A Chase Through Igualada

The footsteps behind Daniel quickened.He spun around, but the narrow street was empty. Only the faint hum of streetlights and the distant sound of cars from the main road filled the silence.Daniel's pulse raced. Had he imagined it?Then he saw it—a shadow moving between the buildings.Without thinking, he took off.Daniel darted through the winding streets of Igualada, his heart pounding as he zigzagged between narrow alleys. His instincts screamed that he was being hunted.He heard the footsteps behind him—fast and relentless. Whoever was following him was trained.Daniel reached a small plaza near Carrer de Sant Magí and ducked behind a parked van, gasping for breath. He peeked around the corner.A tall figure in a dark coat emerged from the alleyway, scanning the area. He wasn't alone.Two other men appeared from the opposite street, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.They knew he was here.Daniel's fingers clenched into fists. He had no weapons, no way to fight them. Unless…

Time Slows Down

His vision shifted. The world around him slowed. The flickering streetlights dimmed, and the distant sounds of the city stretched into a low hum.The men were moving, but Daniel saw them in painstaking detail.He could see the way their jackets rippled with movement, the way their eyes flickered with suspicion. He could predict their next steps.He exhaled. He had seconds to act.With time still dragging, Daniel bolted.He dashed past the van, moving so fast he felt like a blur. The men barely had time to react before he was already turning the corner into another alley.Time snapped back to normal."¡Allí está!" "There it is!"one of them shouted.Daniel didn't stop. He ran straight into the main road and leaped onto a passing bus just as its doors were closing.The last thing he saw before the bus pulled away was the three men standing at the edge of the street, watching him.They didn't chase him.They didn't need to.They had found him.