AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Forty-Four
BROOKE
“I— I just can’t believe it,” Hayden murmured tiredly. “We’re still in this.”
“Oh you’dbetterbelieve it,” Devin grunted, opening one eye to survey the situation. “Now shut up and go back to sleep.”
Our bodies listed wearily to one side as the train rounded another curve, plunging onward in what we only knew to be a southerly and westerly direction. We’d been riding the train for six hours already when Noah, grinning happily, told us to be prepared for six or seven more.
“Should we sleep?” one of the Banshees had yawned.
“If you want to sleep,” Noah had shrugged. “Depends on whether or not you wanna miss anything.”
“There’s nothing to miss,” one of the members of Think Tank had growled. “We’re on atrain.”
Noah had responded by glancing around with all the false-wonder of Willie Wonka pretending to see his chocolate factory for the first time. “Oh my God, you’re right!” he said, clapping his hands together. “We are!”
Reese chuckled — because Reese always chuckled — as the rest of us rolled our eyes. We were used to Noah’s antics by now. And after the last harrowing leg, we were just happy to be on board.
“No matter what it’s almost over,” Hayden winked at me. “Might as well enjoy the ride.”
We’d finished the Austrian leg in dramatic fashion, whipping together the cryptogram and sprinting out to the courtyard where Noah, the golden bell, and the other teams awaited us. It was impossible to tell how close we’d been to getting eliminated, or how far behind the Slow-Motion Ninjas had actually been. But for once, I was glad they seemed to live up to their name.
“I’ve been to Europe a lot,” said one one of the fighter pilots. “If we’re on the fast train, and I think we are, twelve hours southwest would put us somewhere near Italy.”
“Or Milan,” Noah yawned casually.
Sahana, the only member of Think Tank still awake, blinked. “Is that where we’re going?”
“Could be,” the host acknowledged. “Maybe. Sorta.”
“You’re a dick, Noah,” said the usually-quiet fighter pilot with a crew-cut. Lunchbox told me he’d earned the callsign Magellan, after flying the complete opposite direction one day rather than returning to base.
“Oh I know I’m a dick,” he smiled. “Why the hell do you think the network hired me?”
We were venturing into ‘not gonna make television’ footage now, which was always fun. It was when everyone blew off a little steam, let out a few curse words. It was the inevitable byproduct of constant filming, non-stop footage, and always trying to put your best face forward for the camera.
Now, after nearly a whole month, I started feeling the same itch I did last season. It was the itch of actually needing time to yourself. Of looking forward to not having to do that anymore.
Hell, I was looking forward to alotof things.
Right now however, I was laser-focused on the Race itself. And that’s because we were one team away from the final three, the final leg, and of course, the prize.
A million dollars…
Thinking about it made me nauseous. The idea of winning it made me dizzy. But worse, to have come this far and let it slip away?
God, every time I thought about it I wanted to throw up.
I hadn’t been nervous about anything to do with the Race, the whole time we’d been running it. Anxious, yes. Frantic, sure. But it was never a nervousness, or an uncertainty. If anything the guys had made me feel warmly welcome. They’d given me a feeling of invulnerably, all throughout. It bolstered my already confident nature. At times, it made me view our team as seemingly indestructible.
But now…
Now we were so close to the end it actually scared me. I was afraid of failure, even frightened by success. More than anything though, I had this empty feeling in the pit of my stomach about what the future would hold. And for me, worrying about the future was brand new.
“You alright, hotshot?”
I looked up to find Hayden flashing me that panty-melting smile. His face was redder than when we’d started; wind-blown from Sweden and Norway. His once-immaculate beard was somewhat ragged, and not very well-trimmed.
