Chapter 114

It was Demo Derby time. Matt was super excited. He was finally going to get to drive his hot pink unicorn!

"Yes! I'm ready to do this!" said Matt. He was wearing a full fireproof suit and a helmet.

"How does this all work?" asked Tess.

"There are twenty cars. They split us up into two heats. The first ten cars, which is us, because we're number six, will go. The first five cars to stop running are out, and the remaining five cars get to go to the next round. The same thing will go on for cars eleven-twenty, with five cars from their heat meeting our five cars in the final. Stevie is number fourteen, so we don't get to see her unless we both make it to the final. Dave, however, is number nine in the cow car, and I'm gunning for him this round! This is going to be so much fun!" said Matt

"I may not be able to watch this," said Jodi. "Just thinking about you getting hurt scares me too much."

"I'm with Jodi, now that I'm here and I see all these cars, I 'm pretty scared, Matt." confessed Tess.

"Ladies, I'm going to be fine. We built in all sorts of extra safety precautions. I've got Terry and Ironman in my pit, this is going to be fun!" assured Matt.

Stevie had changed into a full fire suit and helmet as was required by the rules. She almost felt bad about smashing up her awesome croc car, but that was what it was made for, so smash it she would.

"How does everything look Moira?" asked Stevie.

"Everything looks good. This car is as ready as it will ever be. I'll be here to make repairs in between rounds when you make it to the final. Please be careful," said Moira.

"Oh, I have to make the final. That's the only way I get a crack at Dave and Matt. Drovers and Killarney have a side bet going, so I've absolutely got to beat them. I have faith you can patch the croc up before the final."

Dave just kept laughing at his demo car. It was white with big brown spots, just like a cow. He was excited to drive and smash Matt up a bit. He knew most of the other drivers, because they were clients, but he really wanted to get Matt, because they were mates.

"Okay Patrick, does everything look good, safe and ready for me to go?" asked Dave.

"You are ready bro." Patrick said as he shut the bonnet and gave Dave a hug "Go give that cow a beating! Trample everyone!"

Matt, Dave and the other drivers were in their cars lined up ready for the starting bell. All of the cars were painted up, but the cow print and the pink unicorn were especially tough to miss.

The bell sounded and they were off!

Matt was immediately struck and Jodi and Tess both shrieked, but Matt kept going and crashed into the number 1 car. He backed up and caught the headlight of number 7. Dave came through and got Matt hard on the passenger side, but Matt tracked him down and smashed up his boot.

It continued this way until there were only six cars left in the ring. Matt and Dave were both still in it. The unicorn painted on the boot was no longer ascertainable, but the car was still moving. Matt reversed and nailed the number 3 car, sending it into the wall. The number 3 car side panel fell off and as the driver pulled away, the side panel shredded his tire. He was no longer able to move, and was declared out, the remaining five cars, including both Matt and Dave, were onto the final. The five remaining drivers drove their cars to their designated areas and were allowed forty-five minutes to make repairs.

"Yes Matt, good job!" said Terry, who immediately started performing a safety checklist to see what needed to be done before the next round. Matt climbed out the window, took off the helmet and started working with Terry.

"That was rougher than I expected." admitted Tess. "Look, the driver from the number 8 car is being taken away in an ambulance, and the EMTs are putting a neck brace on the number 1 car driver. I'm glad Matt made it through, but I wish he didn't have to drive again. This is pretty brutal," she remarked.

"I've decided I hate the Demo Derby. I know Matt is having fun, but watching your husband get crashed into over and over again is pretty difficult to watch," said Jodi.

"I imagine it's more difficult to have actually happen to you." countered Tess. "But I'm with you. This is a very scary sport."

"Here goes Stevie!" exclaimed Jodi.

"Go Stevie!" yelled Tess.

Stevie drove well and despite having that poor crocodile smile terribly smashed, she made it through to the final. Killarney and Drovers would get to go head to head!

As round two ended, Jodi and Tess decided to go down to the car service area and see how Matt, Terry, and Russell were doing. Russell was working on replacing the radiator cover that was badly cracked. Terry was tying down the boot cover because the latch didn't work any more.

"Hey honey!" Matt walked around the car to give Jodi a kiss. As he stepped past the bonnet, he awkwardly stepped on a car jack that was laying there and he fell down.

"Matt! Oh my God! Are you okay?" asked Jodi.

"I think I may have sprained my ankle or something. It hurts a lot. Here, let me get up." he replied.

Jodi and Tess helped him to his feet. As soon as he put the weight on his right leg, he fell again.

"I think we might have a problem." said Matt

Tess fetched an EMT that was on duty for the derby. The EMT did an examination of his ankle and said. "I think it's just a sprain, but without X-rays, I can't be sure. You definitely cannot drive in a demo derby right now. That's your pedal foot. It wouldn't be safe."

"So who's gonna drive? '' asked Matt, "I got us in the final, the car is good to go. Someone has got to do it."

Tess thought about their side bet with Stevie. "I'll do it!" Tess didn't even know what her mouth was saying. "I'll drive the Drovers car. It's got to be someone who actually lives there, or it just wouldn't be right, that's either me or Jodi, and I'll do it."

Why did I just say that? What am I doing? This is terrifying, thought Tess.

"Are you sure Tess?" asked Jodi "I bet Ironman would be happy to drive it if we asked him to,"

"I'm doing it," Tess declared. "Matt, go change out of the fire suit. I'm going to need that."

"Okay Tess. Go get us the win." said Matt. He peeled off the fire suit showing off the t-shirt and shorts he was sporting underneath.

"I'm going to put this on in the ladies' rooms. I'll be right back. You can give me a run down of any strategies you have for me when I get back," Tess asserted on her way out.

"Well I guess that's settled. Tess is in. Jodi can you go tell the officials we have a driver change due to injury." said Matt.

"Matt, we should go to the hospital." said Jodi

"There is no way I'm missing Tess in a demo derby. I'll have the EMT wrap me up, but I'm not going anywhere," Matt declared.