⛭ Chapter 18 ⛭

Arriving down on a steady hillside, Chelbie rode past many alien-like trees called Swaths that had thin yet strong magenta-colored trunks. Attached to them were a pattern of many white thick arching leaves that towered above as they dwindled in the frosty air.

Being analytical as she was about how things worked as a mechanic, she squinted extremely hard at the snowbank which was unusually swinging so subtly as the snow itself was rumbling from the two vehicles coming closer towards it.

It was a trap.

Using the force of her wheels to do a nose wheelie once again, she thrusted the momentum of the vehicle forward while braking so that her truck could flip itself over the trap. Even with this in mind, her tires were designed to be buoyant and bouncy without ruining the motors. In the case of snowdrifts like this, she was well equipped enough to handle it.

Landing on both wheels to reach the other side, the last blue Corvette had fallen victim to try and circle around the snowbank, only for it fall into a net filled with snow. Other cars that were going too fast, fell for it or, had to stop and try another option.

This included a majority of the Cybernulls team.

“Yeyah! Burnin’ speed in real style today! How’s the mileage Xank?!” asked Chelbie with exhilaration.

“Wow! You have covered 320 miles! That is beyond your average of 240. You’re going to need a gas fill up shortly though in twenty minutes if you plan on clocking your current speed for longer.”

It became apparent that while Chelbie was closing in on victory, she hadn’t spot Zadz, Mache, or Trax anywhere after the race had started. Part of her wondered how Zadz would survive using only a skateboard to get to the top of any racing leaderboard anyway. It was hard to imagine or even believe.

For now, she had to focus on getting in the first 15 rankings. There was no doubt about that as she crossed the final loop which was next to these gigantic futuristic buildings where she could see many people watching her from inside. It was a very enthralling feeling to witness.

Being cheered on like this in such a long while reinvigorated her.

She yelled with happiness, raising her right fist in the air while snowflakes danced everywhere.

That moment lasted triumphantly short however when she saw a large holographic leaderboard which revealed that Chelbie had reached 14th in the rankings so far. What was interesting to note on the other hand was that Trax was actually in 1st place with Lucila driving behind him in 2nd. Zadz had surprisingly hit 8th as well, but Mache was nowhere to be found any lower.

A distinct feeling of anxiety resurfaced as she drove on through another portal which led her into the next world.

She was now worried about what happened to Mache and especially when it came to entering Mechatopolis of all places. No matter how she looked at it, Chelbie had to move on and prove she was capable of being a part of the team.

Still, she couldn’t help but sense this lingering fear that something was off upon being blinded by the dusty hellscape ahead. The air was now both hot and dry. Worse of all was the smell itself which was filled with this horrible stench that made Chelbie cough from how polluted it was.

Passing by the sight of vehicles that hadn’t made it through to the end, this disturbing place kicked in a dead serious expression from her when she saw human skeletons with dried blood scattered across the musty terrain.

Death was written all over this junkyard.