Crimson (Tristan Book 2) (Draft 1)

Chapter 16

Alex was panting. He'd only been running for ten minutes, he couldn't already be out of breath. There was no way. He looked at the display, ten more minutes to go. He slowed.

"Keep going," Will said. "Doc said twenty minutes." Will was running a lot faster than Alex had been, and he wasn't even breathing hard.

Alex wanted to curse him, but he didn't have the breath. He kept running. When the timer finally slowed the treadmill to a stop Alex leaned against the steadying bars to remain standing.

Will handed him a bottle. "Gotta drink."

Alex drank half of it in a couple of gulps, he would have drank all of it, but Will took it out of his hands.

"Drink," he said, "not drown." He handed Alex a towel. "Gonna lift weights now."

Alex shook his head. "Can't do it," he panted.

"Course you can. Doc set it up, she knows how it works. Gonna get you all in shape. Come on."

Alex watched the smaller man move away. He didn't think he could get himself to move. His legs were shaking, as were his arms, even if they hadn't been the ones to do this workout.

Will grabbed his arm and pulled him across the room and had Alex lie down on a bench. He placed the bar in his hands and adjusted the display on it. The bar became slightly heavier.

Will showed him how to lower it and raise it.

Alex did it fifteen times, then Will took his place, adjusting the controls on it first. When he was done it was Alex's turn again, and he found he couldn't lift the bar. Will adjusted it again and it was light.

"How heavy is it for you?" Alex asked, as he struggled to raise it a fifteenth time.

Will shrugged. "Doc set it." Will took his place and he too had trouble with the last few times.

Then they moved to a machine to exercise their legs, then a different machine for his arms again, and then another machine for his legs, and so on, back and forth, until Alex felt like his entire body was going to fall apart.

At the end of each exercises, a different set of muscles hurt, at least Alex thought they were muscles, he hadn't known his chest was muscles too. He realized he knew very little of how his body worked. Maybe if he'd spent much time looking at other guys' body he might have picked up something, but aliens were who he liked looking at.

* * * * *

Doc had been surprised when he'd showed up and asked for the exercise regiment. She told him she'd expected to have to chase him down, and he mentioned the altercation in the dining hall.

"What have I told you about walking around alone?"

"I can't have Will accompany me everywhere," he'd replied.

"Then get someone else."

"Who? It isn't like I know anyone else. You're too busy to do it too."

She'd given him a look that said he wasn't very bright.

The next day five people joined him and Will for breakfast.

He recognized Terry and Asyr, but not the others.

Ana was introduced. She was a small and wirery woman and Terry's friend. Pat was a little taller than her and heavily built. Jennifer was Alex's height, and looked like she didn't want to be there, but Asyr assured Alex it was just how she always looked. She was her girlfriend.