Step On The Gas Until It's Dangerous

"Hang on tight".

The horn blew to start the challenge.

Malakai put his foot down on the accelerator, not forcefully, but he did put a lot in it. The car picked up speed, passing 20 mph, then 30 mph, then 40 mph, creeping to 50 mph. The road was a long, straight road; there was no bend in sight.

70 mph.

"Malakai, slow down!" Jason worriedly said, glancing at him. The other cars next to him were also doing a similar speed or a bit slower; the distance between the cars was making Jason feel uneasy. One slight movement of the wheel could mean a crash. Malakai kept putting his foot down; 70 mph slowly became 90 mph.

"MALAKAI!" Luna called out, gripping the map with her right hand and Malakai's seat with her left. Luna was sitting in the middle, so she didn't have a door to hold on to.

100 mph.

"THAT'S IT! DON'T GO FASTER!" Jason shouted at him, holding onto the car door with his right hand. Their team was edging forward due to their high speed, but Malakai looked in the front mirror and the mirror on his side and saw other cars close. Malakai was smiling; this was fun for him. All the noise around him seemed muffled; he was having too much fun. When Malakai said he hadn't driven a car in ages, he told the truth. This was the first time he had driven in a while, and he had the chance to go fast. Of course, he was going to take it. There was no speed limit.

100 mph eventually became 140 mph.

"MALAKAI! DON'T GO OVER 140!" Jason screamed.

"MALAKAI! SLOW DOWN!" Nina screamed.

"MALAKAI! THERE IS A RIGHT TURN COMING SOON!" Luna screamed.

"MALAKAI! PLEASE SLOW DOWN!" Akari screamed.

"Hehehehe", Malakai laughed at everyone's distress. Malakai checked his mirrors and saw there was a decent distance between him and the others, but he didn't take his foot off the gas. He wanted a bigger difference. The speed continued to increase. Screams filled the car; Jason was clinging to the door, and so were Nina and Akari. Akari even closed her eyes; this was too much for her; if she opened them, tears would flood out. She was terrified. Luna had to use the seats in front of her to keep her balance, but she also had to read the map. Malakai smiled the whole time; it was like a game to him. Seeing everyone panic and the stress on their faces made it even funnier for Malakai. The screams were annoying, but it was hilarious nonetheless; it added to the atmosphere.

"Look, no hands", Malakai said, taking both hands off the wheel.

"PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE FUCKING WHEEL!!!" Jason shouted at him, thinking he was going to die.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" More screams filled the car after they saw their driver's hands in the air instead of on the wheel.

"HAHAHAHA!" Malakai put his hands on the wheel and laughed at the situation. He looked forward and saw the straight road coming to an end; a turn was coming, as Luna told him. He moved to the right-hand side of the road. Malakai lifted his foot off the accelerator and let the car slow down on its own. The speed slowly eased to around 50 mph; Malakai then gently put his foot on the brake to slow the car down further as the right turn was fast approaching.

"DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!" Jason shouted, still angry at him.

The car began to travel at a normal speed, "Calm down, man, it's fine", Malakai reassured him while giggling.

"Mally's crazy", Ray said in awe. The livestream captured the driving via drone, giving the audience a bird's eye view. The camera angle changed to different teams, but most of the time, it was on Malakai's team as they were first.

"If we ever go on a road trip, he's not driving the car", Benjamin said,

getting chills down his spine thinking about Malakai driving.

"For sure", William agreed.

"I feel sorry for his teammates," Tanisha said, chewing a sweet and leaning back on the beanbag.

"Is this the first time he's driven a car?" Delilah asked.

"I don't think so. He looked in control of the car. If he had never driven a car before, he probably would've lost control as soon as he hit high speeds," David replied. His friends had only heard Malakai could drive, but they didn't know he could, as they had never been in a car with him.

"I wonder what face he's making right now?"

The car was approaching the bend at about 25 mph. The bend wasn't sharp, but it wasn't a bend that could be easily turned with a car going 25 mph. Malakai steered the wheel to the right with one hand, causing the vehicle to swing to the right due to the speed. The movement caused the passengers in the car to bundle to the left, leading to Nina getting squished by Luna despite Luna having a seatbelt on. Jason held his door handle with both hands so he stayed secure. The road was straight again, but now there were visible side roads ahead. The road also narrowed; it looked like it had two lanes.

"Luna, where we going?" Malakai casually asked, looking in the front mirror to look at Luna.

"Oh umm", Luna, distracted by Malakai's driving, looked down at the map to figure out the directions.

Nina warned Malakai, "Be careful you don't miss a turn." She was worried he might speed up again and miss the turn.

"I'm not going fast", Malakai replied.

"The road we have to take is the third left", Luna told him.

"Aryt".

"Woah, why're you speeding up?!!" Jason asked, looking at Malakai, who was grinning ear to ear.

"Cuz the turn is up there, you wanna get first, no?" Malakai said.

50 mph.

"Stay at 50!" Jason said, worried at Malakai's driving.

"For a big guy, you're kinda a pussy”, Malakai replied, looking at Jason with judgemental eyes. Malakai couldn't help but laugh.

"Malakai, look at the road, please!!" Akari frighteningly told him.

Malakai checked his mirrors and saw a few cars in the distance. "Nina, some cars are closing in. What should we do?" Malakai asked like he was the narrator of a kid's program. He was hoping Nina was on the same wavelength.

"Go faster!" she was.

"YEAHHH!!" he put his foot down to accelerate more causing his passengers to get pushed back into their seats.

"Malakai, you just passed the second left turn. The next one is the one we have to take!" Luna reminded him like a teacher.

"Yeah, yeah, I know".

"Slow down then!" Jason ordered him.

"When I see the turn, I will", Malakai replied. He kept going at 60 mph until he saw the exit in the distance. Like the previous turn, he raised his foot off the gas and left the car to slow down until he took control and gently pressed the brakes. This left turn was sharper than the last, and the road they entered was narrower. Malakai noticed this but still approached the turn at 25 mph. When the turn came, he quickly steered the wheel with both hands so they would make the turn. Like the other turn, every passenger in the car moved with it; unlike last time, Jason was still tightly held to the door and was safe; the seatbelt also helped. The girls in the back all fell to the right, with Akari squished to the door. Malakai straightened the wheel and continued with the road.

"Malakai, take this right!" Luna quickly said.

Malakai was caught off guard. Instead of instantly turning, he slowed down a bit to get more control and then turned. He wasn't going fast as he just entered the road, so his passengers were lucky.

"Turn like that every time", Jason said to him. Malakai didn't bother to respond. He was concentrating on the road. The road they entered was narrow; it looked like a one-way road. Malakai looked further ahead and saw an intersection.

"Which way?" he asked.

"We're close; it's a left turn, and then it's the right at the end of the road", Luna replied, looking at the map. Malakai had his fun, but the roads were looking more serious and more complex to manoeuvre in. The callouts and replies were like a professional team. He calmed his teammates, drove normally, and turned at the intersection normally.

"It's a right turn at the end of this road, right?" Malakai asked for confirmation.

"Yeah", Luna replied.

120 mph.

"AHHHHHH!!" Akari cried.

"SLOW DOWN!!!" Jason screamed.

“MALAKAI!!”, Luna yelled.

"HAHAHA!!" Nina laughed.

"Hehehe", Malakai giggled.

The road was a long one; it didn't look like it would end for a long time. What else was Malakai going to do? Drive normally? Naaa

Malakai checked his mirrors and saw no one. He smiled, knowing he did a good job; they'd gotten a good lead because of his driving. The end of the road was approaching, and Malakai noticed. By now, Malakai had blocked all the noise in the car and just did what he had to do. He didn't care what they said; he knew he had everything under control. The speed dropped until, eventually, they took the right turn. They turned into a wider road and immediately noticed on the left-hand side, further up ahead, there were rectangles.

"Is this location A?" Malakai asked, looking at the objects in the distance.

"Yeah, it is", Luna checked the map once more. Malakai kept driving and positioned to the left-hand side of the road. As they got closer, they realised those rectangles were tents. Malakai dropped his speed to about 15 mph.

"Look, they have numbers on them", Nina noticed, looking out the window. The tents had numbers to represent which team went to which tent.

"Good, Malakai parked next to our tent", Jason said, pointing at the tent with the number four on it. Malakai got closer and parked the car.

"Let's go", Jason said to the girls. "Stay in the car", Jason told Malakai.

"I know, I know", Malakai replied, not liking how Jason talked to him like a child.

The girls got out of the car. "My head is spinning'", Luna said, holding her head. The constant screaming was probably the reason. Akari stumbled out of the car. "Are you okay?" Luna asked, putting a hand on Akari's shoulder to balance her.

"Yeah, I just need a moment. Some fresh air will help me", Akari replied with a hand over her stomach. It was clear the journey was most stressful for her. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Come on, guys", Nina said, appearing fine and walking behind Jason, who was entering the tent. At the start, Nina was scared, but over time, she enjoyed Malakai's fast driving. It gave her a buzz.

Jason walked into the tent and saw a person dressed in a black suit with a mask standing in front of a table with five envelopes on it. The mask was simple; it was all white with black circles as the eyes, that's it. The rest of the group joined him in the tent and saw the same thing. The tent was surprisingly big; from the outside, you would think it would be stuffy and cramped inside.

"What do we do?" Jason asked the man in the mask. The man stood up straight with his hands behind his back. Everyone tried to look past the man to see what was on the table properly. They saw the envelopes, but they also saw that they were numbered.

"Is everyone ready?" the masked man questioned. Everyone agreed. "Answer these five riddles; the number of riddles you get right will determine what envelope you get. You have one attempt to answer correctly", he explained slowly. "Does everyone understand?" he asked. Everyone agreed once again. So, this was the challenge at location A. A bunch of riddles. The masked man got straight to the point and explained it without taking a break. Talk about professionalism.

"What can you catch but not throw?"

"A cold", Luna quickly answered. A relatively easy one to start with.

"Correct. What has a neck but no head?"

"A bottle", Luna again answered for the team. She wasn't in class 1-A for nothing.

"Correct. What's in front of you, but you cannot see?"

"The future", Luna was carrying the team right now. As soon as the riddles were asked, she immediately answered. This was good; she was quick.

"Correct. I cannot talk, but I always reply when spoken to. What am I?"

A few seconds went by, and there was no answer until,

"An echo", Akari answered; she beat Luna to the answer.

"Correct, last one. What begins with an e and only has one letter?"

Everyone went quiet. There were no immediate answers this time; everyone had to think. Jason and Nina had no clue. Luna put her hand to her chin, her eyes fixed on the floor, trying to wrap her brain around it. Her eyes wandered up towards the table, and her eyes widened,

"An envelope?" Luna nervously answered.

"Correct".

'YESSS!" The team celebrated. Luna luckily used her brain and quickly thought about it. Was that riddle purposely used because envelopes were on the table? Who knows? Who cares? They got all the riddles correct. Luna carried the team hard, answering 4/5 riddles. Being a student in class 1-A was no joke. The masked man turned around, picked up the envelope with the number 5 on it, and handed it over to them. Jason took the envelope from the man.

"Don't open this envelope until you reach your car. What's inside may not make sense when you first look at it, but it will make sense when you reach the next location", the masked man told them. With that, the team had their prize and quickly exited the tent to go to location B.