DISCLAIMER: CORPSE PARTY AND ITS CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY TEAM GRISGRIS/GRINDHOUSE. MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, RUSH & PACKER, ARE OWNED BY ME.
Author's Note: As you have no doubt noticed, I have separated several of what was once 'Hysteric Birthday Chronicles, now Seven Sachiko Challenges' chapters into their own one shot stories, because 1. I want Sachiko's challenges to be the main centerpiece of the story, and 2. These former chapters are long enough to stand on their own. I will also denote in each of these stories and in every chapter of Seven Sachiko Challenges when these events take place in the grand scheme of things, since they still revolve around each other.
But for now, here is Chapter 3, which chronicles the third of Packer's challenges. Enjoy.
This chapter takes place after Bomb Shelter Quiz.
CHAPTER 3: CHALLENGE 3 - THE CHASE
With everyone now situated back in the auditorium, Sachiko turned her attention toward Packer.
"All right, Packer Onii-Chan," Sachiko began. "It's time to begin your third Deadly Challenge!"
"Very well," Packer said. "What is the challenge?"
"For your third challenge, you won't even need your battle armor," Sachiko explained. "This time, I will be putting your driving skills to the test."
Everyone arched an eyebrow at that.
"My driving skills? How?" Packer asked.
Sachiko snapped her fingers, and out of nowhere, a dimensional fissure appeared near where Packer was standing. Packer gasped as he realized that the fissure led back to the real world. Glancing through it, he recognized the city the fissure was showing.
"This fissure is leading to Long Beach, California," Packer noted, before turning and glancing at Sachiko. "Why Long Beach, though?"
"Well, it's in your backyard, isn't it?" Sachiko inquired. "Besides, it's the perfect platform for your challenge. Have a closer look."
Packer looked back through the fissure and gasped as he saw the vehicle he was going to be driving: a 2009 Ford Mustang GT, painted emerald green with gold trim.
"A Mustang? You're letting me drive a Mustang for this challenge?" Packer asked, looking back at Sachiko with a half smirk.
"Yes, you are," Sachiko replied. "But you won't be alone. To up the ante a little bit, I have chosen a representative from each of the five schools here to ride along with you on this challenge." Everyone gasped in surprise. "So not only will your life be on the line, but so will these five representatives. From Kisaragi: Seiko Shinohara, no surprise there."
"Yay! I get to ride with Packer-kun!" Seiko screeched, jumping into Packer's arms.
"From Paulownia: Naho Saenoki!" Sachiko announced.
"Crap…" Naho mumbled.
"From St. Cruz.: Ran Kobayashi!" Sachiko continued.
"Well, this is not what I had signed up for," Ran sighed.
"From Byakudan: Mitsuki Yamamoto!" Sachiko announced.
"Me? Why me?" Mitsuki questioned.
"And finally, from Musashigawa: Nari Amatoya!" Sachiko finished.
"Oh, joy," Nari sighed.
As the five girls walked up to Packer, he looked back at Sachiko with a questioning look.
"Okay, Sachiko," he said. "What's the challenge?"
"You know where the Vincent Thomas Bridge is, correct?" Sachiko asked.
"I do. It's in Los Angeles," Packer replied.
"Well, you must make it there from your starting point in one hour," Sachiko explained. "In addition, if you are caught by the police, who will be chasing you the whole time, or if time runs out, you will fail the challenge. However, if you make it to the finish line marked at the end of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, you will win the challenge. Sound good?"
"Sounds good to me," Packer replied. "Let's do this."
With that, he turned and walked through the fissure, with the chosen girls following suit.
Mitsuki, Nari, and Ran elected to sit in the back of the Mustang, while Naho sat in the passenger's seat. With nowhere else to sit, Seiko had no choice but to sit on Packer's lap in the driver's seat, which no doubt caused Packer to blush a bit.
"Okay, we're ready to roll," Naho said, putting her seat belt on. "Let's get this over with."
"Roger that," Packer replied, turning the key in the ignition. The clock mounted on the dashboard began to count down from '1:00:00', signifying they had one hour to complete the challenge. Once the car was fired, Packer put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking garage they had previously been in.
Knowing southern California like the back of his hand, Packer turned right and pulled out onto the street, but was surprised when a black car began heading straight for them.
"Looks like it's starting early," Packer grumbled. "Hang on!"
Swinging the car around and burning rubber, the Mustang zoomed down the street in the opposite direction, with the black car in hot pursuit.
Packer then turned down a one-way alley, a cat-like grin on his face.
"Welcome to my neck of the woods, ladies," he declared. "So don't worry. I know this city like the back of my hand."
"You sure you can outrun the cops, Packer?" Naho asked.
"Watch me," Packer answered, shifting into third gear.
"Unit 151 in pursuit of 2009 Ford Mustang, green."
Packer looked down at the CB radio attached to the center console.
"I guess we got a radio that can tune into the police frequencies," he surmised.
After getting to the end of the alley, Packer turned left onto the next road.
"Suspect traveling east on Fifth Street."
Coming to the next intersection, Packer maneuvered the car around other vehicles and made another left turn.
"Correction. Make that north on Main."
"That car chasing us is relaying our position," Naho said.
"I know," Packer replied.
As he raced down Main Street, Packer suddenly saw two police cars enter his field of vision in front of him, intent on blocking his path.
"I don't suppose you have a way out of this, do you?" Mitsuki asked.
Looking to his right, Packer noticed another alleyway that was unobstructed. Thinking fast, he turned the car expertly into the alley without losing much speed, causing a logjam of cars behind him and halting the black car's pursuit for now.
"Wow, that was awesome!" Nari exclaimed.
Packer grinned, until his Future Sight activated momentarily, causing him to gasp in surprise.
"Packer, what's wrong?" Seiko asked. Looking ahead, Packer gasped as a semi-truck began to pull into the alley, blocking their path. Thinking fast, Packer slammed on the brakes.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!" Packer yelled. The girls screamed as the car came to a halt just inches from the semi.
"Now what?" Ran inquired.
Without hesitation, Packer shifted into reverse and began backing the car up, turning his head so he could see out the rear window. Nari couldn't help but notice the determination in his green eyes.
In the meantime, the black car managed to get free of the logjam and was now coming down the alleyway as well. A collision seemed inevitable.
"You're nuts, Packer!" Naho exclaimed.
Then, Packer noticed in his peripheral vision that a garage door in one of the buildings was open. Thinking fast, he turned the wheel and angled the car into the tiny hole, all while going backwards. The black car followed them in, as Packer maneuvered his way through the darkened garage. Coming out the other side still in reverse, he kept his foot on the gas, knowing that another semi was moving toward them in front of his car. He glanced toward the girls in the backseat and flashed them a smile momentarily before turning his attention back forward.
Slamming on the brakes, the semi also did the same, allowing Packer to maneuver the Mustang back into the proper lane. However, another police car was fast approaching them, sliding sideways to block their path. Thinking fast, Packer turned into yet another alleyway, only this one was full of cars on both sides as well as traffic. The cop had to slam on the brakes to prevent running into another car, allowing him to move in front. As they approached a busy cross-section, the girls screamed and held on tight as Packer drove the car across the busy roadway, hoping they wouldn't get t-boned by another car. Fortunately, they made it to the other side, which was not the case for the cop car, as it was hit by a bus, completely blocking the intersection. As the black car arrived, they saw the aftermath of the accident.
"Unit 151, Unit 3 involved in a TA at St. Vincent's and Seventh."
As the Mustang sped along, Naho glanced over at Packer, who didn't even flinch at the roadway crossing.
"Did your Future Sight activate that time?" she asked.
"Nope," Packer replied. "We would've made it the whole time."
As they drove down the road, two more police cars approached them head-on. Seeing no other option, Packer spun the car around and began racing back down the road in the opposite direction.
At this point, two more police cars were coming at him head-on, but Packer managed to maneuver through a gap between the cars and turned right into an aqueduct, the four police cars hot on his heels.
"Why are we going down this way?" Ran asked.
"You'll see," Packer replied.
"All units, pursuit has enter flood control adjacent to 710 Freeway."
"Requesting air unit, same location."
"Now it's gonna get interesting," Packer said.
Just then, a helicopter appeared above the chase.
"Air Two. We're over the pursuit. Suspects traveling southbound at 90 miles an hour."
Packer kept his eyes glued to what was out the windshield, even as the speedometer began to creep past 100 miles per hour.
"Stay with them, Air Two."
"I'm all over them."
"I don't suppose you have a way out of this mess?" Naho asked. Packer looked over at her and cracked a smile.
"Indeed I do," Packer replied, before reaching down and flipping a switch marked 'Nitrous'. "You might want to hold onto something."
Packer pressed the button to activate the nitrous, and all of a sudden, everyone felt like they were being sucked into their seats as the car accelerated in an instant, and continued to do so.
"Suspects have increased speed to 120… 140… 160… they're gone."
"Ha!" Packer laughed, as the numeric speedometer topped out at 185 miles per hour before he disengaged the nitrous. Slowing the car down gradually, he finally came to an opening in the aqueduct that led to a tunnel with which they were able to get back safely onto public roads.
With 25 minutes remaining, Packer pulled to a stop on a side road that was next to a bridge. Putting the vehicle in park, he let out a relieved sigh.
"Well, we've bought ourselves a breather, but not much of one," Packer said. "With an APB and BOLOs out for us, it won't be long before they pick up our trail again."
"Well, we don't want to dawdle for too long," Naho replied. "We only have twenty-five minutes left in the challenge, and it's one we can't afford to lose. You do know where the finish line is, right?"
"Of course. This is my backyard, after all," Packer replied.
Just then, Packer glanced up in the rearview mirror, and noticed a cop car getting ready to pull onto their street.
"Uh-oh. Time to go!" he yelled, putting the car back into drive and flooring the accelerator. Rear wheels spinning, they burned rubber down the street as the cop car began to chase after them.
"All units, be advised, suspect vehicle is now heading south on Henry Ford Boulevard."
"These American cops are tenacious," Nari admired.
"You have no idea," Packer replied.
"Yeah, that cop is right on our ass," Mitsuki said, looking back and noticing how close the cop was to them. Just then, two more patrols entered the chase. Packer looked up and recognized where they were.
"We're at the South Harbor Shipyard," Packer realized. "Perfect."
Naho looked over at Packer quizzically for a second, before deciding that it was best to trust in his judgment.
Packer took care not to hit any workers that were around, and just managed to fit himself in between a bulldozer and one of the gates leading into the shipyard.
Heading up an incline, Packer stepped on the brakes to slow the Mustang down. The car jumped as it reached the top, but was a much softer jump than it was going to be since Packer had slowed the car down. The police car tailing them wasn't as lucky as the speed it was carrying sent it high into the air and into the back of other bulldozer parked in the shipyard.
Packer continued to maneuver around moving equipment and other obstacles as he raced through the shipyard, the police hot on his heels. Just then, the helicopter rejoined the fray, relaying information down to the police cars below.
"Unit 151, suspects heading westbound. Head east to intercept."
"Guess that black car tracked us down as well. This is gonna get hairy," Packer said darkly.
"Unit 151, maintain your course. Suspects heading in your direction."
Just then, Packer could see the black car in front of him, blocking his path. Jerking the wheel to the left, he maneuvered the car onto a pier connected with the shipyard. Reaching the end of the pier, Packer turned the car back around and headed back toward the entrance to the pier.
"Unit 151, he's at the end of the pier, turning towards you."
Hearing this the black car sped onto the pier, but caused a shipyard worker to panic and lose his grip on a large industrial sized container full of gas. Hitting the ground and breaking the nozzle, it released the pressurized gas, sending it soaring into the air and through a sheet metal wall like a rocket. Coming back down onto the ground, it struck a police cruiser and spun it around.
As Packer raced down the pier, he noticed the chaos that was happening around the out-of-control canister and aimed his car at it.
"Packer, what are you doing?" Seiko asked worriedly.
"Just watch," Packer replied.
Seemingly with expert timing, Packer maneuvered the Mustang through an opening just as the canister blasted by. The black car was barely able to get by as well, but several police cars had been crippled by the canister.
With nerves of steel, Packer continued to race through the shipyard, dodging obstacles ranging from heavy equipment to workers to more police vehicles that were joining the chase. Then, with the black heading right toward them after they decided to take a detour to head them off, Packer maneuvered the car into a small opening between two buildings, keeping the chase alive as the black car and the rest of the police cruisers followed in hot pursuit.
Naho glanced over at Packer once more, admiring his concentration and his unprecedented driving skills, especially from someone so young.
"You're a very good driver, Packer," Naho complimented. Packer glanced over at her and smiled.
"Thanks, Naho," Packer replied as he turned his eyes back to the task at hand. Still dodging obstacles, he now found himself at the very edge of the pier, with a police car in hot pursuit. Glancing up, Seiko's eyes widened as she saw something that struck fear in her heart.
"Packer!" Seiko shouted, pointing out the window. Looking to where Seiko was pointing, Packer's eyes widened as he saw a wrecking ball heading right towards them.
"Hang on!" Packer shouted, stepping on the gas. Thanks to the horsepower that the Mustang was putting out, it was able to just barely dodge the wrecking ball, but the police car chasing behind wasn't so lucky, as the ball hit the car with enough force to send it through the wall it was intending to knock down. The police car was destroyed, but the driver was okay.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Packer was able to race out of the shipyard and back onto the highway. The only police unit that was able to keep up the chase at the moment was the helicopter, but Packer had an idea for slowing that down as well.
"Well, we got rid of the cops chasing us, but that helicopter is still there," Naho said. "How are we gonna get away from it?"
"It's simple," Packer replied. "We're heading toward an airport, which is a restricted airspace. With any luck, they won't be able to cross it."
As the car sped toward the underpass where the airfield was, the police chopper was doing what Packer thought they'd do.
"Long Beach Tower, this is LAPD Air Two, in pursuit of suspect. Requesting permission to cross airfield."
"Negative, Air Two. Incoming aircraft on approach. Hold your position."
Packer smiled over at Naho before dropping the hammer, speeding down the highway. Finally, after several minutes, they were at the Vincent Thomas Bridge. Just as they began to cross, Packer's cellphone rang. Activating his headset, Packer accepted the call.
"Packer, here," he said.
"Packer, it's Rush," Rush replied. "Where are you at right now?"
"We're just now crossing over the Vincent Thomas Bridge," Packer retorted.
"Well, I hate to bring this up partner, but… you've got five minutes left, and you have a date with destiny on the other side of that bridge," Rush said.
"I know, but LA's finest have been chasing our ass through most of southern California," Packer replied. "Which is why it took so long to get to where we are now."
"How's the car running?" Rush asked.
"The car's running good," Packer answered. "I have a feeling our luck's about to change. We'll see you on the other side. Packer out."
Switching the cellphone off, Packer refocused his attention out the windshield.
However, halfway across, they came to an accident scene, with several ambulances and tow trucks blocking the path to the other side. Allowing Seiko out so he could, Packer stepped out of the car to get a closer look, and noticed a tow truck with its flatbed angled down at the ground, like a ramp. Letting a smile grace his lips, he stepped back inside the car, with Seiko following suit.
"Is there any way we can get across?" Ran asked.
"Maybe…" Packer murmured, before putting the car in reverse and began backing up. However, their path was blocked as the black car and a platoon of police cars showed up, causing Packer to come to a stop. All the cops got out and pointed their pistols at the Mustang.
"Everyone in the Mustang get out with your hands up!"
"Great. What are we gonna do now?" Mitsuki asked, petrified. The other girls were visibly shaking as well.
Packer glanced forward and noticed the flatbed was still down. Letting out a small gasp, Packer gritted his teeth and stepped on the gas, racing toward the flatbed. All the girls suddenly looked back forward and realized what Packer was doing.
"Packer, this is nuts!" Seiko yelled.
"I know," Packer replied. "But it's our only shot."
Packer shifted several times to get the car into a higher gear, to build up as much speed as possible to make the jump. Just as they were about to hit the flatbed, Packer gritted his teeth.
"HANG ON!" he shouted.
The girls screamed as they tried to find something to hold onto as they hit the flatbed ramp, sending them soaring through the air and over the dozens of people and vehicles below them. Clearing everything, the car came down hard onto the ground and began to fishtail wildly. After several tense seconds, Packer was able to get the car back under control, and he let out a sigh of relief as they crossed the finish line to complete the challenge. The clock read '0:28', meaning they made it to the finish line with 28 seconds to spare.
"We did it!" Seiko shouted, sending the other girls into a cheering frenzy as Packer brought the car to a halt on the other side of the bridge.
After getting out, everyone noticed that a dimensional fissure had opened near them. Packer glanced over at the girls.
"Well, looks like it's time to head back in," Packer said. The girls definitely didn't want to, but they also didn't want to incur Sachiko's wrath, so they reluctantly followed Packer into the dimensional fissure.
When they emerged on the other side and back into the auditorium, the entire group was there to give them a standing ovation. Packer rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed at the attention he was receiving, before glancing over at Sachiko, who was smiling as well.
"Well done, Packer Onii-Chan," Sachiko said. "That's three of my challenges you've completed thus far, but there are still four more for you to complete before I let everyone leave, and they're only going to get harder from here on out."
"I'll be ready," Packer said with confidence.
"All right, then," Sachiko said, clapping her hands together. "It's time for our next event! And it's gonna be a good one…"
She let out a hearty laugh as everyone wondered what the next event was… and who was going to be in it.
