Morning came too quickly. The alarm went off at a quarter to six, and Colt hit the snooze button twice before he tried to unravel from his sheets. It was still dark, and everything inside of him yearned for sleep, but he knew Danielle would be up and ready to go.
Eventually he found a crumpled tracksuit and his running shoes, though he had to settle for mismatched socks. He thought about a shower, but there wasn’t enough time, so he grabbed a baseball cap, slapped on some deodorant, and peeked through the crack in his door. He didn’t want to run into Grandpa, who was usually up by now, but the lights were off and the house was quiet, so he grabbed his keys and went out the back door.
By the time he pulled into the parking lot, at the park Oz and Danielle were stretching in a grassy area next to the pond. Colt turned the engine off. Morning breath caked his mouth, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He would have to stop at a convenience store and grab some gum after their run.
“Good morning,” Danielle said as he stepped out of the truck. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Not really.” He stretched before getting distracted by a pair of ducks looking for bread crumbs.
“Let’s go,” Oz said, much to Colt’s relief.
They set off at a comfortable pace, leaving the ducks to bother an old man who was tying a hook to the line of his fishing pole. Steam rose from Colt’s mouth as he exhaled, his feet pounding the asphalt path as they followed a winding trail around the pond. There were tall trees and rolling grass all around. It felt like a wilderness trail instead of a park in the middle of a major city.
Colt’s eyes fell to the scar on the back of Danielle’s neck. Two weeks ago she’d had a biochip removed from the base of her skull. Aldrich Koenig, the imprisoned president of Trident Biotech, had ordered one implanted into her cerebral cortex, effectively turning her into a puppet forced to do his bidding. Koenig had done it to get at Colt, and it almost worked.
He blamed himself for what had happened, and even though she had forgiven him, he was still overwhelmed by guilt. He wanted to apologize again, to tell her he was sorry for getting her involved, but she had made him promise he would never say it again.
Colt slowed to a walk, his fingers locked behind his head as he breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. The other two had disappeared around the corner, leaving him alone with his exhaustion. He closed his eyes and threw his head back, wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed.
Something heavy moved through the trees. Birds took to the air, and Colt spun, his eyes wide as hair stood on the back of his neck. “Who’s there?”
No response.
Each breath he took was amplified by the quiet. Colt thought about calling out for help, but his jaw wouldn’t move. He heard leaves rustle and branches snap, and for a moment he thought that he could see a pair of eyes. Or was it his imagination?
There was a scraping sound, and he turned just as a woman rounded the corner with a black Lab in tow. Her cheeks were flushed, but she managed to smile as the dog sniffed at the trees. It growled and pinned its ears. “Come on,” the lady said as she jerked the leash. The dog resisted as it tried to draw nearer to the shadows, but then it whimpered and ran after her.
Colt took off at a dead run, adrenaline driving his legs as he scampered down the path. Oz and Danielle were sharing a sports drink when he reached the parking lot. They decided to head back to Oz’s house and grab some breakfast.
“If you want to leave your truck here, we can pick it up later,” Oz said.
“That’s okay. I’ll just meet you over there.” Colt watched them pull out of the parking lot before he fished his keys out. He went to open the door, but then stopped. Someone was standing behind him in the rearview mirror. Whoever it was, his eyes had a faint glow.
Tendrils of panic shot up Colt’s stomach, making it difficult to breathe. His first instinct was to run, but where would he go? Instead, he opened the door and pretended to drop his keys. They clanked as he reached under the seat for Grandpa’s tire iron, but by the time he spun around the figure was gone.