Fast Fiction

— Future at the Speed of Thought —

On the mark, adrenaline shoots through my body causing my legs to push, my arms to pull, my lungs to expand.

At the speed of thought, the line is in sight as all else around me blurs.

Danger follows beside me, taunting, challenging, as my face twists into a mask of pain when my muscles begin to burn and scream. Teeth grinds teeth and no release escapes my lips.

Nothing is real outside of the end. Nothing makes sense except for the end. Nothing matters but the end.

The end of the pain. The end of the road. The end of now. The end of the line.

I'm across the field and over the line before a breath has been taken. It's over before it's begun.

My eyes look up from the ground while my fingertips support me. A coiled spring ready to explode, I wait for the starter gun to go off. I'm already there.

"…get set…"