How to Save a Life by Pengi
Summary:
This story has been abandoned, in favor of a reworked storyline. To read the updated story, check out The Time Watcher.


My name is Nick Carter and in five days, twelve hours, forty-two minutes and fifty-seven seconds I'm going to die. Unless I can save someone else's life. Then I'll get to stick around for five days, twelve hours, forty-seven minutes and fifty-seven seconds. Every time I save somebody's life, I get an extra five minutes. If I saved all estimated three point six billion people in the world I'd be able to live for approximately ... let's see, carry the one, cross out the six... eight and three is eleven.... 34,246 years, 150-something days, twelve hours, forty-two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. Heh. Thirty-four thousand years, huh? .... Could be kinda cool.
Categories: Fanfiction > Backstreet Boys Characters: Group, Nick
Genres: Action, Drama, Supernatural, Suspense
Warnings: Death
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 10 Completed: Yes Word count: 10556 Read: 19213 Published: 03/20/08 Updated: 03/30/08
Story Notes:
I'm only including warnings as they are added so the warnings list could change with time as the story develops. Therefore, please check the warnings list with each update before reading.
The Gift by Pengi
If you could know exactly how long you had left to live, right to the second, would you want to?

Don't answer that question with haste; instead, really think about the idea first, the consequences of it. First of all, you would very suddenly carry the burden of watching time be wasted, slipping away without any meaning to it at all, far more prominently than you could ever notice it now. You would know on Monday that Wednesday you would be gone. You'd know when you saw your favorite places and the people you love that you'd never see them again. However, the plus side is that you'd also know when to make it count. You would not have to be afraid of death because you would know that no matter what you did, or what happened to you, that you would not die as long as your time was not yet up.

A friend of mine once said that there is no such thing as a life cut short, but only of a life extended. He was exactly right, I've found, because everyone has an appointed time to die, but if you are not there, your clock is reset, another appointment is made and you've successfully missed your own death... even if you were unaware of it. I know that I've managed to reschedule many, many such appointments... both of my own, and of others.

Kind of makes you wonder how many times you've been appointed to die, doesn't it?

You see, I have a gift. Although there are many times that I would rather consider it a curse than a gift. It's like a sword with two sides - each equally potent. On the one hand, I save lives. I keep people from leaving the world when I am physically able to prevent their deaths. But on the other, there are many times when I have been too late, or simply unable to stop what was coming. My gift has brought equal parts of elation and devestation both to myself and to the people with whom I have come in contact.

Well, I guess I better tell you the story... before my time runs out.

00:04:37:22
00:04:37:21
00:04:37:20
00:04:37:19
00:04:37:18
This story archived at http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=8904