So it's after twelve thirty am as we take off running. I'm exhausted, and figure I'll get caught anyways. Tyler and I were two of the last to dash off and so I call after him, "Wanta go another way?" "Yes!" he says. I tell him to make a right, and we hide in the bushes in front of the free sports stadium by the library. Ty does this so I can rest for a few minutes before we head out again, and from our spot in the bushes we see the cars go down the same street everyone else did, the one we had all taken before. Then we stick to the side of the stadium, behind bushes, as we go this different way. It's considerably longer, but I figured we would still have the upper hand by going an unanticipated route. More cars go by, so we have to duck and hide behind more bushes, signs and tress, uncertain as to whether or not they could be part of the game. We get to a point where we can cross the street so we dash across into the parking lot of some building. There are a bunch of bushes around it so we keep low behind them as a bunch of cars go by. When it's finally clear we go down, Tyler telling me to wait behind a tree as he checks the underpass to see if it's safe. He looks both ways and then runs past it before calling me. I run after him, when suddenly a car starts going our way. Tyler runs up into the bushes of his side of the underpass and I jump into the short weeds and try and wiggle my way into the bushes by my side. As the car gets closer I realize it's a police car, and pale as it goes by. I start to come out when more cars come so I get a better spot, although my shoes are showing. Finally it's safe again, so I get out an we both continue on our way. We're by more residential areas now so we stick to the cars, not wanting to go in front yards unless we have to. When another car goes by we have to hide behind this scanty bush, as a car slows to a stop. We wait, wondering if this is when we're going to get caught, huddled together. Then the car slowly drives around the corner. We realize there's a stop sign where the car had stopped, so we keep going by cars. When a car goes by, I drop, feeling more exhausted than I ever have before. I know that I'm pushing my body past anything I have done and I feel slightly crazy for it. I just keep hoping that I won't faint. Tyler remarks that I dropped next to him like a spy, and I am pleased. He just tells me not to hit my head. I concur.
We're almost to a Denny's parking lot which crosses onto the street that leads to our checkpoint. Tyler and I agreed that if we went straight past, we could cut back through my neighborhood to that wall that was the shortcut to the store parking lot checkpoint. I hid behind a big truck as he ran and pushed the button, and then I came out when it was time to go across. We walked casually across as a police car was at the red light. We knew we were right in the open, that anyone who was looking for us right there would see us, but we also knew they would've had to know where to look. We crossed over, walked past a gas station and when we knew we were out of the police car's line of sight we stuck back to the bushes again until it was time to cross and go into my neighborhood. We took the first, less commonly used one, and walked down until a car turned down and so we dove behind a truck in someone's driveway. The car slows and we freeze. Then it finally drives off and we wait a minute before we get out. "What were you doing in my neighbor's yard?" a voice asks from across the street. We look and see an older annoyed woman, sitting on her porch smoking. "We're playing a game," Tyler explains as we begin to go on our way. "Well, you shouldn't do that," she begins. We both say "sorry" as quickly as possible and run off. Then we turn and we're going down my street. The wall is just ahead. I remind Tyler that this is where the others got caught last time, so we are extra cautious as we get closer. We notice a car parked oddly away from the curb, in the dark. We freeze. "Is it them?" I ask him. "I don't know.." he says. "Why aren't they getting out?" I ask again in a whisper. "They may be waiting for us to get closer," he whispers back. "Let's go a bit farther and prepare to run." We walk slowly closer, my stomach in a knot, and then we see that the car is empty. We quickly then move on to the end of the street, looking both ways, and crossing to the wall. Tyler helps me up onto a littler wall and then I go over the bigger wall, my feet landing onto a propped up cart from neighborhood kids. I'm afraid of it's stability and let him know so, so Tyler, now on the littler wall holds onto my hands and helps me get get down. He then hops the wall with ease and we both run across the grass until we reach the lot. We had made it! And with about five minutes to spare. We walk over and see some guys sitting on a bench who had apparently been tagged with a full car and had to walk back. We told them about our other path and they were impressed. Then everyone arrived, and by now it was one thirty. "So, who's up for one more round?" Nathan asked. I looked at Tyler. He told me he had a 2 am curfew so he was going home. My parents didn't really give me a curfew, they just trusted I was safe with Tyler. He said I could get a ride with him to Nathan's and then he could give me a ride back. We were so close to my house that I said I could just walk home, but then I suddenly had a ton of offers from all of Nathan's friends for rides. Tired and amusingly overwhelmed I said, "Uh, I'll go home with anyone." People laughed, with a couple of snickers from the two guys from earlier. I gave them a look and said evenly, "That's not what I meant." They grinned. So they had me get in the back of a car with Jeff and some others, and Tyler came over patted the car door and said goodbye, and took off back towards Nathan's. I shook my head as we drove off around the corner and into my neighborhood. As we pulled up into my driveway I thanked them for the ride, and they said that it was no problem and that I should come to the next Bond event. "Totally!" I agreed. And I said goodbye to them all as I walked up my driveway and into my house. When I sat down I felt my whole body throb and knew that it was probably a good thing that I didn't play that last round. It took me a while to get to sleep, it was past two, possibly three, when I finally did reach dreamland but it was worth it.
Bond was quite the experience, and my whole body has been sore since. I've been walking like an old lady, and yet Tyler has seemed completely unaffected, swimming and dancing at the jr high and high school grad party Saturday, and jumping up and down at worship at church on Sunday. The jerk. In the jacuzzi on Saturday, Ty did ask me if I honestly had had fun at Bond. And I did. I know three things: One, that I really need to get into shape. Two, that I really enjoy exciting games and can do a lot on adrenaline alone. And three, that it wouldn't have been as fun without having people there with me, especially Tyler.
P.S.
I've had several people including Nathan's sister Leah, Tyler's dad, and some people at church come up to me since the event and go, "I heard you had a good time at Bond" in a knowing way. Just great. Well at least my side of the story is out now. Lauren, secret agent in training, signing out.
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