"Shawn?"
I didn't dare stop or turn around, but relief flooded me at the sound of my best friend's voice. Gus ran up beside the step machine that I was pedaling as hard as I could.
"What are you doing?" Gus asked.
I was out of breath and exhausted. Wordlessly, I grabbed my empty water bottle and handed it to Gus, all the while pumping my feet
"'If your heart rate drops below 150 you die'?" Gus looked up at me.
I gestured wildly to the base of the machine where a light was blinking .
"Okay, okay, don't panic," Gus babbled, grabbing in his pocket for his cell phone.
I vaguely heard him calling Juliet, but all my concentration was on my aching legs. I had to keep them going. The only thing that scared me more than my own death was the knowledge that if I stopped now, Gus would die too.
"The bomb squad is on it's way," Gus said, shutting his phone.
"Gus," I gasped. "I'm getting tired."
Fear showed in Gus' eyes. "No, don't think like that, Shawn. They'll be here any second now."
I just wanted to collapse. Breathe in, breathe out.
Breathe in, breathe out.
That had become my inward chant as I forced my legs to continue pedaling.
"No matter what happens, I'll be right here." Gus moved closer.
Just then, the door banged open and Juliet ran in.
"Gus! Shawn!" She ground to a halt in front of the exercise machine. "What's going on, Shawn? Why are you exercising?"
Gus handed her the bottle. "If his heart rate drops below 150, he's toast."
Juliet gasped. "Shawn..."
I saw my own fear mirrored in her eyes. I was panting now, sweat soaking my shirt, legs screaming in pain.
" 'M gettin' tired," I coughed.
"Just hang in there, Shawn," Gus said. "Help is on the way."
Two agonizing minutes later, the door banged open again and the bomb squad made their way in. Juliet explained the situation and they ran over to the side of the step machine.
"Just keep pedaling until we call 'clear'," one of the men said to me.
I nodded, too out of breath to say anything.
I could hear them working below me and prayed that they wouldn't blow us all up. Gus and Jules stood to the side, watching, fear etched in their faces.
After what seemed like a lifetime, someone shouted, "Clear!"
A hand patted my shoulder. "You can stop now."
My arms and legs were the consistency of wet noodles. As soon as I stopped, I went totally limp and fell off the machine. Gus and Juliet were suddenly right there and caught me before I could hit the floor.
"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Gus said as they helped me over to the couch.
I collapsed, feeling like I could never move again. It had been close. Too close.