Free Under Zenith by Shannen Crane Camp Page A

an ounce of his energy.
    “No can do, kiddo,” he said simply, getting down so that he was lying on his stomach with his chin resting on his hands.
    “Seriously? I need one thing. You can’t just do this for me?” I asked, now getting mad.
    “I told you, I can’t help you.”
    “You pushed me off the other island. Wasn’t that helping me?”
    “That was purely recreational. If I didn’t push you off the edge in a productive way, I probably would have done it later on down the line just for sport,” he informed me.
    “Hayden , please,” I pleaded. “I’m so tired. I don’t think I can pull myself up. I’ve done so much, just please help me with this one thing.”
    I didn’t really want to beg, especially when it came to him. But I also didn’t want to die again and go wherever the task failures went. If this was what purgatory was like, I could only imagine wha t the other place would hold in store for those who failed.
    As I clung shakily to the ledge , I couldn’t help but think that it was odd that we’d walked so far yesterday and I hadn’t even broken a sweat, but now I was exhausted; though walking a long distance and suddenly becoming a pro mountain climber were definitely two different things.
    Hayden shrugged his shoulders at me once more from his position on the grass and I tried my hardest not to cry. I wasn’ t sad by any means, but I could feel the tears of rage building inside of me and those were the worst kind. That was what preceded an ‘ugly cry’.
    Burying my emotions deep within me, I reached my small hand up as far as I could and closed my fingers around a fistful of grass that I was sure would rip from the earth the second I put any weight on it. I brought one foot up to a higher root, trying to find purchase on the wet earth and hoping that I wouldn’t accidentally propel myself backward off the edge of the island right when I’d almost made it to the top.
    “You do realize you’ve doubled the time we normally spend in a cycle and you aren’t even close to the end of this task yet , right?” Hayden asked, now rolling over onto his back and placing his hands behind his head lazily. “You still have to do this all over again on the next island.”
    He wasn’t very good at encouraging people. He could definitely check motivational speaker off the list of things he might have done before becoming a Guide.
    I didn’t really have enough strength to yell at him and climb at the same time so I opted for the one that kept me alive…sort of.
    Taking one last deep breath, I hoisted myself up onto the top of the island. The handful of grass pulled away from the earth a bit , but held firm enough for me to complete the action, and the second I touched the top soil I fell onto my back next to Hayden, breathing heavily and having no idea how I could possibly do that a second time.
    “Ready for the next one?” he asked me, tilting his head so that he was facing me , his nose almost touching my cheek.
    “I want to hit you so badly right now , but I’m too tired,” I said, furrowing my brow and ignoring the sweat I could feel beading there.
    “Stop being such a baby. Besides, the next one isn’t nearly as bad,” he said, getting up and walking away from me.
    Apparently he expected me to follow behind without taking a few moments to rest first. I knew that arguing with him was futile , and even if I did try to point out the fact that I’d just completed a very difficult task, he’d just say I was being weak, or something equally as obnoxious.
    “Oh and by the way, you got your dress dirty,” he called as he continued to move away from me.
    Looking down at my mud streaked white lace dress, I could see that he was right, though it seemed like a cruel thing to point out when he knew full well I couldn’t do anything about it.
    I stood from the grass and turned to take one last look at th e sheer cliff I had just scaled, and then looked back at Hayden’s retreating form. Maybe