Everything Blue

||Prologue||

Hunter Bates

Breathe. 

In. Out. In. Out.

I sucked in another deep breath before letting it go, shakily. I aligned my feet with the familiar white mark on the dark, rocky road. 

Breathe.

I remember seeing my old coach. His name was Coach Sams and his signature saying of encouragement was, "You are the wind, Bates. Be the wind and you will be fast as you can. Breathe it in, Bates. Be one with the air."

So I continued to take deep breathes, rising my bottom into the air, the sound of my hands grasping the rocks beneath me audible in the cold, still fog. I was too slow last time but this time, I will make Coach Sams happy and I will be fast, faster than before. 

My left foot dug into the ground, anticipating my take off. 

Breathe in. 

Breathe out.

And I was off, my feet digging into the rocky surface beneath me while I pushed forward, my eyes trained on the other white mark a few feet away. But I wasn't going fast enough and my knee was already starting to beat with pain. Groaning, I continued to push myself forward, relishing in the air whistling in my ear.

I focused on the world around me, emptying my thoughts of anything that involved the issues in my life. I focused on the tall trees and bushes around me and the sound of birds flying through the air, something I wished I could do. I focused on the sound of my new shoes rubbing against the gravel and the cloth of my clothes rubbing against each other. 

I was running faster now, lighter even. I was walking on air, running through the clouds, gliding with the mist. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips, something I only did when I was alone and moving. This was where I belonged; this was where I was meant to be. 

But there was a snap of a branch, an irrelevant sound I normally would've ignored but this snap was louder than most. I skid to a stop, my eyes searching the wilderness next to my deserted road. But it was the dead silent, not a single sound audible and I felt like the last being on Earth for a second. 

It could've been a rabbit or maybe even a deer but something told me it was much more than that. My mouth opened to say something, anything but it closed just as fast. There was nothing I could say that could possibly make my situation better. Shaking my head, I jogged to the next white mark, trying to rid of my mind of any thoughts concerning some wild beast chasing after me. 

Once, I reached the mark, I spun around and continued back to the other mark. Any normal human would head straight home, not turning back because of the fear eating their insides. But a wild animal was the least of my worries and honestly, I would be okay with being eaten. 

Axel Diaz

"That was close," I whispered to myself once the boy continued running in the other direction. I scratched the back of my ear and swatted away any bugs flying around my freshly washed hair. Yes, I was hiding in the woods, spying on a boy I had never met. But I had learned a lot over the past few weeks. 

Sighing, I sat on the damp forest ground, examining the camera in my hands for the quality of my recent pictures. Like usual, the outcome was mediocre.

Two weeks I spent following this strange boy, who had a passion for running, and all that came out of it was crappy photos. It may sound strange but something about this other human being interested me. What first started as a simple picture of a boy running in the rain now turned into a daily expedition to discover who he really was. 

I remember the first day I laid eyes on him. I was going on my daily walk to the town at the bottom of the hill, hoping to pick up some fresh bread while also capturing a few scenic pictures on my way. But it had suddenly started pouring rain and in that rain, I found myself stopping on the side of the road under a small bus stop. I was freezing, shivering from head to toe and when I turned to look at the other side of the hill, I caught sight of a dark figure, running back and forth in the pouring rain. I was immediately intrigued and had to take that picture but I tend to forget that I am a horrible photographer. 

But ever since that one day, when I photographed the active boy in the freezing cold rain, I couldn't erase him from my mind or find the strength to erase the crappy pictures from my camera. His sharp jaw and dark hair was embedded in my mind and I was determined to get that perfect picture. 

I was brought back to reality at the sound of his harsh breathing. I glanced at the watch on my wrist. It read 6 p.m. and the sky was already growing dark, meaning the photo session was coming to an end and I needed to get home. 

But I found it hard to move since my eyes were glued to the boy who had stopped running and was now, leaning on his knees. I, slowly, rose to my feet, my hands brushing the dirt off my bottom. But the boy was now sitting on the road, his eyes trained on his trembling hands. 

He always seemed to do this, usually after an hour of running. He would have a mini panic attack as if he had terrible memories attached to his love for running. It was at times like these when I wanted to speak up and emerge from the woods. 

I almost did this time. My feet were slowly making their way to the edge of the forest while my heart thumped violently in my chest. My camera was suddenly in my hands, my finger ready to press the button. 

I felt bad for wanting to take a picture of him instead of helping in his time of need but I promised myself that if I got this last picture, I would leave him alone, forever. He deserved that much. 

But as I took one last step towards the bushes that separated us, a twig snapped beneath my foot and his head snapped up in my direction. Frightened, I jerked back, somehow causing my finger to snap a photo, which then caused a bright flash to emit from the camera. I fell backwards in response to the events. 

My heart beat was in my ears now, making it hard to hear anything. But even though I couldn't hear, I could see the boy rising to his feet as his mouth moved, probably calling for me to show myself.

I quickly gathered my things before running as fast as my legs could carry me around to the other side of the hill. I wasn't as fast as the boy but hopefully, he was too tired to chase after me and I could go home in peace. But one thing was certain, I was done stalking the poor guy- for now. 

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