Free Savage Run by E. J. Squires Page A

program,” he
snarls, and then proceeds to snort a laugh.
    “ And what is that,
exactly?” I ask.
    Johnny scoffs. “Honor and might—the motto of
the Savage Run.” He rolls his eyes.
    “ I’m curious to know, how
is he impeding that?” Nicholas asks.
    “ Thanks to him, the program
has become about something else entirely: giving allowances to the
weak. Problem is, Petunia, who will they love once you’ve died
three minutes into the first obstacle? The answer is someone who is
strong and exemplifies what the Savage Run and the Master class are all about.
Someone who entered for honorable reasons.” Johnny picks his teeth
with a toothpick.
    “ And what honorable reasons
are those?” Mai asks, powdering her forehead.
    “ Well, I don’t know why
anyone else entered, but I entered so that I could support my
sickly grandmother—provide her with a better life these last few
years she’s alive” Johnny says.
    “ Honorable indeed, but
everyone is an equal participant with equal rights.” Mai’s voice is
monotone.
    Johnny huffs. “That’s not true. He’s
detracting from the integrity of the event.”
    “ What is your problem,
exactly?” Mai snaps.
    “ My problem?” He unbuckles
his seatbelt, stands up and yells, “Am I the only one who takes
this seriously? Am I the only one who sees how this cream puff is
making Savage Run into a gag show?” Johnny points at me.
    It turns so quiet that I hear nothing but
the hum of plane engines.
    “ Sit down at once or I
will…” Mai starts, but Nicholas places a hand on her
lap.
    “ If you feel that
threatened by Joseph, then how can you expect to do well compared
to the other participants?” Nicholas asks.
    Johnny gets a sour expression on his face.
“I’m not threatened; I’m sickened. And I’m just speaking what
everyone else is thinking.”
    “ I wasn’t thinking that,
were you?” Nicholas asks me.
    I can’t help smiling a little. “No.”
    “ Me neither,” Arthor says
behind me, squeezing his face between Nicholas’s and my
seats.
    Johnny huffs loudly and turns to Nicholas.
“Just because you and that bitch Mai don’t see what’s going on
doesn’t…”
    He can’t finish his sentence before Mai
shoots to her feet, wrings Johnny’s arm behind his back so it makes
a cracking sound, and pins him to the floor with her foot on the
back of his neck.
    “ Awww…” he
wails.
    “ Rule number one,” Nicholas
says bending down toward Johnny. “Never, never, never upset
Mai.”
    “ Say you’re sorry,” Mai
insists, pulling his arm back harder. “Say it.” Many participants
are out of their seats, their eyes glued to the scene.
    “ Sorry…sorry,” Johnny’s
barely able to whimper.
    Mai flings his arm to the ground, gets back
in her seat and proceeds to apply make-up like nothing just
happened.
    Without a word, Johnny climbs to his feet,
walks down the aisle, and locks himself in the bathroom stall.
    While everyone else starts to laugh and talk
amongst themselves, Nicholas leans over and whispers, “Once you get
out into the obstacle fields, stay away from him.”
    “ He’s not allowed to hurt
me, is he?” I whisper back.
    “ Out there, there will be
no telling whether you died from one of the obstacles or at the
hands of another. It’s survival of the fittest—and meanest—and
Johnny fits into both of those categories.”
    Arthor pokes his head between our seats
again, his red, unruly hair clinging to the fabric. “I’ll help you,
Imp,” he whispers.
    Although I don’t approve of his comment, it
immediately puts me at ease. “Seriously? You’re going to call me
names, too?” I turn toward him and produce a generous frown.
    “ No, sorry. That was a bad
joke,” Arthor says, his eyebrows crinkling.
    “ Good, because if you’re
not careful, I can come up with some pretty crazy nicknames for
you, too.”
    “ Oh, really? Like what?” he
asks.
    “ Farty Arty.” I
grin.
    He grumbles at the unwelcome reminder of the
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