CHAPTER 8: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
At the address of 816 Klasky Street, Otto and Twister arrived outside the front of the warehouse, ready to join in on the party. However, after a sharp knock on the front door, and a brief moment of waiting, no reply nor meeting was heard. Otto gave another sharp knock to the warehouse door, waiting again for a reply, only to receive no reply again.
"Uh, dude, are you sure you brought us to the right place?" Twister asked.
"What? He said 816 Klasky Street, this is the place. Are you suggesting there's more than one warehouse here with that address?" Otto asked.
"No, dude, but... What if he, like, pranked us?"
"What do you mean, 'pranked us'? You think he'd do that to his new recruits?"
"Well, what if he didn't really wanna recruit us and just wanted to mess with us?"
"Oh, yeah, so, he saved me from getting beat up just so he could send me in the middle of nowhere. How's that make sense?"
"Well, he's not here, dude. What does that tell you?"
As the two continued to argue, a pair of hands landed on the shoulders of the two friends, giving each of them a startle. The two turmed to view the owner of the hands, both finding themselves greeted by Dax Jett, happy to see the two arrive.
"It tells me that you two don't have much faith in others, or, rather, just Twister here." Dax said.
"Whoa! Uh, hey, dude, I was just-" Twister tried to say.
"Think nothing of it, Twister. I'm not a grudging man."
"So, what's the deal? You said the party was in here." Otto asked.
"Oh, no, no, no. I believe I told you to meet me here, I never said the party was in the warehouse."
"So, where the party at?"
"Right this way, gentlemen."
Otto and Twister followed Dax to the supposed party, Twister becoming skeptical of whether there was indeed a party in the first place. After a few minutes of walking, however, Twister's skepticism quickly came to an end and both of the skaters found themselves extremely pleased with the sight of the party.
[Soundtrack Cue: KMFDM - Megalomaniac]
Sitting within a large concrete pit, a large group of skaters, surfers, teenagers, nu-metal heads, ska punkers, and all the counter-culture of the SoCal area all threw a massive party, celebrating their unity in fun and good times. The numerous subcultures all coming together as one, a product of their times, all came together in this one moment to act as one time capsule of the late '90s and early '00s.
Flashing strobe lights flashed throughout the pit, breaking through the near-pitch black tone of the night; skaters rode up and down the concrete landfills, using it like a makeshift ramp; several recreational drugs like marijuana and ecstasy were passed around along with water bottles; and a DJ was playing blaring loud music over a large assortment of speakers, with numerous attractive, scantily-clad women dancing for the group to see and a large group below raving to the music.
Otto and Twister, more than happy to see an impressive party and a huge group of fun-loving people like themselves, were more than impressed with the party.
"Dude... How come I never heard of all these people in Ocean Shores before?" Otto asked.
"It's a little hidden gem for most people in the SoCal area. Anybody who's anybody knows about it." Dax said.
"Then how come we never heard of it?" Twister asked.
"Well, you two never met me before."
Dax, more than eager to join in on the party, began escorting Otto and Twister into the party, ready to partake in the numerous fun activities to be found.
"Come on, boys, I'll introduce you to a few of my friends." Dax said.
Dax escorted the two down to the heart of the party, taking them to the remainder of the Prodigy team, awaiting their arrival.
"My teammates you kind of know, here's a better run-down. Jared's the tech guy, he takes care of our boards, does custom builds for us, gets whatever kind of parts we need." Dax said.
"Pleased to formally meet you guys." Jared said.
Jared shared a handshake with Otto and Twister.
"Mike's the wild child. He's into skating, surfing, rollerblading, hockey, and, let's not forget his personal favorite; fighting. You don't want on his bad side, but, if you're on his good side, he will fight for you 'till the day you die." Dax said.
"What's up?" Mike asked.
Mike shared a handshake with Otto and Twister as well.
"This fine man here is Wes. He's been my best friend as far as I can remember, and my skateboarding partner as far as that." Dax said.
Before Wes could properly introduce himself to the group, Dax and Wes shared a kiss in front of the group. Otto and Twister, not expecting the two to be as close as they were seeing, found themselves a bit surprised at the two.
"Oh, so, uh... You're gay? Not that there's anything wrong with that, I mean-" Otto tried to say.
"Not quite. Wes here's gay, but I'm a different story." Dax said.
"How do you do?" Wes asked.
Wes shared a handshake with Otto and Twister, with the two pushing aside their initial surprise for friendliness towards their new teammate.
Twister, concerning himself more with the party, took notice of several of the attractive women dancing in the rave, rushing to join in on the fun. Otto, more interested in knowing the leader of the Prodigy team better, followed him to ask more questions.
"So, what do you mean, 'a different story'?" Otto asked.
"What?" Dax asked.
"I asked if you were gay, you said you were a different story. What does that mean?"
"I honestly don't care about gender. You could be male, female, trans, intersex, from Mars, it doesn't matter to me. Hell, I really don't even care about sex that much. I've always lived for one thing, and one thing only."
"Which is?"
"The ride, Otto. Wherever that may be. Skating, surfing, whatever. What's the point of living your life if you're not using it to seize every moment, make the most of everything?"
"Sounds good to me, dude, but you never wanna take a bit and calm down? Even I like to take some time to smoke some grass and chill out."
"I don't smoke, drink, or do drugs. I'm not Straight Edge, but I prefer living natural highs. Why would I do a line of cocaine and tear up my nose when I could jump out of a plane and feel the air blowing past my face as I fall straight towards the Earth?"
"I don't do coke, but I see what you mean. So, what, you're just at it 24/7, never sleep?"
"I rarely sleep, and even then it's only because I just had sex. My head's always in the moment too much that I forget about all my other troubles; food, water, sleep, all that just goes away."
"Hell of a life, dude."
"Hell of a life, indeed. The more you hang with us, the more you'll start to find me rubbing off on you a bit. That happens to everybody in the team."
"Uh..."
"Not in a literal way, of course. Like I said, I barely care about sex. Besides, you and Twister aren't really my type."
"Oh, well, that's a little reassuring."
"Don't take that wrong, though. You guys seem cool to me. I think you guys'll fit right in with us."
"I hope so, too. You guys are pretty cool, and I like you guys so far."
Meanwhile, in the rave, Twister continued to enjoy himself in the rave, dancing next to several beautiful women and getting to know them more personally.
"So, hey, girl, I'm, like, in the Prodigy team." Twister said.
"The Prodigy, huh?" One woman asked.
"Yeah, they recruited me in one day."
"Only one day? You must really be good, huh?" Another woman asked.
"You bet. I'm one of the best skaters in Ocean Shores, and one of the best cinematographers."
"Cine-what?" The first woman asked.
"I film skaters doing tricks, and I'm pretty good at it, too."
"Really? Ever thought about making a little... 'home video'?" The second woman asked.
"Well... since you asked so nicely..."
As Twister continued to flirt with the two women clutching onto him, far too busy with the matters in his hands now, took no notice of anything else around him. Unfortunately, that also included a threat coming very near that he was not prepared for.
While Twister continued to talk to the two women at his sides, a hand placed itself on his shoulder, turning him around. Twister, caught off-guard by the stranger pulling him aside, was unpleasantly surprised by a group of 4 strangers staring him down rather unhappily.
"So, uh... Can I help you guys?" Twister asked.
"Couldn't help but overhear you, you said you're with the Prodigy team, right?" One stranger asked.
"Yeah, dude. Want an autograph?"
"How about we give you one instead?"
The stranger delivered a sharp punch to Twister's face, knocking him to the ground. With their target knocked to the ground and caught off-guard, the rest of the group joined in on beating him to the ground, all viciously beating him down.
As the group of ruffians continued beating Twister, the ravers backed up from the group, none wanting to intervene in the fight.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
The DJ, taking better notice of the fight with the ravers out of his line of sight, turned off the music and brought more attention to the fight to those not observing.
"Hey! We got 4 guys jumping some guy in the pit! Can somebody lend this dude a hand?" The DJ called.
A few feet away, Otto and Dax took notice of the fight going on, immediately recognizing Twister and also recognizing the 4 attackers as the group that attacked Otto at Zero Gravity Zone. Recognizing the problem at hand, Otto, Dax, and the rest of the Prodigy team all rushed into the pit to break the fight up.
Upon reaching the pit, the Prodigy, outnumbering the attacking team 5 to 4, easily broke up the fight, pushing the attackers back and helping Twister off the ground.
"You mind explaining why you 4 felt the need to attack my newest member and ruin a good time? I thought we already dealt with you this afternoon." Dax asked.
"Not quite, pal. We've still got a bone to pick with you." The leader said.
"Oh, yeah? You care to elaborate?"
"Fair enough. Allow us to introduce ourselves. Name's Randy. People call me Randy the Rowdy, and these 3 behind me are called the Rowdy Boyz, that's with a 'Z'."
"With a 'Z'? Didn't anyone tell you that 'boys' ends with an 'S', or did you drop out before you got to that lesson in school?"
The crowd all shared a hearty laugh at Dax's joke, leaving Randy in a state of humiliation.
"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" Randy asked.
"Well, these people think so." Dax said.
"Well, then, Mr. Comedian, is this your idea of a joke?"
Randy held up a broken skateboard, the board being broken in half.
"What am I looking at?" Dax asked.
"Just this afternoon, your boy there knocked one of my buddies down in Zero Gravity Zone, and he broke his board in half." Randy said.
"That thing? No shit it broke, it's a Kryptonics board. Where do you get your gear, WallMore?"
The crowd laughed again at Randy and the Rowdy Boyz, making him grow impatient with each humiliation thrown on him. Not able to take any more abuse, Randy finally offered a challenge to settle the affair.
"Oh, so, what, you think you're better than us with those boards you ride? Tell you what, why don't you put your money where your mouths are?" Randy asked.
"What are you saying, you wanna race us?" Dax asked.
"Hell, yeah, we do. You up for it?"
"I don't know, man, I don't think you're worth our time."
"How about we make it interesting, then?"
"Interesting how?"
"Both teams put down $500. The winner walks away with $1,000 and the loser's board."
The crowd, intrigued by the offer, all 'ooh'ed in anticipation of the race, eagerly awaiting Dax to accept.
"$1,000 and the loser's board, huh? Well, I doubt that your board could be anything I might want if you boys run shit like Kryptonics." Dax said.
"Don't hold your breath, man. Allow me to show you what I got." Randy said.
Randy pulled out a case containing his own board, revealing it to be an Alva skateboard, well-preserved and well-maintained.
"Alva board, 1977 re-issue. Still think It's not worth it?" Randy asked.
The crowd 'ooh'ed in awe again, all awaiting Dax to give his reply. After a few minutes of thinking, Dax finally answered.
"How about this? Since Otto here's the one who broke your buddy's board, he'll be the one to race you. Sound fair?" Dax asked.
"Fine by me. You got $500?" Randy asked.
Dax pulled $500 out of his pocket, holding it up for Randy to see.
"How about you?" Dax asked.
Randy nudged one of his teammates, enticing him to pull out a wad of money out of his pocket and selecting out $500.
"We're good for it." Randy said.
"Sounds good. Where are we racing?" Dax asked.
"From here to the beach. Should be a straight shot and back."
"Okay, we're down."
As the Rowdy Boyz and the group all rushed to the top of the hill, the Rowdy Boyz ready to race and the group ready to watch, the Prodigy waited behind to pep-talk Otto, who was sweating bullets at the idea of being thrown in a race without his consent.
"Hey, what'd you do that for?" Otto asked.
"What'd I do what for?" Dax asked.
"You just throw me in a race like that?"
"So? I thought you liked races, don't you?"
"Yeah, man, but what'd you throw me in like that for?"
"Well, you want in the Prodigy, call this a little... 'initiation'."
"I don't have my board on me, dude."
Dax snapped his fingers, signalling Jared to throw Otto a board.
"Jared always holds our boards for us. That one's mine, should serve you good." Dax said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, dude. I don't like having people ride on me for stuff." Otto said.
"What, are you scared you're gonna lose and cost me $500 and a board?"
"Hey, man, I'm not gonna lose, I just-"
"You just what?"
Otto tried to think of something to say to shirk the responsibility of having to race, but his lack of wit, desire to race, and overconfidence all proved far too much to keep him back, deciding to race.
"To the beach, right?" Otto asked.
"Yep." Dax said.
"Where's the starting point?"
At the starting point of the race, Otto and Randy waited patiently, both standing on their boards, more than ready to start. On the sidelines, the Prodigy and the Rowdy Boyz awaited the race to start, cheering on their own racers.
"Come on, Randy! Whip that punk good!" The Rowdy Boyz yelled.
"Go, Otto, go! Get these jerkweeds!" Twister shouted.
"You got this, Otto! Don't sweat it!" Mike shouted.
"Use that board good, man!" Jared shouted.
"Give those boys a good licking!" Wes shouted.
"Make me proud, Otto!" Dax shouted.
Both racers more than encouraged by their teams cheering them on, Otto and Randy faced each other, both more than determined to win.
"You ready to eat my dust, punk?" Randy asked.
"After you hand over that Alva." Otto said.
"Don't count on it, boy. You haven't won yet."
"Neither have you."
[Soundtrack Cue: BT - Never Gonna Come Back Down]
At the front of the starting point, a moderator stepped to the front, preparing to start the race.
"Gentlemen, on your marks..." The moderator said.
Otto and Randy moved to the very edge of the starting line, preparing to race down the hill.
"Get set..." The moderator said.
Otto and Randy leaned down on their boards, taking their stance to race down the hill.
"...GO!" The moderator shouted.
Pushing themselves down the hill, Otto and Randy began rocketing down the hill, beginning the race. With both racers having a decent slope to ride down, Otto and Randy found themselves at a stalemate fairly quickly as the race began.
Racing down the hill at high speeds on small boards barely able to hold their users safe on the descent, the racers held their boards tight to make sure neither took a nasty fall and hurt themselves.
Otto, having slightly more weight than his opponent, had an advantage in the race, heading downhill at a faster rate than Randy. Randy, not so easy to lose the race and his board, decided to play dirty to win the race.
Taking some inspiration from the incident which started this ordeal, Randy began running into Otto, trying to knock him off of his board. Otto, too determined to be pushed off, tried pushing back to keep in the race.
After one push too powerful to counter, however, Otto got pushed to the side of the street, nearly hitting the sidewalk. Taking his gloved hand to the ground to move himself back into the street, Otto pushed himself back into the road again, heading back into the race properly.
Now being behind in the race, Otto shifted his body to a more aerodynamic posture, gaining more speed and catching up in the race, but reaching dangerous levels of speed. Barely able to keep balanced on his board, Otto focused as hard as he could to win the race, not wanting to lose, not for himself nor his team.
As he began to catch up to Randy, Otto took notice of the finish line ahead, the line laying on the sidewalk just outside of the beach. Knowing he was low on options to catch up, not to mention barely able to maintain his speed for much longer, Otto thought fast to find a way to catch up again.
Fortunately, a way was found just in time. Laying to the side of the road, just outside the finish line, was a sheet of wood laying in the back of a truck. To some, the sight might come off as just a piece of wood. To Otto, however, the sight was a ramp waiting to be ridden.
Heading towards the makeshift ramp, Otto increased his speed as much as possible, barely able to hold on to his board for much longer. Riding up the board at several miles per hour, the board breaking just before he could make his aerial launch, Otto shot up into the air, heading right over his opponent's head.
Randy, not having Otto in his sights, believed that victory was within his grasp. Giving a laugh at his opponent's seeming defeat, Randy continued to head towards the finish line.
"That was the best he could do? Damn, I guess he was worse than I thought." Randy thought aloud.
As Randy continued his inner monologue, a shadow overcame him as he neared the finish line. Looking up to see the source of the shadow, Randy found himself surprised and shocked to see Otto launching over his head, flying straight for the finish line.
With a margin of winning nearly impossible to see, Otto crossed the finish line just microseconds before Randy could, marking him the winner of the race. Upon finally hitting the ground again, Otto tumbled in the sandy beach, the sand softening his rough landing.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
With the race ending in Otto's favor, the crowd all rushed to him, all cheering in support. Otto, more than proud to have won the race, got up from the ground, brushing the sand off his body, and raised his hands in victory.
"Yeah! That's right, who's the man?!" Otto shouted.
Twister and the Prodigy, quickly making their way to Otto, all gave him a pat on the back and many congratulations.
"Twister, please tell me you got that on camera." Otto said.
"Don't I always get it on camera?" Twister asked.
Twister held up his camera, having recorded the race as it progressed and capturing every minute. Dax gave Otto a firm handshake, having witnessed his newest team member won his first race.
"What'd I tell you? I knew you could do it." Dax said.
"Yeah, man. I did it. Thanks for throwing me in." Otto said.
With Otto receiving all the praise, Randy rushed to the group, less than impressed with losing the race.
"Hey, man, that's not right! He jumped over me with a damn ramp!" Randy said.
"So? I don't remember making any rules about ramps. What I do remember, however, is that the loser has to fork up $500 and their board to the winner." Dax said.
"Come on, man, he only won by an inch! I want a rematch!"
"Whether he won by an inch or a mile, a win's a win. The money and the board, if you please."
Randy, extremely frustrated with losing the race, handed over his board and $500 to Dax.
"Uh-uh-uh. I said, the loser forks it over to the winner. I wasn't the one racing." Dax said.
Left even more humiliated by his loss, Randy approached Otto and handed over his board and money, who gladly took it.
"Thank you very much, my good sir." Otto said.
"Fine, whatever. Enjoy that board, dickwad." Randy said.
Before Randy could leave with whatever dignity remained with him, Dax stopped him for one last action.
"What? My board and money's not enough? What do you want, my house?" Randy asked.
"Nope. I want you two to shake hands." Dax said.
"What?! Are you serious?!"
"This man took the time to race you, and you took the time to race him. You each deserve to thank each other for the race, regardless who won or lost. Shake hands."
Reluctant and still angry, Randy reached out his hand, facing away from Otto. Otto, following Dax's request, shook Randy's hand, formally ending the race and finishing the transaction. Randy, no longer wanting to be in the presence of the Prodigy team, proceeded to head home with the rest of the Rowdy Boyz.
"So, Randy, you're gonna pay me back that $500, right?" One Rowdy Boy asked.
"Shut up, Jason." Randy said.
The Prodigy, more than proud of their newest member winning the race, all continued to congratulate Otto for his victory in the race.
"So, you're $500 richer and you got yourself a new Alva board. How're you gonna celebrate?" Dax asked.
"How about we head back to the party and get our freak on?" Otto asked.
"I like the way you think, man." Mike said.
"This dude knows what's up." Jared said.
"Twist, you up to partake in the part-ay?" Otto asked.
"Dude, you know I'm always down to party. Let's hit it!" Twister said.
The Prodigy more than victorious for the night, the crowd went back up to the pit, the party starting again and contiuing for the rest of the night, leaving Otto and Twister more than occupied for the night.
