Page 158 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

Faster. Muscles as hard as bones, vibrations slamming my teeth together, I leaned forward and hauled the dead weight as fast as I could.

John moved faster next to me.

Fifteen seconds.

We weren’t going to make it.

John started to run, and he dragged me along.

My ears and neck burned like they were being shredded to pieces.

Ten seconds.

So close, but we were still too far.

John ran quicker.

Five seconds.

A few more steps.

Too many steps. We wouldn’t make it.

Three seconds.

The weight lifted off me as John threw Scorpius’s body across the line.

Two seconds.

The momentum carried them both past me. John turned around midair, and his eyes widened.

As if in slow motion, he reached his arm backward and grabbed the fabric of my shirt.

One second.

John’s momentum pulled me forward.

The timer read, “0:00.”

The agony stopped.

I was lying on hard rocks.

I’d made it.

We made it.

I blacked out.

Consciousness returned as my muscles cramped. The pain refused to let me have a single moment of respite.

Lifting my trembling fingers, I wiped at my face, and my fingers came back streaked with red.

A ringing noise echoed, and muffled sounds battered all around.

Everything was a blur.

Suddenly, Lothaire was hauling me to my feet and wiping blood with his shirt. John stood next to him and stared at me with worry as he tried to tell me something.

---