I looked into the dark for a long moment, then I followed the line the stones had marked, stepping carefully along the narrow strip of ground that skirted the trigger's range. I cleared it without setting it off and moved forward onto clean path.
I didn't look back into the trees, but I knew who had thrown those stones.
The rest of the course I ran, crossed the end post with my signal light still burning at full blue and both feet under me, which was more than I had honestly guaranteed myself at the start of the night.
The field was lit with lanterns when I came back out of the tree line, a decent number of students had already finished. I found a spot near the edge of the group and accepted a cup of water from one of the faculty assistants. My legs were tired and my shoulder was compla
