Defect - By Ryann Kerekes Page 0,28
in the bunker in ten minutes.” He leans against the wall to wait.
It’s empty now in the bunker and dorms. Everyone else is at breakfast, my stomach reminds me. I toss the sheets on my bed and select something to wear – a pair of fitted black workout pants, a sports bra and black T-shirt, then put the rest of the clothes in my locker. After I change, I look at myself in the narrow mirror above the sink. In clothes that fit, I feel a bit more like myself, but my expression is more hardened than I remember. When I turn my wrists toward the mirror, I hardly recognize myself. I shove my arms back down by my sides so they’re out of view. And there I am, recognizable again.
I meet Will in the bunker and after doing a double-take at my changed appearance, he hands me a backpack. He already has one strapped to his back. I take it and put it on. It’s heavier than I expect. “What’s in here?”
“You’ll find out later.”
He leads me outside a different way than we usually go and when the door closes behind us, I realize there’s no fence surrounding us. I look to him in disbelief. He wouldn’t do anything to get us in trouble, would he?
He nods toward the woods straight ahead. “We’re going in there. There’s a test coming up I want you to be ready for.”
I notice that he doesn’t point out how far the others are ahead of me, or that my lack of strength will make this impossible. He just takes off running toward the woods, and I hurry after him.
After we’ve been running for about fifteen minutes, my body reminds me that I never had breakfast. Will’s barely out of breath. “You all right?”
“Mm hm. I’m just kind of hungry.”
He nods. “I figured, but you have to be ready for all types of situations. It’s good to learn that you can still function, that you can push your limits and still survive. It’s important to train under the harshest of conditions.” What is he preparing me for? “Although, you of all people don’t need to miss a meal, so I packed you some food in the bag,” he says.
“Oh. Um, thanks.” The backpack bounces on my back, and now I’m wondering what else he’s put inside.
We jog in silence for a little while longer, and the deeper we move into the forest, the thicker and harder to navigate it becomes. Fallen tree limbs litter the trail, and eventually the trail disappears completely, as we cut diagonally away from the compound. Soon we’re dodging branches and stomping through weeds that reach up to my knees. I wonder how Will seems to know just where he’s going.
The further we get away, the more my mind seems to focus in on what Rena told me, like it’s only safe to think about it out here. Be very careful, Eve Sterling. I hear Rena’s words like a warning in my mind. I consider asking Will what he knows about my mother and father, but I don’t know if I can trust him.
I focus on my breathing, just putting one foot in front of the other. I’m long past when I thought I’d reached my limit. When my lungs burn, and my legs feel as though I can’t take another step, at last we stop.
Will stands in a clearing up ahead, and I walk the last few paces to him. “Good. Five miles in under an hour,” he says, clicking his watch to stop.
I lean over, placing my hands on my knees, drawing deep breaths. Five miles? I would never have thought I could run five miles. I’m instantly proud, then filled with dread at the thought of the run back.
Will motions for me to take a seat on a nearby log. “Catch your breath for a few minutes. Now might be a good time to eat something.”
I follow his orders and sit down, shrugging out of the backpack. The back of my shirt is drenched with sweat. I rummage through the backpack and pull out a bottle of water, draining half of it. I recap it, realizing I better save some since I don’t know what else Will has planned for me. I find a peanut butter sandwich and eagerly dig into it. I sense Will watching me, but when I look up, he turns and looks away, looking out into the woods. It doesn’t escape my notice