Plunge by Eric Howling

Author:Eric Howling
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459814219
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2017-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The start gun boomed. The Calgary Triathlon had begun.

Cade and Jazz dashed through the shallow part of the lake. Their bare feet kicked up white spray as they ran toward deeper water. The hot sun warmed the cool splashes on their skin.

Athletes wearing orange swim caps were all around them. Hundreds of kids of all ages charged through the surf. They all had numbers marked on their bodies. Cade had a black 1425 drawn on his arm and his leg. That meant he was entered in the fourteen-year-old division for boys. Jazz had 1426, but she was in the girls’ group. They both had their timing chips strapped to their left ankles.

Now the water was up to their waists. Deep enough for them to dive in and start swimming. Cade and Jazz plunged at the same time, but it wasn’t long before Jazz started to pull away.

At first Cade tried to keep up. But he soon realized he should swim at his own pace. Jazz was just too speedy. He slowed down and caught his breath. That felt better. Maybe he could catch up with her on the bike or run.

Whack! A sharp pain cracked the side of Cade’s head. He had been kicked by a swimmer in front of him. The other swimmer had no idea Cade was right behind him. But with so many athletes packed together like sardines in a can, accidents were bound to happen. Cade shook it off and kept going.

The swim for this triathlon was 500 meters. That was like doing twenty laps of the pool. Cade had done that every morning while he was training with the Blue Sharks. Sometimes even more. He knew he could do the distance. But swimming in a lake was a lot different. For one thing, there were no lanes.

He was aiming for the big yellow buoy floating in the middle of the lake. It was shaped like a pyramid and marked the halfway point of the swim. He lifted his head and peered through his goggles to make sure he was on target. But he was way off course! He had veered close to one of the safety kayaks. The paddlers were there just in case a swimmer needed help. He put his head down and turned to get back on track. He had lost valuable seconds. He churned through the water a little faster to make up for lost time.

Cade rounded the buoy and headed back to shore. He had made a good recovery. He shot a glance to his left and then to his right. There were only a few swimmers ahead of him. One was a girl way out in front. He knew who that must be.

He powered through the water, keeping his breathing even. He looked up every once in a while to make sure he was still heading for the finish.

A minute later he was in shallow water again. As soon as he could, he stood up and splashed toward the sandy beach.

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