Star Runners (15 page)

The Tizona hunting parties would be coming soon. He stepped to the small island’s edge where the water met the mud and plunged his hand into the cold. The clay would work as a paste. With a suction sound, he pulled up a handful of the clay and let it plop to the mud like a wad of dough when Mom used to make cookies. He scooped some of the swamp water and dropped it on the pile of clay and rubbed it together. He applied it to his face and covered his uniform. Soon, the dark blue of the uniform had turned a murky brown. Chief Sharkey had said camouflage was crucial when trying to avoid capture in an unsafe territory. Smearing this muck across his body should help. 

Austin stood and felt the hardened clay crack over his skin. He took his Tizona hat off and crumpled it into his pocket. He stuck mud and moss into his hair. If they wanted to play hide and seek in the middle of a swamp, he'd play all the way.

After debating the direction of the campus, Austin figured he would head west. He wasn't sure why, but sitting still wouldn't help and changing direction was a bad idea. He sunk down knee deep into the swamp and trudged toward the nearest set of trees. His legs caused ripples to trail across the water, disturbing the glass-like surface of the swamp. The sun cast long shadows across the wetland.

Austin moved from a group of trees to a rotting log. This would be more difficult when the hunting parties searched. He glanced at the sun. They said the first teams would start searching that night. Ignoring his rumbling stomach and increasing dizziness, Austin decided to find a spot to hold up for the night. He found a fallen tree surrounded by brush and rested. He wouldn't risk a fire, not at night. Perhaps in the morning.

He looked at the damp wood around him.

He probably couldn't start a fire out here anyway.

Night fell as Austin dozed in and out of consciousness.

He heard a motor nearby and the splashing of wake rippling off the trees. He didn't move. It could have been one of the hunting parties, he thought, before the weariness took him.

*****

He woke and brushed insects from his face. The boat patrols continued for most of the night. Flashlight beams cut through the haze of the swamp. Voices echoed off in the distance and Austin wondered if a student had already given up or if they had been caught. He pulled moss over his head and stared into the sky. The brilliant field of stars twinkled and Austin imagined he were somewhere else; a warm beach during the first part of the night. The weariness wore on, dreams infiltrating his conscious mind. He imagined being on a camping trip with Mom and Dad. It helped pass the time.

When the sun rose on his second day in the swamp, Austin decided he would shake off the chill by risking a fire. It took him a good portion of the morning to find dry land again. After what seemed like two hours, he found another small island. He tore down the broken branches. Shivering, he worked to create a fire. His teeth chattered as he exhaled. He found a dry twig and rubbed it against bark the best way he remembered from Chief Sharkey's class.

By midday, a small fire burned. The smoke was slight, but he didn't care if it sent a signal to the entire coast. The warmth was intoxicating. He closed his eyes and rubbed his chest, rocking in front of the crackling fire. The smell of burning wood reminded him of a cookout: sizzling steaks dripping into the fire, hot dogs turning black. He laid on his shoulder in front of the fire and let the warmth wash over him. He glanced into the darkening sky and wondered if Skylar had made it. How many of his classmates remained in the swamp? Was he the only one left?

His heavy eyelids clamped shut and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

When he woke, darkness had fallen over the swamp. The boat patrols made noise in the distance, but seemed far away. He fought stiff joints, rolled his head around on his neck and reached for the sky. His back popped. The poor excuse for a fire smoldered and popped.

When he gathered strength to stand, Austin leaned against the nearest tree for several minutes. The way before him had little land or trees. The pains in his stomach intensified. He needed food and water. Tomorrow would be the third day. He wouldn't make it a fourth without some water.

He spent the rest of the precious daylight heading north and northwest. As the second night fell over the swamp, Austin leaned against a moss covered tree. He struggled to sleep. Instead, he stared at nothing for hours. The next day would decide his fate. If he found nothing to eat, he might have to give himself up. If only he had a container of some kind, something he could boil water in, he could risk drinking the swamp water. Staring at the murky brown water, he considered it a last resort.

The insects grew louder as night fell. He leaned against a tree and hoped for sleep.

That's it, he thought. Insects.

Sharkey had droned on about the "amount of food sources available." Listing different plants and edible leaves, roots and mushrooms as well as the nutritional value of insects of all shapes and sizes, Austin tuned out his instructor. After all, the guy had been a security chief the entire semester and Austin was supposed to accept him as a survivalist. Austin shook his head.

His stomach rumbled. He opened his eyes and ran his tongue along his cracked lips. Austin gazed at the sky and clouds rolled in from the west. After heading through the swamp for two days, he didn't feel he was any closer to the campus. His body ached. His knees pounded. His aching feet shriveled like raisins. He rubbed his arches and wondered how much farther his feet could take him.

Two boat patrols passed nearby. A light mist fell, coating everything with a thin layer of water. The cloud cover blocked the moonlight he had the first night. Something crawled up his arm and he grabbed it. It felt like a cricket, tiny legs struggled between his thumb and index finger.

He had to eat something.

Imagining the cricket was covered in chocolate, Austin thrust it into his mouth and swallowed. The legs scraped against his tongue like plastic fork prongs. Austin gulped and the insect slid down his throat.

"Good lord!" he said and coughed a few times.

I had better win this thing.

*****

A short time later another boat patrol rumbled by, this time using a trolling motor Austin had seen fishermen use at Lake Allatoona. He pressed himself to the dirt and watched through the thickets. Two men stood at the front of the air boat holding bright flash lights while another sat at the back controlling the motor. Austin squinted and peered through the swamp, enjoying his first good look at the boat used by the Tizona staff.

It had been an air boat with a massive fan on the back that had dropped him off here in the middle of nowhere. Austin crawled forward a bit to get a better view of the men at the front of the boat. One was tall and slender, the other shorter and muscular.

"Austin Stone! Can you hear me?" Nubern called into a megaphone.

Austin hesitated. Sharkey said the school would use tricks to get students to fail the Gauntlet. The goal was the campus. Anything else would be a failure.

"Austin, come on now," Nubern said. "You've done well, but the contest is over."

Austin pushed a branch out of the way and watched the boat drift.

"It's time to stop. You're mother has called and needs to speak with you. I am sorry to say she is not doing well, so, please, come in the boat and we'll take you back to the campus!"

Austin flinched at the thought of Mom being sick, but he remained silent.

"We'll have to tell her something! If you don't come into the boat, we'll tell her you didn't want to speak with her! What else can we say? Tell us!"

Austin shook his head. Nubern wouldn't act like this.

Nubern lowered the megaphone and touched Sharkey's shoulder. The airboat cranked, exploding through the silence. Birds fluttered through the treetops. The boat made a wide sweeping turn and traveled west. Could it be possible he was heading in the correct direction? Where else would they be going if not back to campus?

Satisfied, Austin crossed his arms over his chest and rocked. Soon, morning would come and he would be walking on campus.  

*****

Rain soaked him to the skin and the Tizona uniform stuck to his body. The mud paste he smeared over his body the first day had washed off. After eating two more crickets, Austin set off in the rain. Water collected on nearby leaves so he was able to drink. He felt strong, but tired. He hadn't felt like this since Mom and Dad took him to a baseball tournament in Knoxville when he was in eighth grade. By the time he played his seventh game of the weekend. He struggled to even lift the bat.

Boat patrols intensified. Once he had to drop into the water when dry land was not close enough. His knees plunged into the mush of the swamp floor. He leaned his head back so only his face was visible. With some luck, the patrol didn't stop. Austin pressed onward toward the campus. It had to be close, just a little farther to the west. To keep his mind off potential encounters with snakes, alligators and whatever else the swamp could throw at him, Austin imagined telling Mom he passed the first semester with honors. He could hear the sound of her voice, the excitement building with each step of the story. Or perhaps meeting Kadyn in Savannah for a coffee, talking about all the experiences of their first semester in college. His semester has probably been much different than hers.

As he pushed aside a fresh layer of green scum floating in his path, his head spun. Austin leaned against a tree and peered westward. The campus had to be close. How much farther could it have been? The night he was taken from campus, the boat had traveled maybe ten minutes, at most twenty. He turned around, a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was he going the wrong way? Could campus have been east? Then, why did Nubern and Sharkey head this direction?

He plopped down on the best excuse he found for dry land. His rear sunk into the mud and he collapsed on his back. He needed to rest. Whatever energy he had gathered from eating insects and drinking muddy water off leaves had passed. It felt like the land moved beneath him.

The sky turned an ashy gray. Soon, the light would be gone and the third day would be over. He dragged himself through the mud to a rotten stump. He laid down and rested his head. If he died out here, would they even notice? Would anyone at Tizona even care?

He lifted his hand and dropped it again into the mud. He wondered if he could rise again. If a patrol passed tonight, he might have to call out.

No, he was going to finish this thing. Campus had to be west. If he just rested a minute, he would be able to continue.

*****

Two air boats passed nearby, beams of light shooting from their flashlights like lasers in the darkness. The swamp sent off steam and gasses like a sauna. Austin's fingertips pruned to the point his skin peeled.

"Austin! Your mother wasn't too happy you decided not to check on her!"

Austin sighed and sank into the mud. Not this again.

He crawled forward. Each movement felt like the last, but Austin forced his body forward. When he thought he couldn't manage, he convinced himself one more thrust would take him to the campus, just one more.

The air boats whined around him like mosquitoes, but he stayed so low to the ground he figured they wouldn't be able to see him unless they were right on top of him.

"The Gauntlet is over Austin!" Nubern yelled. "Please, give it up! It's time to stop. You are endangering the rest of your classmates."

No, I'm not. I’ll keep going.

Despite the darkness, he slid through the mud and into the water. His muscles burned. He reached his foot down to rest on the bottom of the swamp floor, but felt nothing. Where was the bottom? He moved his foot around, searching for something to rest on. The water was too deep.

He pressed on, swimming in the same direction. There had to be something up ahead.

The impact shocked him, his face crashing into crumbling bark. Pain flashed and he cried out. The salty taste of blood filled his mouth, clashing with the bitterness of the swamp water. Reaching with all his strength, he plunged his finger nails into the rotting tree and kept his head above water.

"Austin Stone!" A different voice echoed in the swamp. "This is President Pierce. The Gauntlet test has gone on long enough. You have the entire staff worried. Your mother is terrified and all the other students have quit the contest. If you do not turn yourself in soon, you will be left out here."

Austin smiled.
There's no way they would do that.

"Come in and get a hot meal."

Austin shook his head
. I am going to get to campus.

"Austin, it's Nubern," he said. "We are going to have to go back. We won't be back until morning. We just found Skylar a little while ago."

Austin perked up.

"It's, uh, it's not good Austin. She's banged up. You two were the only ones left out here and, well, she's hurt too bad for us to wait. If you delay us any longer, it could be bad for her. We need to get her to a hospital."

Austin thought of Skylar in pain, thought of the possibility of being responsible for something happening to her. She had always been there for him since he arrived, his only true friend.

"I guess you're willing to take that chance! We're leaving!"