mouth. When he turned to start down there was Tally in his face from the opposite side of the tree.
“This is no time for a snack, Glad! We’ve got a race to finish,” said Tally grinning largely.
Gladius tried mumbling a response but didn’t want to risk losing the flag so he ignored Tally and tried to climb down as fast as he could.
By the time his feet hit the ground Leander had about three meters on him. He stuffed the flag in his pocket but as he started running he heard Tally drop to the ground behind him. Geez, he’s fast, thought Gladius.
The sand pit was about fifty-meters away, and in it you had to find a bag with your number on it. In the bag were wooden puzzle pieces made by Emmett. You had to put together your puzzle on one of the five tables set up around the sand pit. This was the one part of the race Gladius looked forward to the least. In years past, the race leaders have come out of the pit in last place.
Leander jumped in and started digging with his hands. Gladius did the same and soon Tally joined them. The pit wasn’t that big, maybe a twenty meters in diameter, but it felt big when you were digging with bare hands. After some time searching Gladius stood straight, put his hands on his hips and arched backward stretching his aching back. Ah, it felt good. He saw Silas and Dixie now running towards them.
Silas tried launching himself deep into the pit but misstepped and crashed hard hitting his head on a numbered bag buried beneath the surface. As luck would have it, it was his bag. Almost simultaneously, Leander found his bag and both Silas and Leander headed to a table to put the puzzle pieces together.
Gladius began to panic. He knew if he could just find his bag he would get his puzzle down fast. He liked puzzles – but he didn’t like looking for puzzle pieces. Suddenly his foot kicked something. A bag. He dropped to his knees, dug it out and saw the number five. He looked at Dixie and left the bag alone. Then he saw her dig up a bag and bury it again. He knew he had a fifty-fifty chance it was his. Then he saw Tally drop a bag he was holding and start running toward the bag Dixie just buried. Gladius ran for the bag Tally had and Dixie ran for the spot he just vacated.
Now that everyone had found their bag of puzzle pieces, the race was to put them together. Leander and Silas had the head start, and when Gladius was over half done with his puzzle Leander took off running. Only two more obstacles remained in Leander’s way -- the rope swing and the log pull.
Gladius quickly finished and took off after Leander.
Ahead, tied to a large oak tree, swung a thick rope with a double knot looped in the end. The rope was used as a shortcut to cross over a rocky creek bed that only filled with water during flashfloods from heavy rains. Gladius knew this swing well. If you held on just right and jumped from the highest rock, you could swing across in one try. He wondered if Leander knew that.
Before he reached the rope, he heard a loud scream come from Leander. Gladius couldn’t see him, but knew he must have fallen from the rope swing. Something went wrong. He glanced back for the others before rounding the corner to the rope. No one had started running yet. When he came to the gully’s edge, he saw Leander sprawled across the rocks, holding his leg.
A spike of adrenaline rushed through Gladius’ body because he knew he would win the race if he could swing across without trouble. He grabbed the rope, climbed up to the highest level, and jumped out, swinging free to the other side where he dismounted gracefully. He looked down the path and could see the bulk of the townsfolk lined up on Main Street. He had it made. Then he looked down at Leander, injured and whimpering, holding his lower leg. He thought about how this was Leander’s only chance to win the race before he turned fifteen. Without it, he would have to wait until he was nineteen to go on his Bartlett Trial, and that was the equivalent to him wearing a dress down Main Street on race day. He couldn’t remember anyone having the embarrassment of waiting until they were nineteen to take their Bartlett Trial.
No, he wouldn’t leave him.
“Come on, I’m getting you out of here,” said Gladius as he jumped down and wrapped Leander’s arm around his neck.
“No. You go Gladius, go and win it.”
“You already beat me, Leander. If you’d only known how to do this swing right, you’d be standing at the finish line by now,” Gladius grunted, lifting Leander to the upright position.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know how and I just watched you glide across like it was nothing,” said Leander, wincing at the pain in his ankle as Gladius helped him up the rock pile.
“You just hold on, and we’ll limp in ahead of Tally and the others and be drinking lemonade at the finish line when they come across,” said Gladius.
Leander smiled and did his best to limp along with Gladius’ fast pace.
“OK, we’ve got one more obstacle. We need to pull a log twenty meters once we hit the main road. Then all we have to do is walk over the town bridge into the welcoming applause of the townsfolk.”
“I don’t think I can pull a log,” said Leander.
“I’ll help ya.”
When they reached the logs, Leander balanced on one foot as Gladius grabbed the ropes attached to two logs, one for himself and one for Leander. He tied both around his waist.
“You ready?” asked Gladius.
“If you think you’re going to pull both them logs, you’re crazy,” said Leander, throwing his arm around Gladius’ neck again.
“You just hold on and let me pull.”
At first, Gladius had a heck of a time getting the logs to budge at all, but when they broke loose, he managed to pull them along slow and steady.
“Tally’s tying up to a log right now,” said Leander looking back.
Gladius dug in harder and his thighs burned with pain. Only three meters left. He could do it. He would do it. When the logs crossed the line, he quickly untied the rope from his waist and locked arms again with Leander.
“You ready?” Gladius asked.
“Let’s go.”
Together Gladius and Leander walked across the bridge and neared the finish line.
“Hey guys, wait for me,” Tally called out as he came running across the old wooden bridge.
Gladius smiled and gestured for Leander to hop across the finish line first.
###
About the Author
J. A. Paul is the author of The Gladius Adventure Series, where a simple run through the woods turns into an epic coming-of-age story certain to please those with a wild spirit who crave the next adventure.
J. A. Paul started writing short stories early on and spent many years learning the craft. Then one night after a long bedtime story, his sons challenged him to write a real book. He asked his boys to choose three things to include in the story. They chose a dragon, a tree and a ruby and from the seed of that idea the story of Gladius grew.
For more stories and information visit the author’s web site at https://www.authorJAPaul.com.
If you enjoyed this story you might also enjoy the following:
The Race (A pre Bartlett Trial short story)
Gladius and the Bartlett Trial (Book 1)
Gladius and the Sea of Lost Souls (Book 2)
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