Everything seemed frozen—the sounds, the movement, the light—everything was suspended as if the entire existence had become an imposing statue, immovable and intimidating. Sam felt excitement surge in his heart like an unrelenting rocket soaring into space.
Quickly, Sam retrieved a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, facing a slight resistance as they stubbornly refused to budge, yet he managed to extract them. Holding the pack in the air, he released it. The pack stood still, suspended in mid-air, defying gravity.
'Brilliant, just brilliant' Sam thought, his excitement almost bursting out of his chest before he witnessed the pack gradually plummeting towards the ground. Time had stopped. But this time, it felt shorter. Sam wondered why. Was it due to a weakening of the (source)? Or did the activation conditions not require time to stand still for as long?
Regardless, where did this power come from, bringing along this phenomenon? Sam wasn't a particularly science-minded person, but he wasn't ignorant either; he possessed the basics. With certainty, he knew that whatever this phenomenon was, it was not a natural expression of the universe's laws and physics. Only God knew how many scientists would cough blood at the sight of a way to stop time.
Was it from a source? Sam pondered for a moment about the contents of his meals over the past days, and found nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't like he was eating excessively. Sam thought deeper and the longer he pondered, the more sullen he became.
Sam knew fully well that the world didn't revolve around him. He knew that compared to the vastness of the universe, he was an insignificant ant. He knew that self-centeredness was a sin in society. He knew that he wasn't the protagonist of some novel. This kind of foolish thinking was one of the reasons that led him to this miserable apartment in the first place.
'But now, I possess this power... I might not be special now, but I have the potential to become special' Sam thought, desire for authority sweeping through his body and mind. He envisioned various ways to use his newfound ability—smooth thefts, clever cheating, blackmail, escaping impossible situations—allowing him extra time for tough decisions. He could even theoretically win any battle against anyone! Sam felt invincible already!
'Your naïve thinking is exactly what got you into this miserable situation' Sam scolded himself for his rampant thoughts. 'This power of mine should remain a secret even after my death, and I'd prefer that it stays a secret even beyond my death. I don't want my grave exhumed for any reason' Sam recalled movies he'd watched about government experiments on citizens possessing extraordinary abilities or something special about them. Of course, Sam didn't want to become a guinea pig, serving the government and some damned wealthy folks. Those people deserved nothing but pain, suffering, and humiliation. They didn't deserve anything else in Sam's eyes.
Sam rose from his bed and decided to go to the library. It was around 8 PM, and the rain had subsided slightly. He took his umbrella, the one with a small hole at the edge and some rust on its handle, and headed to the library, a ten-minute walk from his place, walking as briskly as he could. He arrived at the library quickly and put his umbrella away before heading straight to a library computer. He tried to see if anyone noticed or recognized him, but he found no one. He tried to check the cameras and found only one, capturing the library's main hall with the computers. Luckily, the camera's angle only caught a glimpse of his figure, since he was shielded by the computer screen. He relaxed a bit and searched for "time-stop phenomena" opting for the latest entries. The most recent article was about a story someone wrote involving a character acquiring time-stopping abilities and using them to kill the ultimate demon or some such nonsense. Sam continued searching, but found nothing genuinely informative—just some wild conjectures about how to stop time, many of which involved cutting one's hair.
'Such a bunch of fools' Sam scoffed inwardly at them, then searched for "strange or psychological phenomena" and similar to before, most of the articles were about the increase in cult followers and other nonsense.
Sam easily inferred that whatever this phenomenon was, it was an extremely rare occurrence, and any information floating around the internet about it was likely monitored. But he felt somewhat strange that there weren't any fools out there who possessed this power and had broadcasted it to the world. 'Do all its bearers have to be smart? Maybe a certain level of intelligence is a specific requirement for having this ability?' Sam pondered, but he couldn't come up with a definitive answer.
Before leaving the library, he wanted to try something. Sam carefully observed the camera in front of him, took a deep breath, and approached the edge of the massive table housing all the computers. He then threw his head (more specifically, his temple) directly towards the edge.
Just moments before impact, time stopped. 'I need to move quickly somewhere else' Sam thought, rushing towards the book section behind him during the frozen moment.
He arrived there and observed some books before the soft sounds of rain returned. Time resumed as usual. Sam then moved towards the friendly receptionist with short black hair, a neat uniform, and deep blue eyes. She wore a short skirt and a standard work shirt. Her body was ordinary but nice looking, though she carried some weight around her belly. She was pretty, but her beauty leaned towards cuteness rather than sharpness. Sam said to her, "Excuse me, I think I misplaced my notes. Can I see the cameras?" The kind woman gazed at him for a moment, then said, "Of course, please come in." She stepped back slightly from her desk to allow Sam to enter and view. Sam asked again, "Can you make sure of the main area? It might have fallen there." The kind woman didn't think much and responded with a warm smile, "Sure, but you know how to access the latest recordings, right? I don't really want to get into trouble because the recordings are considered private library property and I don't want them to get destroyed somehow." Sam smiled lightly and said, "Don't worry. I'm really not interested in a library." The kind woman laughed as she gets up, revealing that she was quite short, and then proceeded to the main hall. Sam hurried to check the last fifteen minutes of recordings, then saw himself entering the library, sitting, searching, and occasionally changing his position. Then he saw himself preparing to what seem like a sleeping position, but his descent was more sharper, and then... he vanished.
Sam vanished from his spot. He couldn't be found at all. This was before reappearing from the book section into the main hall, where the reception desk was located. 'Bloody nonsense' Sam thought, his heart pounding in his chest. Then he paused and thought, should he delete the video? It would raise some suspicions, but he couldn't explain his disappearance to anyone for those moments. He decided to take the risk and delete the last two minutes, as they might attract attention. From the corner of his eye, Sam saw the friendly woman coming. 'I need to distract her a bit' Sam thought, getting up from his chair and saying to her, "I think I found it. Thank you." The woman's smile widened, and she replied, "You're welcome." Then Sam took the initiative and said, "Are you working alone during these hours?" The woman looked at him with an intrigued look and said, "Yes, usually. My friend is usually here with me, but she's on sick leave now, so I'm alone." At that moment, Sam gathered his courage and said, "I'm also alone and feeling a bit bored. I think you might feel the same. How about we chat a bit about some books?" A spark of excitement flashed in the kind woman's eyes, and she said, "Of course! I don't mind some company on this boring night."
'Everything as it should be, wonderful' Sam thought.