The numbers there had turned into a countdown, ticking away one second at a time.
The car continued driving without interruption. After turning left at the next intersection, it passed through two more intersections and turned right again.
Its speed traced a parabola, and after reaching yet another intersection, it came to a stop.
I could feel large beads of sweat running down the driver's body.
"Something's wrong... We should be there already... No, I made a mistake. I took the wrong road..." the driver muttered, his gaze shifting to the display on the center console.
The numbers there had changed to "00:17."
"No... no..." the driver cried out in fear. Suddenly, he reached for the driver's door.
It was unlocked, but no matter how hard he pulled, the door wouldn't budge.
"No! Let me out! Let me out, now!" the driver shouted, pounding on the windows with his hands and then slamming his elbow against them. He unfastened his seat belt, half-reclined in his seat, and kicked the windshield with both feet.
He tried every method he could think of, but the windows were incredibly sturdy. No matter what he did, he couldn't break them.
He panted heavily, muttering a few meaningless curses.
The countdown had reached "5."
I heard him crying and knew that he was in tears.
"No, no, no... Don't..." He frantically pressed the buttons on the center console, turning on the radio and then the headlights. Only the number remained beyond his control.
Five seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
The number hit zero.
The "00:00" looked like a death sentence being pronounced.
The driver held his breath.
With a click, the lights inside the car came on.
The light above the driver's seat turned on, as did the overhead light in the