On Your Marks...

Zoe awoke with a start. Heart racing and a tiny gasp escaping her parted lips as she jumped to the sound of thunder roaring in the darkness.

Something warm was stirring beside her and there was fabric against her skin... for a moment she felt a pang of **** hope...

Am I dressed?

The cloth moved beside her, the warmth shifted and the naked girl realised with dismay that she wasn't feeling her own pyjamas at all - but Katie's. It took Zoe a moment longer to understand that at some point in the night the pair had moved themselves together and the blonde was holding her middle possessively, their legs entwined.

Zoe blinked back the sleep, in the darkness she had no way of knowing what time it was, or how long she had before she had to drag herself from this cocoon and run again. How long could she lay here peacefully? How long could she enjoy Katie holding her like this and keep pretending that she was a person...?

Just a few more minutes...

Reluctantly, the redhead glanced at her alarm clock, Oh... Right...

She cringed - seeing the glowing display filled with jumbled symbols and lines that no longer meant anything to her. Zoe huffed, dropping her head back on to the pillow even as she felt Katie wriggle against her in response.

"Katie..." Zoe whispered.

The girl made a gurgling groan in her sleep.

"Katie..."

"Mmm?"

"What time is it?"

There was a drawn out pause and Zoe felt Katie's breathing shift again as she yawned, "I don't know."

"Katie... Please..." this time Zoe wriggled her hips. She hadn't intended for it to happen, she had just been trying to move enough to shake the girl awake, but ended up pressing her bare ass more firmly against the blonde's thigh.

"The clock is next to you" Katie complained groggily, her grip on Zoe's middle tightening.

"I... I can't read it..."

There was a pause before Zoe felt Katie let go of her suddenly. Her body pushing back as the embarrassing realisation of how they'd been laying now caught up with her.

"I ... uh... It's..." Katie stammered for a moment, lifting her head to look past the naked girl in the dark, "It's 4:46..."

The news made Zoe's heart sink... She was running out of time.

“It’s been 10 hours and 49 minutes since your last run of required distance.”

Zoe's collar called loudly in the darkness, it's artificial voice almost dripping with derision. It's interruption shattered any illusion Zoe had that she could keep laying there or pretend any longer... She had to run... and if the last few days were any clue to the routine the collar kept, she only had 14 minutes to spare...

With a groan the naked girl pulled herself from the warm embrace of the bed while Katie sheepishly sat up, hugging her knees as she switched on the bedside lamp, bathing the room in an amber glow. Zoe squinted as her eyes adjusted to the low light, stepping out into the middle of her room, only to catch sight of her reflection in her closet door again.

Looking back at her was the still unnerving visage of her fake little runners outfit... at least that hadn't changed. She turned, looking at her reflection over her shoulder and checking herself for any signs that things had worsened, like they had every night... But she couldn't see anything that looked different...

"I… I still… I look the same right?" Zoe tried hopefully, making eye contact with Katie in the mirror. The blonde’s eyes snapped up to meet hers, and Zoe caught sight of her mouth closing suddenly.

"Mmmhmm… I mean… Yeah… sweetie you look… the same as you did yesterday…"

At that moment the room flashed, causing both girls to jump and freeze anxiously. It was followed a moment later by an ominous roar of thunder. Zoe swallowed, her heartbeat starting to rise in trepidation - the storm hadn't passed, and now she was going to have to run in it.

From her position on the bed, Katie stretched across, parting one of Zoe's blinds to peer out into the murky purple pre-dawn light.

"It's stopped raining..." she said after a moment, glancing back towards the naked redhead, "but the electrical storm is still above us..."

Zoe started pacing the room, her anxiety growing. She didn't like storms at the best of times - she definitely didn't like the idea of being out in one completely naked...

Her hands anxiously rubbed against her bare stomach as she paced back and forth. Every instinct told Zoe that she needed to get dressed now... to put on her running shoes... to put on a coat or go back to bed. That she couldn't do any of those things was deeply unsettling and she felt lost, like she'd forgotten something...

"Katie... I don't know if I can do this..."

The blonde let the blind fall back into place, fixing her with a meaningful stare, "You can Zo - and you will... ok? Just like we talked about remember? Don't think about anything else... just breathe... focus... and run..."

"But... You don't think it..."

"No"

The redhead stopped pacing... right... Breathe. Focus. Run.

Zoe closed her eyes and took a breath, nodding as she tried to calm her nerves. She was going to do this. She was really going to do this. She was going to run naked - again. In a lightning storm this time. Without thinking of her audience Zoe started to shift her weight from foot to foot, stretching her calves and thighs, kicking her legs up, bouncing on the spot as she tried to prepare and harness all of her nervous energy into something useful.

"You need to drink something and stretch," Katie said after a moment, climbing out of the bed and giving the clock another furtive glance, "You've got 6 minutes"

Zoe meekly opened her eyes and stopped her fidgeting; blushing as the blonde breezed past her, opened the bedroom door and ushered the harnessed girl down the stairs. In that moment Zoe obeyed, swallowing her shame as she was just grateful for the guidance - Katie was a doer, and right now Zoe knew she needed someone like that; someone with a clear head in a crisis, someone that wouldn't panic and make the terrible decisions she had...

Someone that will tell me what to do...

When they reached the hallway, Katie stopped and pointed to a spot on the mat.

"Start limbering up sweetie... ok? I'll get you a drink!"

With that she disappeared into the kitchen and Zoe stood where she'd been told. Awkwardly aware of the rough feel of the doormat on her bare feet and the fact that her stretches were mortifying to perform nude. It took her a couple of moments to actually start doing them, the girl lunging forwards with closed eyes, her cheeks burning pink as she tried to forget exactly where she was, and what she wasn't wearing...

In her head the countdown continued, unstoppably - she had minutes.

Zoe straightened up when she heard Katie return and mewled softly as a glass of water was thrust into her hands. Bashfully the redhead started drinking, her eyes fixed to the floor as the glass trembled in her grip. Outside, another rumble of thunder briefly drowned out her quiet gulping.

"I'll be right there on the porch waiting for you to come round that corner" Katie said as she rubbed Zoe's shoulder, "You can do this"

The naked girl withdrew the glass from her lips with a gasp, "Katie... I... I'm really nervous..."

The blonde's eyes narrowed and she smiled, "Tell me you can do it..."

Zoe sucked on her cheek and shook her head.

“It’s been 11 hours and 3 minute since your last run of required distance.”

60 seconds...

"Say 'I can do it'" Katie urged again.

"I... I can do it..." Zoe mumbled.

"No, Zo... come on, like you mean it..."

"I can do it..." The redhead tried again, before she took a breath, something in her mind clearing for a moment as she looked at Katie with more determination, "I can do it"

"Good girl" Katie said, and before she could process what was happening, the blonde leant forward and kissed her quickly on the lips. Zoe's world stopped for a moment, her tailspin of nerves immediately arrested, and she watched the blonde step to the side of the front door with an innocent smile, "On your marks..."

Zoe stood, stunned, her lips parted as she let out a little whimper. Katie's eyes flashed with mischief as she pointed to the ground again, "On your marks Zo..."

Zoe blinked back the shock, trying to focus up again as she hunched down, her body tensing like a loaded spring.

She stared at the back of the closed front door, how long now? 20 seconds? 10? She could feel it now - through all the panic and fear, through the butterflies and the shame, there was a single thread of adrenalin... of the steely determination that she felt in those anxious moments before the starter's pistol sounded...

"It’s been 11 hours and 4 minutes since your last run of required distance."

The collar barked. Zoe glanced at Katie and the blonde gave her a reassuring nod.

"Run Now!”

Katie threw open the door.

Zoe bolted as the white hot sting of the crop snapped immediately against her ass. Lightning flashed brightly in the sky high above and a crash of thunder shook the street, to Zoe it sounded like the roar of a crowd...

This was it.

Run Ponygirl. Run.