The Good Life
Harrison checked the rear view mirror. The car behind him was gaining fast. Man, this guy is insane, I'm going 117. He must be around 125. The supped- up pulled up along side him and slowly started to pass him. Not while I can help it thought Harrison as he hit the red button on the steering wheel. Immediately, he was thrown back in his seat and his speed started increasing. The Mitsubishi fell back. This proved to be quite an ego burst for Harrison. Now safely at 140 MPH, Harrison turned put in a CD. It was a techno CD he had just made and you could really feel it on the two 10" subwoofers in the back. Life is good thought Harrison as he swerved around slow cars on the freeway. On the dash, the police scanner started beeping. Slowly, the beeps started to go by faster so he started slowing down. Safely within the legal speed limit, sure enough, there was a cop car parked on the shoulder. Thinking he had done nothing wrong, Harrison just cruised by. As he passed by, the cop turned his lights on. Shit. Harrison willingly pulled over to the side and awaited certain doom. A few seconds later, the cop walked up and asked for his license and registration.
"Sure officer, what did I do wrong?"
"What did you do wrong? Try illegal street racing as speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour, running from the cops," Replied the cop, "Yea, that's right. You passed a cop car back there."
Harrison looked in his rear view mirror and saw the Mitsubishi with a cop car behind him. The cop's lights were on. Ha thought Harrison. At least he got it too.
"Did the other cop happen to get any plates?" Asked Harrison
The cop looked and him and paused. That was it. Harrison was going to get off free.
"Well, no but he said the car was a red 1998 Acura Integra, racing rims, custom exhaust. That's enough to go on."
"Enough to go on? Do you know how many red Integra's there are in Washington?"
"Hey, I'm just doing my job. Save it for the judge. If you will please step out of the car, I need to perform a sobriety test. Do I have permission to search your car?"
Harrison didn't have anything illegal in his car. This cop had nothing on him.
"Sure, do what you need." Harrison replied as he stepped out of the car.
The day was quickly coming to an end. The moon was coming out. So were the street racers. Tonight, things were going to be different. Tonight was a big race. Seattle to Issaquah. Winner takes all. One thousand dollars. Harrison could hardly wait; he had been waiting for this for months. The entire day had been torture. He passed the time reading works by JRR Tolkien, as he normally would. Harrison loved reading fantasy books, it allowed him to escape. When he was reading, it was like he was actually there, away from the pressures of modern life. He had read all of Tolkien's books, and he was now reading The Return of the King for the third time. It was his favorite of the Lord of the Rings series. The phone rang. It was his friend Kyle.
"Are you ready to go cruising?"
"Definitely, when is the Seattle to Issaquah?"
"Twelve o'clock sharp. Are you running?"
"Damn strait. I'm going to win too."
"Whatever man, I'll meet you at QFC."
He hung up. QFC was the place to meet people. It may only be a super market but there were always people there. Harrison arrived to find Kyle sitting outside his silver and blue Civic with the radio blaring and subs pounding. There were always cops around here but Kyle never cared. He got tickets all the time for having his radio up too loud but never a moving violation.
"Man, I heard you got caught racing on I-5... that's got to suck. At least you won."
"How did you hear about that?" Harrison asked.
Kyle pointed to the other end of the parking lot. The Mitsubishi was driving towards them.
"What the hell, do you know this slow ass?"
"Yes, I do, and so do you." Replied Kyle
The Mitsubishi pulled into the spot next to Harrison's Integra. The door open and out stepped Harrison's friend, Adam.
"Adam? This is your new ride?"
"Yea, sweet isn't it?" replied Adam.
"Looks nice, I like the windows. It's as slow as a dodge dart thought."
"Yea, I got a T-4 turbo in my garage, just waiting for installation."
"I'll help with that." Cut in Kyle
"Yea, so will I," Said Harrison, "We had better get to the theater soon. I assume you are coming with us Adam?"
"Hells yea I am, ain't got nothin' better to do."
The three of them arrived at the theater in south center. As Harrison hoped, the only move they could catch in time was The Fellowship of the Ring. They quickly bought their tickets and ran in to avoid missing the much loved previews. This was the fifth time Harrison had seen the fellowship of the ring. He was still mesmerized by it.
When the movie let out, it was 10:59. There was only an hour till the flags went down. Shortly after that, Harrison would be 1000 dollars richer.
"Damn, only an hour till the race. I'm so excited I can barely contain myself." Said Harrison
"Calm down, you're going to get yourself killed. Just picture the victory and all will be good." Said Kyle
"You're running the Seattle to Issaquah? Diesel is running that tonight." Said Adam
Diesel was pretty big in the racing world. He ran a Supra that pushed close to 1000 horses.
"I don't care who is racing, I'm still going to own all." Replied Harrison
"Whatever man, just don't get your self killed or even worse, arrested." Said Kyle
The three of them arrived in separate cars in Seattle, at the base of the space needle. That's where a lot of races started. The quarter mile races stayed mostly in Bellevue and South Center, where the racers were too scarred of long distance races. There was a big crowd of people around a man who was holding a wad of cash. Crap, they were already taking entries. Harrison parked his car and ran up.
"Hey diesel, I want in." he said to the man.
"You got the bank?" Diesel replied.
"All 250." Said Harrison as he handed the money to him.
"Jesse, you hold the money, we got to get started. Someone tipped off the cops. Starting will be on 8th street. Good luck, and don't get caught."
With that, they all headed for their cars. The other cars racing were a Civic SI, a Mirage and Diesel's Supra. The only competition was Diesel. The cars pulled one bye one up to the line. As soon as they stopped, they started revving their engines. Flames shot out of the exhaust pipes. The crowd cheered. Harrison cranked his radio and drowned them out. A man stepped in front of the four beasts and made the ready check with the driver. Civic, all go. Mirage, all go. Supra all go. Acura all go. Suddenly, cop cars started pouring out of the alleys and side streets. The man in front of the cars panicked and threw his arms down, giving the signal to go. The adrenaline hit Harrison like a double barreled shotgun to the chest. He slipped it into first and let it go. Tires screamed. The crowd ran, the siren wailed. It was utter chaos. Harrison loved every minute of it. The Diesel had taken the lead, Harrison was close behind, a little further back, and the Civic and the Mirage were side by side. They wound their way through Seattle, making their way to the freeway, the whole time, the cops behind with their sirens blaring.
They were in deep. They were running from the cops. They couldn't stop. Harrison caught up with diesel, they were side by side. On the other side of Diesel, a cop car pulled along side. The lights were going and the cop was on the loud speaker repeating pull over, it's not worth dying! Harrison looked over to the cop and suddenly a taxi cab pulled into the street in front of the cop. It was too late to react. The cop car, going about 45-50, hit the cab and went flying. Harrison couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at Diesel. The psycho bastard was actually smiling when he hit the NOS. For fear of falling behind, Harrison hit the NOS as they got to the on ramp.
The cops started to fall back and soon it was only the four race cars. Tied for first were Harrison and Diesel and tied for last was the civic and the Mirage. They entered a turn. It wasn't sharp but they could definitely feel the centrifugal force. They all started to slow down a little. Harrison looked to his right. The fool in the Civic kept his speed up and soon his front tire matched Harrison's back tires. Harrison saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked closer at the front left wheel of the civic. Sparks. Harrison had to get away from this loose cannon. He slowly pushed the gas pedal and pulled ahead of the civic. He wasn't fast enough. The wheel of the civic burst into sparks and then the wheel came completely off. The civic swerved and clipped Harrison's back end. Hard. The hit sent Harrison into a complete 360 degree spin. Harrison looked out the top of his windshield and saw the road reflectors flying by at tremendous speeds. Metal bent this way and that. Harrison couldn't tell what was happening. The car spun so violently that Harrison was pinned against the door. Sparks. Grinding metal. Broken glass. Complete Darkness.
Harrison checked the rear view mirror. The car behind him was gaining fast. Man, this guy is insane, I'm going 117. He must be around 125. The supped- up pulled up along side him and slowly started to pass him. Not while I can help it thought Harrison as he hit the red button on the steering wheel. Immediately, he was thrown back in his seat and his speed started increasing. The Mitsubishi fell back. This proved to be quite an ego burst for Harrison. Now safely at 140 MPH, Harrison turned put in a CD. It was a techno CD he had just made and you could really feel it on the two 10" subwoofers in the back. Life is good thought Harrison as he swerved around slow cars on the freeway. On the dash, the police scanner started beeping. Slowly, the beeps started to go by faster so he started slowing down. Safely within the legal speed limit, sure enough, there was a cop car parked on the shoulder. Thinking he had done nothing wrong, Harrison just cruised by. As he passed by, the cop turned his lights on. Shit. Harrison willingly pulled over to the side and awaited certain doom. A few seconds later, the cop walked up and asked for his license and registration.
"Sure officer, what did I do wrong?"
"What did you do wrong? Try illegal street racing as speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour, running from the cops," Replied the cop, "Yea, that's right. You passed a cop car back there."
Harrison looked in his rear view mirror and saw the Mitsubishi with a cop car behind him. The cop's lights were on. Ha thought Harrison. At least he got it too.
"Did the other cop happen to get any plates?" Asked Harrison
The cop looked and him and paused. That was it. Harrison was going to get off free.
"Well, no but he said the car was a red 1998 Acura Integra, racing rims, custom exhaust. That's enough to go on."
"Enough to go on? Do you know how many red Integra's there are in Washington?"
"Hey, I'm just doing my job. Save it for the judge. If you will please step out of the car, I need to perform a sobriety test. Do I have permission to search your car?"
Harrison didn't have anything illegal in his car. This cop had nothing on him.
"Sure, do what you need." Harrison replied as he stepped out of the car.
The day was quickly coming to an end. The moon was coming out. So were the street racers. Tonight, things were going to be different. Tonight was a big race. Seattle to Issaquah. Winner takes all. One thousand dollars. Harrison could hardly wait; he had been waiting for this for months. The entire day had been torture. He passed the time reading works by JRR Tolkien, as he normally would. Harrison loved reading fantasy books, it allowed him to escape. When he was reading, it was like he was actually there, away from the pressures of modern life. He had read all of Tolkien's books, and he was now reading The Return of the King for the third time. It was his favorite of the Lord of the Rings series. The phone rang. It was his friend Kyle.
"Are you ready to go cruising?"
"Definitely, when is the Seattle to Issaquah?"
"Twelve o'clock sharp. Are you running?"
"Damn strait. I'm going to win too."
"Whatever man, I'll meet you at QFC."
He hung up. QFC was the place to meet people. It may only be a super market but there were always people there. Harrison arrived to find Kyle sitting outside his silver and blue Civic with the radio blaring and subs pounding. There were always cops around here but Kyle never cared. He got tickets all the time for having his radio up too loud but never a moving violation.
"Man, I heard you got caught racing on I-5... that's got to suck. At least you won."
"How did you hear about that?" Harrison asked.
Kyle pointed to the other end of the parking lot. The Mitsubishi was driving towards them.
"What the hell, do you know this slow ass?"
"Yes, I do, and so do you." Replied Kyle
The Mitsubishi pulled into the spot next to Harrison's Integra. The door open and out stepped Harrison's friend, Adam.
"Adam? This is your new ride?"
"Yea, sweet isn't it?" replied Adam.
"Looks nice, I like the windows. It's as slow as a dodge dart thought."
"Yea, I got a T-4 turbo in my garage, just waiting for installation."
"I'll help with that." Cut in Kyle
"Yea, so will I," Said Harrison, "We had better get to the theater soon. I assume you are coming with us Adam?"
"Hells yea I am, ain't got nothin' better to do."
The three of them arrived at the theater in south center. As Harrison hoped, the only move they could catch in time was The Fellowship of the Ring. They quickly bought their tickets and ran in to avoid missing the much loved previews. This was the fifth time Harrison had seen the fellowship of the ring. He was still mesmerized by it.
When the movie let out, it was 10:59. There was only an hour till the flags went down. Shortly after that, Harrison would be 1000 dollars richer.
"Damn, only an hour till the race. I'm so excited I can barely contain myself." Said Harrison
"Calm down, you're going to get yourself killed. Just picture the victory and all will be good." Said Kyle
"You're running the Seattle to Issaquah? Diesel is running that tonight." Said Adam
Diesel was pretty big in the racing world. He ran a Supra that pushed close to 1000 horses.
"I don't care who is racing, I'm still going to own all." Replied Harrison
"Whatever man, just don't get your self killed or even worse, arrested." Said Kyle
The three of them arrived in separate cars in Seattle, at the base of the space needle. That's where a lot of races started. The quarter mile races stayed mostly in Bellevue and South Center, where the racers were too scarred of long distance races. There was a big crowd of people around a man who was holding a wad of cash. Crap, they were already taking entries. Harrison parked his car and ran up.
"Hey diesel, I want in." he said to the man.
"You got the bank?" Diesel replied.
"All 250." Said Harrison as he handed the money to him.
"Jesse, you hold the money, we got to get started. Someone tipped off the cops. Starting will be on 8th street. Good luck, and don't get caught."
With that, they all headed for their cars. The other cars racing were a Civic SI, a Mirage and Diesel's Supra. The only competition was Diesel. The cars pulled one bye one up to the line. As soon as they stopped, they started revving their engines. Flames shot out of the exhaust pipes. The crowd cheered. Harrison cranked his radio and drowned them out. A man stepped in front of the four beasts and made the ready check with the driver. Civic, all go. Mirage, all go. Supra all go. Acura all go. Suddenly, cop cars started pouring out of the alleys and side streets. The man in front of the cars panicked and threw his arms down, giving the signal to go. The adrenaline hit Harrison like a double barreled shotgun to the chest. He slipped it into first and let it go. Tires screamed. The crowd ran, the siren wailed. It was utter chaos. Harrison loved every minute of it. The Diesel had taken the lead, Harrison was close behind, a little further back, and the Civic and the Mirage were side by side. They wound their way through Seattle, making their way to the freeway, the whole time, the cops behind with their sirens blaring.
They were in deep. They were running from the cops. They couldn't stop. Harrison caught up with diesel, they were side by side. On the other side of Diesel, a cop car pulled along side. The lights were going and the cop was on the loud speaker repeating pull over, it's not worth dying! Harrison looked over to the cop and suddenly a taxi cab pulled into the street in front of the cop. It was too late to react. The cop car, going about 45-50, hit the cab and went flying. Harrison couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at Diesel. The psycho bastard was actually smiling when he hit the NOS. For fear of falling behind, Harrison hit the NOS as they got to the on ramp.
The cops started to fall back and soon it was only the four race cars. Tied for first were Harrison and Diesel and tied for last was the civic and the Mirage. They entered a turn. It wasn't sharp but they could definitely feel the centrifugal force. They all started to slow down a little. Harrison looked to his right. The fool in the Civic kept his speed up and soon his front tire matched Harrison's back tires. Harrison saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked closer at the front left wheel of the civic. Sparks. Harrison had to get away from this loose cannon. He slowly pushed the gas pedal and pulled ahead of the civic. He wasn't fast enough. The wheel of the civic burst into sparks and then the wheel came completely off. The civic swerved and clipped Harrison's back end. Hard. The hit sent Harrison into a complete 360 degree spin. Harrison looked out the top of his windshield and saw the road reflectors flying by at tremendous speeds. Metal bent this way and that. Harrison couldn't tell what was happening. The car spun so violently that Harrison was pinned against the door. Sparks. Grinding metal. Broken glass. Complete Darkness.