Chapter 99 - A Bit of Understanding (1/2)

Laz didn't know exactly when he started having fun, but that was what happened. It was kind of strange and liberating in a way, being somewhat naked in the cold air and running through the woods. He felt like nothing else mattered but running. And chasing Kat who seemed to be having the time of her life.

The difficult part about it was the trails were a bit run down, but they were far from clear. So besides just trying to follow Kat as fast as he was able, Laz also had to do his best to clear obstacles like fallen trees and large rocks. In fact, Laz almost felt like they were there on purpose.

Kat seemed almost like a phantom as she ran. At some points Laz would lose sight of her completely, sometimes only hearing a gentle laughter that seemed to mock him. At other times, Laz might catch a quick glimpse of her, but that was about it. While his foot steps seemed to echo throughout the trees, Kat was as silent as a ghost.

Around an hour later, Laz started having trouble keeping up. The beads of sweat rolled off him in waves, turning almost frozen by the time they hit the ground. His chest was burning as he found it harder and harder to breath. Just as he was about to slow down, he caught sight of Kat, sitting on a rock as though she was waiting for him.

Although Laz felt almost spent, he noticed that besides being sweaty herself, Kat's breathing didn't look labored nor did she seem exhausted. Laz couldn't help but give her credit for that.

”Don't stop moving, even if your just walking around in a circle,” Kat instructed. Laz briefly wondered why she was sitting, but he still did as she said. Walking around in the small clearing around the rock, Laz spent some time just trying to be immersed in the moment. Looking over at Kat, he saw her fumbling around the rock before moving a piece of it aside and taking out a bottle of water. Kat was able to see Laz surprised look.

”Since I don't like carrying anything on me, I do a once a week trip where I stash some water in some hidden spots along this trail,” she explained.

Nodding his head in understanding, Laz continued moving, not letting his body fully stop.

”Your doing pretty well overall. But I can tell you were ready for a break. How do you feel?” Kat asked as she took a drink.

”Like my body is on fire. All of my muscles seem to be screaming at me. I didn't realize how hard this was,” Laz answered, after thinking about it for a while.

”That's because your body isn't used to it, like I thought. You have awesome muscle tone and definition which I can't even guess as to why that is. But if you focus solely on that, your body becomes too stiff and lacking in other ways.”

Thinking about it, Laz had to agree. His body had been changing due to the source essence he had been taking in, but he had never worked on it. Sure, he was strong, but what good would that do if he was too tired to even lift his arms or legs. Although he had gone through some training with Bill, that was mostly focused on survival training and not on body training. Laz realized just how much he was lacking.

Seeing Laz think about her words and silently agree with her, Kat felt ecstatic. It wasn't like she hadn't tried working out with others before, but none of them could keep up with her and most felt that it was because she was too exceptional. Even her dad couldn't keep up with her runs anymore due to his aging body so more often than not, she would have to run alone. Knowing that she would have company for a while was definitely a high point for her. Watching the young man keep going back and forth, Kat couldn't help but get a bit emotional. Seems like she wouldn't feel lonely for a while.

Reaching over, she handed Laz the water bottle during one of his passes. Taking a long drink, Laz felt that the normal spring water tasted especially nice today.

”More? Or did you want to go back?” Kat asked.

”More. But I won't be able to run with you. I need to pace myself if I want to keep going and you are just way too fast,” Laz answered, honestly. He wanted to keep going, but he wouldn't be able to keep going at her pace.

”Hehe, that's fine. I will run with you and match your pace,” Kat beamed with happiness knowing he wasn't going to give up.

”I don't want to slow you down though. How far are we going and how far have we gone?” Laz asked. Due to the gray sky and tree cover, it was hard to tell the time.

”This rock marks the 8th mile of the trail. The total trail length is about 50 miles,” Kat explained, taking the water bottle from Laz and drinking the rest before returning it to it's hidden space.

”50 miles? Wow... are we going to run the whole thing?” Laz couldn't help but ask.

”That depends on you. It wasn't my plan to run the whole thing today with you, but you seem to be doing better than I thought. I didn't even think you would last this long,” Kat commented.

”Heh... I kind of thought I would be doing better,” Laz responded. And it was true. Knowing how his body had been basically enhanced, he thought he would be doing way better than Kat who seemed like a normal person. But the truth was different than he expected.

”You're doing fine. I've been running this trail for years with my dad and now by myself. You're the only person who has managed to keep up this well for this long,” Kat couldn't help but be encouraging.

”You're... being a bit different than how you were back in the dojo...” Laz noticed the change ever since they got here. If she was like a stick of lit dynamite before, now she seemed as calm as a gentle river. It was truly an amazing difference.

”Oh? Did you want to fight me or something? Or maybe you were hoping I was going to try to rip your shorts off and have you for lunch? hmm?” Kat stood up and started walking towards Laz. When she got close enough that they could smell each other's sweaty bodies, Kat suddenly reached up and pulled down the spandex straps of her sports bra off of her shoulders before looping them around her wrists. If Laz didn't know any better, he would think that she was tied up by her wrists.

”Or maybe you wanted me for lunch? mmm?” Kat said a bit suggestively.

”I... uh...gulp.” Laz couldn't help but take a step back at this entirely strange creature that had taken the place of Kat.