Camp Driftwood

Chapter 15 - Purify

Chapter 15 – Purify

Her legs felt like they were on fire. By the time the thirtieth lap had come around, Kaylee was running on empty. The attendants' singing had slowed after the tenth lap, and had stopped completely shortly after the twentieth. The last ten had been spent in absolute silence, with gritted teeth and grumbling whenever the attendants came too close to each other. The heat was making them all irritable.

Despite all of this, Kaylee smiled. All of this exercise was making the attendants sweat profusely, and in turn helped to speed up the removal of the drugs that coursed through their system from last night's meal. Even their irritation was a sure sign that the drugs were wearing off. Oxytocin was a calming drug, and if they were all still completely doped up they would have never gotten so annoyed with each other.

Kaylee breathed a sigh of relief to herself. For a while she had been wondering if she had truly gotten rid of the entire supply of Oxytocin, but this was enough to convince her that she had. Even though she'd eaten a full meal this morning, she didn't feel the slightest bit drugged. Worn down and tired from the run perhaps, but not drugged.

She passed by John for the thirtieth and final time, not even looking at him. Evan continued a few metres in front of her; he had slowed down as well. The weighted packs had taken their toll on both of them. As much as she tried to keep her breathing steady and deep, a painful stitch in her ribs was making it almost impossible. All of these things continued to slow her down as she made her way around their set path, looking down and putting one foot in front of the other.

Each footstep held more weight than Kaylee had never felt, which was only intensified by her exhaustion. She barely made it a dozen more paces before her leg gave way on some loose gravel, sending her first to her knees, and then her back. She cried out as the gravel dug painfully into her knees, unable to fight the weight of the backpack as it dragged her down even further. She hissed from her place on the ground, barely able to move. Her entire body ached. It was only when the long shadow stood over her, blocking out the sun, that she opened her eyes.

"Get up," Matthew said, looking down at her without emotion. "You're not finished yet."

Kaylee narrowed her eyes, trying to push off the ground, with little success. She managed to get up a few inches, before her burning muscles gave out and sent her back to the ground. Painfully.

"Easier said than done," she grunted back, "Honestly, I'm fine here, I'll have a nap and finish the lap when I wake up. Would you mind grabbing me a pillow?"

A second shadow appeared beside Matthew, blocking out the little of the sun that he had missed. Evan looked down at her, clearly under similar strain.

"One lap left Kaylee," he muttered, unsteady on his feet, "Let's finish this and get some water."

He held a hand out to her, waiting. With a sour look, Kaylee accepted and was pulled to her feet roughly. She took a moment to steady herself, leaning against Evan, before giving a short nod.

"That powernap was just what I needed," she huffed, "I'm good now. I feel like I could do fifty more laps."

"You really need to learn when to shut up," Evan muttered as they started to walk again, keeping a steady pace, "You'll give them ideas."

"Oh, humour is how I deal with stress and emotion," she explained, "If I didn't have my razor wit, I'd barely be a functioning member of society."

"Funny, I didn't think you were a functioning member of society."