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Breaking Wind

CHAPTER FOUR

Breaking Wind

.........................

Kiri's point of View

................................

TWO YEARS LATER

. . . . . . .

RUN

RUN FASTER

FASTER!

JUMP

JUMP HIGHER!

JUMP.

NOW STOP.

SLIDE..

NOW BREATHE...

'My chest is killing me I am so unbelievable slow.

I can get faster.

NO. I WILL get faster.

I'm tired.

I'm weak.

I WILL get stronger.

My feet hurt.

They are bleeding.

I am a wimp.

I WILL get tougher.

I want a doughnut.

NO. I WILL have control.

I want to take a nap.

NO.

I WILL NOT show weakness!'

I slid to a stop.

My feet throbing and bleeding.

My heart beating in my chest.

My breathing laboured.

My legs weak and wobbly.

I collapsed to the hard dusty ground.

"Not good enough." I whispered disappointed with myself.

'I can do better.'

I layed my head on the ground trying my hardest to catch my breath.

"God, girl get your ass off the ground." He snapped at me. - my grandfather - "get up.

Run 20 more laps. Then you can come inside and have that doughnut."

How did he know i wanted that doughnut?

I dont know i give up trying to figure out how he knows the things he does.

I sighed lifting myself off the ground.

My hair falling out of the ponytail I used to pull it back with.

Tiny strands covered in sweat stuck to my face.

I grumbled to my self.

I've already run 153 laps around the obstacle course set up.

I realy didn't want to have to run it 20 more times.

It was about the size of a football field.

It consisted of bushes of different heights, platforms, man-made hills and valleys, a small creek, three full size barrels, a horse jump, a fence, a brick wall and a straight patch of grass to run on.

My grandfather had it built for me about two years ago to test and build up my endurance and strength, and every month since I go to his house to see if my time has improved.

It has every time but he insists that I can do better.

He pushes me to do my best.

I'm fast but I can get faster.

I am the fastest person I know, and no one ever wants to race me because I will win. Every time.

I am barefoot.

I run better that way.

It feels more natural and I like to feel the ground under my feet even if it tears them up.

I brush the sand off my hands as I watch my grandfather walk back to his seat under the largest shade tree and pull out his stopwatch.

I step up to the first jump.

A small bush.

I step about 10 feet away and I charge full speed at it.

I get within for inches of it and right as I am in the process of clearing the jump, I hear the stopwatch click at the timer starts.

My feet hit the other side of the bush gracefully, never touching a single leaf on the plant.

The next obstacle is an upside down V shaped platform that goes straight up in the air on one side and straight down on the other.

I run as fast as I can picking up as much speed as possible as I run upe one side only a second later to be running down the other side.

The third obstical nearing my tired feet I jump clearing a second bush slightly taller than the first.

I am getting tired now but I can't stop so I push myself harder and harder until I effortlessly dodged the three barrels weaving in and out of the small spaces between them careful not to touch them.

I ran up the stair like platform, pushing off with my feet at every step.

Then jumping off the side, running to get enoughh speed to jump the horse jump and a lare bush within a few feet of each other.

The horse jump was one of the hardest for me.

It was the tallest of all the jumps but not nearly as wide.

I have a problem with high jumps but I'm good with my long ones.

Lucky I cleared the jump with room to spare, and the same with the large wide bush.

'I'm realy getting better at this.' I thought.

I ran up the hill pushing as hard as I can so I don't lose speed, and easily jumped from the crest of this hill to the one next to it avoiding the small valley in between.

The creek was ten feet away and gaining I ran pushing harder, feeling the muscles in my legs contracting with each movement and I pushed off with my left leg swinging my right in front of me as I jumped the small creek (about 5 feet wide) barely making it to the other side, but I didn't stop there.

Running faster and faster I was ending the end of this lap as I jumped a small picket fence and last a stone wall before collapsing back to he ground.

"Finished." I breathed. Panting. Stretched out across the grass. 'My head is killing me.'

He got up from his seat and slowly walked over to where I lay.

"Not bad." he chuckled. "14 seconds. But you can do better. Get up."

He kicked the bottom of my foot lightly not trying to hurt me but I winced at the pain it caused me because of how badly my feet were cut open.

He watched he wearily push myself up and stand to face him.

He patted me on the back. "Good job."

He chuckled again. "19 more",and he once again went go sit In his seat.

Eyes intently watching his stopwatch.

I goaned in pain as I yet again took off and jumped that first dreaded bush.