Chapter 1: The Announcement

The world had always felt, to Dr. Evelyn Carter, like something that could endure forever—a seemingly permanent fixture in the grand scheme of time. She had spent her career studying the environment, global ecosystems, and climate change, firmly believing that there was always a way to reverse damage if people were only willing to act in time. But today, in an instant, that belief was shattered.

At precisely 2:00 p.m. GMT, the steady hum of life seemed to freeze. A broadcast interrupted every screen, from televisions to smartphones, laptops to radios. Dr. Carter sat at her desk in her lab, glancing at the clock as the unsettling sound of the announcement began.

“This is not a drill,” the voice said, its tone clipped and serious. “This is a global announcement regarding a catastrophic event that threatens all of humanity.”

The words hit her like a slap in the face, sharp and immediate. Her breath caught, and she instinctively leaned forward, focusing on the screen. She had seen nothing like this—nothing that suggested a global crisis of this scale.

“Scientists have confirmed that the world faces an impending disaster,” the announcer continued. “We have less than one year before the event occurs. The cause is still under investigation, but it is certain that nothing can prevent it.”

She felt her heart stop for a moment. "Less than one year," she whispered under her breath. The sentence clung to the air, refusing to leave, refusing to allow any space for a hopeful response. Inevitable. That was the word that haunted her as the broadcast continued. No chance for mitigation, no path for survival. A definitive end.

Across the room, her younger brother, Liam, stood frozen by the doorframe, his eyes wide in disbelief. He had been the one to call her into the office, urging her to watch the announcement, but even now, it seemed as though the news hadn’t fully sunk in for him either. He stepped forward slowly, his fingers gripping the back of a chair as if he were unsure what to do next.

“They’re lying, right?” Liam asked, his voice fragile with confusion. “This is some kind of mistake, right? They can’t just—"

Evelyn turned to him, shaking her head. “No, Liam. It’s not a mistake.” She could see the panic flicker across his face, and for a moment, she felt the same pang of uncertainty. But the voice on the broadcast was steady, resolute. "This is real."

The room was eerily quiet after the broadcast ended. No further explanation was given—no solutions, no plans, only a stark reminder that the end was approaching, and there was nothing anyone could do. She had always been a scientist, a woman of reason, but now even her mind, which had always found comfort in facts, couldn't grasp the full weight of what had just been announced.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Liam stood still, staring at the blank screen in a daze, while Evelyn’s mind spun. She had spent her career studying climate change, natural disasters, and the fragility of ecosystems. But this—this was something she had never anticipated. It was beyond anything she had ever studied, beyond the parameters of any catastrophe that could have been predicted.

“What happens now?” Liam finally whispered, his voice shaking. His hand still gripped the chair behind him. Evelyn's eyes focused on her brother, noting the way his face had drained of color, his shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world had descended upon him all at once.

She didn’t have an answer. Not one that would make sense. “I... don’t know,” she admitted quietly, her voice thick with disbelief. “But we’ll have to figure it out.”

But the words felt hollow. What could they possibly figure out? Time was running out. The world was running out.

Suddenly, Liam's face shifted. His eyes narrowed, as if a new thought had taken root, one that was darker, more immediate. "We have a year left," he said, his voice gaining strength, though it was still laced with uncertainty. "That’s not much time. But it’s time. Maybe... maybe we can do something with it. Maybe we can actually change things in that year."

Evelyn looked at him, her heart aching for his optimism, his refusal to accept the helplessness she was beginning to feel. But she also knew, deep down, that he was grasping at something—anything—to cling to, something that might give him a sliver of control in a world suddenly spiraling out of control.

“You’re right,” she said, though her voice trembled with the weight of her own doubt. “We have time. A year. But we don’t know how we can stop it. No one knows.”

Liam seemed to process that for a moment, but his expression was steady. “Then we make the most of it. We don’t wait. We do something. Anything.”

It was strange—Evelyn, always the pragmatist, found herself silently nodding along to her younger brother’s words. He was right, in some ways. There was no time for uncertainty. The clock was ticking.

The next few hours unfolded in a blur. News stations exploded with the announcement. Social media exploded even faster, some with cries of panic, others with skepticism, but one sentiment was universal: time was running out. Governments scrambled to confirm and assess the situation, though there was little they could say. Countries announced emergency meetings, and military forces went on high alert, though no one knew what they were preparing for.

Evelyn and Liam sat together at the kitchen table in silence as the day passed, the glow of the television casting a cold light over them. They didn’t speak much more, the magnitude of the news sinking deeper into their bones.

Liam fidgeted with the edge of his cup, staring out the window. “What do you think?” he asked, almost out of nowhere. “I mean, what happens now? What are we supposed to do?”

Evelyn didn’t know how to answer that. Her career had always been about preventing disasters, about using knowledge to protect, to heal. But this… this was different. She had always believed in a solution—some breakthrough that could repair the damage done. But now, there was no repair. There was no fixing it.

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice strained. “I think we just… live. We live as much as we can. As best as we can.”

Liam let out a soft, bitter laugh. “Live. For a year.”

There was no answer to that.

And in that silence, as the world outside continued to spin, Evelyn knew that this was the moment when everything had changed—not just for her and Liam, but for the entire world. There would be no more time to pretend. No more time for small things. The countdown had begun, and there was no stopping it.