The stadium was silent.
Once, thousands of people had filled these seats.
Now, weeds pushed through the cracked running lanes, and rust had eaten away at the railings.
Only two people stood on the track.
Rasheed.
Omar.
The wind carried a loose newspaper across the field before it caught against the fence.
Omar stretched his shoulders.
“You remember the first time we raced?”
Rasheed nodded.
“Primary Four.”
“You cried.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
“I tripped.”
“You cried after you tripped.”
Rasheed couldn’t stop a small laugh.
“I still beat you the next year.”
Omar smirked.
“Only because I was sick.”
“You’ll always have an excuse.”
“And you’ll always think you’re funny.”
For a moment…
It felt normal.
Like they were just two boys arguing over old memories instead of standing on the edge of something neither of them understood.
Omar walked toward the starting line.
“One lap.”
“No powers.”
Rasheed frowned.
“What powers?”
Omar looked him straight in the eyes.
“…Exactly.”
He knew.
Not everything.
But enough.
Rasheed slowly stepped beside him.
Neither of them noticed the old timing lights above the stadium flicker to life on their own.
The starting pistol had long since disappeared.
Omar simply raised his hand.
“Three…”
The evening air grew strangely still.
“Two…”
Rasheed felt his heartbeat quicken.
“…One.”
They ran.
For the first fifty meters, it looked like every race they’d ever had.
Omar’s stride was powerful.
Efficient.
Years of athletics had made him one of the fastest teenagers in the state.
Rasheed stayed beside him effortlessly.
Neither boy spoke.
The only sounds were their footsteps striking the faded red track.
Then…
Something changed.
A sharp ringing filled Rasheed’s ears.
His surroundings blurred.
The world stretched.
Every sound became lower.
Slower.
His breathing remained normal.
Everyone else’s reality seemed to stop.
He saw individual blades of grass bending in the wind.
A butterfly hovering motionless above the infield.
Tiny drops of dew suspended in the air.
His eyes widened.
“No…”
His body accelerated on instinct.
One step.
Another.
Another.
The stadium disappeared behind him.
He wasn’t even trying anymore.
Everything became red.
Crimson streams of light wrapped around his arms.
Lightning exploded beneath his feet.
The shockwave shattered loose concrete.
When reality snapped back—
Rasheed was standing in the middle of a deserted highway.
He turned around.
The stadium was barely visible in the distance.
At least three kilometers away.
His heart dropped.
“I… ran that far?”
Panic took over.
“Omar!”
He spun around and sprinted back.
This time he focused.
Slower.
Control it.
Slow down.
The world blurred once again.
A second later—
He arrived back at the stadium.
Omar stood exactly where the track curved into the final stretch.
Frozen.
Not literally.
Just staring.
His mouth slowly opened.
“…How?”
Rasheed looked down.
The track behind him was torn apart.
Deep cracks stretched across the lanes.
Burn marks traced his path.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally…
Omar broke the silence.
“You’ve changed.”
Rasheed swallowed.
“I know.”
“No.”
Omar shook his head.
“I don’t think you do.”
He walked toward the damaged track, kneeling beside one of the black scorch marks.
His fingers brushed the concrete.
It was still warm.
“You remember the explosion?”
Rasheed’s expression changed instantly.
“The Chrona Core.”
“My dad talked about it all the time.”
Omar stood.
“My father told me something after it happened.”
“What?”
“He said some people weren’t supposed to survive that night.”
Rasheed frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Omar looked away.
“He refused to explain.”
A heavy silence settled between them.
Then…
A strange sound echoed through the empty stadium.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Neither boy wore a watch.
Yet both heard it.
The ticking grew louder.
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
Every floodlight surrounding the stadium switched on simultaneously.
The sky darkened.
Clouds gathered overhead.
The air became unnaturally cold.
Rasheed slowly looked upward.
High above the stadium…
A jagged crimson crack split the sky for just a fraction of a second.
Inside it…
He thought he saw a man standing in an endless red storm.
Then it vanished.
The floodlights shut off.
Everything returned to normal.
Omar stared at Rasheed.
“…Please tell me you saw that.”
Rasheed nodded slowly.
“I did.”
Neither of them realized they were no longer alone.
From the highest row of the abandoned stadium, hidden beneath the shadows of the broken roof…
A tall figure watched them in silence.
His face was concealed beneath a dark hood.
A silver pocket watch rested in his gloved hand.
It clicked shut.
“They’ve begun to resonate.”
The stranger smiled faintly.
“Excellent.”
He turned and disappeared into the darkness before either boy looked up.