‘There you are.’ Lucas and Carter walked up together. Allie gave them a helpless look.
‘I can’t believe it.’ Allie looked at Carter for help. ‘I can’t be her partner. I just … can’t.’
He held out his hands helplessly.
‘I don’t think she likes me.’ Zoe stood with a hand on one hip, obviously unbothered.
Ignoring her, Allie turned to Carter. ‘Could you believe what he said about us investigating each other? That’s just —’
‘Enough chit-chat, people.’ Zelazny’s chainsaw voice cut her off. ‘You have your partner assignments. Training starts now. I want to see a five-mile competitive run on the usual path. Then Raj will run us through a defensive training drill.’
Everyone rushed for the door at once. Allie turned to Carter, her expression blank. ‘What’s a competitive run?’
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her after the crowd heading down the corridor to a side door. ‘It’s a timed run – last one back is punished. Hurry!’
‘Punished how?’ But she ran after him.
‘Does it matter?’ Lucas asked, speeding past them.
Outside, a soft rain fell as the cadre of students took off into the darkness at speed. They all seemed to know to run down a footpath towards the edges of the school grounds.
‘Shouldn’t we warm up first?’ Allie asked as Carter set a fast pace. ‘We could all get cramp. And I can’t see where I’m going. Can you see where you’re going?’
Out of the darkness, Zoe appeared right beside them.
‘Does she ever shut up?’ she asked Carter before turning to Allie. ‘Do you ever shut up?’
‘Yes … I mean … What?’ Allie stuttered. She was so taken aback she tripped over a root and pinwheeled off the path. Grabbing her arm, Carter kept her on her feet.
‘Bloody hell.’ Zoe looked baffled. ‘What is wrong with you?’
‘Talk about,’ Allie panted, ‘me shutting up. Why don’t you … give it a try … Shorty.’
Increasing her speed, Allie focused on getting as far away from the girl as possible.
‘I wouldn’t use up all my energy so early,’ Zoe called after her.
‘No talking!’ Zelazny’s voice seemed to come from nowhere, as he ran up behind them. ‘Anyone found to be talking from this point on will be punished.’
‘Oh just sod off,’ Allie snapped, but she said it quietly enough so no one could hear.
Still, she knew Zoe was right. Five miles was a long run and she was already tired – she wouldn’t make it if she didn’t pace herself. But she certainly wasn’t going to let Zoe see that.
So after a half-mile or so she slowed her pace to a more reasonable rate, shaking her shoulders to loosen the muscles that anxiety had tightened into knots. Soon, even though her thoughts whirled, her footsteps entered the steady, hypnotic rhythm of a regular runner.
As always, the exercise calmed her and, even as her heart rate increased, she could feel herself relaxing into the pace. Now she could pay more attention to the world around her. Clouds blocked the moon but her eyes were starting to adjust to the dark – she could see the pine trees all around her, swaying in the breeze, and the path ahead.
Only now did it occur to her that she hadn’t just lost Zoe when she sped off, she’d lost Carter and Lucas as well. She was completely alone. But she didn’t mind – the endorphins had kicked in and she ran with confidence and grace. The only way she could be certain she was still on the right path was that occasionally she’d pass another runner, then they’d fade into the background behind her.
The problem of Zoe occupied her thoughts, although she was calmer now. And the way Raj Patel had acted – tough and ice cold. Was this the side of him that Rachel had warned her about? The side she hadn’t been able to imagine before?
She guessed she’d run about two miles when she reached a deep patch of the woods where the path was so dark she had to slow her pace to avoid tripping. The darkness here was so intense it almost had a weight – she imagined she could feel it pressing against her skin.
As she moved at a slow jog the wind picked up; the sound of thousands of trees swaying in unison was like a roar – like waves pounding against a pebble beach.
Then off in the distance a vixen shrieked a blood-curdling scream that made her skin crawl. She was sure it was a vixen. It definitely wasn’t a girl being murdered and screaming for help.
Definitely.
Thoroughly unnerved, she picked up her speed but found it hard to get back to her previous easy rhythm. Every sound made her jumpy; she kept looking over her shoulder, thinking she heard footsteps behind her. Hoping another runner would catch up with her.
When she noticed she was nervously counting her footsteps, she ordered herself to stop. Having a panic attack now in the dark, all alone, would not be cool.
Don’t freak out, Allie. Don’t freak out, Allie. Don’t freak out …
She was telling herself not to freak out for the thirty-seventh time when she saw someone standing in the woods.
It happened so fast she was past him before what she’d seen fully registered in her brain, then she skidded to a stop. Spinning around, she looked back – the woods were empty. Carefully, she backtracked down the path, squinting into the darkness where she’d seen a man in a suit standing under a tree. Staring at her.
But she was completely alone.