Run!

RUN!

I opened my eyes to the warm sunshine flooding my bedroom, and stretched. It was a great day. I had absolutely nothing on the agenda. Since I’d retired from running, my calendar was surprisingly open. I never realized how much of my time racing took up until I wasn’t doing it any more. I smiled, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

*****

“GO!”

I took off from the starting gate, running as fast as I could, trying to catch the leader. It seemed the faster I ran, the faster the leader moved. I was never able to catch the leader. No one was. 

The race was quickly over — like under thirty seconds. Turn left, turn left, turn left, turn left, and done. A quarter mile, four hundred metres.

I walked off the track, panting. My trainer, Willie, just shook his head.

“You need to be faster, Flash.” He rubbed my shoulder. “You need to stick to the inside lane. You can’t be roaming all over the track.  It slows you down. The inside track is the shortest.”

If we had a staggered start … I thought. But we didn’t.

He rubbed my back, and walked away. I walked over to the others in the cool-down area.

“You’re slowing down, old man, I mean Flash. Even I can see that. Your racing days are numbered, buddy.”

I looked at Quake. He was definitely younger, but not that much faster than me. Still, no one wants to be the second fastest. I was pretty sure I could beat Quake. I just needed the chance to try. And the right pole position. But the way that Wille was talking, I wasn’t so sure that I’d be getting that chance. Did Quake know something I didn’t?

“Ignore him,” said Swifty. “He’s just trying to get into your head.”

“I know. He’s been like that since he joined the team. I thought there was no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM’?”

Swfty snorted. “True. But don’t try to tell him that! That boy is out for number one, only. He couldn’t care less about the rest of the team.”

I mingled with the other members of the team, walking off the time trial, trying to cool down. I walked up to Speedy and Bullet, who were discussing “the fastest.”

“Rabbit is so fast,” sad Bullet.

“I know,” said Speedy. “I wish I could run that fast.”

“Rabbit wins every race.”

I looked at my two friends.

“You know Rabbit’s not real a real rabbit, right?” I said.

Speedy smirked. “Of course Rabbit’s real. He runs every race with us.”

“Yeah,” chimed in Bullet. “And he wins. Every. Single. Time.”

I looked at my two teammates. “You guys kill me,” I said walking away.

“Hey, hey, hey!” said Bullet, running up to me. “What do you mean 'you guys kill me'?”

Speedy walked over to join us.

I smiled. “Look over there—” I chinned in the direction of the track. “What do you see?”

Bullet looked confused. “What do you mean ‘what do you see?’ I see the track. So?”

“Where’s Rabbit?”

“Where he always is, sitting on the rail, waiting for the next race.”

“Don’t you think that’s weird? He’s always sitting on the rail.”

“So?”

“Well, after a race we leave the track, walk around, pee, drink some water, cool down. Do you ever see Rabbit doing anything like that? No, he’s always just sitting on the rail. Waiting. He doesn’t move unless there’s a race.”

Both Speedy and Bullet looked at Rabbit, saying nothing.

To prove my point, I yelled at Rabbit. 

“Hey, Rabbit! Wanna play!”

We were close enough that he should have reacted. But he didn’t.

“If he’s so scared of us that he races around the track every time there’s a race, why isn’t he reacting now?”

Bullet looked from Rabbit to me.

“So you’re saying that Rabbit isn’t real — even though he runs wth us every single time we race?”

“Yup.”

“Maybe he’s just used to us. So, he ignores us unless we’re running.”

I looked at him, skeptically.  

”Okay, if that’s what you want to believe. But I’m pretty sure he’s not real. I think he’s a machine.”

Both Speedy and Bullet gave me side eye, and moved a little closer to Rabbit. They couldn’t get right up to him, because of the fencing, but I heard them calling his name. Rabbit, as usual, just sat there.

I wandered over to the water, and grabbed a drink.

“I heard you talking to Quake. Or rather, Quake talking to you. He’s an ass. Don’t listen to him. I think he’s just trying to psych you out,” said Streak, my best friend on the team.

“He’s got a point. I used to be able to win from the number six gate. Now, I’m not so sure. At least I couldn't today. Willie says I'm slowing down.”

I looked over at Streak, shaking my head. It was true. Because we didn’t have staggered starting gates, the number one spot had a distinct advantage over the number six starting gate. I used to be able to win in the number six position, regardless. Now, not so much.  

I drank some more water, then turned to Streak.

“Willie said I needed to be faster. Remember Spark? Willie told him he needed to be faster, then, bang, two weeks later Willie took him out back, and we never saw him again. Then, a couple days ago Quake replaced him.” I looked at Streak. “You can’t blame me for being nervous. What if I’m the next Spark?”

Streak nodded. “I can see why you’re nervous. But you’re a great runner. You’re fast, smart, you know how to manoeuvre around the track, and you never trip. You’re concentration is legendary.” 

“Thanks, man,” I said, “that means a lot coming from you.”

Later that day we were having a team race, my first with Quake. I walked around the field, limbering up.

“I’m going to crush you, little man.”

I turned to see Quake running up behind me.

“Whatever,” I said, walking away from him. He jumped in front of me, blocking my way.

“What, you got nothing to say? You scared? Boo hoo! Poor old Flash ain’t so flashy any more. Boo hoo hoo!”

Quake pretended to cry.  

It took a lot of willpower not to lunge at him and rip his throat out. But what good would that do? I’d be in trouble, and I would never race again. Nobody wants a fighter on their team. So instead of getting into it with Quake, I walked away again.

He ran up behind me and bumped my shoulder, sending me off balance. That was it! I didn’t need to take that shit from anyone! Just as I was turning to get into it with him, Willie rang the bell to tell us that we had two minutes to get to the field.

I looked at Quake. “This isn’t over. I’ll see you after the race,” I said, trotting toward the gate.

Willie was standing there with a bucket in his hand.

“Okay, here are your gate positions.” He stuck his hand in the bucked. “Gate number one, Swifty.”

“Yes!” sad Swifty. That was the coveted position — you stared in the inside lane. No trying to get over, you were already there. Primo!

“Two is Bullet, three is Quake, four is Flash, five is Speedy, and six is Streak.” 

Streak shook his head. No body liked the sixth position. You rarely won in six.

Willie looked at each of us. “This race determines who runs on Sunday at the big meet up. Top three are in. The bottom three have a lot to think about.”

We got into our lanes, into the starting position. Instead of someone yelling “Go” we had the official bell. This team race was supposed to be just like the race on Sunday.

DING!

We shot forward. Quake was in lane three, and I was in lane four. As I tried to get by him, he nudged me.

“What the hell!”

But I was sure footed, and continued racing. Hard.

I was able to get over to the inside lane before the first corner. Quake was in front of me, again, blocking my way. I’d move out, he’d move out. I’d move in, he’d move in, blocking me. Finally, I’d had enough. I kicked it up to one hundred and ten percent, and I whizzed by him. He tried to trip me as went by. No way. I continued to run without stumbling. I knew how to win even when the guy beside me was an asshole.

I ran around the second turn, still in the lead, only Rabbit in front of me now. Third corner, I was tearing down the track. I was running faster than I thought possible. I was flying. Then just after the fourth turn, Rabbit stopped. Just stopped. Dead stop.

“What the—” 

But I knew that with or without Rabbit, I was gong to win this race. I continued running as fast as I could. I crossed the finish line well ahead of Quake, Streak, and Swifty. I looked down the track. There were Speedy and Bullet jumping up on the rail, checking out Rabbit.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I’m pretty sure they now knew for sure that Rabbit wasn’t real.

I started walking toward Willie, who was in the cooling off area. All of a sudden there was a blur, and Quake was all over me. He knocked me flat on my face, jumping on my back, biting my neck. I bared my teeth and started fighting back. No way I was going to let that punk get away with this!

“Stop it! Stop it right now!”

Willie was screaming at us. He opened the fire hose in his hand, and we were blown apart by the force of the water.

I stood up, and shook myself off.

“What the absolute hell is going on here?!” he demanded.

He stormed over, and Quake lunged at him. Big mistake. Willie pulled a muzzle out of his pocket, and slapped it on Quake, and dragged him away to his kennel. 

I stood there, shaking. The other runners gathered around me.

“What was that all about,” asked Bullet, who had a chunk of Rabbit’s fur stuck in his mouth.

“I don’t know. He just jumped me.”

Streak shook his head. “Guy’s been after you since he arrived. I think he really thought he had you today, but man, you were just too fast. Good for you, Flash. You beat his ass!”

Speedy looked at me.   “Hey, Flash, you’re bleeding. The back of your leg.”

I looked back, and yup, I was bleeding.

“And your neck.”

“Shit!”

All of a sudden I felt shaky and sick. I guess the adrenaline was starting to wear off. I plopped down on the ground, my legs too weak to hold me.

Willie cam running over.

“Call the vet! Now!” he yelled. “Flash is hurt.”

*****

It turned out that Quake had nipped my Achilles tendon. I got the medical treatment I needed because Willie, unlike many owners, cared about his dogs. But I could never run as fast as I had in that last race between Quake and me. I was finished as a racing greyhound. But I was still valuable as a stud, so yay! Luckily, I was adopted by a lovely couple who have two other greyhounds. My life is now one of leisure. Sure, I had been forced to quit racing, but retirement rocks. I even got to see a real rabbit.