Page 120 of Axe Backwards
He nodded. “Don’t you have to go run logs soon?”
I checked my watch, and my stomach twisted. Shit, I needed to get over to the lake. With a peck to Tess’s cheek, I took off, hoping I hadn’t missed the warmup.
It turned out that I should have been more worried about boom running. We were given a few practice runs to get a feel for the logs, and every time, my ass went straight into the lake. I was fast and I was agile from all my training, but I was missing something.
Graham, the asshole, had special spiked shoes. Of course he did, fucker. He was running the logs like a gymnast on a balance beam. I was shocked he hadn’t done a cartwheel to show off.
Fuck, I was going to embarrass myself and Vic by losing to this popped-collar finance bro. Vic’s whole family was here watching too. Alexandra wore a full-length dress that looked like it belonged on a runway in Europe as opposed to a town festival in rural Maine, but she gave me a friendly wave, which I reciprocated.
They would all bear witness to me making a fool of myself. And the asshole who had cheated on Vic—the kindest, most selfless person I’d ever met—would come out victorious.
No. I wouldn’t allow it.
As I dried off, I caught sight of Gus. He stood by the edge of the lake, arms folded over his chest, surveying the scene.
“What am I doing wrong?” I asked my oldest brother as I approached him.
“Is that the guy?” He nodded toward Graham.
“Vic’s ex, who cheated on her and married her little sister? Yes.”
He grunted. “You gotta beat him.”
“Fuck. I know, but I don’t know how. He’s got special shoes and weighs like a hundred pounds. I’m a moose compared to him.”
Gus shook his head. “Your mechanics are wrong. You gotta angle your feet and lean forward while you run, create forward momentum and try to take fewer steps. This isn’t about speed. It’s about strength.”
I squinted at him, dubious. “It’s a sprint.”
“Yes. But it’s nothing like running on the ground. Trust me. Angle the feet. Focus on moving and leaning forward. He’s fast, but he’s got skinny legs. Once things start to really move, he won’t be able to work against the momentum of the logs.”
I did two more practice runs, keeping Gus’s tips in mind.
Both times, I stayed upright, but I was still painfully slow.
“You’re getting it. Now keep your focus on the finish. Do not look down. You’ll get there.” Gus surveyed the competition as he coached me.
Since there were only four sets of linked logs, we’d be doing this in heats.
In my first race, I made it down and back in one piece. I wobbled a bit, but the forward lean kept me upright. And in the end, I won.
Gus clapped me on the back, his lips quirking in a half smile.
Tess sat with my mom, shouting “da, da, da” over and over.
The sound of her voice bolstered me. So did the wink Vic gave me as I lined up for the next race.
This time I was faster. The practice had helped me to anticipate the roll of the log so I could compensate with my footing. I stepped the wrong way on the last one and stumbled forward, but I managed to get my feet under me and launch myself onto the platform. It wasn’t pretty, but I finished in first place.
While the next group of guys ran, I chugged water and said a prayer of thanks that I hadn’t yet ended up injured, concussed, or embarrassed.
“And now for the final race. This one will determine our boom race champion,” Vic said, her voice blaring from the speakers set up around the area.
A decent-sized crowd had gathered. Damn, the pressure was starting to get to me.
The remaining four of us lined up.
I was on one end, with fucking Graham next to me.
