Race Across the Sky by Derek Sherman Page B

today?” Shane asked as they crossed the field at a quick walk.
    â€œJust six.”
    â€œMiles?”
    Caleb shook his head. “Hours.”
    The heat hit Shane then, intense, energy-sapping. He felt trapped and vulnerable, without any cover or shade. Half a mile later they approached the beginning of some winding trails, ascending up into the trees. The start of the mountain.
    â€œMom’s good?” Caleb asked him suddenly, as they started.
    â€œShe’s all right. Considering.”
    â€œConsidering what?”
    â€œShe hasn’t seen her son in eleven years.”
    Caleb said nothing. Shane felt a need to stop the tension he felt mounting.
    He tried to say something lighthearted, but the chemicals of food deprivation were sludging through his frontal lobes, mucking up the action. He found it difficult to formulate thoughts. They moved into the shaded trails in silence.
    And suddenly his world shifted. The shuffle of their sneakers on the dirt seemed shatteringly loud, the breath in his lungs felt pure. The metallic aftertaste of his flight, the stress of his drive, his resentment at the thought of their mother’s pain, dissipated, and a pleasing lassitude enveloped him. A good hike, Shane decided, might be the perfect thing in the world.
    â€œSo, who’s that girl?”
    â€œAt the house? June.”
    â€œIs she your girlfriend?”
    Caleb’s stomach jumped, as somehow the smell of June’s skin sailed out of the sky. “No. We don’t do that here.”
    â€œDon’t do what?”
    â€œHave . . . girlfriends.”
    â€œIs that like a policy?”
    Caleb stared at him. Shane took a breath. Handling Caleb felt like tense negotiations with the North Koreans; they might break off at any time.
    â€œWe had a no dating policy at InterFinancial too,” Caleb added.
    â€œSure,” Shane answered, “I can see how that would be tricky.”
    They turned deeper into the woods, walking uphill.
    â€œBut you’ve been here eleven years. Are you doing the abstinence thing?”
    â€œNo. Sexual energy is very powerful for healing. It overcomes blockages in the body.”
    â€œYou guys use sex for
training
?”
    Caleb looked at him carefully. “You shouldn’t be out of breath yet.”
    In front of them the narrow trail rose dramatically. Blue flies spun around their heads, spittlebugs frothed on plant stems.
    â€œHow do you do these trails,” Shane huffed, “running?”
    â€œHow do you not?”
    â€œMy body doesn’t work like yours,” Shane laughed.
    â€œSure it does. I don’t have any body parts you don’t.”
    â€œYeah, well your body is in a little better shape for it.”
    â€œThe body you’ve got is designed to run all day. It’s how we hunted. What happened is, we got horses. Carriages. Cars. Evolution works in reverse too. But your body can do it if you want it to.”
    Shane stepped over a mossy rock and sweat cascaded down his back. “So what’s the farthest you’ve ever gone?”
    â€œI don’t keep track. It’s not about how far the runs are, it’s about what happens during them. The farthest I’ve gone in an event is a hundred and two miles, at Western States. But I’ve gone running for days and I have no idea how many miles I went.”
    â€œI thought you race these ultramarathons? You sound pretty zen about it, but don’t you try to win them?”
    â€œUltras are different. Those are competitive, and I absolutely want to win them.”
    â€œWhat’s your next one?”
    â€œIt’s called the Hardrock 100. It goes across thirteen mountain peaks, for a hundred miles. There are set distances and cutoff times you have to make or you’re out. You have forty-eight hours to finish it. I’m hoping to get it done in twenty-three.” He paused. “Don’t look at me like that.”
    â€œI