Two (Countdown Book 5)

Chapter 10

I was awoken at seven o'clock the next morning with Mackenzie's smiling face peering down at me. As soon as she realised that I was awake, her grin grew wider.

"Morning, sleepy head." she said softly, running a hand through my hair.

"Mh hmm." I murmured as a way of reply. "Wassa time?" I mumbled.

"Around seven o'clock." she moved her hand down from my hair to my face.

"I'm late." I realised, suddenly aware that she was in her workout clothes.

"Yeah, I figured you could have a lie-in." she said.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "You want me to get up now, though?"

"If you could, that'd be great." she got up, and I reached out and took her hand in my own.

"I'll get dressed." I smiled. She nodded.

"I'll wait downstairs." she replied. I nodded, and watched as she left. I then got up and started getting dressed.

I put on a pair of grey jogging bottoms and a plain black vest top. Then, I dug out my running trainers, and my rucksack. Inside, I put my keys, a bike lock, my water bottle (which I filled first), a jumper in case it got cold and two fruit bars for before we started cycling back.

Grabbing my helmet, I headed downstairs. Mackenzie was waiting in the hallway outside with both of our bikes. I'd picked my own bike for it's speed and control. It was a navy blue, light-frame mountain bike that had amazing steering and even more speed. 

"Ready?" she asked. 

"Uh huh." I replied. We went downstairs, out through the garage door, and up to the surface. When we were there, we both got on our bikes and I let Mackenzie take lead, cycling along the road. 

Now, I wasn't one for boasting, but I was a pretty good cyclist. As we rounded the first corner, I slid smoothly around, the bike feeling like just an extension of my own body. I moved with easy, fluid movements, the bike responding to even the smallest change of direction. 

From when I got my first bike at three, I'd been cycle-mad. At age eight, I was down the skatepark with the fourteen and fifteen year-olds, showing off my natural skill, especially with jumps, where I seemed to just leave gravity behind me as the bike left the track. I just loved the adrenaline rush that came with cycling. 

Mackenzie was a faster cyclist than me, but I was better at control. Whenever she got too far ahead, I quickly made the distance up through my control, weaving through the traffic with the ease of a bee flying amongst flowers. 

We made it to the park in record time, and chained up our bikes. After a short pause for a drink, we both set off jogging around. I made it around twenty-five times, and Mackenzie made it around thirty in the hour. When we were finished with the jogging, we both stopped by our bikes, exhausted and breathless. 

I drank the rest of my drink and ate the fruit bars. For a moment, we both just stood there, basking in the sun despite being hot and sweaty. I checked my phone to ensure that I didn't have any call-ins for portals. Nothing. That was a bit weird. 

"Ready to go again?" Mackenzie asked me, smiling. Although she had her hair tied back in a ponytail, a few strands had come loose while she was running, and they now rested on her side of her face. 

"If you are." I said breathlessly. She nodded, but didn't move, and for a moment we both just admired the park.

It was a beautiful day, the sun shining brightly in the blue sky and the heat beating down on my skin. A few birds chirped, chasing each other from tree to tree, like flying-tag. The ground was dry and hard, but that just made it so much easier to run on. A couple of kids were messing around on the swings, getting really high before jumping off and landing nimbly on their feet.