Argus sprinted forward again, passing Noel and closing the distance on Spencer Houghton, a boy he knew from art class who once had a crush on Tora. Spencer was all legs, knees, and elbows, and he was running as if he’d seen a ghost. Spencer was a strong runner and Argus had trouble keeping pace.

They were on the first ridge now and Argus was able to take a look around. Behind him were a dozen or so runners, strung out along the path. In front were four others, one of whom was a girl. This isn’t happening, he thought. Not only was he not leading the run, but there was a girl in front of him. A girl!

Again Argus sprinted forward, passing Spencer Houghton and leaving just three runners ahead. Directly in front was Kyan Houghton, Spencer’s older brother, and another goofy-looking teenager who Argus should be toying with. Instead, Argus was gasping for air, his lungs feeling as if they might burst at any moment.

And they were only halfway through the race. Argus did his best to control his breathing, making it as even and regular as he could. That seemed to help. While he wasn’t gaining on the second Houghton brother, he wasn’t losing any distance. If he could just hang on for a while, maybe he could overtake him for third place.

A few minutes later, Argus had his chance.

They’d left the ridge and were running downhill toward the valley. Past the valley, the course wound through a forest and it was there that Argus felt he could make up the most ground on the runners in front of him.

The moment he entered the forest, his surroundings gave him strength. In his wolfen form, he could almost run forever through the trees. As a human, it was practically the same. His breathing became easier, his strides longer, and if he tried to go faster, his body responded.

Darting through the trees, Argus came up behind Kyan Houghton, matching his pace for ten strides or so, then bounding past him.

“Go, Argus, go!” Kyan cried.

What? Argus thought. Why would he be cheering me on? Argus put the thought behind him.

Now there were only two more runners ahead of him—Shannon Boersma, the girl, and Ronnie Camacho, another tall skinny kid who had no business being in the lead.

But they were out of the forest now and the strength Argus had felt running through the trees was all but gone. The fatigue in his chest, legs, and arms returned and he was again gasping for every breath.

Argus followed Shannon up the slope toward the top of the ridge. He was able to get close to her briefly, when she stumbled on a branch, but then she pulled away from him, tearing up the slope and across the ridge.