Bullet Page 0,135

sounded odd.

I looked up and found that the hairs on his arm were standing up. His face wasn’t teasing now. “Its okay, Ares, but just so you know, my control and my mood, not so good today.”

He stepped back, nodding. “Sorry, ma’am.”

I didn’t argue about the ma’am part. I just turned and stepped out on the track. I started at a slow jog. Stephen, Gregory, and Nathaniel fell into pace with me. Nicky started with us, but his natural stride wouldn’t keep him with us. The thud of feet sounded behind us, and the crowd of guards spilled around us. I picked up my pace just a touch so we’d all have a good warm-up lap, but I had no illusions about what the pace would be.

We began to split up into two groups. Those six feet and more were ahead in a long-legged pack. The rest of us stayed a little behind them at a pace that worked for us. The tallest person who stayed with us was Dino. Like I said, he ran like a lumbering elephant and would eventually fall behind all of us, but under that layer of hard-looking fat was nothing but muscle. He was built like an old-time linebacker.

I wasn’t fast, but I was relentless and I had stamina. When I’d been merely human I’d done a six-minute mile. Now I was faster, but then so was everyone on the track.

I didn’t speed up. I didn’t try to stay ahead of anyone. When Ares and some others lapped us in a full-out race I just kept running. Nathaniel, Stephen, Gregory, and Dino stayed with me. Somewhere on the fourth mile Dino faded a little so he was behind us, but not much behind us. Running with us as opposed to the other guards had helped him increase his stamina; at least with us he didn’t get as discouraged, and we didn’t give him a hard time about not being the fastest man on the track.

I concentrated on putting one foot ahead of the other. I concentrated on placement of my body in space on the track. I let the world narrow down to my body working on the track, arms going back and forth, legs moving, all of it just moving. I was aware of Nathaniel on one side and Stephen on the other. I knew Gregory was on the other side of him. I could hear Dino’s breathing behind us, but it was all peripheral. I ran, and let everything else go away.

I ran until my hair streamed out behind me, no need to tie it because it wasn’t touching my back. I ran until I had no air for talking, or anything else. I ran until sweat trickled down my spine and I heard Nathaniel’s longer legs stretch out to stay at my side. Everyone else was bunched near me.

I found enough air to say, “Nathaniel, do it.”

He didn’t argue, he just stretched out and ran. He was five-seven, and at least half of that was leg. I had a moment of seeing his braid bouncing ahead of me, and then I kicked it up. I pulled beside him, stretching to stay there. Stephen and Gregory pounded up beside me, and the four of us ran. Dino wouldn’t try to keep up now.

We raced around the track and found the taller men on the edge of it regaining their breath. We ran past them and it was all about running. It was all about staying with Nathaniel, keeping that pace. We passed the other men where they rested a second time.

I managed to say, “Kick it!”

Nathaniel kicked it, and we ran. We ran so fast that the gym blurred around me. We ran faster than I’d ever tried to before. We ran and I didn’t question that I could do it. That I could keep up, that I could push us all. When we passed the men a third time, I gasped, “Slow it.”

He did, and we did a cool-down lap so that we ended with the other men who were still sitting, standing, and watching us. “Not bad,” Ares said.

“Not bad?” God said. “Fuck you, Ares.”

I was still gasping a little as I said, “It’s okay, God. Ares is just mad that he’s fast out of the gate but doesn’t have the stamina to keep up.”

The men made appreciative noises at the comment. I watched Ares think about getting upset about it, and then he laughed. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Damn