ACT 3 – 3000RPM 'A Twist Of Fate'
Later that night, the annals of Route F5 were dead quiet… until sounds began to screech and rumble from near the peak area. Two cars were speeding on the downhill, the sounds of the Eclipse GSX, followed by another car right behind it. The tailing car's lights were off, rendering it nearly invisible through the darkness of 9:30PM.
The tailing car was a Sileighty. Kanae could tell every step, every corner, and almost every move the Eclipse was making, only through the motion of the opponent's front lights. Kanae knows F5 as if it was her own room.
The match had been scheduled not long
before it actually begun. In fact, the furious GSX driver has little
idea of whether the opponent is even present.
The Eclipse drove
on, at optimum speed, aiming to beat the top record.
The cars
were closing in the tunnel section of F5…
Kanae switched her
lights in an instant, the opponent had already quickened its
pace.
The roads began narrower at this point. There were
obstructions everywhere. Rocks blocked many points of the road, piles
of dirt were everywhere and the surface became a little difficult to
race on.
Being aware of the Sileighty, the Eclipse slowed down
its pace, as the opponent sped right ahead.
The tunnel section of
F5 had only mild turns, as the technical stages of the route lay
nearing the bottom of the pass.
Kanae throttled on…
She knew
what was coming up…
The tunnel exit is followed by a blind turn, then a hairpin…
The Eclipse ran right
behind the Sileighty. It seemed to been following its lines, due to
unfamiliarity.
Kanae did not let this get to her head. For some
odd reason, she seems a lot more focused than usual. The pressure
from behind didn't seem to get to her. Not expecting to be racing
tonight, Kanae stupidly took a pill, which she had received from the
local clinic. Without her noticing, the drugs seemed to have an
opposite effect during the race…
The tunnel exit was almost near. The piles of rocks were everywhere, and other pieces of dust and stone came falling down from the ceiling. The tunnel was very dangerous and poorly maintained. As the cars came past, chunks of rock soon fell from the ceiling.
An earthquake? At a time like this?
The tunnel's exit, Kanae began to hold the
release button of her E-brake. In a quick and short instant, she
pulled the E-Brake sharply and released it at the same moment as she
clutched in.
Kanae began to feel her car's rear end moving
outward, as she quickly counter-steered.
She kept her foot on the
throttle, as the car slid at an angle away from the next turn. She
had done this a hundred times before. She straightened out her wheels
into the turn as her car pulled itself in the same direction, then
let off the throttle.
The mountain had somewhat a presence of
its own. Kanae felt something was totally wrong…
As she let off
the throttle, her vehicle snapped back into the opposite
direction.
A sudden jolt was felt, not through the vehicle…
but through the surface itself…
As the Eclipse follows behind,
more rocks came crashing down.
The showering pieces of earth
shattered through the Eclipse's windshield, as the vehicle
uncontrollably shook violently, and eventually, spun itself out,
crashing into a huge rock…
Vrrmm… rrrmm rrrrrmmm…!
Downtown was wet, rain spewed all over the streets, as the Evo V rolled by next to the Impreza RA. Both men briefly stepped out of their cars.
"Let's keep it simple,"
suggested Ohjay. "First one to be outrun by the opponent
loses."
"So basically, if you disappear from my rear view, I
win?" asked Fu.
"That's only if I'm behind, buddy. But
yeah, you get the idea," clarified Ohjay.
This could go on all night…
The WRX took off without prior notice, as
the Evo quickly sped along behind.
The mean red foglights of the
Lancer beamed along the road and along came the sound of hissing
valves. There was traffic everywhere, as each driver skillfully
maneuvered their cars avoiding collision.
It was much different
from driving a mountain pass. Fu Huo's Evo V had close gear ratios,
and settings were modified for a moderate speed technical course.
Shifting to 3rd gear, Fu Huo's arm kept bugging him. The
quicker he steers and the more he shifts, the pain never seemed to
leave him alone. Both cars were rather heavy, as Fu Huo coped with a
little bit of understeering, his left arm reached for the wheel and
turned hard along with his right as he grunted in pain. His pace was
much slower than when he usually races.
The next section had more
than one route. Fu had to stay behind as Ohjay had the luxury of
deciding the path both cars would choose. There are some techniques
used in mountain passes that sometimes can't be used on the
highway…
Fu Huo grunted again, finally reaching 5th gear.
His quick and aggressive steering to avoid traffic put much stress on
his injured arm. The WRX was still in front, but not at much of a
distance.
The two cars stayed in the same left lane as overtaking
the other cars did not give them an easy cruise.
Not wanting
to waste any time, an idea struck Fu, as he turned into the other
lane. The cars came opposite his direction now, and he had to steer
quicker to avoid them as they were coming at him faster, compared to
trailing the other cars in the same lane going the same direction.
The pain of his arm never left Fu Huo. The Lancer nearly
understeerd itself, and swayed back and forth, losing a bit of speed.
Ohjay on the other hand, was caught up behind a few slow cars in front of him. He noticed Fu Huo slightly getting ahead of him while he was stuck with the pieces of trash in front of him. Fu Huo's skillful movement gained him the lead. The gap began to widen between the cars.
Ohjay turned angrily to the other lane to join Fu Huo. He rushed madly as he began avoiding the incoming cars. The gap did not seem to widen or shorten at this point. Moments later, they reach a tunnel. Ohjay smiled to himself. There seemed to be less cars, and now would be a good time to execute his plan…
Gazing at the black Lancer in ahead of him, Ohjay revealed a little button he was hiding near the wheel. The little punk's Impreza was equipped with nitrous oxide…!
In a short while, Fu Huo gazed at the approaching car through his mirror. He knew exactly what was going on.
Idiot…
Knowing Ohjay was too naïve to control the boost he acquired from the nitrous, Fu moved out of the way sharply, as his arm twitched as if it when static for a second. He turned his hazard lights on and stopped his car as the WRX was no more to be seen.
Fu Huo stepped out of the car, grabbing his arm tightly, and leaned against his Lancer, without saying a word.
The 'Lancer Killer' had stolen another one…
The wind blew strongly and the terror of dead silence settled itself down Route F5. It did not take long for Kanae to notice what had happened. Her car parked outside the tunnel, where debris and other obstructions blocked the entrance. The rubble filled the entire entrance, disabling Kanae from reaching, or even seeing through.
This is bad…
She tried moving some
rocks, yelling out, "Are you okay?"
But it was hopeless.
More rocks came down her way as they slid into her and pushed her
aside to the ground. "Damn…"
She picked herself up carefully
and walked straight back to the Sileighty. She opened the glove box,
reached for her bag, and looked everywhere else.
Shit… I left my phone at home! Great. Simply wonderful.
Kanae walked over to the rails, looking on at the horizon. Where she was standing overlooked the city, the tall buildings, bright lights, and more people.
Maybe I could find help there. There's no way I can get back anyway… F5's the only route back and now its blocked…
Staring at the city lights, she began to put her coat on, and made her way back to her car. Kanae sat down slowly, and shut the doors. What a night…
The engine started, then the car pulled out, and turned into the other direction. Kanae continued along the rest of Route F5, at a moderate pace. Saving her tires, Kanae did around 45-60kph along the downhill and let the steepness take her forward.
I don't know anybody in the city… Nobody… And I'm totally cut off from home.
Kanae drove on. She slowly ran through sets of hairpin curves and blind turns. No sign of traffic. She sped up her car and throttled on nearing the bottom of the route. F5 seemed nearly endless. Nothing but trees and mountainside, the road ahead was hard to navigate through. But Kanae knew everything about it. Darkness was brought to light as the Sileighty high-beamed its way down the end of Route F5, the bottom of the mountain pass. Still no sign of anybody. Kanae drove on, trying to make her way to the city.
Little by little, the areas became brighter and less dim. I hardly go into town nowadays, I hope I still remember…
Kanae
knew she was getting closer. Eventually, she came across a tunnel
section, which was awfully quiet. It was past midnight after
all…
Moments later, she noticed something ahead. It was another
car – finally. Kanae drove closer. The car was parked just on the
side with its hazard lights on. Kanae drove closer then stopped
nearby.
She looked at the car, it was a black Evolution V. The
driver was a young man leaning on it having a smoke. He wore a black
leather jacket, black pants and a working shirt. He spent half his
time grabbing his arm every now and then.
Kanae made her way
to him, "Excuse me, are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," said
the young man, turning to look at Kanae, "Thanks,"
Wow,
he's cute. thought Kanae. "Um… are you sure? You look
hurt," she asked again.
"It's just a little sore," he
paused. "But it'll be fine, trust me."
"Is there anything
I can do?" asked Kanae politely.
"Nothing really," said the
guy, "I'm just resting for a bit. But I'd appreciate if you'd
entertain me for a bit."
"Huh?" Kanae looked puzzled, yet
felt disturbed.
"I don't mean to waste your time," he
consoled. "Anyways, where did you come from? Why are you driving
out so late at night?"
"Um… it's a long story…" Kanae
paushed, trying to make out words to say, "Well… I was out
driving down Route F5 until… well I'm not sure what happened, but
the route was blocked by debris when I tried to make my way back,"
she explained.
"You live up there don't you? In that case,
you're pretty much screwed," said the guy. "Not that its any of
my business, but what exactly were you doing?"
The young man
looked over his shoulder to see Kanae's Sileighty. "Hmm… you're
a road racer, aren't you?"
"Well… sorta," replied Kanae
shyly. "I race along route F5 most of the time. What about you? Are
you a road racer too?"
"More or less…" the man claimed.
"To tell you the truth I was racing tonight too."
The man
dropped his cigarette and killed it. He reached his hand out to
Kanae, "Chuan Fu Huo. Nice to meet you."
Kanae shook his hand
softly. His hand is so warm! "Mirishima Kanae."
"Kanae?"
Fu held her hand in thought, "Sounds kinda familiar."
"Really…?"
Kanae wondered as she crossed her arms together trying to warm
herself. "Well, I don't think I'm a good enough race to be
famous 'round here."
"You look tired," noticed Fu Huo.
"You look really tired."
"Yeah…I haven't slept in
ages."
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Kanae. I gotta get
going…" Fu Huo turned around and opened the door to his car.
Fu stopped just before he got inside. He looked over to Kanae, looking all innocent, yet giving off that 'needy' look.
"Hey," Fu called out then walked over behind her. He slowly placed his hands on her shoulders, and moved his head closer to the side of hers. "You can't get back home, can you?"
Looking at her current situation, Kanae looked across the tunnel, thinking to herself. The route is blocked and there is no other way. She slowly muttered, "I guess not…"
An idea struck Fu's mind, "Do you have any
relatives you can contact on the other side?" he asked.
"Well,
yes," replied Kanae. "My brother lives up there too. I should
probably give him a call, but… I don't wanna shock him like this
in the middle of the night."
"Listen," continued Fu.
"Why don't you stay the night at my place? You can use the phone
too if you want."
"Oh my…" Kanae felt relieved. "You're
so kind. You really saved me."
Fu Huo shrugged, "It's either that, or I leave you here," he walked over to his Lancer. "As if I'll really let you take the other option anyway."
Kanae
smiled for the first time in a while, at the same time, combined with
her sleepy-innocent look.
"Hey… my place is just less than an
hour away if we step on it. I'm not gonna let you sleep here in the
tunnel," Fu Huo always had a charming, yet controlling way of
saying things. This, for example, was his way of saying 'hurry
up'.
"Thank you so much," repeated Kanae, giving Fu a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed back to her Sileighty.
Hehe… why do they all gotta do that? thought Fu Huo, rubbing his face slowly.
Fu stepped inside his car and started the engine as
Kanae walked over to hers and did the same.
The Evo took the lead
while the Sileighty followed behind, heading back on their way to Fu
Huo's place…
