Chapter 63: Photo Finish
Gwen's feet hardly touch the earth. Blind with panic, she ran after Drake.
She felt sick. She felt like throwing up. Her brain was buzzing.
She fell in the middle of a race! How could she be so clumsy? There was no way she would beat Jak's record now! And Drake was still ahead of her! He might win! If he won she would flunk out of the military minor! And her father. Her father was here! After all these years! HOW WAS HE HERE!?!? And if her father was here did that mean her mother...?
Gwen looked down. She saw her shadow. Heart pounding, she searched the sidelines. She expected to see her mother, but the spectators blurred by, smears of open mouths and cheering faces.
Perhaps her mother was hiding. Gwen thought. Perhaps she was hiding in the dark. Just like before. Or maybe...maybe she wasn't here. Maybe she wasn't looking for Gwen. Maybe she was looking for...
Gwen's heart stopped.
Michaleen.
Gwen didn't beat Jak's record that day, but her finish was extraordinary. The spectators said she suddenly burst forward, catching Drake in a matter of seconds. She ran so fast it looked like Drake was going backwards.
The crowd went ballistic. Gwen's victory was near. Even Jak Triton held his breath as Gwen flew towards the finish.
"YES!" Peter screeched, voice raw from cheering, "SHE WON! SHE WON! WAY TO GO GWENDOLYN BABY! WAY TO – wait a minute, what's she doing?"
The spectators joined in Peter's confusion as Gwen flung herself across the finish line.
Instead of stopping, she kept running.
Without breaking speed Gwen pushed through the military officers, darted to her backpack, and sprinted from the field. She didn't look back, even when Aelius and Titania ordered her to stop.
"Hey!" Aelius waved the bag of racing chips, "You forgot to give back your chip!"
"Cadet! Cadet!" Titania flew several inches into the air. "Get back here Pigtail! Turn your ass around or I will disqualify you from the race and remove you from the military program!"
Jak observed from the finish line. Unlike his fellow officers, he did not react to Gwen's bizarre exodus. He merely watched as Titania shouted and Gwen ignored her. Gwen was fleeing like a deer, bounding in a panicked yet graceful manner.
Jak cracked a smile. Gwen's backpack was two times her size. As she ran, it bounced against her shoulders. It was actually quite comical because the bag was obviously full of books that went THUNK with every landing. Jak wondered how Gwen lifted the thing, let alone run with it.
Chuckling to himself, Jak pocketed his stop watch. Gwen had run the race in 18:03. She had missed his record by three seconds.
"Officer Bell!" Jak interrupted Titania's rant. "Miss Pan won the race fair and square, so there's no need to swear. Remember, you're an airwoman not a sailor."
"Hashtag military joke!" Aelius tried to high-five Drake as he crossed the line.
Drake blew him off.
Cheerily, Aelius shrugged. "Next time big guy! Second place isn't a win, but it ain't bad either! Hey Jakie boy! Drake Dogwood got second! Does this mean Gwen Pan stays in the program?"
"She got first place," answered Jak, preparing for the second stream of runners. "And she got it despite the fall. Still..."
Turning, Jak gazed curiously at the archway. "I wonder why she fell. It couldn't have been the sunlight. The sun would have been in her eyes at the start of the race not the finish. Interesting. Perhaps she was distracted by Rufio and his Fergullian --- oof!"
Jak grunted. As he turned, someone tackled him full throttle. A moment later, he was trapped in a massive bear hug.
Baffled, Jak stood with his arms pinned to his side as his attacker, a woman with ruby-red hair, cried into his shoulder.
"Jon!" she exclaimed, laughing through her tears, "Oh my gosh Jon!"
Jak froze. What did she call him?
The woman continued to laugh and cry. She became incoherent in her joy, but the garble was musical as her voice.
Musical. Voice.
Suddenly Jake remembered. He recognized her voice. He recognized the vibrancy of her hair. He recognized her perfume, a blend of coconut sunscreen, water lilies, and seawater.
He also recognized her husband, the man standing beside Admiral Triton. The man staring at Jak with identical teal eyes.
Jim Hawkins. Ariel Triton.
His parents.
Jim beamed at his son. Unabashed, he joined Ariel, tightening the bear hug.
Jak recoiled inside their embrace. Like Gwen, he suddenly felt the urge to run.
But he did not. He just stood there, utterly stunned.
Peter gave a dramatic sigh. Propping an elbow against Admiral Triton, he enjoyed an uninvited lean.
"Aww isn't this nice?" Peter gestured at Jak. "He looks ready to puke. Here wait a second..."
Peter whipped out his phone.
"Photo finish," he grinned, snapping the picture.