Chapter Three:

A New Tricky Rider

With a rush of silence the car went blank. The motor completely stopped as the car slowly attempted to push itself forwards, but the sound of it's roaring engine died away in dismay. Zoe slammed her hands on the wheel, more pain surging up in her wrist, causing a tear to form in her eye. She placed her head on the wheel as the tear dripped down, and she clutched her wrist in her lap. She instantly felt a small amount of pressure on her shoulder as she looked up to see Psymon's hand there.

"Zoe." He said in a very trusting, soothing voice. "What's going on?" He was left out of the picture until now. Zoe didn't want to bring anybody else into this, considering that nobody would help her. Being very independent, she wanted to solve this by herself, but she now realized that it would be impossible for her to do so. The hand on her shoulder lifted as Zoe used her left hand to push t he door open and leave. Psymon copied her actions, landing her right next to Zoe, his hands now on both of her shoulders. "Tell me what's wrong." He said, looking into her eyes. She closed her eyes, and then began to leave. He didn't follow her, knowing that it would be pushing the string too far. He'd tried to bend it, but he had asked for too much.

'What's going on?' Zoe asked in her mind. She knew the answers would not be there, but it couldn't hurt to ask. It was obviously somebody on the Tricky Tour, or somebody with an extremely large grudge. She instantly cancelled out the idea of it being anybody on the outside of the Trick Tour, considering that nobody would take that much of a risk for a grudge. Ideas and names swirled through her mind like water running down a drain, but she had not made any true enemies... Except for Kaori. Zoe was the one to shove Kaori to the ground in the past race, so maybe it was vengeance that caused her to lead to knocking Zoe down on the back trails. The one thin that was a problem was the fact that nobody knew she was training in the back trails. Only Psymon. She knew that it couldn't be him though. He was way to close to her to be able to knock her down like that. The thing was, she couldn't rule him out as a suspect, every body was going to be a suspect. All the Tricky Riders would be her suspects, and she would have to keep Kaori in the top 3, considering that she had the most to gain.

"It had to be her." Zoe whispered to herself as she rounded the corner of Dulock Street, and Boren Road. The houses weren't even a concern to her at the moment. She didn't have any actual destination though; she was just going wherever her feet decided to lead her. The list was going to be simple. Pushing the neutral Tricky Riders to the back of the list, and keeping her main enemies up front, for further inspection. "So, Luther will be second to Kaori." Her statements were taking everything she knew about Tricky, and switching them around. Zoe imagined the Tricky Tour as a family though, some members being closer than others, and some hating others. Zoe did not hate much of her family, considering that she dedicated most of her time to her career. The problem at hand would not go away, not matter where Zoe decided to go. A swarm of people suddenly appeared behind her, realizing that she was indeed Zoe "Royal" Payne. They screamed her name, and ran at her as she broke into a sprint, not even thinking about her broken wrist anymore.

Many of them weren't in the best of shape, spending all their time getting tickets for events, and playing the game: "SSX Tricky" Featuring many riders like Zoe, Psymon, Mac, Kaori, Elise, Luther, Moby, and Eddie. There may had been a few more, but Zoe kept her game in it's case, and didn't have any time to play it. Her run picked up into a sprint as she rounded the next corner and ducked into a house. The mob followed her, stopping to try and find her, but it was a failed attempt. They began searching as Zoe ran through the owner's backyard, and started to knock on their back door. It opened quickly as the owner, being a woman who was slightly taller than Zoe, pulled her into the house.

"Hello Zoe Payne." She said. She stood a little taller than Zoe, but had the punkish distinction to her. She had blonde hair, in which was tied into two pig tails. They had bands that where blue, standing out very well against their yellowish back round. Her eyes were an orangey shade of red, that shown instantly when the sun hit her face. Contacts of course. Her jeans were tight and black, not showing much attention, but still gaining a little. The twisted a little, light shining directly off her pants as what looked like woven glassy material was sewn into them. They formed a swirl of designs that brought Zoe's attention from her eyes to her pants. She wore two shirts, one long sleeve and an over shirt with pink woven material as pockets. They reflected the sun well, even making Zoe step backwards a step or two to make her eyes more comfortable. The under shirt was orange, and simply stated: ". 5 % Heaven. 99.5 5 Hell!" It was a catchy phrase, in which made Zoe laugh. It described Zoe perfectly. The girl's face was perfect, not a nick or cut upon it, and rather shiny.

"I'm Melody." She said. "You are Zoe Payne. I saw you win the race, knocking over Kaori to win, that was genius." She said. Zoe smiled with pride, beginning to observe the rest of the home. It was a tall house, with mantle pieces of Zoe boarding down the mountainside, and doing her Uber Tricks. Her favorite one was the one she broke her wrist attempting to do, and backfired thanks to the rider in black.

"You know my name already." Zoe said to the girl, still looking at her mantle piece. There was a small collectors card that obtained her interest very quickly. It was a hologram, in which showed Zoe doing her favorite Uber Trick when you moved it. She stepped past Melody, and then lifted the card off the mantle, and began to play with it. "The Pommel-Me- Air." Zoe said to Melody. "The best trick I ever came up with." Zoe laughed and shook her head. "You've got good taste." Zoe was feeling very indulged in herself, and then sat down on a chair that was conveniently near the mantle. Melody sat down at the parallel chair, and they began to discuss Melody becoming a member of the Tricky Tour, apparently she was a very good boarder.