⛭ Chapter 11 ⛭

The train ride to their next destination seemed long and tedious, even for only two stops.

There was this indescribable silence that stalled throughout the entire trip. Nothing could spark the conversation because of how overwhelmingly dark the air was. Not only did it wreak of a cold society, but the color that did exist, fragmented into oversaturated promises.

A commercial system that created this idealized world of happiness and joy, started to crumble underneath the weight of a reality left unchecked.

It was all a familiar experience to Chelbie.

A world that created fake dreams and real nightmares. She remembered the solitary constraints of being left in the shadows of a place that was supposed to heal her. And yet, in resting, her mind wandered. Wanting to do more, but becoming more afraid to anything in the same state.

Why did it happen to be this way?

She had already locked it far away. The parts of her that no one wanted to see. A nothing girl doing nothing things.

It was as if they preferred the soulless essence of something that masked its feelings.

By the time the three of them got off at the third stop and took the elevator down, the rain had cleared up, revealing a skateboard park that she was surprised to see was littered with creative graffiti.

“What is this place?” she asked as they walked down the steps which led them through the labyrinth of concrete slopes and slides that were made more vibrant with neon-lit grind rails.

Upon asking this question, the rushing sound of golden skateboard wheels zipped past from behind them. There in the distance, this figure wore a dark leather jacket. It also matched the color of his pants, wavy hair (with the slight exception of a tinge of red sticking out), and a black skull cap with this colorful edgy logo plastered on the front.

His Vulcan low top sneakers also had a custom made logo that showcased the name of the person wearing them.

Skating over towards the group, he had a laid back yet sarcastic attitude upon getting a closer look at the new members that would be joining their team.

“Name’s Zadz. Who’d you bring this time Trax? They don’t look too enthused to be here…”

“Stop it already Zadz. These are our new teammates that will help us win the upcoming Blazethon,” retorted Trax.

“I really don’t see it. You mean to tell me all we get now are two ladies that you probably don’t even know anything about? I swear Trax, for a guy that won the title of Raceblazer once, you sure as hell keep on losing a ton of people in the process,” roasted Zadz.

“Don’t. Rub. It. In. We still have a fighting chance out there on the race track. Have a little optimism.”

“Have a little optimism? Dude, maybe acknowledge that you’re the one bringing the team down first.”

Intervening between the two sides of the argument, Chelbie let loose her feelings on the entire situation at hand.

“How about we go to the lounge together and talk this out so we can actually win the first round? Besides, we do have a little somethin’ special to show you… What do ya say? Fair game?”

The two sides stared in confusion at what this girl was saying when she said something special.

“What the hell even are your names anyway?” asked Zadz.

“Chill my guy. No need to get defensive. I’m Chelbie and this is Hisa. We’re here to race and beat Lucila at her own game. I’ve known her for over a few years after she did some shit to me back then that she’s gonna pay for now.”

“No offense, but you look like you didn’t prepare for this too well. That always happens with newbies that don’t read the back page of the application. Always failing to actually understand how this stuff works.”

The nihilistic viewpoint Zadz was giving her started to piss Chelbie off.

“Oh I’m sorry Baddy Two Shoes. Do you have a better plan to get us back on track? Cause last I checked, you ain’t even doin’ shit yourself. Like maybe stop gettin’ down-bad cause you look like a dumbass.”

“I would come up with a better plan if everyone I met would stop talking like they have all of the answers when instead they really don’t. Stop glossing over the fact that there are lives that we’ll never get back.”

Taking his skateboard with him to get a breath of fresh air after arguing with two of his teammates, Zadz rode off making a point that did in fact cause both of them to dwell on it for a while.

Lives they would never get back…

She could already suspect that when Trax talked about members that they lost, he did seem to show less complacency about moving forward despite it having happened. He just focused on the goal at hand now instead of further relapsing on the subject.

With all of this division present, she wondered who else would possibly be a part of the established team.

In a swift manner, Trax walked farther into the skateboard park until they reached the base which was a hidden dark hole that could be entered into by crawling at first. It then eventually began to turn into a tunnel that they could walk through.

Taking out a flashlight from his pocket to spot the entrance to their underground lounge, Trax led them to an abandoned pipe room that revealed a surprisingly warm welcome from a new face.

However, this person didn’t say a single word. Instead, they just casually waved their hand.

“Meet Mache Leeway,” said Trax.