WHAT?
The door to my room fly's open and a shouting voice drags me from a deep slumber.
"Get up – quick – we're outta here!"
"What?" I ask again, through a sleepy fog.
"Up – now!" The sheets are dragged from me with a considerable force.
A surge of panic pumps me out of bed with a defensive power.
I'm disorientated and can't work out who it is.
When my eyes focus, I see – it's Kade.
"Orr man, I was deep in sleep, what's up?" I ask.
"Shape up, Tan, we have to get outta here!" says Kade, with an urgency that worries me.
"Can I take a shower first, to wake me up?"
"No, we don't have time. Dress in running gear and meet me in the chill out area – you got all of five minutes, don't be late, or I'll hate," he says.
......
"What's the rush?" I ask, hitching my sweat pants up and stumbling into the chill out area.
I pull the sweatshirt over my head, "Where's Kelly?"
"She's left already – let's go," says Kade, sprinting for the exit with a determined stride.
......
Premature warmth radiates from the sky and the air carries a fragrant hint of spring to welcome us as we bound into the open space, "Kade, what's happening, what are we running from?" I ask, trying to keep up with his pace. "We're not running from anything, we're running for victory. This is the first day of our 'get fit, to beat it' campaign," says Kade, continuing to run at a steady pace.
"Whoa, I'm sore from yesterdays workout; I could have slept longer." I say, feeling a little more awake.
Kade laughs, "That was just a gentle warm-up, today's the real deal," he says, picking up speed.
I'm reminded of my previous exercise routine, "The Surgeon had me run every day to regulate my weight, I wasn't allowed go over a size zero," I say, keeping an impressive pace with Kade.
"That's madness, not fitness!" says Kade.
"Yep, I ran a Madnathon everyday. Talking of madness, what we gonna do with my father?"
"We'll Keep him for the day; I wanna know why he came into the house, what he was looking for. If I get that info, I'll drop him back in the city tonight."
Kade slows his pace a little as we near the shell of a derelict building that's almost the size of a baseball pitch.
He continues to talk as we run," You know what your father said about my parents' being different, we know he's suggesting gender reassignments," says Kade. "Yeah," I say. "Well, the thought bothers me, but at the same time I'm psyched by the fact my folks might still be alive – I can't wait for this wedding, I want answers NOW!" he says, as we enter the derelict building.
......
The sudden departure of sunlight hits me as we enter the building and I almost stumble. I recover and am suddenly aware of a figure hurtling towards me at speed – FUCK!
Instinctively I swing my fist toward the intruder, "Whoa, easy Tanya," says Kelly, missing my fist by a whisker.
Laughter bursts from Kade, "That's an impressive right hook you got there, Tan, we've gotta work on that, it could come in useful."
