Silver Winds

Chapter 18

"Alright! Right now we're going to play a little game I like to call 'torture!'" Pengill cried, folding his arms across his chest.

The five Munrskipans were lined up in single file lines. A haze covered the giant field they were in. It was the same field Astra had noticed when they had first moved to camp.

Pengill had called the field 'training ground,' so that's what Astra called it.

Nel was in front of the Mountain Lions, Berg was in front of the Sharks, Sven Balderson was at the head of the Giants, the Bears were behind Kennet Fransen, and Astra was leaning forward slightly as she stared at Pengill with her view unobstructed by bodies. She had her feet planted into the soft earth.

None of the boys replied to Pengill. All of their faces were stoic, though one of the Giants’ mouth twitched. Pengill’s whistle hung from a cord on his neck. He fingered it as he yelled.

“Run across the field, and back!” he commanded. Astra started forward, Kay on her heels. Pengill blew his whistle as the horde of boys surged toward him. “No! This will be done one person at a time. One from each Munrskipan, go!” Astra started again, her feet slamming against the ground. “Last one back will have a punishment!”

Astra’s breath hitched as she pumped her arms. Then she forced her lungs to regulate, and caused herself to stare straight ahead as she raced toward her goal. Blood roared in her ears so she couldn’t hear the other Vinrs’ heckling toward one another. Her mouth remained set in a grim line.

She began to get a bit tired about three quarters of the way to the end of the field. By that point, Berg and Nel had gotten so far ahead of her, she could see them even though she was keeping her eyes fixed on a stump at the end of the field. She could hear Sven’s footsteps beside her, and Kennet was about a meter behind her and to her right.

Meaningless noise entered her ears; the Munrskipans were cheering on their vinr. Astra’s brain filtered it out as useless, and she concentrated on the task at hand. There was no way she was getting that punishment.

The time for the turn came. She saw Nel and Berg turn ahead of her, in perfect sync. They were side by side, and Berg was trying to knock Nel out of it. He hit him in the shoulder, but Nel was quicker and slowed just enough so Berg dodged in front of him.

Astra’s feet planted into the ground and she did a half turn. Her legs bend under the pressure she had put them under, and she skidded across loose leaves. She finally caught her foot on a root, and pushed off as hard as she could.

Sven seemed to have less trouble turning than she had, as he had fallen almost two meters in front of her. Kennet was beside her as she tore down the field. Her ribs ached, but the midnight crownbeard had helped. That was her only blessing.

Her heart pounded so hard she could feel her entire body pulsing with the flow of blood. The haze stung her eyes and made it harder to see. She could barely see the Munrskipans on the other end of the field.

Kennet swerved behind her, she could sense his presence. He was only a few centimeters behind, and the thought caused her feet to move faster. Her body felt heavy, too heavy for her to keep it up.

Five meters from Pengill, Kennet passed her, and Astra slid into Kay just seconds after him. She looked at the supervisor with weary eyes. Sprinting had never been a strong suit of hers, especially if someone wasn’t chasing her.

His eyes were hard as stone. He wasn’t about to go easy on her.

“You lost,” he said simply. “Arm or leg?”

Astra jerked her head away, and stared him in the eyes. “What?”

Pengill pulled out a small knife. “Arm . . . or leg?”