Chapter 8:

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Wayne stormed back over to his prized motorcycle in wide, irate steps, flicking his cigarette off into the distance. James jogged a bit to catch up with his friend, who was pacing by his bike, not knowing what to make of the situation, fuming anger out of every pore in his body.

"Wayne, what the hell are you thinking?" James scolded. "Betting Beatrice in a race? What if you lose to Roth?"

"I won't lose," Wayne muttered mechanically as he paced some more. He spoke almost as if he was trying to reassure himself. "I never lose."

"But this is Roth," James argued. "Roth never bets without knowing he's going to win—you know that. He's bound to fight dirty."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Wayne replied, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it in a flustered hurry.

"Then why?"

Wayne let out a long breath, letting his smoke surround him in a cloud. The nicotine seemed to work his magic, making him calm down back into his 'suave' persona.

"Jimmy…" he said seriously. "Do you really think I'd risk Bee if I wasn't sure I'd win? I'll answer that: uh, NO. I'm all over it-- No worries… no worries…"

He still didn't sound quite assured in the matter, but James let it go, knowing better than to push him.

"I'm trusting you, pal," James assured him, then backed away to give him some driving space as Wayne slung his leg over the seat and stomped on the ignition, then took off.

Joe sighed and folded his arms, as James ran a nervous hand over his face. Evelyn stroked his arm to comfort him, even though she didn't really have a firm grasp on what was really going on.

"What do you think?" James asked Joe, anxious to hear his friend's opinion.

"I'm wondering why Beatrice agreed to this," Joe replied. "She's going to lose no matter who wins."

"She's gotta be rooting for one of them," Evelyn pointed out. "Do we not know which one?"

James glanced at Joe again.

"No, actually, we honestly don't."

-

Wayne inched up to the starting line, as Damien did the same. The other participants gathered as well, as the audience left to climb the hill a bit more to get a better view of the track from above.

"You ready to bite the dust, Parry?" Sean laughed, making sure his helmet was buckled tight.

Wayne breathed in and out a few times, and kept his cool. Though it usually came natural to him, tonight he had to force it through. He looked up at Beatrice, standing on the hill with the other spectators, and he knew exactly why.

"You know the first thing I'm gonna do when I win," Damien said to Wayne's right, hissing his words through his teeth like a snake. "I'm going to drive Bee straight to my place. She's going to give me some whether she wants to or not."

Wayne revved up his engine, the roar of the engine matching the screaming inside of his chest, trying his best not to give them the satisfaction of a reaction from him. He was determined to keep his eyes on the road before him. He couldn't help but have second thoughts about this entire challenge, but it was far to late to back down now.

"You wait," Damien went on. "I'm going to nail her so hard she won't be able to walk again."

Wayne looked at Roth with eyes wide with pure anger, as Roth simply made obscene gestures with his hands to further flaunt his perverted mind. Wayne was so enraged he could barely get his body to move. His eyes then slowly fell black, in a full-fledged dare. Roth had gone too far.

"Before this night is over, I'm going to pummel you. You've just made this personal."

"THAT'S what I wanted to hear!" Damien yelled victoriously, revving up his engine as well. "Let's the games begin!"

On that note, the leggy blonde named Jezebel stepped forward, blowing Wayne a kiss, and pulled out a checkered scarf that she had gotten from who knows where. Wayne gripped the gas handle tightly in his palm, locking his eyes on that flag, so that the second it moved would be the second he did the same.

-

Evelyn clutched James's arm tightly in enthusiasm, biting her lip in her anticipation, knowing well that the racers were about to take off any second. The crowd hummed in equal anxiousness, as they watched intently at the bikers below.

"I didn't realize these things were so high-excitement level!" she said over the noise of the mob. "The drama, the action… I should have come sooner!"

James couldn't help but smile at that. That's when James began to relax. He was always so concerned about what to say around her, yet with this girl, it was like nothing he said was the wrong thing. It made him feel comfortable, liked he meshed with her better than he did before. It was relieving.

He wished he had the guts to tell her what he was thinking.

Wait a minute… he did have the guts.

James breathed in deeply, and opened his mouth to tell her how he felt. Just as he was about to release the words from his throat, the crowd roared as the flag was waved and the racers sped off around the track.

Then James felt a tap on his shoulder. James looked up on Joe's face and immediately saw concern. Whatever it was, if it made Joe worried than it made James worried as well.

"What's going on?" James asked quickly. Evelyn looked up at Joe curiously as well.

"Down the track," Joe explained for James in a low voice so that Evelyn wouldn't hear. "I saw Blake setting up a trap for Wayne."

"No doubt on Damien's orders," James concluded. "Damn that cheating bastard!"

"Com'on, we don't have much time."

James gracefully excused himself from Evelyn, then rushed off at Joe's lead.

-

The roar of the engine pulsed in Wayne's ears, as he concentrated hard on not skidding right off the cliff to his right as he skidded around the turns. The hard dirt track didn't provide that much traction, especially for a street bike, so he could feel every single bump in the road and fishtailed around every corner. Damien was a hard opponent, and firmly kept his place at his left side.

They were both Using to make their motorcycles work overdrive, leaving the racers who didn't possess the Power to trail a far distance behind in the dust.

As they cut around the next bend, Wayne could see Damien herding him more and more toward the cliff side.

"Stay on your side of the road, Roth!" Wayne shouted at him as he dangerously danced on the edge.

"What are you talking about, Parry?" Damien laughed like near-death experiences were hysterical. "The whole road is my side!"

As they passed through the woods, Wayne had to work at avoiding the trees next, as did Damien.

Once the foresty area was cleared they were back to cliff side terrain, with a wall at their left, and a steady hill at their right.

Wayne noticed an exchange between Sean and Damien, a nod or an assuring gesture of some sort, and it alarmed him. Suddenly they both sped up in front of Wayne, with no chance of him getting through. Wayne had no choice but to slow down.

That's when Wayne saw the finish line. There was no way he was going to let Sean and Damien win on a 'team squat', and yanked on the gas to pass them. He was going to win… The crowd began to cheer him on, seeing him charging from a distance…

-

Joe and James raced up the hill, just as thet spotted Blake Hunter coming down it.

"Looking for something, boys?" he said good-naturedly.

"What did you do up there?" James demanded.

"If I did do anything, it looks like you're too late to see. Catch you later, gents."

James and Joe raced to the top of the hill, just as two logs reached the bottom of the hill, just as Wayne was speeding up to them. There was no time to stop them, no time to save him…

Wayne tried to skid sideways to stop himself, but ended up sliding right into the logs anyway, the force of the blow throwing him from his bike.

"WAYNE!" James heard a woman yell in the crowd below, most likely Beatrice. James rushed back down the hill to see if Wayne was okay, Joe rapidly at his heels.

Damien whizzed past the finish line on a pop-wheelie, doing a few donuts to show off before he finally put on the brake. Sean followed at a close second.

Beatrice came running from the crowd to James, her face flushed and worried.

"Where is he?" she asked. James pointed at the logs on the other side of the road, a crushed motorcycle among them, and Wayne's foot barely visible underneath.

Beatrice was about to cross the road to go see him, but Joe quickly stepped out and yanked her back, just as the rest of the racers stampeded by to the finish line.

As soon as the last of them had past, Joe let her go, and quickly followed. James was the one to push the log off of Wayne, as he laid lifelessly on the ground. Beatrice bent over him and patted his cheek to rouse him, with no success. She feared the worst.

"Wayne? Wayne!" she said in concern, propping his head in her lap. "Say something. Talk!"

His eyes cracked open slightly, and he squinted at her like he didn't recognize her face.

"I can see a light… I don't think I'm going to make it… Bee, can I get a little CPR?"

Disgusted, she threw him back down on the ground roughly.

"He'll live," she muttered angrily.

"Roth cheated!" James hissed angrily at the injustice.

"What?" Beatrice said with alarm. "Are you sure?"

"We did everything but witness it with our own eyes," James assured her with a firm nod.

"That's all Damien will need to deny the accusation," Joe insisted. "We'd best not pursue it."

"I agree," Wayne said, getting to his feet with a deep-throated groan. He slung an arm over Joe's shoulder to keep upright. "I'd like to lose honorably, thank you very much."

"But…" Beatrice began, but faded off.

"But what?" Wayne pressed. Beatrice didn't reply.

"Well, well!" Damien said as he strutted over with the crowd behind him. "Look who finally got dethroned off his high and mighty horse…"

Damien folded his arms victoriously as Blake and Sean came behind him. James just scowled back at them, hating their presence.

"Now, I think you have an appointment with the ocean, don't you, Wayne? Naked, if I'm not mistaken…"

Beatrice looked at Wayne, waiting for some smart comeback, or even a protest, but instead, the boy just held out his hand for Damien to shake.

"You're right," Wayne said humbly. "Looks like you won."

Damien was just as disgruntled at Beatrice, but cautiously took the offered handshake anyway.

"Whatever," Damien shot back, and turned to his prize. "Bee, I think I just won you."

Still, Beatrice waited for Wayne to protest, but the boy shrugged back at her and kept his mouth closed. What was the matter with him?

"Com'on," Damien said, slinging his arm around her shoulder possessively and putting his mouth dangerously close to her ear. "I don't have all day… Let's get down to the dirty nana. We can start in my backseat and go from there."

"Get away from me, you creep," she said, slapping Damien across the face and storming off. "I'll wait back at your car."

"Didn't I tell you I was going to nail her so hard she'd be paralyzed?" Damien said, turning to follow her. "Come tomorrow, you'll both be in wheelchairs."

"Hey, Damien!" Wayne called at his back. He stepped up to him slowly and casually, forcing through the pain in his legs to walk up to his enemy. "Didn't I tell you before this night was through I was going to pummel you?"

With that, Wayne bashed his nose in, striking Damien to the floor. Roth rolled and whined on the ground, holding his bleeding nose in agony.

"For your sake," Wayne warned him in a low voice, standing over Damien like he was ten feet tall. "I hope I'm the only man of my word here."

-

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Signed,
--RedRogue