Heartaches

Chapter 64

By Kellyq

Bruno looked up when Yusei walked into the Condo parking garage where Jack's damaged motorcycle was towed. The look in Yusei's face told Bruno that the visit wasn't pleasant.

"Yusei … are you alright?"

Yusei sighed. "Martha has Shingles …"

Bruno frowned. "Isn't that chickenpox through the nerves?"

"I think so … but the nurse looking after her knew about my father and the whole thing of the lab. I felt sorry that her parents were caught in the explosion … but she didn't believe me when I told her that my father wasn't responsible for their deaths."

By this point, the two were working on the repairs - replacing the handlebars, washing the dirt off, mending, and fixing the safety mechanism that had a few glitches in it. By the time they were done, half of the morning had gone by.

Yusei was aware that Bruno was watching him with concern the whole time. When they were finished, Yusei gave Bruno a reassuring look.

"I'll be okay, Bruno. I'm just still shocked about the whole thing with my dad. Now that I think about it I remember once when I was 3, overhearing some type of murderer …" his voice trailed off and his eyes widened with realization.

Yusei walked down the hallway and stopped midway to overhear Jack and Martha talking. The two were sitting on the living room couch, wrapping up Yusei's birthday presents.

"How did he end up here?" Jack asked Martha.

"Promise me that you won't tell him?" Martha looked into Jack's eyes. He nodded his head. "His parents were killed. It was heart wrenching that I couldn't do anything to save his parents …"

"I … I never really thought about it," Yusei said, coming out of his childhood memory. He lowered his gaze so that Bruno would see his eyes. "Not until now."

"You're just going to make yourself sick if you keep thinking about it," Bruno pointed out. He placed a hand on Yusei's shoulder. "What happened was in the past, and we need to stay focused on winning the race."

"I agree," came Crow's voice. They turned to see him and Jack standing there. "Team Unicorn's race is about to start," Crow continued, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. "We don't want to miss their race against Team Catastrophe!"

Jack, Yusei, Crow, and Bruno parked their bikes just outside the stadium. They all glanced at each other, not expecting to hear hush whispers and murmurs from the crowed when they entered inside. Jack was the first to notice Andore's motorcycle lying on its side, and smoke coming from the damaged bike.

"Isn't that Team Unicorn's motorcycles? W-what's going on?" Jack pondered out-loud, seeing Jean's bike in the same condition.

"Oh! This is a sad state of affairs, folks!" came M.C's voice. The race announcer shook his head. He was having a hard time announcing that Team Unicorn lost and Team Catastrophe won. "With two of Team Unicorn's teams out - Team Catastrophe wins!"

Jack growled at the thought of the winning team snatching victory just like that. Crow stood there in shock, along with Bruno. Yusei glanced at Team Catastrophe, and he took a good look their appearance. Harmann was taller than Hans and Nicolas. The trio had tattoos on their faces. Their uniforms were black and the undershirts were gray.

Movement right then caught Yusei's attention. He turned to see Jean and Andore being loaded onto stretchers to be wheeled to the ambulance. Yusei gasped in shock and made his way to the racetrack with Crow, Jack, and Bruno close behind.

"Jean! Andore!"

Breo turned to see Jack, Yusei, Crow, and Bruno making their way over. Yusei could tell right away that Breo was shaken up by what he concluded was a crash. The paramedics started wheel Jean and Andore to the ambulance.

Breo bit his lip. "Can you guys meet me at the hospital?"

Yusei nodded his head. "Sure!" And we'll find out what happened to Jean and Andore, he thought glancing at Team Catastrophe. There was something in the way that they grinned at the crowd, that made Yusei's skin crawl. He wasn't the only one, Carlly saw it too, from where she was sitting on the bleachers. She adjusted her spiral glasses, and she decided to follow Jack and the others.

Breo got to the hospital before the others and waited for the news of his teammates. A couple of moments later, Akiza came up with a clip board in her hand. The door to the front of the hospital opened and Yusei and the others made their way up.

"Jean and Andore are going to be fine," Akiza shared. Everyone looked relieved.

"What happened at the race?" Jack asked.

Breo shook his head. "I'm not sure. They were doing fine until their motorcycles crashed."

"The race didn't last very long," Carly stated.

"I … I hate to ask this … but can you guys help me find out what happened to my teammates?" Breo asked, nervously.

"Sure. We'll help anyway we can," Yusei reassured.

"Thanks, babe. I just don't know who to turn to right now."

To Be Continued …