Chapter Thirty-Three
“Six miles to the final section,” Radley commented as the wind began to pick up around them. “Crows and demons are right behind us.”
“Demons?” Cricket frowned at Radley, correcting the wheel as the wind attempted to push them off the road. “How did they get passed the avalanche?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Radley shrugged. He squinted and leaned forward. “The wind is getting stronger.”
“I realize that,” Cricket grunted, holding the wheel steady despite a strong gust of wind pushing against the car suddenly.
They both watching in awe as the wind buffeted the desert, as it swirled and lifted funnels of sand into the air around them, one after the other.
“Fucking sand tornados,” Radley whispered. “What the actual fuck?”
There was at least a dozen of them swirling up larger and larger around the road. Then, one by one, they began to dance across the desert, all being pulled in toward the track they were racing on. Behind them, the crows drew closer, attempting to gain back their position, but Cricket couldn’t let that happen. She was so close to winning and she refused to allow the chance to pass her by.
“Woah!” Radley shouted, jerking to the left in his seat as one of the tornados leapt across the road in front of them.
Cricket didn’t even flinch. She swerved right, feeling the pull from the vortex of sand but holding steady. Determination filled her. Tornados were the lease of her worries. It was just sand and wind.
“What’s the last section called?” Cricket asked. The name could give them clues toward what they could expect.
“It’s only labeled Heaven,” Radley answered, his eyes wide. “Watch the one on the left!”
The tornado danced around the road, forcing Cricket to slam on the brakes and drop gear, only slowing enough to allow the tornado to dance across the track completely before shooting forward again. It was almost like choreography. Two steps forward, one step back, quick step four to the left. If they weren’t racing for so much more than fun, it would almost be beautiful. As it was, Cricket couldn’t pause long enough to admire the beauty.
“That doesn’t give us much to go on,” Cricket mused.
“There’s no explanation but I’m willing to bet it’s nothing like the actual concept of Heaven.”
Cricket shifted into seventh gear and smiled at Radley briefly, just long enough that he saw. “We’ve got this.”
He took her hand gently for a moment and repeated her words. “We’ve got this.”
“Together?” she asked, looking at him.
“For as long as you’ll have me, sugar plum.” His eyes were serious, but he glanced out the front window again.
Suddenly, everything she wanted to say threatened to come out of her mouth. It was foolish to hold them back. No one would hear while they were in the car. “Radley—”
“Watch out!” he shouted so suddenly, Cricket found herself swerving without even knowing what the threat was. As it turned out, another tornado had taken up center stage, jumping from its spot in the desert to right in front of them. It barely missed them as they swerved around the base of it, feeling the pull to its center that would carry them into the air. Only speed and luck kept them on the ground and going forward.
Just as suddenly, the crow team came from the opposite side of the massive sand tornado, aiming right for them. Cricket had no time to move out of the way, no time to hit her brakes, before they slammed into the passenger side.
The impact threw them to the side in the car, damn near giving them whiplash, but because they’d both slammed into each other from different directions, neither were pushed off course. Instead, they grinded against each other as the crow driver, a dark-skinned male, shouted at them through the glass. Cricket couldn’t hear what he was saying but she took it as something mean.
“I have no beef with the crows,” Cricket growled, holding steady and trying to shove the crows off their side. It was power against power and lucky for them, the Ferrari had more than the crow’s Impala. They slowly pushed back against them, gaining ground.
“Apparently, they have beef with you,” Radley answered, staring at the male through the window with a frown. “I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
“I’m sure it’s not anything nice,” Cricket said, shaking her head. “Manners are lost in this race.”
The corner of Radley’s lips quirked up. “Would you like me to toss grenades at them, Lady Snapdragon?”
Cricket snorted. “Use them. I don’t know what you’re waiting for. For them to kill us? For something to fall from the sky?”