Page 73 (1/2)

He could feel the buildup of lactic acid growing in his calves and thighs, and though he was in little danger of having theive out, he felt they needed to hurry His abs burned fro his back pressed hard into the tire It felt like he’d done a hundred crunches with a fifteen-pound medicine ball clutched to his chest

He pulled the 9mm pistol from his pocket and switched off the safety

“Easy, now,” he whispered

Joe adjusted his feet Kurt went next, and they slowly un and stretched his neck so he could just peer over the edge He saw no one guarding the well

“Clear,” he said

“Clear on this side,” Joe said “Nohat?”

Kurt tossed the gun over the edge and drew the rope out froh his hands until he had the length he needed

With one hand on each end of the rope he let out a half loop approxith With a flip of the wrist and an extension of his arh the rope TheU shape and dropped over the top of one A-frame neat as could be

Kurt slid it taut and pulled it doard so it wouldn’t ride up the metal bars

Making sure not to twist, he passed one end of the rope back to Joe “Hold on to that with both hands and hold on tight”

Kurt pulled his section taut and wrapped a loop under his arm, around his triceps and then around his hand twice Joe followed suit

“You holding that rope tight?”

“Like it’s a winning lottery ticket,” Joe said

“Good,” Kurt replied, “because you knohat’s going to happen once we give our poor legs a rest, right?”

“Yeah,” Joe said “Like everything else connected with you, it’s going to be painful”