Genova (Re-uploaded after editing)

Chapter 7

 I awoke on the floor once again. The nightmares I had been having hadn't let up as the days passed. If anything, they've gotten worse. I checked my clock and saw that it was 5:30. The race was in an hour; I still had time to warm up. For the last few days, I have been living like a machine. I wake up each morning and train alone, gradually decreasing the strenuousness of my workout as the days go by. Then I go to work until noon. After work I have been hanging out with Malachi, helping him with whatever he needs, which usually consists of staying out of the way while he tries to keep peace in his camp.

After doing that I go home and relax until night begins to fall, at which point I go to bed and the cycle repeats. I haven't seen Zuri hardly at all since our talk. I assume she's been making some major breakthroughs with her fuel experiments, but I haven't heard anything to confirm my optimism. I got out of bed and spent around a half hour stretching before I got dressed. I took a warm shower to loosen myself up more and then went for a short run.

For breakfast I ate nothing but some fruit, trying to stay on an empty stomach before the race. As the hands on my clock slowly crept closer and closer to the time the race would begin, I could feel my heartbeat increase. As I walked towards the starting line adrenaline was coursing through my veins, a feeling which I found quite unpleasant. Around me stood around 200 other people, all preparing to give their all. The noise was unbelievable. Footsteps, cheers, confident speech, and the occasional anxious murmur all at once. I didn't have anyone to talk to, however, and because of my height, I could hardly see anything more than the people on my side.

Before I knew it the chatter was dying down all around me. I couldn't see it, but I could hear an announcer declaring to everyone the prize, the length of the race, and the donors who made it possible. A few seconds after the announcer went silent a horn went off, the sign that it was time to run. First slowly, then increasing in speed the crowd surrounding me began to move. By the time I was through the starting gate and the electronic timer on my chest activated the crowd had distanced itself out. I was going at a good jogging speed, but I had trained to go faster. I began pushing myself into a fast run and began passing people on my left and right.

It wasn't until I passed the 1/8th mark that my breathing started to become more ragged. My legs began to feel heavy, but I began to put myself into a rhythm. Breathe in, step. Breathe out, step. I used my arms to keep time. No matter how heavy my legs felt, they would always move with my arms. Soon I pushed out all the noise around me and began to focus only on my breathing and my steps, and before I knew it I was a fourth of the way through. My heart was now beating loudly in my ears. I felt as though I could keep going, but the feeling of adrenaline made my arms and legs feel numb and cold.

I pushed myself faster, knowing that if I let myself slow down at all I would lose. I looked ahead of me and saw the other runners. From my view, it looked as though they were running up a steep wall toward a glowing line in the middle of the road. I have so far still to go. As I ran, I began to wonder what Zuri was up to. Was she waiting for me at the finish line? I was running this race to repay her, after all. I hope she's there, waiting for me, to cheer me on.

Before I knew it I was in the final stretch. The last eighth. I began to push myself even harder. My breathing quickened, my heart pounding like a motor. I passed other racers left and right, preparing fully to be completely burned out by the time I passed the finish line. As I approached the glowing neon sign marking the end of the race I could see other racers giving each other fist bumps and hugs. Some racers seemed to be judging the performance of those finishing after them, and others were cheering us on. I looked around them, into the crowd, hoping to see Zuri cheering me on. As I ran through the gate, the timer on my chest beeped to show it was done. I nearly collapsed, completely winded, when suddenly I saw her running towards me.