What Lurks in the Depths of Night

"Will you shut up and listen," Shane yelled at his girlfriend. "I've had a bad day and I come here to get yelled at some more. This is ridiculous."

"Well, you should be yelled at. Street racing can get you killed, and that's all your parents and myself want you to understand. And on top of that you got ticketed for it. Which is probably for the better, maybe now you won't race again."

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to you bitch too. I'm outta here. See you later, Marie," Shane replied turning to the door.

Marie grabbed his arm. "Hey, I love you, and please be careful."

Shane took a deep breath.

"I will. See you tomorrow, mi amour," he replied kissing her on the cheek and exiting the house.

As he walked to his car, his anger refused to subside. He felt his pant's leg vibrate, and realized that his phone was ringing. "Hello, who is it? There's some action at the old depot. When?" Shane asked looking at his watch. "Okay, I'll be there in five." He hung up and entered his pearl white Nissan 350Z, and he was off.

"Deep breaths, deep breaths," he kept repeating to himself as he drove towards the location of the big race. "Lord, please let me win this. If I do, I'll retire from racing, promise. Just keep me safe."

He pulled into the old truck depot at around 9:30pm. There was a crowd of people gathered around three other cars near the center of the depot. He pulled up to the group of cars slowly.

"Looky here, looky here, mister high and mighty finally showed up. Maybe now we can get this party started," Damon stated sarcastically.

Shane put his car in park and exited the vehicle. Damon started to walk towards him; they met halfway. "So," Shane asked. "How much?"

"Ten large," Damon replied leaning in closer so only the two of them could hear the conversation. "And, bro, if you need me to spot you I will."

"No thanks, man, I got it covered," he pulled a rolled up wad of hundreds and handed them to his friend. "You just keep my money warm."

"Hope your right, man, 'cause there's some stiff competition tonight."

"Yeah, I saw the Skyline. But, by the looks of it, that's the only one I need to worry about."

"True, and Ski's out there, so she can give you a hand. The other two racers are brothers, so watch out."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, go show 'em what a real driver can do."

Shane walked back to his car and got in. Slipping the key into the ignition and giving it a turn, the engine came to life along with the radio. Immediately the car was filled with the pounding of subwoofers and amps being cranked to the max. He looked down and grabbed the medallion hanging around his neck.

The medallion was a simple one, nothing but a silver cross on some string, but it was the meaning behind it that meant something. His girlfriend gave it to him on the first Christmas that they shared together; it was meant to show the pureness of their love that they had for each other. After tonight, win or loose, he'd finally throw all of this racing nonsense away for good, and devote his time to a new life with his soon-to-be wife. After tonight.

He cranked the music more and rolled the windows down. The body of his car vibrated fiercely with the rhythm of the bass. Then, the flag dropped. All four cars lurched into motion; the raw speed under each vehicle just waiting to be released at the right moment. The race was simple: first person to cross the finish line wins, but there were a few setbacks. Shane recalled a couple of times where four left the start, but only three crossed the finish. He just hoped that tonight, he wouldn't be the missing car. He slammed his foot on the accelerator and popped the shifter into third gear; the Nissan lurched momentarily, then it gave off a surge of power.

He now found himself in second with Ski hot on his tail in third. She was doing her part; staying right behind Shane while keeping all other competition off his six. Now, if they could only smoke the Skyline.

It was just a few feet ahead of him, swerving left and right to block any advancement.

"Shit," Shane growled. "How am I going to pass him?"

Behind him, Ski was in a similar situation. "Ugh, he passed me. That's it. No more nice girl. Shane, I hope your paying attention, because things are about to get exciting."

Ski punched the NOS and sent her Honda S2000 right into the Mazda Miata in front of her.

"Shit, what is that crazy bitch doing? Ah, I can't straighten up!"

The Miata took a sharp turn the left and spun out. It kept doing three-sixties until it made a hard stop against a light pole. The light pole gave way under the impact and fell right on top of the Miata's carbon fiber hood; making the rear of the car jump three feet upward, which was followed by the rear end crippling as it fell back on the asphalt.

"One down, one to go," I mumbled. Up ahead there was a man made ramp set up against a group of tanker trucks. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. We have to jump that?...Ugh, here goes nothing."

"Ugh, why in the hell would someone do something like this?" the guy driving the Skyline barked. "I don't want to jump, but I'm not going to let the pansy behind me win."

The three remaining cars formed a single file line. The Skyline punched his NOS a bit to early to make a good jump. It sped forward and Shane slammed his foot down on the accelerator, but he was slowly losing the lead car. He hit the base of the ramp and punched his NOS one last time. The scenery around him became a blur of grays.

"Ha! You see there. I told you I had a surprise tonight. You better be glad I don't charge for this shit," Damon exclaimed.

"I ain't paying you for anything, and where's my boyfriend," Marie yelled at Damon.

"And who might you be?"

"Shane's girlfriend. And don't try to save his ass either. Now where is he?"

"Well, you're feisty, he's about to make the jump."

"Your shiting me, right?" Marie asked.

"Oh, crap!" the driver of the Skyline yelled as he jumped the ramp. Without thinking he jerked the wheel, which made his car move around in the air. The Skyline landed sideways and started to roll. It kept rolling until it came to a stop, faced right side up (but slightly at an angle), on a pile of wood.

"I live for this shit," Shane exclaimed as his 350Z jumped the ramp. He held the wheel tightly and locked his arms. His car flew through the air gracefully, like an eagle swooping down on its prey; and then he landed. When all four wheels were firmly on concrete, the car started to swerve, but Shane kept his arms locked. "I'm not going to spin. I'm not going to spin."

Ahead of him lay the last hundred feet of the race. A straight line to the finish, and his girlfriend? "Why is she here?"

The crowd split as he slowed to stop in the middle of it. Ski stopped a few feet behind them. As Shane got out, there was an uproar of cheers.

Damon walked up and handed Shane a big wad of bills. "All yours, baby. Go ahead smell it. Roll it around in your hands. Feels good, don't it?"

Shane unfolded the wad and counted a few hundreds out of the enormous stack. "Here you go, bro."

Damon held up the money and wave it around. "You see this, people? This is what I'd like to call mutual respect. Um, Shane, the Skyline that's all crippled now is the rest of your winnings. That's all he could front for the race."

"Great!" Shane replied sarcastically, handing Damon another small stack of bills. "Here, take this so you can start working your magic on it. We'll work on the rest of the cost later."

After Damon walked over to flirt with Ski, Marie walked up and pinned Shane's back to his car. "Why in the hell are you racing again? Dammit, Shane, what will it take to get it through that thick skull of yours that you almost died today? What?"

"Look, Marie, this was my last race. I'm done. I was trying to keep it a secret from you because I thought I wouldn't be racing for long. I was using the race winnings to save up for our future together. I figured, that after a few races, I'd have enough money in savings to put this all behind me."

Marie gave him a look that was a mixture of affection and anger. After a moment of looking at him, she released Shane from his now slightly uncomfortable position. "Why didn't you just tell me? I would've understood."

"Sweetie, I wasn't planning for me to participate in as many races as I did. So, that's why I didn't tell you. That crumpled Skyline over there is the last thread of my racing days; tonight I vow that I will never again get behind the wheel for any, and I mean any, racing purposes whatsoever. Though, I wasn't planning to make it so public."

Damon walked back up to Shane. "If you're not racing again, then why do you want me to fix up that Skyline?"

"What I meant by fixing it up is restoring the body, and returning everything else back to stock. After that's done, then you can strip my 350Z down to stock. I mean it, my racing career is over."

After Shane finished his statement, he heard sirens in the distance, and then he looked down at Marie. Why did I have to go through with this race? Now I have put her in danger. How am I going to get her out of this? How?

"Marie, get in your car and drive out of here at a fast, but casual, pace. Drive around a bit to make sure that there isn't a cop on your tail and then head to your house. I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you," Shane said as he entered his car.

"I love you, too, mi amour," Marie replied heading towards her '05 Mustang GT.

As Damon ran past my door, Shane grabbed his shirt. "Damon, you make sure she gets back home in one piece. She's all that I have left."

Damon looked down at him for a second and gave a solemn nod. "Will do, bro."

There was a deafening onslaught of engines roaring to life, and then came hundreds of screeching tires as all the cars in the depot raced hurriedly towards different exits. For a split second Shane spotted Marie's Candied-Apple red mustang as it raced towards the north gate. "Time to ride."

He grabbed his medallion real quick, and then he floored it. The buildings in the depot became a blur of grays and blacks as he headed towards the north exit. Behind him, the cops were pouring into the depot like ants out of the mound.

"Dispatch, we've got a pearl white 350Z heading towards the north exit of the depot, do you copy?"

"Copy 24."

"Permission to pursue?"

"Granted 24. Good luck."

Shane looked down at the police radio that he had installed. "Shit, they're already on my tail. Here goes nothing." He peeled out of the entrance and headed west towards the old bank one building. The traffic all around him was overrun with patrol units, and all of those cars were swarming in on him like wasps.

"24, this is 31, want to do a box?"

"Let's do it."

Out of nowhere there were two units on each side of him and a unit in front of him. "Oh come on, guys, I just want to go home," Shane yelled, slapping his steering wheel. "I don't want to have to cause any more damage than is absolutely necessary. But, you're leaving me no choice."

Shane pressed the NOS button until the meter showed empty. The already blurry surroundings became a smear of reds, yellows, oranges, and blues. His car slammed into the police cruiser in front of him and pushed it out of the way. The lead cruiser lost control and spun into oncoming traffic; two civilian vehicles hit it, which instantly caused a ten-car pile up.

"31, this is 24, do you read?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Come in, 31."

"Come on, dude, respond," Shane pleaded as he kept his eyes on the road ahead of him.

"24, this is 31, I'm out of commission. I need a tow."

"I copy, 31, tow in route."

"Oh, thank God," Shane stated, relieved as he rounded a corner. But, when he did, he slammed into the side of a Mini Cooper. The smaller car instantly crumpled under the force of impact from the larger one. Shane's 350Z angled its nose down which launched his rear-end upward. The car flew up fifteen feet, and it flipped as it did so. When it slammed into the ground the frame snapped under the extreme force. The car jumped up one last time, landed on its passenger side, and then fell on its roof.

All around people turned to survey what was going on. There was smoke billowing out from under the hood of the derelict pile of metal and fiberglass. As the cop cars poured in on the scene, their lights danced along metal surfaces.

The last thing Shane saw was Marie in his mind, then everything went black.