Read Online Under Zenith by Shannen Crane Camp - Free Book Online
Authors: Shannen Crane Camp
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few trees and small rivers dotting the surface. Thick tree roots stuck out of the ground all around the sides of the earth, and each island spun in slow, lazy rotations.
“Please don’t tell me I’m going to be chased again today,” I said, whining a bit , but not really caring at the moment.
It wasn’t like I could make Hayden think less of me at that point. It was a mathematical impossibility.
“ Second task: Motor Skills,” he answered, just as vague as ever.
I gave him a skeptical look, knowing that the task was sure to be overkill just to test out such a simple ability. “Can’t I just complete the sobriety test or something?” I asked.
“Familiar with that test , are we?” he asked back, shutting me up.
We walked in silence. Again. As usual. Until we came to the opposite end of the island where Hayden abruptly stopped and looked over at me expectantly.
“What?”
“Get on with the test,” he responded, sounding like I definitely shouldn’t have to ask him what he was talking about.
“What do you want me to do? Touch my finger to my nose or something?”
“No, I want you to jump.”
Chapter 8
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked Hayden, sure that I had misheard what he’d said.
“I want you to jump,” he repeated in the calmest voice I’d ever heard.
“Weren’t you the person who just called me all sorts of horrible things for almost walking off the edge of the island?” I asked. I needed to clarify that he was, in fact, just as crazy as he was coming off at the moment.
“That was on that side of the island,” he said with a smirk. “Now that we’re on this side, I want you to jump.”
“Oh , is that all?” I asked sarcastically. “And why, exactly, am I doing this?”
“Motor skills,” he said, like I was an idiot.
“What does jumping off of a cliff have to do with motor skills?”
“See that island in the distance?” he asked me, pointing straight ahead at a large, rotating island a good fifteen or twenty feet away.
“I definitely can’t jump to that,” I informed him.
Though really, that shouldn’t be the type of thing you need to point out to someone. I’d hope that information was pretty obvious.
“No, not that one,” he said in annoyance. “The one beyond that.”
I squinted my eyes in the fog, trying to see what he was talking about, but failing miserably. I could see a faint purple light in the distance, somewhere even higher up than the island we were standing on at the moment.
“The light?” I asked finally.
“That light is actually a stone set in a tree trunk on another island,” he said.
It almost sounded as if he had given this information hundreds of times and was now reciting it because he had to. Of course I knew that wasn’t the case because A) he’d only ever guided one other person and B) he’d said that I invented this entire place so he couldn’t have seen it before.
“And I have to get to the light?”
“The light is where the safe house is,” he confirmed with a somber nod.
I assessed the light in the distance, now understanding what I had to do. Somehow, Hayden wanted me to get from island to island until I reached the safe house. Of course I didn’t really think this exercise had anything to do with motor skills, but I also didn’t think pointing that out to him would do any good. At best he’d probably just brood some more.
“Will something be chasing me this time?” I asked, wondering if I could at least catch a break on the whole zombie thing today.
“I think this task is difficult enough without any motivation for you. Besides, it’s not about speed today; it’s about your hand eye coordination.”
“And upper body strength,” I added, not sure I could really pull myself up onto the island from the dangling roots I’d undoubtedly have to grab when I failed to jump to the grass.
“And that,” he agreed.
“Should I just get to it then?” I asked hesitantly.
“Would it make you feel
“Please don’t tell me I’m going to be chased again today,” I said, whining a bit , but not really caring at the moment.
It wasn’t like I could make Hayden think less of me at that point. It was a mathematical impossibility.
“ Second task: Motor Skills,” he answered, just as vague as ever.
I gave him a skeptical look, knowing that the task was sure to be overkill just to test out such a simple ability. “Can’t I just complete the sobriety test or something?” I asked.
“Familiar with that test , are we?” he asked back, shutting me up.
We walked in silence. Again. As usual. Until we came to the opposite end of the island where Hayden abruptly stopped and looked over at me expectantly.
“What?”
“Get on with the test,” he responded, sounding like I definitely shouldn’t have to ask him what he was talking about.
“What do you want me to do? Touch my finger to my nose or something?”
“No, I want you to jump.”
Chapter 8
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked Hayden, sure that I had misheard what he’d said.
“I want you to jump,” he repeated in the calmest voice I’d ever heard.
“Weren’t you the person who just called me all sorts of horrible things for almost walking off the edge of the island?” I asked. I needed to clarify that he was, in fact, just as crazy as he was coming off at the moment.
“That was on that side of the island,” he said with a smirk. “Now that we’re on this side, I want you to jump.”
“Oh , is that all?” I asked sarcastically. “And why, exactly, am I doing this?”
“Motor skills,” he said, like I was an idiot.
“What does jumping off of a cliff have to do with motor skills?”
“See that island in the distance?” he asked me, pointing straight ahead at a large, rotating island a good fifteen or twenty feet away.
“I definitely can’t jump to that,” I informed him.
Though really, that shouldn’t be the type of thing you need to point out to someone. I’d hope that information was pretty obvious.
“No, not that one,” he said in annoyance. “The one beyond that.”
I squinted my eyes in the fog, trying to see what he was talking about, but failing miserably. I could see a faint purple light in the distance, somewhere even higher up than the island we were standing on at the moment.
“The light?” I asked finally.
“That light is actually a stone set in a tree trunk on another island,” he said.
It almost sounded as if he had given this information hundreds of times and was now reciting it because he had to. Of course I knew that wasn’t the case because A) he’d only ever guided one other person and B) he’d said that I invented this entire place so he couldn’t have seen it before.
“And I have to get to the light?”
“The light is where the safe house is,” he confirmed with a somber nod.
I assessed the light in the distance, now understanding what I had to do. Somehow, Hayden wanted me to get from island to island until I reached the safe house. Of course I didn’t really think this exercise had anything to do with motor skills, but I also didn’t think pointing that out to him would do any good. At best he’d probably just brood some more.
“Will something be chasing me this time?” I asked, wondering if I could at least catch a break on the whole zombie thing today.
“I think this task is difficult enough without any motivation for you. Besides, it’s not about speed today; it’s about your hand eye coordination.”
“And upper body strength,” I added, not sure I could really pull myself up onto the island from the dangling roots I’d undoubtedly have to grab when I failed to jump to the grass.
“And that,” he agreed.
“Should I just get to it then?” I asked hesitantly.
“Would it make you feel
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