Author's note: Well, here it be, Chapter 10, long awaited and probably weird haha. I blame RenjiLuvah for this posting, so she's the one to thank haha. Enjoy the action! :D
A roar came up from the crowd, and Jyil could feel a drop in her stomach at the sound. She swept her gaze across the stands of the Deathdrome track in the heart of Kras City, not amazed to see that every seat was taken. She remembered coming to the first race of the season as a little girl with her father and sisters; everyone they knew would take the day off from their jobs in order to celebrate. Jyil crossed her arms and walked through pit row, trying to hide the instant smile at the memory. She left the Falcon in the care of the track mechanics, whom she'd befriended within recent weeks; they had managed to actually make the car's ugly goldenrod body shine.
Squinting in the sun, she looked up in the stands and tried to find her sisters and nephews in the sea of avid race fans. She finally caught sight of Oskar's familiar messy haircut a few rows up and hurried over to see him. As if he could sense her looking at him, the teen locked eyes with her.
"Aunt Jyil!" he practically screamed.
Even from that far away she could hear him. She giggled and waved, watching as he clambered down several flights of stairs to meet her at the protective barrier that lined the entire Deathdrome track. His smile was wide and toothy. He grabbed at the chain link as if he wanted to hug her.
"Having fun, Oz?"
The boy laughed. "Hell yes I am! When is it going to start?"
"Soon," Jyil assured him with a grin, "I'm shocked you haven't found a way into pit row yet."
Oskar's eyes lit up at the thought and she shook her head. Her gaze was suddenly diverted from him as a blonde-haired woman came down the stairs toward them. Jyil raised her eyebrows.
"Your mother's here?"
Oskar looked over his shoulder at the approaching figure and shrugged.
"She came to see you, just like Aunt Maddy did." He turned back to Jyil and the smile returned to his face. "But you couldn't keep me away from this with a shotgun!"
She didn't doubt for a second Oskar would have snuck out of school to see her race anyway; he'd already been in trouble for that before. He bounced on the balls of his feet and scanned the long stretch of track with wide eyes. His mother finally appeared behind him and gripped his shoulder.
"Hey, Mom," he said.
"Look at the two of you," she said, nodding to them. "You had better win today or he's going home disappointed."
Jyil laughed. Her oldest sister smiled back at her.
"I'm not going to promise anything, Dana."
"Sure. I just wish you would have told us sooner you were driving for Razer's team."
Jyil shrugged, looking back at the Falcon to make sure no one was messing with it.
"It happens all the time in this sport—people jump around."
Dana narrowed her eyes, and Jyil recognized the scrutinizing gaze all too well; there was a reason her sister was such a good lawyer. Jyil reached through the chain-link and squeezed Oskar's fingers.
"Wish me luck, kiddo. You better get up where you belong."
Oskar nodded. "Good-luck, Aunt Jyil."
Dana wrapped her arm around him and grabbed her sister's fingers through the fence as well.
"Good luck."
"Thank you," Jyil replied.
That had meant a lot, coming from Dana. She watched as they turned to head back up to their seats, Oskar practically jumping up multiple flights, and shook her head. The booming voice of the new race announcer Greaser blared throughout the stadium and the crowd cheered again as Jyil walked back through pit row, moving to stand in the shadow of the support beams.
It was a hot day—perfect racing weather. Sunlight bathed the track with heat; Jyil could see the horizon shimmering. The other members of her team were prepping their cars, preparing to roll them out to the starting line. Jyil winced as the microphone shrieked before Greaser's voice sounded again through the speakers. He was no G.T. Blitz, but he was enthusiastic all the same.
"Race fans, it's that time of year! Give it up for Kras City Racing's leading ladies, Amber, Bree, Kat and Tillie!"
Jyil rolled her eyes as the four Umbrella Girls bounded into view ahead of her, all smiling their brilliant smiles. They each wore a different colored "uniform:" a pleated skirt and matching halter top that revealed most of their toned bellies.
The crowd cheered their approval. Music began to thump out of the speakers and the girls moved to it, twirling their umbrellas and shaking their hips. It didn't take long for the whistling to start; soon the pretty ladies had the entire crowd singing the song back to them, even as they continued to perform.
Jyil snorted. The fireworks brought her back from her daydream with a literal bang. She jumped nearly a foot as more cheers echoed throughout the stadium portion of the track. The adrenaline was actually welcoming, if unintentional-it brought her back into focus and made her long to get behind the wheel.
She could smell the sharp odor of gunpowder in the air as the Umbrella Girls came skipping back into pit row. Jyil walked forward to be with the members of her team and dared to stand beside them. She had to duck as Bree came swooping past her, nearly cracking her head on the green-and-white umbrella. Edje and Cutter growled with laughter. Jyil straightened up and shot them dark looks.
"Sorry, Jyil," Bree called out to her.
She said nothing in reply, just a nod. One of the girls walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Jyil turned to face Kat, who was dressed in a yellow outfit, the closed umbrella propped on her shoulder like a rifle.
"I'm with you," she said, pointing.
Jyil frowned. "What?"
Kat rolled her eyes and popped open the umbrella, shading them from the harsh sun.
"Each of us was assigned a racer; I was picked to pair up with you—hence the ugly yellow uniform," she explained.
Jyil laughed. "Right. Sorry about that."
Kat waved dismissively, watching the other girls take their places alongside Shiv, Cutter and Edje. Jyil waited with her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, only half-listening to what Greaser said over the loudspeakers.
"I heard they've been giving you shit lately," Kat spoke up, nodding to the group of men on their left.
"Yeah," Jyil sighed. "But I'm used to it by now. I know what to expect from them."
"Even when they're hanging panties all over your workspace?"
Kat raised an eyebrow; Jyil laughed at the memory and nodded, though one could tell she hadn't found it too funny.
"Yep. But they won't be doing that again because Razer didn't like getting a box of them shoved into his office to prove I was upset."
"Ah," Kat mused, "that's why Cutter and Edje were scrubbing the Dirt Stadium cars…usually mechanics do that sort of thing. I'd wondered…"
Jyil laughed again as the girl spun the umbrella absently, still keeping the shadow over them. She and Kat had formed a sort of camaraderie in recent weeks, particularly after the incident in the garage before the Freeze Rally. It was good to have an ally amidst all the chaos.
"There's the Boss," Kat spoke up, elbowing Jyil in the shoulder. "Might want to make yourself look a bit more confident."
"What're you talking about?"
"You're nervous, honey. Try not to think about it so much."
Jyil heaved a sigh, watching ahead as Razer calmly paced along the track, smoking a cigarette.
"That's much easier said than done, I've got news for you."
Kat shrugged. "Hey, all I know is, he rarely comes down to watch a race from the pits. If you ask me, there's something very different about this season already, and it's not because Blitz went up in smoke last year."
They headed over to the vehicles as she spoke, steering Jyil along by her arm. The umbrella bobbed above them as they walked up to the Falcon, which shined in the places it could. The hubcaps were bright silver, as they'd been replaced along with the turbo engine, and made the rest of the car look even dirtier. But Kat smiled her approval.
"She cleans up nice, huh?"
Jyil smirked. "Yeah. I'm very close to liking the damn thing."
"Perhaps after today, you will."
Both women turned to face Razer, who had appeared at Jyil's shoulder. He flicked his cigarette to the tarmac and crushed it under his boot. Turning to Kat with a smile, he asked,
"Would you excuse us for a moment?"
"Of course."
Jyil only winced in reply to the wink she received from the Umbrella Girl. Razer caught her attention by rapping his knuckles on the Falcon's hood. She crossed her arms and looked up at him expectantly.
"We must win the race today, especially in light of the information you've supplied," he began.
Jyil avoided his gaze. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Razer hardly acknowledged her sarcasm. The crowd cheered as Greaser announced the racers would be heading to the starting point. Jyil felt the knot in her stomach twist violently and gulped.
"You know I'm not going to hold your hand through all of this."
"Is there something important you need to tell me or do you want me to collapse right here in front of everyone?" Jyil snapped.
Razer paused deliberately and smirked, no doubt enjoying her restlessness as she watched Shiv and Edje roll their cars in the first and third positions. She bit her lip, knowing her place was in second.
"I can't afford to have you succumbing to anxiety, now can I?"
Jyil clenched her teeth. "Get to the point. Please."
"If you race like you did during the rally, I don't see what you're worried about. And after that little trip to Spargus, first or second place should be a given."
Jyil glared at his smile. Razer searched for another cigarette and chuckled as he slipped one between his lips.
"Just something for you to think about." He clapped her on the shoulder as he left. "Good luck, Angel."
Jyil glowered after him, hoping he could feel the resentment she had for him. He had some nerve, going out of his way just to rattle her cage. She heaved a distressed sigh and jogged toward the Falcon. The pit crew had already surrounded it and she helped them roll it out on to the track between Shiv and Edje's cars. She thanked them and they wished her luck. Jyil reached for her helmet in the seat and put it on, watching behind her as Rayn's team took to the track. The obnoxious lime green of Bowie's car reflected the sunlight brilliantly.
"Hey, rookie!"
She scowled and looked over at Edje. He grinned.
"Don't get your panties in a twist."
"Same to you!" Jyil replied with a smile.
A particularly off-color remark formed on his lips, but the loudspeakers boomed, drowning out his voice.
"Here it is, race fans! The moment you've all been waiting for!"
The crowd let out a deafening roar and Jyil felt that awful knot twist at her stomach. Shiv and Edje clambered into their vehicles and she slid into place behind the wheel of the Falcon, the gears hot against her skin. She pulled the safety harness down over herself and looked up at the LCD screens, which were focused on Greaser's face. Her mouth was dry and sweat beaded across her lip, but she gripped the steering wheel and pulled down her goggles determinately.
"Gentleman, start your engines!" Greaser bellowed.
The eight combat racers roared to life in unison, engines rumbling under each hood. Jyil couldn't help smiling as a comforting wave of adrenaline washed over her. She glanced back at the stands and blew out a breath. The buzzer had floated down above them and she revved the engine a few times as it spun. Greaser's voice boomed once more for the countdown. The crowd gleefully shouted with him.
"Three! Two! One! ….START!"
Jyil slammed her foot to the floor and the Falcon lurched forward. She was only ahead of the other racers for a few seconds before Shiv pulled ahead of her, followed closely by Bowie. They all flew down the track, vehicles glinting with sunlight. The tires screamed as they pulled around the first corner, revealing a huge swath of road that led down to the Deathdrome track's trademark spiraling route.
The first time Jyil had raced it, she'd emptied her stomach over the side of the car she'd been driving. Even if it had been years ago, the memory was still fresh. A car collided with hers and it snapped her from her frenzied thoughts. She growled and pulled back on the turbo lever, lurching forward just in time to avoid another hit. The car behind her nearly fishtailed into the wall, but managed to recover. She recognized the screech of missiles and quickly punched a button on the dashboard to release several mines, which fell out of the compartments in the back with popping sounds. The missiles struck two of the mines, leaving her unscathed.
Jyil sped up to fall into third place behind Shiv, who was battling with Bowie for first. She could tell that the latter had greatly improved his racing since the previous season; his fault was usually getting the lead early and falling victim to a cheap shot on the final lap, but this time Bowie seemed to playing a bit more conservative. He allowed Shiv to pass him, sinking back into second.
They approached the curves and Jyil sucked in a breath as the Falcon skidded around the first turn, leaving behind streaks of rubber. The engine growled, though she could feel the car straining as they turned. She went easy on the turbo and used her momentum to propel her further. She passed Bowie into second place, though one of Rayn's other racers was close behind her. Machine-gun fire rattled along the side of the Falcon and Jyil cried out, heaving the vehicle out of the line bullets. She was too close to the wall, and it would take more than a hair-pin turn to avoid crashing into it. She gnashed her teeth and wrenched the wheel with all her might. The other racer passed her, mercilessly pelting the Falcon's armor with more gunfire as it went.
"Son of a bitch!" Jyil shrieked.
She managed to pull away from the wall and boldly used a bit of turbo to pull herself back into third place. Breathing hard, Jyil was relieved to see the spiral route had ended; ahead of her, Shiv and Rayn's other racer were battling it out: machine guns roared and Jyil ducked as pieces of Shiv's car slapped the hood of the Falcon. Feeling vengeful, she flicked at the switches on her dashboard, bringing up the aiming system for her second weapon.
"Shiv, get the hell out of first!" she shouted into her comlink.
"Are you kidding?" he growled, "I've got this asshole."
Jyil shook her head and punched the launching button. "No, I do."
A large Peacemaker round burst out the front cannon of the Falcon, so fast the car shuddered from the action. Shiv cursed and Jyil could hear the tires of his car squeal as he fell back into second place. The Peacemaker round blasted the opposing car within seconds, just before it could make the jump through the waterfall. Jyil zoomed past the wreckage and didn't look back as the Falcon sliced through the water and she landed with a jarring thud back on the track, claiming first place as her own.
"That was way too fucking close!" Shiv's voice said in her ear. He sounded relieved and exhilarated at once.
Jyil smiled as she guided the Falcon through the next series of turns, roaring across the line for the start of lap two. Shiv stayed behind her in second, obviously now feeling the need to "protect" her. Jyil could still see the flash of lime green behind her and knew Bowie would be able to catch up once they got to the spiral.
"Keep him off me," Jyil told Shiv, "He's got something personal in this thing."
"Can't imagine why, seein' as how you nearly killed me."
Jyil shook her head, hair flying out around her. "He'll catch me on the turns. And he fights dirty if he can get in close enough. The Falcon can't afford a direct missile hit."
"I'll see what I can do."
Jyil bit her lip and shook her head again, pining after her rear-firing missiles, lost to her now. The Falcon roared on ward, engine hot and sunlight glinting off of the yellow paint. Jyil could hear the faint chattering of machine guns behind her once more and knew Shiv and Bowie were fighting. She dared a look and screamed once she saw a stream of dark purple arching through the sky. The Falcon lurched hard to the left as one of the bombs exploded beside it. Jyil pulled back on the turbo release, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She approached the spiraling route once again and dangerously accelerated around the turns, knowing how incredibly stupid it was. But if she took a hit with Dark Eco infused grenades, the Falcon was a goner. Purple streaked through the sky and landed in front of her. She screamed again and ducked down as bits of the track flew into her face. The Falcon's tires skidded and she almost lost control. Blood roared in her ears.
"Shiv! Get him off me! I'm outta mines!"
Jyil pulled hard on the wheel again and the Falcon complied; one more turn to go….
"I can't! The bastard slashed my tires!"
Jyil's heart fell into her stomach. "What?"
She took a quick glance over her shoulder and saw Shiv falling further and further away in her line of sight. Cursing, Jyil turned back to the road as the lime green combat racer flew around the corner behind her and began its approach. Jyil was running out of ideas; the only weapons she had left were her missiles, and the Falcon didn't have mounted machine guns. She cursed again and knew speed was her only option.
She lurched around the last turn and threw open the throttle, using what momentum she had to avoid the last bullets of Bowie's machine guns. She was ahead of him by mere seconds, and if she so much as hesitated, she'd be hit; there was no telling what weapons he had left. The sight of the distant wind turbines told Jyil the last turn was upon her. She slammed her foot down as hard as she could and pulled the turbo back as far as it could go.
The finish line appeared ahead, and her heart pounded impossibly fast.
Her dashboard lit up and an alarm shrieked, signaling Bowie had locked two missiles on to her. Jyil screamed a curse, knowing she only had one chance to do something. She wrenched up the emergency brake and pulled the Falcon into a deep, tire-chirping skid, swinging the car completely around. She threw down the E-brake and yanked the car into reverse, slammed on the accelerator and fired the complete salvo of missiles she had left.
An incredible explosion lit up the sky, so close Jyil could fee the heat. The Falcon shuddered, but it was still moving, the engine still screaming. She stared back at the lime green car and a roar came up from the crowd so loud it drowned out everything else.
"Oh. My. God!"
Jyil had won the race.