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The Runners’ Tale
Daphne: It’s only
two days to the race. I really didn’t think I would get this far. Especially
when Katya went. The day after she was taken away, I
already knew I couldn’t cope with the training on my own. I was on the phone to
Larry, desperate, begging him to come up with something. He had called back
later. Rick had one of his team who had
done some running. Rick was ready to let her come and help out. She knew about
Branca and the Katya problem. “Would that be OK?” he’d asked. I practically bit
his hand off.
This young, upper class, English girl
turned up at the house and introduced herself as Beth. She was pleasant enough
and had a determined smile, but I’m not sure whether she saw me as a client or
as some sort of sub to be kept on my toes. Something about the way she said
things. Maybe that’s unfair: probably it was just the way I was hearing things
then.
We went through the planner in Katya’s
training diary. I found myself worrying about her, hoping she was ok, worrying
about what they were doing to her, asking myself if I’d really had to make her
go through it.
Beth was riffling through the pages and
umm-ing and ah-ing and I was feeling irritated at the way she was picking over
Katya’s things. In the end, we agreed on three things, shorter runs during the
week, Beth was to be my companion there; longer endurance runs as Katya and I
have got to the fifteen mile point now, Beth suggested she would cycle round
and meet me at pre-arranged points on the run to let me practice taking fluids
and also the sports energy drinks to make the most of my carbohydrate stores;
third there’s the gym. Beth suggested going to the Gym with me and explaining
to anyone who asks, that Katya is not too well at the moment and is having a
few weeks off. It’s also what Beth said we would have to tell Katya when she
gets back.
I started to feel sick and anxious in my
stomach. “Not-too-well”; “Having-a-few-weeks-off”; each word hurt. I felt so…?
What? Well weepy, I guess. And then Branca turned up with some of Katya’s
things she’d found while tidying up in the gym. I just looked at one of her
training shoes and burst into tears
But as Katya said, you have to focus on
the training. So that’s what we did. Out in the late winter. Sometimes we
followed parts of the real marathon course; sometimes we went out to the London
Parks. One day we took a trip out to Epping Forest to do some trail running. I
had been getting on quite well with Beth and it was a really lovely day. As we
ran, my mind started to wander. Katya had told me about when she trained
running in the Russian forests and then ahead, there was this other runner
coming towards us. She was coming fast. She was blond and her pony tail was
bobbing behind her, like Katya’s. I thought, “It’s Katya! They have let her go!
We can be together again! She is OK now!”
But the girl – she just rushed past without a second glance and it
wasn’t Katya and my tears just ran and ran. Beth put her hand on my shoulder
and that was it. The end of the run. A beautiful day ended with me feeling
really low and sick with anxiety. We headed back. All I wanted to do was to go
home.
It was a real relief when they sent
Katya back with six weeks to go. I’m sure I couldn’t have got this far
otherwise.
Katya: It’s Friday 20th.
April. The house is waking up. The door to my room has automatically unlocked as
the alarm goes off. I get up to find Branca has already started to make
breakfast. I briefly check our PC. It has internet access but quite restricted.
I keep meaning to ask Daphne why but I can never find the words to use ….
Anyway, I go to the London Marathon site to check for late news items. On the
home page, there is a countdown timer. 2 days, 3 hours, 30 minutes, 28 seconds,
27, 26, 25, ……. I go through a
stretching routine and then make my way to Daphne’s room Outside I kneel down
to perform a quadriceps stretch, but strangely always feel the need to do this
after I have knocked on her door. As she opens, I lean forwards to stretch my
para-spinal muscles and kiss her feet. I cannot understand why I always seem to
do this, but Daphne does not mind, in fact she accepts it. She smiles down at
me. “We go to the Marathon Expo for final registration today, Mistress,” I tell
her. She looks excited; a little scared maybe. “I know, Katya,” she says. “I
guess it really is happening isn’t it?”
Daphne: I open my
door and find Katya on her knees. The door to her room unlocks automatically. I
keep a time lock on her door at night. I feel I have to. Although Clegg’s
people say her preparation has been thorough they are still concerned that it’s
been hurried. I haven’t needed to bother for Branca but, with Katya, I guess
it’s better safe than sorry. She leans forward to kiss my feet. I look down at
my beautiful, useful, new slave. Clegg’s people have worked their magic
very well. Larry said Katya's Prep would stay intact
even when we go out together - which is kinda crucial because we are out most
of the time and so far, she has not given me a moments worry. When Harry turned up after Branca had
chained her up he wasn’t confident that he could make things work. They took her
but he said he wasn’t sure he could get her ready in time or even at all. I’d
been distraught; desperate for her to be back as soon as possible to help me
finish my training but desperate too to make sure she would stay with me. Larry
did what he could. Beth was sweet and a real help but it wasn’t the same. Of
course. But why did it have to happen? Why did we have to do this Katya? I
didn’t want to do this to Katya but I couldn’t let her go. But somehow I feel
guilty about how I’ve treated her. It’s never bothered me with any of the other
slaves I’ve had. Why couldn’t things have gone on just as they were? Still, whatever Clegg’s people have done it
seems to have worked. Katya’s every bit as attentive as Branca. She reminds me
about Sunday. Sunday! Will my beautiful, useful, new slave get me through all
those miles? Larry said I would sell her on after the Marathon, but I don’t
think I can. I can’t imagine Katya not being around.
Katya: We reach the
Marathon Expo at ExCel, in the old London Docks. There is no difficulty finding
it. The place is alive with other runners. They are unmistakeable; determined,
eager, pent-up, maybe a little apprehensive. Perhaps this is what its
like for soldiers before they launch an attack? Over the entrance is a large
plasma screen showing highlights of last year’s race and in the background
inspirational music plays, it’s a motivation in its own right. First
we go to the Registration Desk and hand our registration forms to the clerk. We
sign them and she checks the signatures on our original entry forms. She gives
us our kitbags and a sealed envelope I carefully check the contents. Do the
running numbers correspond to the numbers on our registration forms? Are the
numbers on the electronic timing chip correct? Have we got the official label
for our kit bags? Have we got the final instructions? It’s all OK. I make sure
that Daphne carefully stows all away in her bag: we are both now committed! I
breathe a sigh of relief to have the bureaucracy over and we move on to enjoy
the Expo. Daphne seems almost dazed by it all but this must be all quite out of
her experience. Up to now we have run together, just the two of us. We
sometimes met other runners but never several hundred, all in the same place,
all the same time, all sharply focused on the same goal. I know I can get her
through it. And this is something to enjoy; the fellowship of the other
runners; the feeling of a single shared purpose. And the marathon? Ah, I’m sure I can get her through After all
I must do my best for Connie…
Daphne: The Marathon
Expo is just astonishing. First, there’s the size of the hall and it’s all
dedicated just to this one event. Second, the amazing number of people here,
there are thousands of them. Third, just looking at the other runners…. If I
was complacent before, I’m not now – in fact I’m aware of a tight knot of
anxiety in my stomach (it’s a lot smaller than it was, so a small knot feels
bigger!) Katya is trying to encourage me, telling me I look fitter than quite a
lot of the others here, saying I’ve done my training and I’ve nothing to fear.
Katya and I tour the stalls with everything you could possibly imagine you
needed for running and quite a few you couldn’t. There’s this thing on a
physiotherapy stand which is supposed to vibrate against tired muscles and
relieve pain. Seems more like something Larry’s people would be interested in.
I find myself daydreaming about the timing chips we all have to wear.
Electronically tagged. I can see mileage
for Branca and Katya wearing tags, but me?? We spend a bit of time on the
Garmin Stand. They have a GPS which tells you how far you have been running,
how fast you went and what your heart rate was. Katya suggest we should have
them and that’s fine by me. We spend some time listening to one of the (many)
presentations and after a couple of hours we head for home but not before Katya
has fussed over our kit bags and contents once again. Well, I employed her to
be thorough. Having her taking charge of things as my Trainer was natural I
guess, but its strange now. Here she is taking charge again even though she’s
now my slave - officially.
Katya: It’s 6 o’clock
on Sunday morning, the 22nd of April. It’s just 4 hours to the marathon. I’m
laying awake thinking about Daphne’s progress over the past months. She has
surprised me and the major surprise is that we have reached this point
together. But I still worry. I am anxious that she completes the run and enjoys
herself. I have dreams now which always link us together. And another thing,
I’ve been going over the training programme. I just have no pictures in my mind
of the training we did from about ten weeks ago to six weeks ago. It’s odd –
because that’s a really important time, we must have been doing some long runs
and some fairly hard work in the gym but I really don’t remember it. I looked through the training diary. Daphne
had filled it in carefully, just has she has done all along, but I can’t recall
any of it. I mentioned it on Friday as we were coming home from Registration
and Daphne said “of course I completed all the assignments” and then she said
to remember that I had not been too well for a week or two. But I don’t really
remember that either. It’s only what Branca and Daphne told me. And I thought
it was odd that she said she’d completed the assignments, she usually says “Oh,
we did that together.” So I still worry. It’s as though I can never move on to
anything else, always being brought back to Daphne by other people whose faces
I can never quite remember. Except for one. And her name is Connie. Presently I
rise and go through my stretching routine, finishing outside Daphne’s door on
my knees kissing her feet. I just cannot understand why I behave like this and
more to the point why Daphne never says anything. It’s almost as if she expects
me to behave like this. I go in to her bedroom to go through our checklist:
Daphne: I only slept
rather fitfully last night and I’m glad when Katya came. Seeing her was a real
encouragement This is the day! Closing the deal. Worse: closing the deal in
front of all my sceptical colleagues who don’t believe that I will be coming to
collect their sponsorship. So there is a lot riding on today. Katya is a real
professional. Gee, I almost said a real domme. For a slave she has a lot of the
domme about her. It’s been fun for the training but I prefer it with me in
charge. So it’s check-list time. Katya
makes me feel like Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins setting off for the Moon:-
Vest - check
Pants - check
Socks - check
Shoes - check
Timing chip - check
Running number pinned to vest - check
Bum belt- check
Spare caps for sports drinks (Katya has found out they give
them out cap off) -check
Powder for toes -check
Sunblock - check
Change of clothes for after the run .Gee: there is an
“after the run” – sorry, check
Kitbag - check
Sweat shirt to keep warm on the way to the park - check
Trash bag to wear after kit bag handed in but before start
of race – check
Breakfast – check.
Food used to be the
major recreation but now it’s all part of the routine. Now it’s fuelling- up
time Katya had insisted Branca repeat making our marathon breakfast for weeks.
“Never do anything on race day that you haven’t done before and gotten away
with,” she says. So it’s downstairs for porridge and milk, scrambled eggs,
toast and water. Oh boy - plenty of water.
Katya: Daphne’s house
is close to Greenwich Park and the Red Start. There are three start points for
the London Marathon and they converge at two points along the course. We are at
the Red Start, in Greenwich Park itself.
Time is now 9.00.One hour to the mass start, when we go. Wheelchair
athletes go at 9.15 and elite women at 9.30. I am happier once inside the park.
We go to the baggage lorries and find the one for runners with numbers in the
30,000 to 35,000 range. We struggle into our trash bags to keep warm, just sticking
our heads out through holes in the top. I tell Daphne we have to go to pee.
There are lots of toilets and lots of runners peeing. You don’t want to stop
half way round. Ask Paula Radcliffe! After 15 minutes in the queue we are done.
I insist that we go right back to the end of the queue and wait our turn again
– and yes, there is more the next time! It’s now 9.40. Time to find our places
in the “pen”. I estimated we would finish in about 5 hours so we had been given
places in “Pen 5” at the back of the field.
Once the Race begins, runners can move through the others depending on
how well they are running. After all,
this is a Race! But, for the start, the challenge is just to get the massive
throng of people under way. Now we wait for the official start. It’s 9.55. Five
minutes to go, five minutes to the start of Daphne’s ordeal ….
Daphne: So, we
eventually get to the start. Katya’s calm and I’m really nervous and talkative.
I’m usually a bit reserved but tension and the big event atmosphere have made
me talkative. But so is every one else and that’s really nice. But there are
yet more instructions from Katya. She’s being bossy and I’m really grateful.
She runs through the race plan again. Then there’s more to check off:-
Five hour pen – check
Find a pacer – check (there are guys and girls with Runners
World magazine who guarantee to run at a set speed. So if you want to finish in
5 hours you stick with the five hour group. Easy. Easy? Maybe! At least that’s
the idea.
Shoelaces – check
Timing chip secure - check
Final drink from small water bottle – check
Discard bottle (Yes, Katya, safely) – check
Intervals set on watch – check: 11 minutes to run and 1
minute to walk - check
When we are through
this and I’m recovering I’m having Katya hooded and rested up in the cell for
this. Finally I’ll have some peace. Gee, wasn’t that a bit
harsh, Daphne? The girl’s only doing the job you paid her for.
Suddenly, there’s a
bang and a cheer from somewhere way ahead of us. We all start to walk slowly
forward. This is really it! Really it is! We are actually doing this thing.
I’ve got a stab of fear and excitement both at once, but mainly excitement. I
want to laugh and giggle. Fat Daphne is actually going to run a Marathon!!
Katya: Out of the park
and the course turns left and we pass through the first timing gate and that’s
it: we are now on the course. Our timing chips will have been recognised and we
are into the race at last. I have this odd feeling of trying to scramble up out
of a slippery cup. If I can only pull myself up over the rim I shall be free,
but I always just loose my grip and slip back ……. But, no time for daydreaming!
Marathons are run with your head as much as your legs. The course soon leads us
into Blackheath Village and the cheering crows begin. To our right, one family
have decorated their house with streams of British flags. They are wearing flag hats and waving flags!
A little further on, a Priest scatters Holy Water on the runners and a few
metres beyond him a second Priest does the same. Further on again, small
children hold out their hands for us to touch them. It’s like some bizarre
religious ritual. We are anointed and we anoint others.
Daphne: We have been
going a half hour through cheering crowds.
Gee, this is really emotional. I never thought it would be like this. I
feel as though I’m airborne. I’m running really well and it’s the crowds. All
these people cheering and shouting, waving at us all – at me!. The course is
now running down hill. Got to be careful not to speed up. Stick to the plan.
Stick to the plan. No matter how good you feel don’t run faster than the plan.
The runners from the other start points are converging. In the distance I can
see the Canary Wharf Towers – they look a really long way away. Patience, girl,
patience. More instructions come from Katya: maybe I’ll have her gagged as well
as hooded?
Katya: Do you see the
blue line, Daphne? Yes? Well run on it! That’s the optimum line, and it’s exactly
the marathon distance. All the elite
runners run on or as close to the blue line as they can. Run there and you have
run in the footsteps of champions …….
Daphne: Run in the
footsteps of champions? That’s good! That was worth hearing! OK: cancel the
gag. But the hood stays.
Katya: Start + 1 hour
on my watch. We have passed two water stations and taken on one sports drink at
the Lucozade station. We have reached the Cutty Sark sailing ship. 6 miles.
About one quarter of the race. Daphne has settled into her routine and we are
cruising well. On time. No issues at the moment. She’s sticking to the plan.
Good. That’s the main thing.
Daphne: Before I
know it, we are at the Cutty Sark. The world’s fastest clipper ship. Well this
won’t be the world’s fastest marathon but just to finish will be great. This
part of London is real picturesque. That’s why I got my house near here. It’s
just how people Stateside think London is. There are even TV cameras here and
still more crowds. I’m still feeling goodl. I could get used to this!
Katya: Now it’s quite a
long haul to get to the next psychologically important point which is crossing
the river at Tower Bridge. The danger is to really start to pick up speed here
to get on with the race and the key is to keep your mind on the job. But
Daphne’s sticking to the plan, following orders. To my relief we have reached
the Norwegian Church which means we will cross the river before too long in
about 15 minutes. On schedule we cross
Tower Bridge. More cheering crowds. We have to steer clear of someone dressed
up as a rhinoceros as they are being interviewed for TV. I have never been tempted to run
dressed up as anything but me.
Daphne: The route to
Tower Bridge is rather dull and my mind keeps wandering. I look at Katya and
the easy relaxed way she moves is a joy to watch. It’s not the joy of
possession you understand, just the kick you get to see something being done
really well. Eventually we get close to tower Bridge and someone shouts my
name. I glance over my shoulder and there’s Phil. He is one of the accountants
I work with. I give him a big smile and he waves back and now I feel warm
inside and somehow going on is easier. As we cross the bridge, TV people are
interviewing a runner in costume ahead of us. Rather them than me!
Katya: We’re making
steady progress. It is getting mentally tougher now. The euphoria of the beginning
of the race has slipped away behind us, and we are actually running
geographically away from the Finish Line. Along Highway, from The Tower to
Limehouse. Through the fourteenth mile of the course. We’re more than half way
now but the route heading east lies next to the twenty first mile of the course
heading west, so we get a very good view of the faster runners coming towards
us. Faster and rather tired by now! Its
good to see them running so smoothly but its sort of discouraging to know it
will be more than an hour before we are running back this way again. I try to
take some of my own advice; - take a firm grip and keep myself under careful
control.
Now we’re following the
west side of the Isle of Dogs peninsula; sixteen miles safely over. In about
twenty minutes we will be at eighteen mile point and this is dangerous country:
the human body runs on muscle glycogen and has enough for - eighteen miles. After that it has to use
fat and that’s not as easy. All of our training has been directed to getting
Daphne’s body (and mine too) able to burn glycogen more efficiently and to use
fat when the time comes, but here is where technique will tell: running,
drinking, breathing. But Daphne is not paying attention!
Daphne: As we run
towards the financial district my mind starts to wander . I’m starting to feel
tired and introspective. This morning it’s been like being a hero, but I know
I’m no hero. Beside me Katya glides along and I’m now feeling guilty about what
I’ve done to her and not only her. What if all these people who cheer me on and
call my name knew what I was really like and knew some of the thing I’ve done.
I can feel tears starting to form in my eyes when there’s a stinging slap on my
left ass and as I look round I get another on my right ass cheek.
“Daphne, what are you doing?”
“I’m running what do
you think?” And quick as a flash Katya darts to my other side and slaps my ass
again.
“You’re not doing
what I told you, are you? Look at your fists. You have clenched them and you
are loosing your economy! Do I have to spank you again?”
Actually the idea of
being spanked by Katya seems quite a good one but maybe here’s a bit
public. Sorry Katya. Thanks for that.
Kind of.
Katya: We are now at
the tip of the Isle of Dogs and I can see the domes of the Greenwich
Observatory where we began, just a mile or two across the river, but seventeen
miles behind us along the course. I
glance round at Daphne. She seems to have got through that low spot. She is
waving at two men outside public house. At first I think they must be work
colleagues but one of them catches my eye and suddenly there is a tight knot in
my stomach. Where have I seen him before? Why does he make me feel uneasy? More
than uneasy. Why does he make me feel afraid? As we run by he tries to break
eye contact, talking to his companion. He smiles and waves back at Daphne – and
then his eye comes back to me. We’ve passed them now and we’re turning north to
the Canary Wharf Towers. I take one last long look before they are out of
sight: he is speaking into his mobile phone……………
Daphne: We’re not
far from the 17 mile water station, there’s the entrance to the foot tunnel
that leads under the Thames to Greenwich. Five minutes walk and I’d be back at
the start! I catch sight of Larry and Harry. And there is Beth too. They all
smile and wave, especially Harry. Funny to think of them off-duty. Well, maybe
they’re not off duty. I guess they’ll have wanted to see how things worked out
with Katya after what they said about the problems they expected in training.
They are both enjoying the hospitality of the local Public House. It’s the Lord
Nelson. We always get a real good cheer when we pass a pub, but I’m beginning
to think that a drink would be nice and I’m not thinking about water! Katya is
on my right and keeps looking back down the road. She seems edgy all of a
sudden and all of a sudden I realise that maybe she has seen the boys too. Seen and recognised? Oh, gee ……… what if
Eva’s around or Connie too? Katya made me memorise the course to pace myself
better and I know we are now going up East Ferry Road towards Limeharbour and
Canary Wharf. Katya is very quiet. And I’m very anxious. “You OK Katya?” She
doesn’t say anything. Maybe she’s just focussing on her running but it seems
like something more than that.
Katya: As we run on I
try to remember why I know the two men. When did I first know them? Are they
friends of Nicky? Did I see them at Daphne’s? I am sure I met one of them
before I worked for Daphne and the man with the phone has something to do with
Branca. Suddenly I realise I have been weaving from side to side. I almost
crack my ankle against the curb of the pavement. Concentrate, I tell myself, I
must concentrate. Get back on the blue line and stop thinking about Harry.
Harry? That’s his name, the taller man. But where do I know him from?
Concentrate on the running. Forget about them. Got to keep running. Got to do
my best for Connie. Connie? Who the hell is Connie? I’m running for me. Why I
am worried about Connie? Concentrate on the running. Seventeen and a half
miles, now. Think about Daphne. Got to look after Daphne. Harry says… Connie
says… What is this? Concentrate. I’ve got to concentrate. I’m losing my rhythm.
Go to concentrate. Forget about Harry and Connie. Forget about the training.
Training? What training? I ran the training. No, not Daphne’s training; my
training. It was Harry and Connie and it wasn’t about running. It was …. ?
Daphne: “Katya, are
you OK?” I say, “You’ve lost your rhythm. You’re not doing like you told me to.
Keep on the line.” She looks at me as if she doesn’t know me. I don’t know
what’s happening. I’m trying to keep running steadily.
Katya: Eighteen and a
half miles. We start the zigzag passing the Canary Wharf Towers. I am glancing
at the spectators when I see them. Two
women. Searching the field of runners with their eyes, one short, athletic
looking she could be a runner, the other tall, black, elegant. They’re looking
for someone. The tall black girl is talking into her mobile phone. There is a
movement from Daphne: she was about to wave and as soon as I turn to her, she
drops her arm. I gaze at the women and feel a shower of adrenalin make its way
through my body. For the past several weeks,
I’ve had the same nightmare, over and over again. About being taken away. Helpless.
Struggling. The men and women Daphne waved to are the people in my dream! I
meet Daphne’s eyes and I can see she knows who they are too. It wasn’t a
nightmare, it was real. That’s where those four weeks went! And now they are
here for me again. I kick hard and accelerate away as quickly as I can. I am
sure they will try to make their way through the buildings and trap me further
down the course. I take up a position in the centre of the field and run as
hard as I can. Forget Daphne’s race
plan, now I have to have a plan of my own. All care about now is to put as much
distance as possible between these people and Daphne and me as I possibly can.
I’m safe here on the route. Policemen everywhere. Officials everywhere. It will
be safe at the finish too. Get to the finish. Seven miles to go. Think about
the timing. Think of a new plan. . Can I risk trying for 7 minute miles at this
stage? If I can hold that pace the race could be over for me in about fifty
minutes. I am running at that speed now and weaving through the pack of slower
runners ahead. At least this will make me harder to see, harder to catch, but
can I keep it going?
Just before twenty
miles, the course swings westwards and at last I am now running directly
towards the end. I let my pace slacken, but only a little. There are more
spectators again and I am beginning to recover my calm.
Daphne: She’s going.
She saw Eva and Connie and just took off. I’ve almost lost sight of her in the
crowd of runners. She’s running much faster. I can’t hope to catch her and I
start to feel sick and tired and cold. Connie’s talking into her mobile phone
as I pass them. She’s gesticulating. Eva is trying to look down the route to
see where Katya has got to. They both understand what has happened and I
thought for a stupid moment that there was something they could do but of
course they can’t do anything about this. I am absolutely on my own now and I
am suddenly very lonely, just like before, before Katya. All I can do is keep
running.
Katya: As I run I can
almost feel the sticky threads of control breaking. I’ve been coasting round
the course to keep Daphne company but now I’m running fast and free for the
first time; perhaps truly free for the first time in months! In my mind I keep seeing images of struggle
and victory, things I remember from school: Zhukov driving the Germans from St
Petersburg in the Great Patriotic War! Gagarin soaring into orbit in Vostok!
Before I knew it I was speeding (or so it seemed) along Highway towards the
Tower of London and well into the last 6 miles of the race. I had a new energy.
It was quite simply the best run I could remember!
Daphne: I’m still
running but even in the crowd I feel alone. All along the course, I’ve enjoyed
the cheers of the crowd, but now I‘m stalked by feelings of guilt. Sure, Katya
made me work hard to get here but without her I would still be that lonely, fat
,unpleasant, sad girl and in my desire to be different I’ve been prepared to do
anything – to hurt anyone - I had to.
And now, I’m discovered. It’s made the
pleasure of today turn sour! My body is
really starting to hurt and the very person who I need, I really need, has fled
from me. I’m crying: tears of exhaustion, tears of regret …………………
Katya: I’m running.
Running again. My mind is back on my running. I’m on the blue line. Checking my
time. Running. My mind begins to fill
with other images. I remember training runs in Moscow, by the Moskva, around
the gardens and towers of the Lomonosov University and through the woods and
open spaces of Sokolniki in the quiet of early morning after the cold white
winter had melted into the green of spring. But I have to concentrate. Run,
Katya. Think of the running. Run.
Daphne: And there’s
this hand on my shoulder. For a moment I think Katya is there again but of
course it isn’t, it’s another runner. “First time?” she asks.
“Yes,” I sob.
“OK now just keep going: it’s not far to the
finish. Do you know how far you have gone?”
“No,” I reply.
“Well, you are in
the last 10K. How long do you take over a 10K?”
“Me?” It’s hard to
run and think and talk at the same time.
“Yes.” This other
runner seems determined to help me.
“Eh, well I dunno,
maybe an hour. Yes, well on a good day.”
“OK so you might
only have an hour to go! Just keep calm.
You’re in front of the 5 hour pacer group, so just hang in there girl.
Have you tried to run five minutes and walk one minute?”
“Yeah: that’s what
I’ve been trying to do but I’ve lost my friend.” I start crying again, it’s
hard to see through the sweat and the tears.”
“ OK. Look, I’m
Jill.
“OK Jill, I’m
Daphne. You’ve done this before.?
“Ah Huh. Twice and I
must be crazy because this is my third time round.”
“Look, it’s very
kind of you to stick with me, but don’t you want to get ahead?
“Well let’s just see
how you get on. Look someone helped me on my first marathon. It’s what people
do. We all want everyone to finish. I
can’t leave a sister to drop out at this stage! Come on five minutes run, one
minute walk.”
And so I’m gently
and unexpectedly pushed along by a kind stranger ………….
Katya: Keep running.
Keep the rhythm. I am back in control of my self. I am calm again, running
smoothly. Keeping my rhythm, following the blue line, checking my watch and
thinking about my pace. I am calm again, running smoothly. Tired of course but
at least I can think straight again. First: What happened at Daphne’s? I can
remember having a row with Branca. Branca had said something and I was going to
leave. And Branca trapped me in the house …. Whoa, don’t lose track of the
running, you’re speeding up, Katya, keep the rhythm. And then the man came with
one of the women I had passed back there. Who were they? Associates of Daphne’s
of some sort? What is it with Daphne and
Branca? Lovers? No: Branca was some sort of servant, almost a slave. Her slave?
People trafficked? No: she had been at University. Kidnapped? Enslaved somehow?
Does that happen? Daphne might have wanted that sort of relationship, the way
she was. Not just paying for companionship but taking a companion who could not
get away. So Branca must have wanted to make sure I stayed training Daphne and
Daphne obviously was not about to let me go and so the slavers came …….. And
they must still be out there, looking for me …………. They can’t pull me off the
course - there are too many other people. I need to think about what happens at
the end of this. Could they try to get me at the end? In the finisher’s
enclosure, I’ll be safe. There’s policemen all around they won’t try anything
there. Maybe I can get from there to the Russian Embassy. That would be the
safest place, I guess. But would they take me seriously? I imagine some
aparatchick telling me to go away till Monday morning. How am I going to get there? Daphne’s
people will be waiting for me and they haven’t run 26 miles.”
Daphne: So I am now
still going along, a bit unsteady – a lot unsteady. The further I go, the more
I hurt and the worse I feel. And kind, patient, thoughtful, encouraging, Jill
beside me makes me feel a whole lot worse. Where is Katya? What is she gong to
do? Will she tell the Police? What will Clegg do to protect his people? Kill
Katya? Kill me? Kill us all? Does Katya know anyone in the Russian Secret
Police? Will they kill us?
Katya: At last, I’m
getting close to the finish. I am just passing London Bridge. Twenty three
miles gone; three to go. I’m thinking about Daphne. Should I be so angry? I am
glad I am here and if I hadn’t been training her I would not have had the
opportunity to run. Worse: I would still
have all those debts; all the problems from Nicky. What should I do now?
Revenge is a temptation. Stalin said “ there is nothing more satisfactory than
a well planned revenge”, and revenge is a temptation. Should I report her to
the Police? Enjoy her downfall? Is that right? Would Branca want that? Do I
want that? I have loved seeing Daphne change. Seeing the physical changes.
Seeing her becoming stronger in herself. Is it good to tear that down?
Then all of a sudden
it’s over. I hardly realised it, my mind was everywhere but where it should
have been. I’ve crossed the line. I’ve finished. I stop, looking left and
right, I didn’t even see what time I did. Someone hung a finisher’s medal
around me and I didn’t even notice that. My legs feel as if they are still
running. My shoulders ache. All of me aches. I see one of the officials coming
towards me with a foil blanket. For a moment I think it is one of Daphne’s
friends and I shy away but he smiles and holds the blanket out towards me. I shrug apologetically, smile and take it
from him, clutching it around myself. I walk on slowly. Other runners are
finishing, we are all pushing and jostling in the throng as we make our way
into the Finisher’s Area. I sink down on the ground beside a tree are using. My
back is against the tree. I feel safe here. I watch as the other runners are
finishing, hugging the foil blanket around me, and I think about what must
happen next. There’s Branca. I have to make things right for Branca. And
there’s Daphne – she can’t want things to go on as they were. She changed as
she did this but has she changed enough to want something different? And why do
I want her to want something different?
Daphne: Oh I am
moving so, so slowly. The whole of my body hurts now. My shoulders hurt, my
legs hurt, my chest hurts. When I
started, I thought I was well prepared. Well I was but all the preparation is
only that – preparation. You still have to do it and it hurts! Maybe I was
complacent. Well, I’m not complacent now. Jill has gone now. She ran on when
she saw I was OK. Where was that? Oh, yes, near the Tower. But there have been
others. On the Embankment, by Westminster and Big Ben. I’ve been amazed by the generosity of other
runners and that really hurts too because I have been the exact opposite of
generous. I got used to rejection. If you buy things there’s no rejection. Just
the money and the goods. Or the people. ………..Big Ben? That means it’s less than
a mile to go. I’m close to the end now. In every sense. But I can do another
mile. It’s less than that first walk I did with Katya. Oh, what’s going to
happen about Katya? The Park is on my right and we are heading up towards
Buckingham Palace. I’m just about all in and as the course carries us round in
front of the big fountain – there is the finish! I am taken completely by
surprise. Two hundred yards and that’s it! And I start to run. I start to
run. I have no idea where the energy is
coming from but I am running under the arch. I’m through! I’m here! All at once
I burst into tears. Done. Completed.
Daphne has run a marathon! Twenty six miles, three hundred and
eightyfive yards! I walk unsteadily forward and one of the stewards steps in
front of me and puts a Finisher’s Medal around my neck. Immediately after, a
photographer is there, taking my picture. Next I’m ushered to where another
helper removes the timing chip from my shoe and then yet another helper hands
me a large carrier bag with my prizes inside. I am really getting stiff now. By
now I am by the line of baggage lorries. I look for the one with kit bags
30,000 – 35,000 and get my own bag back. I thank the helper and turn round to
see – Katya.
She holds out her
hand and says “Oh Daphne! I am so proud of you. Well done! You ought to have
known: when I take on a client, I do not like to let them go until I, I have
finished with them.” Katya
takes my hand and pulls me towards her and hugs me. And of course I completely
dissolve into tears again and sob and say how sorry I am and how I wished I had
not been so selfish and how I wished I was not the person I was and so and so
and so. And Katya keeps on hugging me
……………….
Katya: I knew she could
do it. I just wasn’t sure if she knew she could do it. I just knew that she
could if she wanted it enough. And now I knew what I wanted too. I said to her,
“Daphne, we are going home together.” She looked back astonished. “But there
are going to be changes. Changes in our relationship and changes in your
household.” Daphne said nothing but nodded. “Get changed and then we will make
a start. That’s if your friends aren’t here to pick you up. Or to pick me up?”
Daphne: Katya’s
accusation brings me to tears. Of course she’s right. Eva and Connie must be
here somewhere. And Harry and Larry. We’re safe right here, in the Finisher’s
Area, with event security and police around. But there are so many runners
spilling around in the Repatriation Area, all looking identical in T shirts
which say on the back …. “26.2 miles: That’s the Difference Between Us” Maybe
they are planning to snatch her back. Maybe they are planning to snatch both of
us. I know Clegg wouldn’t risk one of his operations coming unstuck. Even if it
involved compromising one of his customers. I look around us, terrified that
I’m going to see one of them in the crowd. But then I think Katya hasn’t run away
from me. And I can’t run away from her.”
Katya: It’s as if
Daphne’s friends are standing there with a spotlight on them. The man from the
pub and one of the girls from Canary Wharf. I immediately look round. I feel
sure the others must be behind me, but that’s not possible because we are just
leaving the secure Finisher’s Area. No there he is. And the tall coloured girl.
Daphne: I am holding
Katya’s hand as we walk out off the course at last. There is a real sense of
regret that the race is all over. But now there’s the next challenge and we
haven’t trained for this one. I walk up to the barrier where Harry and Larry,
Eva and Connie are standing. I throw my arms around Larry’s neck and kiss him.
He wasn’t expecting that. “Are you OK?” he says. “We thought there was a
problem?” Connie is watching Katya very closely. She smiles a tight lipped
smile at her. I know that she knows that Katya’s control has gone. “No,” I say,
“no problem. We’ve got some things to talk about but no problem.”
Katya: I’m standing
beside Daphne as she greets her friends. I’m determined that these people
should not make things hard for her. To be straightforward is best, I feel. “I
think you people need to know that there has been a revolution at the Winter
Palace,” I say. “We will not be needing you. Not anymore. Thank you for leaving
us alone. Please leave us alone.”
Daphne: Katya is
REALLY positive. I really like it when she is like that! For someone who has
just run 26 miles, Katya is a revelation. No wonder she got me through! And
there is absolutely no trace of her prepping left. Connie will have to do some
more thinking!. Katya marches us past the guys with hardly a second glance.
Harry makes to takes a step forward but I don’t want him interfering. “Thanks
for coming to see us, guys, but you had better just listen to Katya. She’s
right. Bye. See you soon.” I am holding
Kat’s hand tight. I say to her. “Thanks. Thanks for everything.” I turn back to
Larry. “Let’s meet next week some time and lunch, OK? Just now, Katya and me, we need some quality
time together.” He looks at me closely but I think he sees how determined I am.
He shrugs and takes Harry’s arm, leading him away from the barrier.
© 2007 Freddie Clegg & Phil
Lane
All characters fictitious.
Download PDF copies of other Freddie
Clegg stories at :
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