A Hero's Journey

Located somewhere in the US, is a national park with a bike path. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this bike trail; it is located in the park, surrounding a lake. The path is made entirely out of concrete, and to the residents of the town the park is located in, it’s a great place to head out for a weekend and relax.

The majority of people who walk along this trail never notice anything unusual. But, every now and then, people happen to cross paths with the Runner.

Ryan parked his bicycle at one of the nearby park benches. Standing next to it, he chugged his water bottle. Finally, he was able to escape the monotone life of his for just one day of total relaxation. He even was at the park at the perfect time; barely anyone else was

The ten second seemed to have given Ryan no advantage at all.

How did he do that?, Ryan thought.

Ryan shifted his gears forward, and putting as much power as he could into the bike. The bicycle fired off down the path. Ryan continued with force, cutting through the air like a bullet. The wind whipped around him. Everything around him became a blue of colors. He kept pushing himself further, faster, faster, faster. It simply isn’t possible that anyone could keep up with him at this point.

Turning his head to the left, Mark saw that that the man was still there, matching his speed perfectly, even going slightly faster. The man wasn’t even on the path anymore; he was running straight through the woods, dodging trees and shrubs with the grace of a ballerina. It didn’t even look like he was running, it looked like he was flying. His feat seemed to never touch the ground every time he moved forward. The way he ran, Mark could of swore he was laughing.

Ryan’s gawking at this was supressed by the overwhelming feeling his speed had achieved. He felt nothing, other than wind. He smelt it, he felt it, his mind was made numb to the wind that continued to batter him as he picked up more

Ryan took another look off into the woods. He did not see the man. Surely I must of left him behind in the dust, no way he kept up with me this far, Ryan thought. Glancing towards the shelter, he gasped and hit the brakes. He screeched to a halt right next to the front of the shelter, streaks of black burned into the path behind him, and the man standing in front of him.

“Nice try man,” he said, looking as if he had been asleep rather than running three miles. Ryan could not talk due to him attempting to catch his breath . “I almost gave up on you in the beginning, but you pulled through it all. Best opponent I’ve had for a long