⛭ Chapter 15 ⛭

“Attention all racers, head to the starting line. We will be starting in ten minutes.”

Chelbie was shaken, unable to explain to Zadz that what he had said resurfaced a traumatic feeling within her. Talking about it wouldn’t help because the memories concerning her parents when they had talked down to her about honor, could be felt in Zadz’s own words.

He had left her in the dust and now it was starting impact her. At such a crucial time like now, she wanted to tell him everything before it got worse.

However, from the moment the announcement dropped, she had no choice but to push these bottled feelings aside.

Taking off her leather jacket and red shirt in private as a way to rid her of these unwanted feelings, she used her glove to create a new white vest with a red zipper which was somewhat reminiscent of the sleeveless shirt she wore underneath it now.

She needed time to breathe and prepare for what was coming.

Walking towards the crew who finished up cleaning most of the vehicles and fine tuning them to make sure they were safe to drive, the Flamethrottle Fury ended up being the one that was checked on by only Chelbie herself before the drama occurred between her and Zadz.

To get into her monster truck, she slid up through a secret entrance underneath the vehicle that she alone knew about. After pulling the latch closed to secure herself inside, she began to initiate every step needed to ensure that the truck was ready for driving.

That along with turning on Xank, who took on the form of this small digital avatar of a funny looking robot.

“Howdsies Chelbie! Ready to roll today?” it asked her.

“You bet! Can you test the RII that I have installed? Gonna need it in case things get out of control.”

“Remote Ignition Interrupter testing accepted. Restarting all system operations.”

The moment Chelbie initiated this command, the entire truck turned off and on. It rebooted up the computer as well, with Xank affirming that the RII test was successful.

Driving The Flamethrottle Fury all the way toward the staging lanes which allowed racing vehicles to properly space out and get their positions set before the event started, she noticed how bright the sun was in the sky as she stared around in awe at the millions upon millions of people watching her from the massive futuristic-looking bleachers.

There was also a large screen which was able to track footage from multiple cameras that were placed throughout each course.

Looking further down the race track itself, she saw a special seating area for the judges. Connected to that was a white balcony above the start of the checkered line where this racing referee, who held a Blazethon flag in hand, stood in anticipation.

The intensity of her hands gripping the steering wheel got tighter, feeling this fiery desire inside to make the best of whatever was going to come her way.

Of course, that emotional excitement would become short-lived as a loud crisp engine noise with so much ferocity pulled up right beside her.

It was a Blue Corvette, decorated with a shiny ceramic coating which also featured cyan and pink glittering Luciliae flowers. The wheels themselves, which were equipped with MOZ-RE Rings, matched the color palette aesthetic too.

Chelbie didn’t want to acknowledge Lucila’s presence in knowing that she could easily target her if she wanted to. She wanted to take the ambush approach and destroy her reputation by surprise.

With all of the players finally finishing the long line, Keath Daylight himself popped on the large screen where he could be seen sitting in the judges’ booth. The speakers then began to play a strange musical piece known as The Raceblazer Anthem as President Daylight spoke into his mic.

“A warm welcome to all participants of The Blazethon. I, Keath Daylight, am honored to be hosting the 45th Blazethon Racing Tournament. Today’s event holds the future of a race that will forever change the way we view other worlds that are brave enough to challenge each other. That challenge also comes in the form of three different obstacles courses. Cyphra would you care to introduce them?”

Immediately after saying this, the screen switched to a view of the first stage which was being presented, with Cyphra being next to deliver her own take on the race’s challenges.

“Gladly President Daylight. Part one of this race begins in the powerful world of Revv, home to Daylight Stadium which holds tracks that stretch sky-high into the upper atmosphere. Towering roads aren’t the only thing you will have to face though.”

When the next stage was introduced, it grappled Chelbie’s interest as this place looked more unusually different in style compared to the first one.

“You will then cross into the chilly Valkien mountains on the planet Ghiz. Blizzard Tunnel is a cold distance killer. Be wary not only of the freezing temperatures, but also of the curving loops, icy terrain, and tunnel paths you take.”

Although this location looked dangerous, Chelbie knew that her special glove would come in handy to play a more significant role there.

In light of this thought however, dark thunderclouds began to roll in from above the cyberpunk city.

“And now, for our last level, comes a decaying wasteland in particular on the planet of Mechatopolis. One filled with the torn scraps of vehicles that never made it to the end. What lies in this filthy arena of a junkyard, will be your last drive if you are not careful.”

A harrowing feeling came over Chelbie as the words Mechatopolis echoed through her mind.

She knew Hisa had to have heard that.

Anyone that knew about Mechatopolis also had heard about the first world they started a war with. The strange machine uprising caused flashbacks of screaming and explosions that she could remember hearing when she was just a toddler. Her parents did survive the scary experience at the time, but not everyone was lucky enough to make it past the gruesome Great Invasion.

To her knowledge, Kade Night (her first cousin) was one of her many other relatives that seemed to have been gone missing for so many years. Losing her legs was one thing, but the pain of being told that the ones closest to her weren’t coming back stunted her ambitions for quite awhile.

Growing up after that, her loneliness could certainly be felt. She didn’t think her dreams would have any meaning until Cherry stepped into her life for awhile back in fourth grade.

While the memories did overwhelm her, a loud voice suddenly woke her out of this trance as the players up ahead of her began to violently take off.

“Go!” yelled the racing referee into his mic amidst the chaos.

Pushing her feet onto the pedal, a feeling of uncertainty came over Chelbie as she raced off towards the storm that was dangerously nearing.