Heartaches

Chapter 58

By Kellyq

The line to get into the stadium stretched around the block. A blimp floated by, and a special aircraft flew by with a big flag attached to it saying:Welcome to the World Racing Grand Prix.

The race announcer glanced around the crowd to see many people from all over, and he could feel the intense energy in the atmosphere. The level of excitement in the air got the announcer more pumped up. His black hair was short on the back and the rest of it stuck out beyond his forehead in a shape of a Twinkie. His green eyes held a lot of personality and his pointy beard combed in a nice point. He wore a pink suit and an orange bow tie. He called himself MC.

"Good afternoon!" He said enthusiastically into the microphone. "And welcome to the first half of the World racing Grand Prix!" The crowd cheered. People who were watching on TV, also looked pumped for the race to start. "I'm going to be announcing the teams! The first to go is Jack Atlus, from Team 5ds against Andore from Team Unicorn!"

The crowd cheered for Andore, and when Jack rode out, more people started to cheer as he did the usual trademark, by going around the track once and saying 'Let's kick this into overdrive!'

"Jack! Yusei!" came Leo, Luna, and Rally's voices.

From where Yusei, Crow, and Bruno were standing in the pit stop, they turned their heads to see them running toward their direction. Jack also turned his head to see Rally running to him, and the twins went over to the pit stop.

Yusei went after Rally and placed his hand on his shoulder before he was on the track itself. Rally looked over his shoulder and glanced up at Yusei to see him shake his head. Rally nodded, turned and took Yusei's hand as they walked back to the pit stop.

"There you guys are!" came Trudge's voice.

They turned their heads to see him and Mina walking up. Leo hung his head, knowing that talking his sister and Rally into coming onto the racetrack was not a good idea, but he wanted to help Yusei, Jack, Crow and Bruno by being right there in front of the action.

"We're not in trouble, are we?" Rally asked timidly, blushing with embarrassment.

"On your mark, get set, go!" M.C's voice boomed, startling everyone.

Before Yusei and Rally could recover, a gust of dust, wind, and carbon monoxide pushed against them. The ground vibrated and rumbled as Yusei pulled Rally close, shielding him.

Once it was safe to see, Yusei could see that Jack was the first to go around sharp corners and weave around ditches. He's going too fast, Rally thought, watching how fast Jack was going.

Mina stepped up and placed a hand on Rally's shoulder after Yusei pulled back. "Come, on!" Mina urged over the roar of the crowd and the rumbling of the motorcycles. "It's not safe for you to be here!"

Rally nodded his head as Mina took his hand and led him back to the bleachers. "Do you think that Yusei and Jack will win?" Rally finally asked, sitting next Mina.

"Of course Jack's going to win! I don't know about Yusei, but I do know that Jack will!" Carly spoke up. She was sitting on the same bench as Rally, and some other kids. Rally glanced down to realize that he had a good seat. He could see what was going on.

Jack was two seconds behind Andore. Dammit, Jack thought feeling his pride take control of his actions. He revved up the engine in the intention of passing Andoro by, but Jack didn't realize that the back wheel locked making it hard for him to steer.

Bruno looked closely at the scene before him and noticed that Jack's motorcycle was going to give out if he didn't come to the pit stop. Buno grabbed a headset, and placed it on his head, and then adjusted the built-in mic to his mouth.

"Jack! You need to come in!" Bruno urged.

Yusei glanced at Bruno before he set his eyes back to the race to see that Jack was having a hard time steering his bike. Andore looked over his shoulder to see Jack's motorcycle spinning out of control. Andore veered his bike out of the way as Jack's motorcycle spun in his direction.

The front tire to Jack's motorcycle hit a rock, and he was bucked off just as the bike toppled over. Jack went flying like a rag doll and he landed a three yards away with a dull thump. His motorcycle toppled a few more times before it landed on its side with a sharp clang, and the front wheel still spinning.

"Oh! That must've hurt!" M.C. commented covering his eyes for a second, before he glanced at the sight. "Can The Master of Faster get back on his feet and continue?"

The crowd looked on with anticipation. Carly and Mina jumped to their feet wondering if they should go down and help him. Yusei stepped out of the pit stop without a second thought. Jack slowly managed to get to his hands and knees.

"Jack!" Yusei called out, stepping onto the racetrack.

"What are you doing, Yusei?" Jack inquired, glancing at his boyfriend. Yusei came to an abrupt halt when he saw the visor on Jack's helmet was broken down the middle, and a thin line of blood came down his forehead. "Do you want us to get disqualified? Now get back to our post!" Jack ordered, pointing to the pit stop.

Yusei stood there for a second, watching Jack crawl over to his motorcycle and put it in the up-right position, before Yusei turned and walked back. Dammit, Jack thought, feeling humiliated and embarrassed, I can't just give up! Martha's counting on me, and I'm not going to let her down! By now the crowd was cheering for Jack as he started to push his bike the rest of the way. If I last long enough, Jack thought, seeing the finish line six feet a way, it will be a start.

Andore slowed down just a tad, knowing that he didn't have to rush it when he calculated that he was going to win anyway. Yusei glanced at Bruno so see that he wasn't ready.

"Bruno ...? Are you alright?" Yusei asked, placing his gloved hand on his shoulder.

"I should've checked Jack's bike before he went out!" Bruno said, feeling responsible for what happened.

"Don't worry about it, Bruno," Yusei reassured, stepping back. "Jack will be fine."

"He's been in worse crashes than this!" Crow spoke up.

Bruno sighed, slid off the chair and made his way over to his motorcycle. Yusei went over to the finish line to see Carly, and Mina cheering for Jack, as he slowly made his way. Andore shrugged as he picked up the pace, he was two centimeters ahead of Jack.

By now, Jack was refraining from passing out. He glanced ahead to see Yusei, Crow, Carly, and Mina. He could also hear Rally and the twins telling him not to give up. M.C. watched the two competitors reach the finish line, but Andore's motorcycle's tire touched the line before Jack's bike.

"Andore is the winner!"

Jack closed his eyes for a moment as he pushed his bike over the line. Yusei stepped up caught Jack before he dropped. Crow went over to Jack's motorcycle and kept it from falling on its side.

To Be Continued ...