Chapter 3: Impossible

Silence settled over the athletics field.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

Rasheed stood several meters beyond the finish line, breathing heavily as dozens of eyes remained fixed on him.

The electronic timer continued flashing random numbers before finally going dark.

A teacher frowned.

“What just happened?”

Another official rushed toward the timing equipment.

“It malfunctioned.”

“It has to be the timer.”

“The finish camera froze too.”

Students immediately began talking over one another.

“I blinked and he was already there.”

“Did anybody see him pass Omar?”

“I swear he disappeared.”

Rasheed looked down at his hands.

They were trembling.

Not from exhaustion…

From confusion.

He remembered every step of the race.

Or at least he thought he did.

One moment Omar had been ahead.

The next…

Everything had become strangely quiet.

Almost frozen.

Then he was standing at the finish line.

It didn’t make sense.

Omar finally walked over.

For once, the confident grin was gone.

“What did you do?”

Rasheed looked up.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t.”

Omar studied his face for several seconds.

He wanted to believe Rasheed was joking.

But he wasn’t.

“You’ve never beaten me like that before.”

“I know.”

“You looked like…” Omar hesitated.

“…like you vanished.”

Before Rasheed could answer, one of the sports teachers called everyone together.

“The race is cancelled.”

A chorus of complaints erupted.

“The timing system has completely failed. We’ll run the qualifiers another day.”

The students slowly dispersed, still whispering about what they had witnessed.

Adesewa caught up to Rasheed outside the track.

“You look pale.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re pretending to be fine.”

He forced a smile.

“It almost worked.”

“Not even close.”

She crossed her arms.

“You’ve been distracted since this morning.”

Rasheed looked toward the school buildings.

“I’ve just… not been sleeping well.”

She didn’t believe him.

But she knew better than to push too hard.

“If you ever want to talk…”

“I know.”

She smiled softly.

“I’ll keep asking until you do.”

For the first time that day, Rasheed felt the weight on his shoulders lighten.

“Thanks.”

As Adesewa walked away, Omar watched from the opposite side of the courtyard.

His jaw tightened.

He wasn’t jealous of their friendship.

He was frustrated.

No matter how hard he trained…

No matter how many races he won…

People always seemed to notice Rasheed.

Even when Rasheed wasn’t trying.

That afternoon, the principal dismissed the students early because of the equipment failure.

Rasheed decided to walk home instead of taking the bus.

The city felt strangely different.

Every ticking clock he passed sounded louder than it should.

Every traffic light seemed to hesitate before changing.

Even the wind felt…

Out of rhythm.

He reached a busy intersection just as an elderly man stepped onto the road.

The man’s walking stick slipped.

A speeding truck rounded the corner.

Its horn blared.

People screamed.

Rasheed didn’t think.

He moved.

The world slowed.

Rainwater hanging from power lines became tiny floating beads.

The truck’s tires turned so slowly they barely seemed to rotate.

The old man’s frightened expression barely changed.

Rasheed stared in disbelief.

The entire world had become almost perfectly still.

“What…”

His own voice sounded normal.

His heartbeat remained fast.

Instinct took over.

He grabbed the old man around the shoulders and pulled him toward the sidewalk.

The moment his feet stopped moving…

Everything snapped back.

The truck thundered past.

Its driver slammed on the brakes several meters ahead.

People rushed toward the old man.

“You saved him!”

“Where did that boy come from?”

“I didn’t even see him move!”

The old man looked up at Rasheed with shaking hands.

“You…”

He struggled to catch his breath.

“…you were standing over there.”

He pointed across the street.

“How did you…”

Rasheed couldn’t answer.

Because he didn’t know.

He quietly stepped back into the crowd before anyone could stop him.

As he disappeared down a side street, he failed to notice a security camera mounted above the intersection.

Inside a dark underground control room, dozens of monitors displayed live footage from across the city.

One screen replayed the rescue over and over.

The image blurred each time Rasheed moved, leaving behind only a streak of crimson light.

A figure standing in the darkness watched without speaking.

After several moments, the figure finally broke the silence.

“So…”

A faint smile appeared.

“The first Pulse has awakened.”

The monitor went black.

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