Savage Run Read Online Free PDF

But they’re not going to
let us register!”
    “ If we get new IDs from
Sergio, they will,” I say impatiently.
    She shakes her head and her hand hits her
temple. “This is so bad. Totally illegal. If they discover us,
we’ll be outlaws. Or they’ll take us to Skull Hill!”
    “ Well, we kind of already
are,” I remind her.
    She gives me an annoyed
look. “And—what—we’re supposed to pretend to be guys?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ But…we’ll just…die in the
Savage Run. Haven’t you heard that the obstacles are
deadly?”
    “ Well, they estimate that
around seventy-five to eighty percent of the participants will make
it.”
    She pauses as if to think. “I can’t do
it.”
    “ We’ll die if we stay
here.” My pulse quickens. Surely, she must see that?
    “ Was this your plan all
along?” Her tone is accusatory.
    “ Yes.”
    “ But it’s crazy!” She
breathes erratically and paces back and forth. “I should just go
back to Master Douglas and beg for his forgiveness before he kills
me.”
    “ This plan is way better
than returning to Master Douglas. This way we have a chance to be
free.”
    Her body goes rigid and she glares at me.
“Don’t you remember the time you convinced me to climb a tree and I
fell and broke my arm?”
    I do and I felt really guilty for pressuring
her into doing it. But she’s older now and must have become at
least a little stronger. “You were twelve.”
    “ All those dangerous
obstacle courses—I don’t have a chance.”
    “ You do have a chance, and
besides, wouldn’t you rather die trying than…just die?”
    “ I don’t know, Heidi. I
remember we joked about something like this before, but I didn’t
think we’d actually be considering it!”
    I groan and let my head fall back. “Well, do
you have a better plan? If we go back to your mother or my father,
Master Douglas will find us.”
    “ What about living in the
mountains? I could fish and pick berries.”
    “ Where would we live? In
the trees?”
    “ I don’t know. But we could
work it out.”
    “ Gemma…”
    “ We could just move to
another country where everyone is free.”
    I had thought about it, but in all reality,
where would we get the money to travel? Or eat? We would still need
fake IDs to get out of the country, and what would we do once we
arrived somewhere else, unfamiliar with the language? I figured the
chances of making it were much greater if we sign up for Savage
Run.
    “ I don’t want to die!” Her
hands flail for a moment before she buries her face in her palms,
sinking to the ground, her back against the dumpster.
    The ground is covered in trash and is damp
from the rain, but still, I sit down next to her.
    Her hands drop into her lap and she exhales
at length. “Isn’t there any other way? There has to be.”
    “ Listen, I don’t want to
rush your decision, but we have to get going if we’re going to make
it. The registration ends at noon.”
    She takes a deep breath and remains still
for a long time, chewing on her bottom lip.
    “ We’ll do it together. I’ll
help you. You’ll help me.”
    She pauses for so long that I think I might
rip my hair out. Sitting up a little straighter, she says, “Fine.
I’ll agree to do it if you promise you’ll stay by my side the
entire time.”
    “ Promise.” Pressing my lips
together, I notice that my shoulders relax a little. “Let’s go to
Sergio’s.” I grab the bag of clothes from the back rack of my bike,
and we’re off.
     
     
     

Chapter 3
     
    Sergio’s place presses up against the
backside of a massive abandoned factory and is situated across from
a transporter scrap yard. The wooden shack has tinted windows and a
slanted aluminum roof—a perfect place for unlawful dealings.
    I hand the bag of clothes to Gemma and knock
with a leaden hand. Closing my eyes, I touch my locket, asking for
some help for just this one thing. I listen for movement inside,
but all I hear is the sound of metal clanking from the