Savage Run (37 page)

Though the rock is heaven sent, it is
approaching all too quickly and the closer I get, the more I begin
to worry that I won’t be able to control the impact—especially with
my injured foot. But there is no time to reconsider. I stretch my
good leg out in front of me and when it collides with the rock, I
bend my knee and reach my arms around the boulder. The surface is
slimy and there’s no place to lodge my fingers. Instead, my palms
skate across the rock and I continue down the stream. Soon I’m at
the edge of the river, peering down to the bottom of the waterfall,
and as I tumble over the edge, my head spins.

Chapter 29

I splash into the pool of water and sink all
the way to the bottom. When my feet hit the rocks, a surge of pain
shoots up my injured leg, causing me to scream out in pain. I push
off from the bottom with my right leg and before long, I float to
the top, and swim to the bank. I crawl out of the water and drag
myself onto the muddy rocks, panting for air. But there’s no time
to rest. I stagger to my right foot and hop over to the side of the
waterfall. I press my body and palms against the cold, wet, black
rock, and mist sprays on my hands, prickling my skin. I wonder how
much time I’ve lost and how far after the others I really am. The
worst would be if by the time I get to the cages they’ll all be
filled.

I start to climb up the mountainside,
relying heavily on my upper body and right leg, grabbing onto
exposed roots and small ledges. Every time I put pressure on my
injured foot is like an assault, and I bite my lips until they
bleed trying to keep from screaming. The last thing I need is for
Johnny to find me and finish the job he started.

It has started to become dark, making it
difficult to see where I’m going. The setting sun is no help at all
down here below all the dome of trees and the only advantage I have
is that everyone else is in darkness, too.

Halfway up the mountainside, I reach out my
cupped hand, let the water gather into my palm, and drink. The cool
liquid meets the hollow feeling in my stomach, but does nothing to
stop the incessant gnawing—like my stomach might eat itself.

I continue to climb, and before long, I’m at
the top. In the distance, I see light and my heart sinks. With it
being dark, and the way the obstacle course glows as a pillar in
the darkness, it’s almost guaranteed the eight cages have already
been taken. But I’m not giving up. I walk and alternately run
toward the light, only slowing down when I need a break from the
pain or as I approach a particularly dark area, afraid Johnny might
be lurking around. I’m about halfway to the obstacle course when I
feel a sharp pain in my right shoulder, sending me to the ground. I
reach behind me and feel the hilt of a knife.

“
Wait up, Imp!”

His voice works like a shot of adrenaline,
and I don’t even bother to look back before I spring to my feet and
make a run for it. But I can’t go as fast as I want because every
time my left foot hits the ground, a knife-like jab radiates up my
leg, and when I pump my arms, the back of my shoulder feels like
it’s being ripped apart. I hear Johnny’s footsteps behind me,
growing louder and louder, and the sound of him slapping foliage
away is right at the back of my neck. I keep my eyes fixed forward,
letting the bright lights in the near distance pull me to my
destination. If I can just make it there. If I can just make it!
Trees pass by in a blur as I whack the leaves and vines to the
side. My mouth is parched, my lungs on fire, my leg throbbing.

Finally I reach the clearing where the
obstacle course is set up. I run to the center of dirt arena and
look behind me. Johnny is nowhere to be seen. My eyes whip to the
cages, and see that Timothy, Cory, and four other participants are
standing in each their own.

“
Heidi!” Cory yells when he
sees me. “You made it!”

Miraculously, two cages are still vacant.
Looking behind me once more, I don’t see Johnny anywhere. Dashing
over to one of the empty cages, I reach to the back of my shoulder
and wrap my fingers around the hilt. Crying out, with one quick
move, I draw the blade out my flesh, and throw the knife into the
jungle.

Timothy makes a whooping sound encouraging
me as I limp forward, but just as I am about to enter the cage, he
yells, “Watch out!”

Someone grabs me by the arm, jerks me to the
side, and slams the entry shut. Johnny. From the corner of my eye,
I see another participant emerge from the jungle and he heads
toward us.

“
Get away from me!” I kick
Johnny in the thigh where I stabbed him earlier and he reaches for
his leg and screams.

“
I’m so gonna kill you!”
His face is red and spit launches from his mouth as he
yells.

I grab onto the top of the cage, lift my
legs up and kick him in the abdomen so he goes flying back. Pain
stabs through my left foot. Opening the cage, I get in, slam the
gate behind me, and lock it.

Johnny sees the other participant heading
toward him and he quickly takes the cage next to me. Right as
Johnny’s cage door shuts, a loud alarm blasts through the jungle
and the cages rise slowly, high into the air. I grab onto the
shiny, steel bars to steady myself.

“
Don’t think you’re safe
yet, Imp.”

“
Dude, just let her be
man!” I hear Timothy yell.

“
Shut your bucket or I’ll
come after you, too!” Johnny retorts.

With a jolt, the cages stop rising. Right in
front of me is a long row of monkey bars, and each row is separated
from the others by barbed wires. To protect participants from
psychopaths like Johnny, I suppose. After the monkey bars there are
numerous swinging, burning wrecking balls, and in the far distance,
a track.

A woman’s voice comes over a speaker. “Ten.
Nine. Eight…”

I focus my eyes toward the end of the bars
and in an instant all the energy leaves my body. The distance is
way farther than my arms will be able to carry me—especially with
the gash in my shoulder. Peering down, I see a pit of spikes below
the bars, and instinctively, I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants.
Maybe this is one of those obstacles where there’s a short cut. I
search my surroundings for any possible clues, the artificial
spotlights from the sides blinding me.

“
Good luck,” Cory says to
me.

I nod back. “You too.”

The woman continues. “Three. Two. One.”

The doors to the cages swing open and I hop
on one leg onto a small, bamboo platform. Rising up onto the ball
of my right foot, I reach up and curl my fingers around the first
smooth bar. I feel my pulse in my ears.

When I release my foot from off the podium
as I hang from the bar, a shot of pain tears through my shoulder. I
squeeze my lips together and pant through my nose, gripping the bar
even harder. I swing from one bar to the next while keeping my eyes
fixed on the bars, not forward—I’ll only become discouraged about
how far I have yet to go. I quickly find a rhythm. One two. One
two.

“
You’ll never make it,
Imp!” Johnny’s right next to me, swinging from bar to bar like it’s
nothing.

“
Shut up!” The thought
comes to me again that I should tell him who he is. “Do you know
that President Volkov is your father?”

“
Yeah, right—that’s the
most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“
Nicholas made me promise
not to tell you, but I thought I’d let you in on the secret.
Everyone has a right to know where they came from.” I’m moving
slower now, and I feel my arms start to tire.

“
What a crack load of
lies,” he yells. “And like you’d tell me for that reason—to help
me. Please. Save your breath.”

“
It’s true. Why do you
think Nicholas especially invited you to this program? No one else
was.” I pause for a moment to catch my breath.

“
I know what you’re doing
and it’s not going to work.”

I’ll have to add a little of my own
embellishment, so he’ll focus on finishing the obstacle course and
get his mind off me. “Nicholas says President Volkov did that to
make sure you were good enough for him. And if you make it,
President Volkov plans to announce to the world who you are.”

“
Whatever,” he
scoffs.

But I can hear that his voice isn’t as
certain as earlier. “Your grandmother knew all along, and she
didn’t tell you. President Volkov bought her silence.” That’s a
lie. “And if you don’t make it, you’ll be sent home packing, back
to an Advisor life for you.” Another lie, but I’ll do whatever it
takes to get him off my back.

I glance forward and though I’ve been at it
for what seems an unreasonably long time, it doesn’t even look like
I’ve made any progress. My arms and hands tremble as they clamp the
bars, and my palms burn already. I keep pressing on, but the
strength in my upper body is quickly fading and my motivation is
dwindling, seeing how far behind the others I am. I press on,
slower and slower, the burning in my hands becoming unbearably
painful, and I think I feel my first blister pop. Sweat drips in my
eyes, making my surroundings blurry.

I feel my fingers slipping, and desperately
in need of a break, I swing my legs up and loop them around the
outside where there is no barbed wire.

“
Can’t keep up, huh? I’ll
just hang out here and wait until you fall.”

Looking past the monkey bars, up to the deep
blue sky, I start to sob. I’m so tired, and being injured
practically everywhere—in so much pain—I don’t know how I’ll make
it. But as I look up, an idea pops into my mind. Maybe I can walk
or crawl on top of the bars and balance across the beams to the
end. Would it be considered cheating? Right now it’s my only
option. I scoot to the outside of the bars, getting as close as I
can.

“
What are you doing?”
Johnny asks.

I struggle for a while, but I finally manage
to loop myself around the railing and crawl up to the top of the
bars. Each of the two beams is a mere three inches, but even so, it
will be easier and faster for me to crawl across than swing my way
forward.

“
You’re
cheating!”

“
Too bad you’re on the
inside, stuck behind the barbed-wires. See you later.” Crawling on
hands and knees, I soon catch up with the others.

“
You little cheat! Just
wait until I catch up with you!”

I ignore him. When I reach the end of the
monkey bars, I climb down to the bamboo podium. The platform lowers
to the ground and in front of me are huge, burning, swinging
wrecking balls. Of course they had to burn. Below the wrecking
balls are stakes that stick out from a green scum-covered swamp. It
looks like the challenge is to jump from stake to stake while not
getting hit by the gigantic flaming balls. Tricky. I check behind
me to make sure Johnny isn’t near, and he isn’t. What luck that I
chose the outer rail!

After hopping off from two legs, I land on
my right foot on the first stake. I wobble a bit, but manage to
maintain my balance by reaching my arms out to the sides, slightly
in front of me. Repeating the process, I move ahead a few more
stakes until I approach the first blazing ball. Side to side it
swings, warming my face and hands with every pass, crackling
loudly. I watch the ball carefully, assessing how much time I need
to clear the four stakes below it. I have three seconds at
most.

With the next swing, and just as the
scorching globe passes, I launch off from where I’m standing and
hop to the first stake. Keep going—just a few more. I tighten the
muscles in my stomach. Once I land on the second stake, the
fireball reaches its apex and begins its descent. Two more. With my
heart in my head, and just as the lit ball returns, I hop from the
third to the fourth one without stopping, the flames licking my
backside. That was close—way too close. Just a few inches, and I’d
be thrown into the swamp.

“
You don’t know anything
about me!” I hear Johnny behind me.

He must be thinking about what I told him.
“Just ask Nicholas once we’re out of here.” Maybe me telling him
wasn’t such a good idea after all. Somehow in the midst of trying
to save my life, I hadn’t stopped to consider what consequences it
would have.

“
You’re such a
liar.”

I wish I were. “Johnny, it’s the truth. I
swear.”

He makes this grunting, screaming sound, but
I don’t look back. The next fireball is coming up and if I am to
make it, I have to tune him out completely.

He laughs. “Once I come for you, you’ll have
no defense. One little push and whoosh! You’re a goner!”

I take a few deep breaths, preparing myself
for the next wrecking ball. Right as it passes me, I move from
stake to stake, moving much quicker than the first time. Easy
breezy, I can do this.

Approaching the last round, however, I see
that there are two balls in a row, the second ball swinging in the
opposite direction from the first one. I can’t tell how much space,
if any, is between the balls, and to make matters worse, the stakes
vary in height and distance. If I don’t pause at all, I think I
might make it, but one misstep and…if there was ever a time during
this round when I needed solid foot holding, it is now. But my foot
hurts so bad that even moving it a little causes me to I wince in
pain. I wind my fingers up so tightly that they go numb.

Right as the ball closest to me passes, I
spring to the first stake. Moving on, I jump up to the second one,
and grab around the edges of the wood to steady myself. Landing on
the third stake, however, it wobbles, and for a split second I lose
my balance and am forced to pause. Still standing on the third
stake, the wrecking balls have already reached their peaks and are
on their way back down. Seeing there’s no way I’ll clear the second
ball on time, I freeze where I stand, desperately hoping there’s
enough space between the two globes of fire so that I won’t get
crushed.