Page 63 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

“It will be okay. Trust us.”

Trust? Trust is easy to give and quicker to break. I don’t know that I have the ability to trust anymore.

Roseland is watching with a scowl. I like that he’s watching. I think he cares. It seems that way, at least. I move towards him, but Sage intercepts me.

“We’re moving faster now.”

I raise a brow.

“You’re going to get on my back so we can keep up.”

I shift uncomfortably, glancing at everyone around us who is suddenly looking at everything else.

He drops to one knee in front of me and takes hold of my hand in his, which is warm and huge. It’s hard to distrust someone with such warm hands who kneels.

“Please let me help you. I don’t want to see even a single hair on your head get hurt.”

Reluctantly, I nod, but when I look up, Pix is watching me, his lips pressed together into a thin white line, and I think I might have made a mistake.

Sage swings me up.

“We’re ready.”

Bonnie and Kota take off first, followed by Desi and Meg, then Cyn, Rory, and Vale. To my surprise, Aaron goes next, then us, then King, Rolly, Pix, and Blaze.

It takes me two minutes to realise that Sage was absolutely right. I couldn’t have kept up at this pace. I might have lasted three minutes on this run, but not for any longer. My stamina is all but gone.

With every second, my tension ratchets up. Something is wrong. We’re running at breakneck speed through extremely dangerous terrain.

Why?

Sage jumps down, and I can suddenly see a massively deep ravine to our left. All he’d have to do was overbalance, and we’d fall. I don’t care why we are running now. All I can think about is my impending death splattered way, way, down there.

“We won’t fall!” Sage says with a laugh.

Right, because he’s crazy. They are all fucking crazy. I am going to die.

I bury my face in the back of his neck. If I’m going to die, I don’t want to see it coming. The stamina they all have is amazing. We don’t stop for hours, and when we do, I have no idea where we are. We left the trail behind long ago.

We are well and truly in the wild.

Sage lets me down, but my legs are like jelly, they simply collapse under me. I hit the ground hard, staring up at him.

He laughs and turns to me. That look of joy on his face etches itself into my memory forever. He’s beautiful.

But crazy,I remind myself with a dark snarl.

“Wasn’t that fun?”

Fun?

No, it was not fun. It was insane.

I crab-crawl back from him and find a tree, wrapping my arms around it and baring my teeth at Rolly, who comes too close.

“Aww, baby. Don’t be like that.”

I swat at his hand, but he holds out a bottle of water. I am thirsty, so I take the bottle and drink before handing it back and glancing at everyone else.