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VI

Surprises

The bell announcing the end of the school day rang and Rebecca helped Alix gather up her stuff before they headed for the out door track field. Rebecca had secretly picked up Kaelyn's spare gym uniform, and had stowed it in her own empty gym bag. Now came the hard part of convincing Alix to get into it and actually do a little running, in front of a crowd of strangers. As they left the primary building for the school and headed across the yard to the gym building, they found Angel waiting for them next to the entrance of the covered walkway that led to the gym. She was dressed in the school's uniform, a pair of black cycling shorts sticking out from under the skirt. Angel waved at them as they came out.

"Beckie," Angel called and moved over to them. "I see you've met Alix."

"Met her? I've known her since we were in kindergarten. We went to the same school until my brother died," Rebecca said with a grin. "I'm pretty sure I told you about her."

Angel blinked. "You mean Alix is the friend you said had come back?"

"Yep."

"I take it you two are friends," Alix asked as she looked between the two taller girls.

"Yes. We got to know each other last year when we were in the same class. I met Kaelyn shortly afterward, and we've been friends ever since," Angel said with a broad smile.

"Huh. Just how many friends do you two have?"

Both Rebecca and Angel laughed. "Not as many as you think," Rebecca said. "But we're really close to the ones we do have. Kae's the one who has a lot of friends. Take those, add Angel's fiancee, and my boyfriend, and we have the start of a size group of friends. If we can get Kae to settle down with one boy, and get you hooked up, it would be even better."

"I would like to know the boy first, and get to know him even better, before we went any further," Alix said with a blush.

Angel laughed and Rebecca smiled.

"You never know," Rebecca said. "You may meet someone very special and it might change everything."

"Like your boyfriend," Angel asked, a knowing smile on her face.

Rebecca smirked. "Well, I'm not sure if he changed me, or I changed him."

Angel roared with laughter. Alix noticed that Angel laughed easily. Like in the pool, she felt an easy acceptance of this girl, a feeling that Alix had been unused to until she had been reunited with Rebecca. For the first time in a long time, she had friends that wanted to be around her because she was there, not for what they wanted her to do. That thought reminded her of the boyfriend issue. She was unsure if she would ever have the nerve to ask another boy out again, especially after what happened last year. And if a boy asked her out? As unlikely as that was to be, Alix's first instinct would probably be to run. It would be a while before she totally trusted a boy again. Those like George Two-Leaves especially, who had other things on their mind than who the girl actually was. Alix reminded herself to be careful around people like George. She was unused to praise of any kind, and it had robbed her of most of her rational thinking when he had flattered her. Another thought came to her as the three of them approached the corner of the gym building. Whoever had captured Rebecca's attention would have to be special himself, as Rebecca cared for those she let into her life, especially her friends. Alix could not think of who that person could be, and it worried her. She looked up at the Bympyr, a puzzled look on her face.

"Who exactly is your boyfriend," she asked.

"Well, this might surprise you," Rebecca said with a sheepish look on her face, "but it's-"

"Beckie!" A rich, baritone voice called out from behind them. Turning, they saw a slender, six foot tall Raccoonin walking up quickly behind them. His body was covered in rich dark brown fur, with black bands in his short hair. The same back fur made up the rings on his tail, and covered both of his hands. The Raccoonin lacked the 'mask' that most of his race was known for, but his deep hazel left eye stood out all the more for it. The right was covered by a medical eye patch. He wore the school uniform, like everyone else, though the black dress shoes were not school issued. A brown, worn leather messenger bag was slung over his right shoulder, and was shifted slightly behind him. He had a broad smile on his face as he waved excitedly at Rebecca.

"Micah," Rebecca called out, excitement clearly etched on her face as she took a step towards him. At the same time, Alix let out a high pitched, shrieking yip, causing everyone to jump, and ducked around the corner of the building in the blink of an eye. It had been several years, but Alix had still recognized Micah Jameson. Micah had been one of Bruce's stooges back in elementary school, and Alix would never forget how he had chased her down on the occasions she had tried to run away from Bruce. Both Micah and Rebecca stared at the corner of the building with wide, startled eyes. Angel stood there for a moment, looking at the point where Alix disappeared, and then walked over to the corner.

Looking around it, she found Alix pressed flat against the gym's wall, her chest heaving as she breathed in and out rapidly. Angel had to actually close down her empathic link as a flood of fear threatened to come down it. With narrowed, annoyed eyes, Angel looked back at Micah, who gave her a nervous smile that quickly disappeared.

"I take it you know each other," Angel asked, her voice slightly hard and her mouth set in a stern line.

"Yeah, you could say that," Micah said as he rubbed the back of his head, a habit of his when he was nervous. "I use to run with Bruce when I was little, and Alix was one of his more than frequent targets."

"You should have given me more time to tell her," Rebecca said.

"Sorry, I thought you had," Micah said, looking abashed. "Should I go?"

Rebecca smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "What's done is done. Give us a moment."

Rebecca moved over to Angel, whose eyes were still narrow with annoyance. The Bympyr winced at the look, and knew she would get a lecture later.

"You could have warned me," Angel said. "I almost went into panic mode myself with the amount of fear the girl was letting off."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I thought I would have more time to break it to her slowly. I think I goofed."

"Big time," Angel said and headed around the corner.

Alix was somewhat calmer and her eyes moved to the other girls as they came around the corner. Angel tentatively reached out with her link, to find the barrier of fear still up, but now mingled with flashes of red anger. Alix's eyes moved to Rebecca and for a brief moment, her anger over came her fear.

"How could you," Alix said in a low, hoarse voice. "How could you do that to me? Don't you remember what he, Bruce and Sam did to me? Then you go and fall in love with Micah? And you don't tell ME?"

Alix burst into tears and Angel moved over to her, pulling the Foxling into a hug. Angel ran a hand over the girl's hair, comforting her as best as she could. She gave Rebecca a stern look and the Bympyr squirmed with guilt. She played with her fingers while she watched Alix, realizing too late that Alix might have seen this as a betrayal. Rebecca should have done this earlier, but had been afraid that it might have overwhelmed Alix. Now she knew she should have said something, anything, before Micah had met up with them.

"Alix," Rebecca said. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would effect you. Like you, I've known Micah since elementary school, and he's not the same person you knew. Shortly after you moved, Bruce betrayed him as well. And then, he saw what it was like to be on the receiving end. So he's been trying to make up for it. He started by giving free history tutoring, babysitting, and he's been helping with the baseball team for three years now. We started dating a year ago. He has really changed. You have to believe me." Rebecca was close to tears herself now.

Alix had calmed down now, and looked over at Rebecca, her blue left eye peering over Angel's arm. Angel let go of Alix as the Foxling broke the hug, and walked over to Rebecca. For a moment, Alix stared up at the Bympyr, and then, without speaking, reached up, grabbed the blazer, and gently yanked. Rebecca bent over as she was silently commanded. When she was eye to eye with Alix, they stared at each other for a long moment. Rebecca began to feel uneasy, unsure if Alix was going to be even more upset with her, or forgive her. Then Alix reached up, wrapped her arms around Rebecca's thick neck, and gave her a fierce hug.

"Come on," Alix said after a moment, breaking the hug. "Let's go collect your boyfriend and go meet Kaelyn before she sends out a posse to find us."

"OK," Rebecca said, giving the Foxling a large toothy smile.

They moved back around the corner, Rebecca in the lead, Angel walking with Alix, the Sharlin holding Alix's right hand in her left, giving her the feeling of comfort and encouragement. Micah was leaning against the building, staring up at the clouds, watching them go by. While he was watching, he thought he saw a large crow fly over the gym, headed for the track field. He puzzled over that for a moment. There were no crow colonies in this area of the city, so were did that one come from. Probably someone's pet had gotten loose, he decided a moment later. It was not unusual these days for people to keep such birds as pets, though the authorities, and the animal rights activates, discouraged such things. Wild Asgardian Crows were becoming scarce these days. He looked down as the girls came from behind the gym.

Micah looked closely at Alix, remembering a warning Rebecca had given him over the phone. Alix was indeed a girl now, though still recognizable from when she was the little boy Micah had once picked on. The Raccoonin's own experience came back to him, and he felt the guilt he had first experience back then return now. As the girls approached him, he stood up straight and took a couple of steps forward. Alix instantly stopped, and shrank up against Angel, clutching the Sharlin's arm like a little child. Rebecca stopped, and looked back, a worried expression on her face. Micah was expecting this, so he was not surprised. He stopped a few feet from Alix, looked at her with an open, friendly expression on his face, and then bowed at the waist, face down toward the ground, eyes closed.

"I know the I have no right to ask this," Micah said, "but please forgive me. If not for me, than for Beckie. I honestly love her, and would hate to come between her and a friend. I was blind to what I did to you and the others, and a fool. I couldn't understand what you were going through until I had experienced it myself."

For a long moment, nothing happened. Angel could feel the rolling confusion of emotions playing through Alix, but she made no move. Then Alix stepped slowly away from Angel and stopped in front of Micah. Micah looked up, startled. Alix froze for a moment, and then wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

"I forgive you," Alix said softly.

Both Rebecca and Micah sighed in unison. Angel stepped up behind Alix and patted her on the shoulder. Micah stood up and gave Rebecca a hug as Alix stepped back. Alix's head cocked slightly as she looked at Micah, a puzzled expression on her face.

"What happened to your eye," she asked.

Angel burst out laughing, Micah smiled, and Rebecca looked bashfully at the ground.

"It was my fault," Rebecca said. "I beamed him with a tennis ball last week."

"It was an accident, Beckie," Micah said with a sigh. Apparently, they had had this discussion before. "Just back luck. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Angel, still snickering, looked at Alix. "We were in gym class and they were having us do tennis that day. Beckie and I ended up team together against a couple who were actually on the tennis team. Needless to say, it didn't go well, and with Beckie being as competitive as she is, she got really frustrated. When she caught a return ball, she hit it so hard that it went right through the chain link fence. Micah had just happened to be walking by and it slammed right into his right eye."

"And knocked me clean out," Micah said with a grin. "I woke up in the hospital, unable to use the eye, and Beckie hovering over me like a mother hen."

Rebecca was blushing so fiercely that the red skin could be seen under the rich brown fur on her cheeks. "I was worried," she simply said.

Angel snickered again. "How many sorry's did you get Micah?"

"I lost count around fifty. I finally forgave her just to shut her up," Micah said, the smile on his face broadening.

Rebecca was looking pointedly at the ground in embarrassment, and muttered something. There was a burst of laughter from everyone, and then Angel looked at her watch.

"Come on, guys," she said. "We're keeping Kae waiting."

* * * * * *

"How did I let you talk me into this," Alix complained to Rebecca as she adjusted the running shorts. The shorts were tight, almost skin tight, black spandex that stopped just short of Alix's upper knee, and lacked any pockets. The tail hole, located jut below the waist band in the back, fit snugly but not uncomfortably. A plain white tee-shirt, with the school's crest on the left breast, went on over her purple bra, which showed slightly through the shirt. Alix felt a little exposed in the shirt. If she had known that she would have been wearing a white shirt, she would have brought a different bra with her. Looking around, Alix noticed that a good portion of the track and field team was made up of humans. Some she recognized from her classes, but most were strangers to her. Most of the runners on the team were Foxlings, including Kaelyn, who competed in the thousand meter. The track was filled with both athletes and spectators. Alix noticed Kaelyn, a clipboard in one hand, and a stop watch in the other, a pencil stuck in her hair, behind the right ear, talking to two female Foxling students next to the start line of the one hundred meter dash. Kaelyn motioned to the clipboard, and both girls nodded.

"That's Jennifer Smallfoot and Valerie Heavenfire," Rebecca said. "Their the team's top sprinters. Kaelyn's been working with them to try and get consistent results from them. Their fast, but erratic."

Alix glanced at the two girls, who were clutching hands. "They seem close," she said.

Rebecca grimaced and rolled her eyes. "They should be. They were caught making love on the roof last year."

Alix looked up at Rebecca in surprise. "You mean the roof was closed off because of them?"

Rebecca shook her head. "They weren't the only ones. They were just the first to get caught. It wasn't as if it was a big secret anyway. Everyone thought that they were lovers, just no one had any proof."

"Huh." Alix looked over at the pole vault and saw Angel talking to Ginger. Ginger had her hair pulled up into a ponytail, and was using a sweat band to keep the bangs out of her face. She wore the same outfit as Alix and Kaelyn were, save that her shorts were higher, ending a little further up her thighs, and, unlike the Foxlings, she required the use of the white sneakers and socks on her feet. As Alix watched, a human male made a run at the vault, and botched it badly. Ginger barked something at him, and the human seemed to wilt under the verbal barrage. Even from this distance, Alix could hear Angel's laughter.

Rebecca looked over in the direction Alix was looking. "Ginger is big into sports, and she loves coaching. She's only allowed to participate in so many because she's gotten such good grades. Ginger is also on the volley ball and gymnastics teams. And don't feel bad for the human. That's her little brother, Steven. A good kid, if slightly ungainly. He'll grow out of it."

"How old is he?"

"Just turned sixteen, though he's a year behind us."

"How big is their family," Alix asked as she noticed Kaelyn turn and head back to them. Micah was also making his way back across the field. He had to deliver a message to the baseball team coach and had left them when Alix had gone to change.

"There's a total of five of them. Amanda and Steven are the only natural born children. Ginger was adopted when she was seven, I think. She doesn't talk about it, but I know she was passed around her relatives before the Hutchinsons adopted her. Then there's Michelle, who's a black Guarden. She's still in elementary school; either third or fourth grade, not sure which. And lastly, there's Rachel, who's a Foxling, and she's only two."

"Their parents must be very loving."

"They are," Rebecca said waving at Micah. "I've met them. Mrs. Hutchinson teaches Home-Ec at the school. I think Amanda gets her love of us 'furred' races from her. Oh, you should know that Ginger is Micah's cousin, so if he acts like the over protective big brother around her, don't be surprised. They've been close since Ginger's natural parents died."

Alix giggled. "That just means he cares."

"True," Rebecca agreed as she took a step forward, embraced Micah, and planted a kiss on his cheek. At the same time, Kaelyn stepped up to them with a broad, almost predatory, toothy smile on her face. Alix suddenly felt like a canary who was being watched by a cat. The thought must have been visible on her face, as Kaelyn's expression instantly changed to one of concern.

"Alix," Kaelyn said, "if you're uncomfortable with this, we can walk away now. I'm not going to force you to run if you don't want to."

Rebecca and Micah looked down at Alix as she visibly swallowed her fear.

"No, let me do this," Alix said.

Kaelyn looked doubtfully at her for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"OK. You'll be running with a few of the new members. While this is a distance run, it's a performance test, not an actual race. Just do the best you can and try to finish the run. If you feel yourself getting winded or dizzy, stop. Your health is more important than finishing."

"Right. I have to warn you, I haven't run in a while, so don't expect anything spectacular." Alix waved and headed over to the start line.

Rebecca and Micah stepped up beside Kaelyn to get a better view of the start line, and to more easily talk to their friend.

"Walter isn't one of your new members," Rebecca said, nodding toward the black Guarden at the far end.

"No," Kaelyn agreed. "He's there so that we can gauge the performance of the newbies. He's also one of my best long distance runners. If he thinks something is going wrong, he'll stop the test if I don't notice anything first."

"Are you two being fair to Alix," Micah asked. "She's going to be upset if you gals tricked her into this test."

"That might be true, love," Rebecca said as she wrapped her arms around his right arm. "But there's something special about her. If she has a hidden, undeveloped power inside her, we need to be aware of it before something happens. Then we can let the Principle or the VP know, and hopefully someone would then train her."

"For the greater good, huh," Micah asked, the doubt extremely evident in his voice.

Rebecca kissed his cheek. "Only in part. It's mainly for her that we're doing this. She'll be more hurt if she accidentally hurt someone she cares about, even if it's only a bruise or scratch, or their feelings for that matter. I know she's still seeing a shrink about that accident back in elementary school, and Angel says that she's as fragile as glass right now." Rebecca looked at Micah, a concerned look on her face. "I want to help her. Not just because of what my parents did, or you did, nor all those bullies did to her. She's my friend, and she needs friends."

Micah smiled at her, and then gave her a quick kiss on her lips. Rebecca blushed and looked back at the start line, resting her head against his shoulder. Mr. Henderson, the track and field coach, walked up to them just at that moment. Standing next to Kaelyn, he looked over at the runners. Adam Henderson was a human in his early thirties. His dark skin was off set by the white tee-shirt he wore. A pair of jeans covered his legs, and a pair of white sneakers covered his feet. His head was completely shaved, but he sported a light beard of black hair. Like Kaelyn, he carried a clip board and a stop watch, save that the stop watch hung around his neck, along with his whistle. His dark eyes looked over the line of runners, until he spotted Alix, who was receiving last minute instructions from one of the seniors.

"Is that the girl you were talking about, Kaelyn," he asked in a deep rumbling voice.

"Yes, Sir. Now if she does as good as we think on this test, please don't pressure her into joining the Team, Mr. Henderson. She's a little emotionally unstable right now."

"Does she have the panic attacks you get," he asked, a little worried.

"Yes, and no. In some ways, she gets them worse. Complete panic, from what Ms. Iona said. I don't think she'll handle the stress of joining the team all that well at the moment."

Mr. Henderson grunted and watched the runners get ready. One of the seniors raised a cap gun, and then pulled the trigger. The loud pop sent all eight runners off.

"Wow, she's really...slow," Mr. Henderson said. Alix was already well behind the others.

"It's not a race, Sir. Besides, it's an endurance run. You know that the one who has the most endurance usually finishes these kinds of runs. She might be trying to find her pace," Kaelyn said.

"I think she's trying to get a feel of the track," Micah said and pointed. While Alix was jogging along, she was concentrating on how her pawed feet landed and left the surface of the track. After a short bit, she sped up and actually began to run in earnest.

"I don't think she's run on a rubberized track before," Micah said.

Kaelyn slapped her forehead with a free hand. "Of course. I should have told her."

* * * * * *

Alix did not really find her stride until she had started the second lap. Running on this track felt weird, more like she was running on a soft dirt road than a paved race track. She had gotten use to the hard asphalt of the tracks at her old schools, especially after she had been pushed over onto them several times. The other runners were well ahead of her, but she did not mind that. It gave her a moment to be by herself. Besides, Kaelyn said it was not a race, so she could take her time. It felt kind of good to stretch her legs like this. It had been such a long time since she had been able to just concentrate on running, instead of constantly looking over her shoulders for the next person who would bump into her, trip her, or push her over. One leg lifted up as the other came down. One stride; two strides; three strides. There was a harmony in the natural rhythm.

Just like in the pool, Alix felt herself drift as the world melted from her consciousness. She followed the track as it went around the field, concentrating on nothing but running. But there was a part of her that felt uneasy. This felt strangely familiar, and not like it had been at her other schools. There was a feeling that she had something important to do, and she needed to reach the end of the run to do it. Her mind began to drift even further the more she ran. Suddenly she found herself no longer on the track, but on a dirt trail that stretched off into the distance. On either side of the trail was dense forest, deep green shadows filling the underbrush. Strangely, this did not scare her, as she felt like she had been down this trail several times before. Alix looked up the trail, and knew, somehow, that her destination lay at the end of it. She sped up, eager to reach it.

* * * * * *

Alix's friends watched as her posture completely changed, and she began to catch up to the stragglers, who were now starting to flag, having spent all their energy earlier. Far out front, Walter was pounding away at a comforting, steady pace. Alix's posture straightened, her long legs stretching out, touching the ground briefly before bounding off again. She seemed to float as she moved down the track, her feet seemingly to hardly touch the ground. Soon she had over taken the two stragglers in the back, and passed them, moving quickly on the next group as she came around to the finish line to start the third lap.

As Alix passed the finish line, Rebecca's sharp eyes noticed that Alix's were glazed over. She gripped Micah's arm tightly.

"Something's wrong," she said to him.

* * * * * *

Alix was moving down the trail at a nice, comfortable and sustaining pace. She was enjoying the quiet time, but she now knew that she had something important to deliver. It was vital for some reason, and it had fallen to her to deliver it. So far, nothing unusual had happened. She had seen a few squirrels, several birds, and a fox, all of which had ignored her and continued about their business. But there was an nagging feeling that had started to grow inside her, that was compounded by the sudden silence that had fallen over the forest. All the animal sounds, save for the insects, had died. No bird calls; no animals scurrying around. The uneasy continued to grow in her, until she realized the time for haste was upon her. She increased her pace.

Alix had only just increased her pace when there was the sound of something heavy pushing through bushes and the crack of breaking branches behind her. Then came the pounding of several feet on the trail behind her. Alix did not bother to look back, she had no need to do so. The enemy was upon her. Speed was now the only option. She was close to her destination, but still had to cover a bit of distance to get to it. Alix stretched her legs out, pushing even more speed out of them, and tried to increase the distance between her, and her pursuers.

* * * * * *

Angel's head snapped around as she suddenly realized she could no longer feel Alix. It was not like the link had snapped or been torn apart. It just was no longer there. Complete emptiness is what Angel felt, as if all the feelings in Alix had been drained away. Or as if she was no longer there, Angel realized in growing fear. She had been talking to Ginger, watching Steven making another botched run on the vault, and then getting a tongue lashing from his older sister on proper form. Angel had missed the link somewhere during the lecture.

Glancing around, she saw Rebecca, Micah and Kaelyn standing together, watching the track as one runner after another gave out and called it quits. Thinking it might just be herself, Angel reached out to her friends, only to feel a wall of growing fear, and giving her conformation that her ability was still working. Without waiting to excuse herself to Ginger, she ran over to the group. As she ran, she noticed that Mr. Henderson was shouting orders to clear the track, and was giving instructions to the teams best runners, who took off down the track, or moved up the track in the other direction. Angel skidded to a stop next to Kaelyn.

"Kae, what's going on? What happened to Alix? I can't feel her anymore."

Micah pointed at a fast moving figure that was quickly approaching the finish line. "That...is not Alix," he said.

Angel looked, and was shocked. Alix was running at a full sprint, leaning so far over that she was hovering barely two feet off the ground. Her arms were stretched out behind, and slightly to the side of her body, aiding her tail in keeping her balance, her legs moving like the pistons in an engine. She dodged two of the students who had positioned themselves in front of her in an effort to stop her. Those students, in turn, joined the growing throng trying to catch up to her as she continued to speed up. It was not this that shocked Angel as much as it was the fact that Alix's left eye was glowing with blue light, that streamed out behind, leaving a small streamer of light behind before it slowly faded from sight.

One student ran up to Mr. Henderson and handed him a speed meter. Mr. Henderson quickly pointed it at Alix, and gasped. The girl was moving at over twenty-five miles an hour, and the speed was still climbing. At that speed, if anyone hit her, or was hit by her, she, and that student, would get seriously hurt. He reacted instantly.

"Everyone," he called out in a booming voice. "Back off! Let her run!"

Several students quite literally fell off the track, collapsing from exhaustion. They had only been running for a few minutes, while Alix had been running constantly for over twenty minutes. Yet her speed continued to go up. Mr. Henderson looked at the meter again. She was up to thirty miles an hour, and the counter on the meter was still going up. Looking at her, everyone noticed that it was starting to effect her body. Alix was visibly panting like a dog now, her shirt plastered to her chest and back with sweat. But where ever her mind was, she was concentrating on reaching that destination.

Mr. Henderson turned to one of the seniors.

"Call one-eleven," he said. "Have them send paramedics, and someone who deals with body enhancing magic." Mr. Henderson turned to Alix's friends as the senior ran off. "I'm afraid the only way she's going to stop is when her body gives out from exhaustion. And when that happens, she's going to hit the ground... hard."

* * * * * *

Alix came around a long bend in the trail and straightened up as she put on another burst of speed. Her pursuers had fallen behind, and she could start to feel her body starting to give out, but she could not stop, not now. If the enemy was after her, that meant that they were already inside the borders, and that made the information she was carrying all the more important. The leather armor she was wearing was stifling, and the dueling vambrace she had on her left arm was weighing her down, but she could not take the time to stop and discard them. The bandoleer of throwing knives across her chest jangled with a kind of rhythmic harmony that helped to steady Alix's running pace. She was breathing hard now, her lungs trying to keep up with her excursion. Where was that bloody gate? It should have been up ahead.

Suddenly she stumbled. For a fleeting moment, she flew through the air, completely off balance. Then she landed, caught her footing, took a bounding step, and then took off again. Her body was starting to flag, and for a brief moment, she thought she heard her pursuers come closer. No, she could not stop. She had to reach that gate. The gate meant safety.

There was the caw of a crow, and Alix looked up. The crow, a Wolf Crow in fact, flew right above her, one of it's green eyes looking at her. Alix smiled. The gate was close now if a Wolf Crow was escorting her. She came around another bend in the trail, and saw the stone arched gate ahead of her. One of the Guarden guards on top of the parapet pointed to her and shouted something over his shoulder. A moment later, the twin doors of the gate swung open as several Guardens hurriedly tried to open the heavy wooden doors. The Wolf Crow moved out ahead of her, flying closer to the ground as it led her through the gate.

Alix had only just crossed the gate's threshold when her body gave out. It did not matter to her though; she had made it. She let her body go limp as she once again briefly flew through the air. Then she hit the ground, head first, and everything went black.

* * * * * *

Everyone watched in amazement as Alix hit forty-nine miles an hour. Her legs could hardly be seen now, beyond that of a blur. Suddenly a large crow flew down right in front of Alix and let out a single caw. Alix looked at it for a moment and then followed it around the bend that led to the finish line. Several students were milling around the finish line, wondering what they were supposed to do. As Alix crossed the finish line, her body just stopped in mid-stride. Students gave out cries of surprise and horror, with several of them scrambling out of the way, as Alix soured through the air, before she landed head first onto the track. She bounced once, flipped head over tail, and tumbled far into the short grass on the other side of the track.

"Alix," shrieked Rebecca, Angel, and Kaelyn together. Rebecca was the first to react, as she bolted off toward Alix, but it was Kaelyn who reached Alix first, demonstrating why she was the captain of the track and field team. At the same time, sirens could be heard coming down the service road that led to the field. Micah and Angel followed after Rebecca as they moved over to Alix. Kaelyn was already kneeling down next to the black Foxling, her hands raised to grasp Alix, but too afraid to touch her.

"Oh My God! Oh My God! Oh My God!," Kaelyn repeated in a mantra, as she began to show signs of a panic attack. Angel ran up behind her, encircled her arms around the red Foxling, and sent soothing feelings down the empathic link she quickly attached to her friend.

"It's going to be alright," Angel whispered into Kaelyn's left ear. "Just take a deep breath. That's it. Breath! Don't think about anything else. Just breath."

Angel felt Kaelyn start to calm down, and only then did she look over at Alix. Rebecca and Micah were already bent over her. Alix looked like a mess as Rebecca slowly rolled the Foxling onto her back. Alix was out cold, her eyes closed, and mouth slightly a gap. A small trickle of blood ran down her muzzle from where she had split her lower lip open. Small patches of blood decorated the black fur along her right arm and both legs where her contact with the ground had torn small gashes into her skin. The right shirt sleeve had been torn completely off and was half way down the arm. The right strap of her bra hung out of the torn shirt, just below the shoulder. The lower part of the tee-shirt on the left side was ripped open, and there were tears in Alix's shorts on both sides of her hips.

The ambulance pulled up as the students quickly gathered around Alix. Mr. Henderson barked orders to clear a path as two human paramedics and a female gray Guarden jumped out of the ambulance and rushed over.

* * * * * *

Up in the bleachers that overlooked the outdoor pool, a figure sat watching the events down on the track field. It was hard to distinguish who, or even what, the figure was, as it wore baggy pants and a hoodie that was too large for it. The hood of the hoodie was drawn up over its head, and with the sun at its back, solid darkness covered the face. A pair of worn hiking boots covered its feet, and black leather gloves covered its hands. The figure's shoulders shook with silent laughter as the paramedics rushed Alix into the ambulance, accompanied with Angel, and rushed off.

In the figure's gloved right hand was a string of smoothed stones with complex runes carved into them. The figure rolled the stones between its fingers and thumb in an absent manner. Its laughter died suddenly when it saw a crow follow after the ambulance. For a moment, the figure's right hand tightened painfully around the stones in anger, then relaxed. The figure bent its head in a moment of contemplation, then looked up at the sky. Turning its head to look over its left shoulder for a moment, the figure looked out over the pool, and then, in the blink of an eye, the figure was gone.