The Holder of the Speed

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask for something called "The Holder of the Speed". The worker should become motionless. Look around yourself; if everything else became motionless, you are on the right path. If you are not, no one shall know of your demise. This will make it all the worse.

You will notice that moving around and breathing will become gradually, but increasingly, difficult; this is expected, for the air slowly becomes motionless. You should explore carefully the halls surrounding you, thinking about your first great failure, but be aware that, if you take too long, you will suffocate.

Your objective is to find a child who still moves amidst all the surrounding statuesque shapes. The child will approach you with a ball, and hand it over to you. Pay attention to how the ball is held. The child will then declare "You're it," and then run outside the room, always giggling.

What you will have to do is return the ball, careful to not be fooled by the voice echoing within the halls, for wasted time means you're closer to death by asphyxiation. As time passes, the air will become harder to cut through, requiring great strength; warmth will slowly leave your body; droplets of water will pierce your skin. Most likely, you'll be blinded, deafened, and similarly mutilated during this chase. Vision will be impaired as everything slowly darkens, as even light itself is eventually reaching a stop.

It is certain that you will find the child in one of the hallways, under a beam of light; it could be coming from a window, a lamp, or any similar light source. You should return the ball in the same way it was given to you and attempt to escape, giving continuity to the game.

If you succeeded, the air won't be heavy anymore. You will notice every place you ran past will be damaged to some degree. Depending on where you finished your ordeal, you may have to give many explanations to the facility's administration, and somehow avoid imprisonment.

If you failed, the child will once again hand you the ball as soon as you're reached. He will then again declare "You're it," and dash through the corridors. You will probably die, pierced by the air's humidity and suffocated, before you can reach the infant a second time.

Your newfound agility is Object 32 of 2538. Mentioning the child to others will earn you, at first, scorn and ridicule. To mention him a second time is to invite your demise at the hands of everyone in earshot. If you're lucky.