Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Yeah, they live the good life, that’s for sure,” Fischer said as a tiny chicken with a poof of feathers around its head pecked at his laces.
“Any chance I can show Bonnie the play—obstacle course?” Sully asked when we all walked out of the chicken run, pausing to use some hand sanitizer that was attached to the door.
“Yeah, of course,” Fischer said, heading in that direction, staying a few feet ahead of us with his long stride. “I heard you got shot,” he said.
“Shoulder,” Sully confirmed.
“Right. I would be remiss not to advise you against going up with an injury,” Fischer said. “Though I also know enough men like you to know that my advice won’t mean shit.”
“Oh, oh, no.” The words just burst out of me when we rounded the back of the building and the course in question came into view.
“You said you’re not afraid of heights,” Sully said, rocking back on his heels as he looked up at the obstacle course in the skies.
It was a massive thing, built in the actual trees, but also to manmade structures where there weren’t enough trees to attach to. There were platforms, rope walls, rock walls, zip lines, and bridges made of various materials from old tires to thin, uneven boards.
“Heights, no. Plummeting to my death… Somewhat,” I admitted, getting a laugh out of both men.
“See all that netting, darlin’?” Fischer asked, gesturing toward the heavy-duty netting that lined the entire aerial course.
“Yeah.”
“That will not let you plummet to your death. Though, it gives you one fuck of a rush to fall down and onto it. And if you get up there, there are some fun surprises to check out.”
“You gotta try it,” Sully said.
“Maybe next time. You can’t go up there,” I told him, looking at his shoulder.
“Nuh-uh, you don’t get to use me as an excuse. I’m going.”
“No, I…”
“I can go up,” Fischer offered. “I’m not your man, but I’ve talked many a terrified man, woman, and child through this course.”
Adrenaline surged through me, making me immediately feel shaky.
But, God, I didn’t want to always give in to that panic anymore. Sully had been showing me how many good things are on the other side of that anxiety.
“Between me and you,” Fischer said, leaning a little closer, “your mind can’t tell the difference between fear and excitement. Just tell yourself you’re excited as fuck about it.”
Then, without another word, he made his way toward the ladder that led up under the net.
“You’re a badass who drove out of an active shooter scene,” Sully reminded me. “You got this.”
I really, really didn’t think I did.
But I was going to at least try.
If I had a panic attack and needed to be carried out of there by Fischer, so be it.
The ladder was fine.
Even climbing across the first, thick bridge was alright. It wasn’t until we got to the tire bridge that panic had my belly sloshing around.
Fischer, seeming to sense my hesitation, turned back halfway across the tires, standing there without even holding onto the rope railings.
“If it helps, you might be a small girl, but I’m pretty sure you can’t slip through the tire holes,” he said.
“That’s… not really helping,” I admitted, but a little laugh escaped me anyway.
“So, how’d you meet Sully?” he asked as I pressed a foot toward the first tire, feeling the way it made the whole bridge shift to the side under the weight.
I gripped the ropes until they burned into my palms. “I had a bomb strapped to my chest,” I said, putting more weight onto my foot, then pulling the other over as well. “He disarmed it.”
“Been a happily-ever-after since?” Fischer asked.
The whole bridge swayed hard enough for my belly to keep bottoming out. But when I looked up, I was already standing right in front of Fischer.
“Told you you could do it,” he said before turning and stepping onto the platform. “From here, we go across,” he said, grabbing the handlebar for the zipline. “Remember these from when you were a kid?”
“I don’t recall them being this long,” I admitted. I wasn’t sure I could even see the end. “Where does this go?”
Fischer coaxed me over until my hands grabbed.
“The surprise is half the fun,” he said. Then, as soon as I was holding it hard enough… he shoved me.
I didn’t even recognize the scream that escaped me then.
But the crazy thing was… Fischer was right.
The fear quickly morphed into excitement as the world whirred around me, as my belly kept dropping out as the line zipped faster and faster on the slight descent.
I was smiling by the time it suddenly dropped off, taking a nearly vertical fall that made it impossible to keep holding on.
The fall was inevitable.
As was the scream that escaped me.
But when I landed in the embrace of the thick safety rope, I was grinning up at the sky as my heart hammered in my chest and the blood raced through my veins.