Page 16 of Puck Your Friend

I might not present for another year or five, but something should’ve kicked in by now that says I’ll be an Alpha.Instead, I’m compact, good for dodging elbows, not scaling eight foot walls. If I wind up a Beta, like my parents, I’m still smaller than them, too. Even my mother has commented to my doctor about how she worries I’m not growing anymore.

“Stay on the path,” the counselor says through the megaphone. “No shortcuts. You’ll hit mud, water, climbs, rope. If you need to stop, step aside. Don’t interfere with anyone else’s run.”

Ford nudges my arm and leans over. “Let’s smoke these assholes.”

I nod and push my worries about my presentation off.

The whistle blows.

We launch into the trail. It’s wide and packed with hard, dry dirt. Logan pulls ahead, flanked by Ford. I fall into stride beside Wes. Jace’s steps land behind me.

“Hold pace.” Logan’s voice carries. “Push after the ridge.”

Pine needles crunch under our feet. The trail curves and flattens, opening to the first obstacle. The ground dips into a shallow muddy trench. A sign ahead reads CRAWL ZONE. A mud pit with wires criss-crossed over it stretches outward. Theonly way through is under, and a counselor stands nearby to make sure we do it.

Ford drops first. Logan slides in beside him. I follow behind Jace. The mud is colder than expected. It clings everywhere. I keep my head down and drag my arms forward.

Jace grunts as he moves faster. “Stay left. It’s firmer.”

I shift to the left and keep belly crawling. We make it out and keep running. I shake the mud from my hands and arms, trying to get it off so I can wipe my face. Their strides are so much bigger than mine now, I have to run twice as fast to keep up and not make them lag while waiting on me.

What’s happened to me?I used to keep up without thinking, be out front, not trailing behind. They’ve surged ahead in ways I haven’t caught up to yet.

We run, passing several others, until we hit a steep incline that leads up to the tallest tree in the forest. I’m able to keep up with them as we make it toward the stripped pine with a platform at the top. We have to go one at a time. The guys send me up first.

My thighs burn by the time I reach the platform. The counselor already has the harness ready for me to step into.

“Feet here.” She points to a white chalk X. “Face forward.”

I step into the leg loops and pull the belt snug around my hips. She steps in to tighten it herself, double-checking every strap. The handlebar dangles from the pulley above.

“Hands on the bar,” she says after clipping the main pulley to the loop at my waist.

She hooks the backup tether to the secondary ring at my hip. Double-checks the locks. Tightens everything again.

“When you land, lift your knees. Let the brake slow you, then step off fast. Unclip and move clear before we send the next. Got it?”

I nod, palms already wrapping around the handle.

“Ready when you are.”

I tip forward.

The platform drops away. Wind slams against my face. My arms flex as the pulley hums overhead, line zipping fast through the trees. My core tightens. I’m flying. It’s exhilarating, and I’ll have to do this again when they open it as an option later in the summer. I know they have a two-day hike up the mountain nearby and there’s a zipline that heads back to the camp.

Soon the end comes up and the counselor at the bottom reaches out to steady the cable. Landing, I plant my feet and he unclips me.

“Put your harness in the bin.” He points to the container near the platform. I take off the harness and drop it in before I hurry down a couple of steps to wait for the guys. I’m not going to leave them behind.

“Clear!” He calls up.

One by one, the guys come down. Jace screams the whole way. But soon, we’re back on the trail and catching up with more campers. We pass them. I haven’t seen anyone else in front of us beyond this point, so we might be near the front, or close to it. I just hope there are still enough signup spots left for us to choose together.

After getting slowed down by several large puddles, we reach a wooden wall with a couple of ledges to grab onto and a rope curled up at the top.

Jace steps up first. “I was made to climb this. I knew all those years of climbing on crap would pay off.”

He jumps and grabs the first rung and then the next, using sheer upper body and grip strength at first to get up a level.

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