Just one…more…lap…

‘Hey, kid! You alright?’

Focus…focus…no distractions…

‘Mummy, why is that boy turning purple?’

No dis- what? I’m purple?!

‘Shh! He’s just been jogging too much. I’m sure he’ll stop soon…’

I breathed a laugh as I puffed past the mother and child. She was right, but I had to make one more lap before I could allow myself to stop. I never realised until now how much work actually had to be put into staying in shape!

I was trying to train for the Sydney City Marathon coming up in a month’s time, and I had been training every day for a nearly a whole year.

Finally, as I turned the last corner, I saw the end marker of my run in sight: The water tap. The tap was where I began and ended my training circuits around the park every morning before school, and every afternoon on the weekends.

I felt myself becoming dizzy, and my legs started to wobble as I ran the last ten metres. When I reached the tap I halted abruptly and my body started to shake.

I collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

‘Done,’ I panted out. I felt my face burning and my legs were killing me, but it was all worth it. I had to be prepared for the marathon. 

I spotted a park bench and reluctantly pulled myself off the ground with the last ounces of strength and dragged my feet towards it. I sighed in relief as I sat down on the bench, and before too long I could feel the cold morning air began to cool me down. Yes, it was all worth it.

The morning sun was rising higher in the sky by the second, and had reached a point where a beam of blinding bright sunlight reached my face.

Before I had time to shield my eyes from the light or turn my head away, I heard footsteps on my left stop in front of me.

‘Here, take a swig, pike.’

Huh? Pike? Like the fish? Who said that?

As I tried to look up at the man’s face, the sun blinded the left side of my face. Despite the obstruction, I still didn’t recognise him.

‘Uh, no thanks man, there’s a tap right there,’ I said, pointing feebly at the tap next to the bench on my right.

The man laughed lightly, stepping to his right so that his body blocked the sunshine.

‘Thanks,’ I said, as my eyes readjusted.

I looked more closely at the silhouette of the man who had talked to me, but there was nothing familiar about him. I realised then that he was holding out a clear plastic bottle half-filled with water in his right hand, in an offer to let me drink some.

‘Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want it.,’ I said warily. ‘Stranger danger and all that.’

The man laughed again, and the water splashed around inside the bottle.

‘Very well, but you did look like you needed it. I noticed you running those laps, and I saw that your face was turning purple. Not something you see everyday; that’s for sure!’ He chuckled.

I dipped my head in embarrassment as I shakily got up off the bench. My legs wobbled with the effort. 

He saw me running? I should probably go before he tries to give me something else. 

I tried to stand up straight, but I was soon leaning forward, hunched over with my hands on my knees.

‘Woah, woah! Please, let me at least call someone to help get you a lift back home?’ The man asked.

Why was he still here? His voice held concern, but it could have been faked.

I felt like I might throw up.

My face was in the sun again once I slowly straightened up again with much effort. I could feel the nausea building. The light painfully hit my eyes and made me squint, but my hands were too occupied clutching my stomach to shield my face.

‘You look like you’re about to collapse!’ The man gasped. ‘Please! I’m sure somebody’s going to be worried about you if I don’t call them soon!’

Too weak to deny his services any further, I quickly nodded my acceptance to the man’s offer.

‘Could you help me to the park entrance, please? I live nearby so my mum can pick me up there.’

‘Sure. Here, give me your arm,’ he said.

I reluctantly let go of my stomach and felt him drape my arm over his shoulders so he could help me walk.

We began the walk with one step at a time. Luckily for both of us, the entrance was close by so he wouldn’t have to stick around for much longer.

‘There you go, take it easy now, pike,’ he said as we reached the gated entrance. ‘I’ll call your mum now.’

He carefully removed my arm from his shoulders and pulled a phone out from his pocket.

‘Thanks,’ I mumbled out. I swallowed to stop myself from throwing up, clutching my stomach again.

‘No need to thank me, pike. There’s no need to speak, either. It’ll make you feel even more nauseous,’ he said calmly.

I tried to get a better look at him, between the waves of nausea. From what I had already gathered from brief glimpses, he was a man of reasonable height; probably around six feet or more, since when he put my arm over his shoulder my feet nearly left the ground. As far as I could tell from up closer, his skin was quite pale, which contrasted starkly with his shoulder-length dark brown hair.

He turned to me and smiled. My vision cleared a bit and I could see there were shadows under his green, bloodshot eyes.

‘Ah sorry, did I tell you what my mum’s number was…?’ I asked.

I heard the plastic bottle lid unscrew. Then he leaned closer and his hand slowly reached for my face.

Before I could even register what was happening, he forced my mouth open in one quick motion and tipped the water from the bottle into my propped open mouth. I tried to struggle as I felt the brief sensation one gets when they think they are drowning- but as soon as he had tipped it all into my mouth, he dropped the bottle from his hand. His other hand left my mouth so he could hold me in an inescapable embrace. I reflexively gulped the water to stop the drowning feeling.

However then realising on my last gulp that it would have been wiser to throw up, I heard the loudest explosion I had ever heard in my entire life.

And then, the world went black.