Lost Cause (Tyler Carter)

Chapter 14

I sat the second heating bench waiting to run the 100 meter dash. There were six heats and I was in the second. The only other person on my team running the 100 meter was in the grade below me and I didn't know his name.

Rachel was waiting at the end of the dash waiting to time me.

Finally, the last heat of the 800 meter dash finished and the first heat was up. It only took a couple minutes before I was up.

I walked over to the lane in which I was assigned: fourth. A.K.A, one of the best, ever. It's one of the middle lanes and it's just perfect.

I did a lunge and high knee on each leg and then got positioned to start. I put my feet right where they comfortably fit on the blocks and squatted all the down just how I was trained and waited.

"Take your mark . . ." Oh, dear. "get set . . ." I raised my back end and got ready to take off.

BANG!

I was off. It took me a few steps to get tall and into the form I needed to be in. I ran as fast as I could. I was in second up until about the 40 meter mark and I passed the person in front of me, putting me in first. I shouldn't get my hopes up, though. Just because I'm in first doesn't mean I'm going to place. They don't go by what place you get, they go by times.

I hit the 90 meter mark and I knew that I had to keep it up or else I could fall right behind to second. Before I knew it, my right foot landed on the finish line. I went to slow down and I put too much pressure on my left leg, causing the joint in my left knee to make a horrifying 'pop' noise and completely give out. I didn't fall onto the ground, my whole body slammed onto the ground and I felt a sharp pain in my knee.

"Fuck!" I screamed.

"Come on! We need to get the picture and get off the track for the next heat. Someone help him!" Some guy yelled.

A few people rushed my way, including three people I just ran against.

I couldn't stand on my left knee, so I grabbed strangers' arms and pulled myself to my right foot.

They snapped the picture. I hopped off the track to find Rachel.

Coach Bryce was right there when I got off the track.

"Tyler, what happened?" He said.

"My knee gave out again." I said.

I say again because this has happened in practice more than once, but without the disgusting noise it made.

"Do you think it's going to be okay?" He asked.

"I don't know, Coach." I said.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, I don't know. It made a really gross noise and I took a hard ass fall. I don't know."

I could feel blood dripping down my leg from my knee. I latched onto Bryce's arm and sat on the ground.

Rachel came running up to me with my water bottle.

"Tyler, are you okay? I saw that fall." She said.

I pulled up my shorts to look at how bad my knee looks. There was a large gash on each knee that wasn't drawing as much blood as I thought it was, but it still looked bad. My left knee was already swollen and red.

"Crap, you can't run anymore." Bryce said.

"What? Yes, I can." I said.

"Tyler, look at your knees." Rachel said.