Though the distance between them wasn't much—barely a few feet—though the boy's face was scrunched up with fury, his broken arm swinging wildly as he threw himself at him… to Riley, he just seemed so slow.
So unbearably slow.
His widened eyes didn't blink, only tracked the movement as though the world around him had suddenly slowed down into a sluggish reel.
His heartbeat was calm, steady, but in the silence of his mind, it echoed like a deep drum.
His breath, once ragged from panic and confusion, had turned stable, as if his very lungs now moved in harmony with this strange force flowing through him.
'So slow…' he thought to himself, his brows lowering in disbelief.
He shifted his foot ever so slightly, tilting his body to the side.
The movement was simple, almost instinctive, nothing special. And yet, it was enough.
The boy's arm, his good one, sliced through the air like a clumsy blade, brushing past Riley's shoulder but never touching him.
