AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then I see the 25K. We’re more than halfway now. I smile brightly when another racer pulls to the side, taking a water bottle and chugging it down. A twinge of pain surges through my heel, but I ignore it. I’m almost there. Only 17K to go. That should take me another hour, maybe hour and a half.
It’s nothing, just ignore the pain, I tell myself.
I bite my bottom lip as I feel pain piercing through my foot, reverberating up to my knee. I groan and urge forward. I can’t quit now. Not after all the training and hard world I’ve put into this marathon. I pass the 30K marker. Tears stream down my cheeks as I feel a crunch in my heel.
I can dothis,I think, feeling my body quiver. My feet stumble over each other and I land on my right foot, emitting a shriek as something cracks in my heel. Alex slows, whirling around with wide eyes as I feel my entire world tilting.
My body crashes into the ground and I burst into tears as I hold my foot, not knowing what’s going on. I try to roll over, push my body up, but the pain is excruciating. I can’t stop crying or screaming.
“Garcia!” Alex shouts while running towards me.
“I’m fine,” I say while continuing to push myself up. I lead with my left foot, ignoring the shooting pain in my right.
Alex grabs my arm, throwing it over his shoulder while guiding me towards the ropes.
“Is he alright?” someone asks.
“I’m fine,” I sob while struggling in Alex’s arms. “Now let me go. I need to finish the race.”
“You need a hospital.”
“No!” I shout while squirming away from him, but I’m too exhausted and Alex is too strong.
Glancing over my shoulder I see runners race ahead. Their wide eyes drift to me. One runs towards us. “Do you need any help?” The racer asks while she looks me over, her brows pinched with worry.
Alex shakes his head. “I got it, thank you.”
“I’m fine,” I insist, watching in horror as everyone makes space beyond the ropes. Someone holds it up. I feel like I’m outside of my body and watching as Alex guides me underneath and towards the sidewalk. “I need to finish the race,” I whimper, feeling the last bit of strength leave me.
“I’m a doctor,” someone says, pushing through the crowd with wide, worrying eyes.
Alex gently positions me against the wall of some building. The doctorkneelsin front of me, taking my shoe off my injured foot. He pulls at my sock, plopping it inside my shoe and I hiss as he takes my foot into his hands, turning it from side to side. I bite back a scream. Alex gasps while I clamp my eyes closed, not knowing if I really want to have a look at the damage.
“Oh my God,” Alex whispers.
“Sir, you really need to go to the hospital.”
“What is it?” I sniff. The pain is so bad I can’t seem to stop crying or trembling. I feel like either vomiting or passing it. I grab at something soft. Opening my eyes, I seeit'sAlex’s shoulder. His eyes are wide and staring at my foot while the doctor straightens, taking out his phone.
My gaze lowers and I bite back a whimper as I stare down at my swollen foot. The heel is completely black and blue. I can’t even see the ankle, given the joint and tendons appear to be completely swollen, appearing as if my foot has become one large club.
The doctor says something in French on the phone, yet I’m not paying attention to him. I watch several other racers pass us by, hating myself for not being able to pull ahead, hating myself for this stupid injury.
What is Coach going to say?
What am I going to do?
“Alright, sir, I need for you to come with me,” says the doctor while taking my hand and guiding through the crowd.
“I’ll go with,” says Alex while helping me hobble forward. “Where are we going? I’ll call his friends.”
“The American Hospital of Paris. They speak English there. Don’t worry. They will take good care for you.”
My grasp tightens on Alex. My vision blurs and I stumble forward as the pain takes hold of my body.
“Garcia?” I hear Alex while I lean against him, no longer having any control of my body. “Seth?” I hear the worry in Alex’s voice, but I can’t reply. All I can feel is the pain taking hold of me.
“He’s going into shock,” I hear the doctor say. “We need to hurry. Call his friends. Have them meet us there.”
