Perfection (JL Spelbring) Read Online Free PDF

everything blurred. At the sudden jolt of impact, she wrapped her arms around her head and let her knees buckle beneath her to absorb the shock. She tumbled through bracken and bramble.
    Every stick, bit of unleveled ground, dirt clot, sticker, rock, and clump of grass struck Ellyssa’s body with a vengeance. Pain exploded through her, keeping her alert and aware of Mother Nature’s retribution.
    After a few more painful thumps, Ellyssa came to a stop on her stomach, her arms still wrapped around her head. She stayed motionless and listened as the rumblings of the train sped along the track.
    As the roar faded into a soft rumble, she looked up and immediately regretted the movement. Tortured muscles screamed in agony. She watched the caboose disappear around the bend.
    She wanted to run, but her body wasn’t ready. Breathing in short, shallow gasps, Ellyssa wiggled her toes and fingers and flexed her legs and arms. Her muscles moaned, and the joint of her elbow popped, but nothing seemed broken.
    Gingerly, she pushed herself onto her knees. Then, with even more care, she rose to her feet. Angry muscles shook under her weight as she looked down the tracks.
    The shiny cars had disappeared around the bend and behind a wooded area. Just beyond the curved tracks, less than seven kilometers away, grey and black roofs, like the grains of pepper, peeked through clusters of trees and rolling hills.
    The police would be there, waiting at the depot, stupidly thinking she’d soon disembark, completely unaware. But only if no one had seen her jump from the train. If that had happened, then they would be alerted already, possibly with close coordinates to where she lingered now.
    She had to move.
    Urgency signaled Ellyssa’s taut muscles, and pain shot through her leg into her hipbone. Unexpectedly, she staggered before regaining her footing. She had to take control. This wasn’t the first time she’d been pummeled. Defense and martial arts classes had left her bleeding and bruised, limping away the few times she’d been defeated. None of her peers held back, nor did she. Weakness was not tolerated.
    Using her years of training, Ellyssa inhaled and, like her emotions, shoved the pain into a small box, then let adrenaline flow along with the release of endorphins. She sprinted across the grassy length onto a recently sown field, leaving evidence of her flight within the newly overturned soil.
    Time was something Ellyssa couldn’t afford to waste on erasing her steps. She had to hide, and was unsure of what lay on the other side of the tree line. For all she knew, the trees served as a divider between unseen farms to help with soil erosion, or maybe a vast forest stretched beyond the field. In either case, she was determined to put as much distance between her and the town as she could.
    Her breaths even and deep, she picked up her pace. Puffs of dust kicked from beneath her hammering feet. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead and trickled into her eyes. Warmth clung to the edges of her sinewy muscles, reminding her that pain from her tumble was sure to visit later.
    Leaping over a low fence and slipping between rails, she left the train tracks about four kilometers behind. Gradually, the vegetation started to take more distinct shapes. Instead of a blur of greens, the darks separated from the yellows. Browns and tans peeked between the sheltering leaves.
    Adrenaline surged, and a metallic taste flooded Ellyssa’s mouth. She embraced the extra boost and plowed forward, bursting through the tree line and into an area thick with bushes, ferns, and tall trunks of various shades from greys to browns to rusted colors.
    Safely hidden within nature’s cover, she kept her strides long and quick. She angled left and ran parallel to the tree line. For a moment, she wondered why she chose that direction, but her speculations eased as an intense stitch in her side caused her sprint to dwindle to a light jog and finally into a