The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,17
building, he struggled to breathe. His body had pushed itself to its limits and the air supply his lungs took in couldn’t keep up. His bare chest heaved up and down. His entire body tingled, well, almost his entire body. He couldn’t feel his legs.
He was lying in front of the ranger station, a one story, dilapidated building in a small clearing. White paint flaked off the exterior and the front door was barred shut. He had thrown himself on a patch of grass. Lying face up, he stared into the blue sky, his mind reeling and searching for an answer why Laren could have been so much faster than he was.
It was in the middle of this thought that Laren’s face appeared above him. “Hey, you made it.”
Connor stared at her in disbelief. She was fine, better than fine. If it was possible, she seemed more beautiful and alive than before. Connor struggled to his feet as she offered a helping hand. He took it gratefully and she helped steady him.
Connor looked at her quizzically as he stretched his aching calves. Laren must have read his thoughts because she responded with a simple, “What? I work out.”
“No, Laren, I work out. You… you’ are a robot.”
“I work out a lot?” She phrased this more as a question than a response and looked at him with motherly eyes. “Ohhhhh. Is Connor mad that I beat him?”
“No, not at all. You won fair and square. That’s too bad for me. I guess you have to take me out now.”
“It was a close race, and all joking aside, you are really fast. Makes me think there might be more to you than meets the eye.”
“Please, look who’s talking.”
They both agreed to walk back, although Connor had a sneaking suspicion Laren could have sprinted the entire way had she needed to. The return trip went by quickly as the two once again found joy in each other’s company, talking about the most random and insignificant things.
Soon they were back at the Welcome Center drinking water and laughing at the pickaxe still propped up against the side of the building.
“Of all things a pickaxe? Really?” Connor asked.
“Okay, let the pickaxe go . Besides, it looks kinda cool. So, dinner tonight? There’s a restaurant at the hotel where I’m staying. Dress nice. I’ll see you there at seven?”
“Sounds good.” Connor was mostly dry now, but just mostly. Without warning, he grabbed her and gave her a big bear hug, smothering her in his arms.
She gave out a scream that soon turned into a laugh, “Oh, Connor, that is so gross!”
“I just wanted to give you a congratulatory hug, to show there’s no hard feelings.” This made both of them burst into laughter.
“See ya in a few hours, Connor.”
“See you then.”
As Connor made his way to his truck, he realized Laren’s car wasn’t in the small parking lot., “Hey, where did you park?”
“I parked on a service street just under a mile down the road so you wouldn’t see my car. I wanted it to be a surprise,” she said as she grabbed the pickaxe, once again showing no strain, and slung it across her shoulder. “Here. I’ve decided to put my gold mining career on hold for a while.” She tossed the pickaxe into the back of Connor’s truck and looked at him with a single raised eyebrow. “Hurry and go home. You definitely need a shower before tonight.”
CHAPTER 5
CONNOR STARTED HIS TRUCK. PULLING out of the parking lot, he lost sight of her as she disappeared in the forest.
Weaving down the familiar road, Connor was reminded of something Mrs. Hayes had told him earlier that day. ‘She is drawn to you and she is more than you think.’ But she couldn’t have meant Laren, could she?
He thought about this and all the other questions he didn’t have answers to on his way home. By the time he reached his house, he was no closer to an answer than when he had left. It was about six now. His mother would still be at the shop getting ready to close up.
He parked his truck and walked up the perfectly shaped square cement blocks that led to his house. Opening the screen, he pushed in his key, heard the familiar click, and let himself in. Wasting no time, he hopped in the shower and scrubbed the sweat from his body. It felt amazing. The hot water washed over him and took any sign of his earlier