly staring at the sky, carefree about his future.

  The man approached him by offering a hand saying, "Mr. Rocks, I have an offer for you."

  Rocks ignored him. He opened the lid without looking at it, pulled Rocks from the ground and faced the timer towards Rocks's eyes. Rocks gritted his teeth and opened his eyes balefully. His fist reached till the man's cheek but stopped just before smacking.

  His rage turned into fear. He saw his death timer. He had exactly 100 years of life.

  The man smiled and said, "I'm Sam. I expect you will hear my offer now."