The Runner - Chapter 2

 THE RUNNER

The man had been sprinting through the dense forest of Los Angeles, his breath heavy and ragged, his eyes wild with panic. Every muscle in his body screamed for escape. The woods closed around him, branches clawing at his clothes and face as he ran.

He stumbled out of the thicket into a meadow, falling face-first onto the soft ground. For a moment, he lay there, frozen with fear, his eyes fixed on the line of trees he had just emerged from. He knew they were coming. He could almost feel their presence, their relentless pursuit. With a monumental effort, he forced himself to his feet and sprinted again, heading towards the far tree line.

From the woods behind him, three rangers burst out in perfect formation. They were large, military-trained, and exuded an aura of lethal efficiency. But the fourth figure, smaller yet faster, emerged last and outpaced them all—Adult Sam, now 21, her strides powerful and unyielding.

The runner zigzagged through the brush, trying to lose his pursuers. He reached the edge of a deep ravine and tried to stop abruptly, but his momentum nearly sent him over the edge—a thirty-foot drop to razor-sharp rocks below. Desperately, he scrambled to a fallen tree stretched across the ravine and began to cross.

Behind him, the rangers raced forward but stopped short at the edge, their hearts pounding. Their hesitation was apparent. Sam, however, showed no such caution. Her heart rate remained steady as she sprinted fearlessly across the fallen tree, not slowing for a second. The rangers, spurred by her courage, summoned their resolve and followed.

The runner dashed frantically through the brush. He could hear Sam gaining on him, her footsteps growing louder with each passing second. In a final, desperate bid for freedom, he spotted the edge of the forest and altered his course, pouring every last ounce of energy into his legs.

He broke through the thinning brush into a clearing and felt a brief moment of joy, a smile forming on his lips. He was so close to freedom. But as he reached the edge of the clearing, he saw the ocean horizon—and realized it was not a clearing but a cliff, a one-hundred-foot drop into the waves below. Hopelessness washed over him. Quickly, he whipped out his Blackberry and pressed his thumb against the screen.

A message popped up: Begin automated hard drive wipe? Yes/No.

He typed "YES" and then, without hesitation, leaped off the cliff to his death amongst the jagged rocks below.

Hidden by the brush, Sam only saw him disappear. Unfazed, she sped up, her eyes fixed on the horizon, unaware she was running towards certain death. As she burst into the clearing and saw the drop, recognition flashed in her eyes. She tried to slow down, but her momentum was too great.

She stumbled towards the cliff, out of control, showing no sign of fear. At the last moment, Wallace, one of the rangers, appeared and tackled her. They tumbled and rolled, stopping perilously close to the edge.

"Are you out of your mind?" Wallace shouted. "This is the third time you’ve nearly gotten yourself killed, Rookie."

"Sorry, sir," Sam replied, breathless. "I—I thought I could—"

"You thought what?" Wallace interrupted. "You would survive a hundred-foot fall? Really, Sam?"

"Sucks to be me, huh?" she muttered, trying to catch her breath.

Wallace helped her up, his eyes scanning her for injuries. He noticed the road rash on her back and frowned. "Any man would have been scared out of his wits," he said.

Sam looked over the edge at the mangled body below. "I know, but try as I might, I'm not a good pussy. I don't do pussy. It's not in my genes. Which brings me to him: It takes guts to jump to your death."

"He took the coward’s way out," Wallace replied, his tone disgusted. "He’s a Rebo. I expect nothing less."

Sam stood at the cliff's edge as Wallace marched off, contemplating the runner's final act. "A Rebo who’d rather die than be interrogated by Rangers?" she mused, doubt clouding her expression.

—--

Sam was remanded to a twenty-story skyscraper that had been transformed into a military hospital. Barred windows, a labyrinth of barbed wire, and armed guards surrounded it, emphasizing the facility's high security.

In the triage room, Nurse Hattie examined the abrasion on Sam’s back, a 3D holographic MRI image of Sam’s internals hovering above it.

"I didn’t expect you back so soon, Sam," Hattie said, her voice tinged with concern. "Looks like a bad case of road rash and a fractured rib."

"Not my fault. Wallace, my Training Officer, tackled me," Sam explained, wincing as Hattie probed her injuries.

"You’re lucky to be in one piece. Wallace was a college linebacker. What happened this time?" Hattie asked, shaking her head.

"I was about to leap before I looked," Sam admitted, a hint of frustration in her voice.

Hattie sighed. "I can’t imagine what it’s like to be you. Afraid of absolutely nothing."

"It’s not all pancakes and blueberries, you know. I’d give anything to be normal," Sam replied, her tone wistful.

"What is normal nowadays?" Hattie countered.

"Certainly not me," Sam said. "Sometimes I feel like a machine that someone took apart and put back together, but there’s still some screws and widgets left on the floor."

"You’re evolution in action," Hattie said gently. "There are many things people won’t do because they’re afraid. We hesitate. You give new meaning to the word courage because what is courage without fear? You’re not afraid to miss the target, get captured by the enemy, or get slammed by your Training Officer. Now, that quick temper of yours is something else entirely."

"You can blame my Dad for that," Sam said with a laugh, a joke the two women shared.

"You’re a peach," Hattie said, smiling.

"You don’t have to tell me," Sam replied. I’ll clean the wound and get you something for the pain. I’ll give you some pain meds, but there's no reason to wrap your ribs; you’ll heal by morning," Hattie assured her while exiting the room.

Left alone, Sam eyed the tablet computer on the counter. She swiped through her medical chart, something catching her eye and shocking her to the core.

A wall of security camera monitors displayed various parts of the hospital in a nearby surveillance room. One monitor showed Sam reading her chart. Someone leaned in closer, watching her intently before dialing a phone number.