TWENTY-NINE
Nothing in the race games was natural. Created by witches and the council members and whatever other interested parties may have decided to play, the course itself was enchanted to be one long course moving between themed sections. They always had five sections though the length of each section could vary. There was a game one year that had been five hundred miles long. None of the racers had survived past the third section. Since then, the courses had been kept lower, but it didn’t mean the council didn’t enjoy playing with the teams as if they were action figures. They created the story, not the racers. The teams were just playing in it.
Which meant, in addition to extra large African hunting dogs, the hurricane they were currently driving through would be anything but natural. Hurricanes were scary as it was. A natural category five hurricane had sustained winds over one hundred and fifty-seven miles per hour. And that didn’t include the gusts. With such strong winds bearing down on them, Frankie struggled to stay on the road each time the wind slammed against the side of her, but it was nothing compared to the trouble the crows and the elves were having.
Nic closed the distance between them, their ability to still drive through the wind making it possible to come up behind the two cars and then slip between them, but the wind wasn’t the only threat. The storm surge was rising quickly, water suddenly pushing over the edge of the road when before it had been a few feet below.
“This isn’t good,” Jo said, staring through the windshield, but a moment later, the clouds above them opened wide and began to dump water upon them. The windshield wipers Nic turned on did nothing but provide a single second of view each time, but it was enough to keep on the road even if they were all forced to slow.
With the crows to the right of them and the elves to the left, the wind pushed them back and forth, forcing the cars to touch and move into each other like bumper cars. Nic did his best to keep Frankie on the road, but even she couldn’t stand up to such winds. With the rain added in and the rising water, they were going to be in trouble sooner than later.
“We need to get out of this section,” Nic grunted, holding the wheel tightly. “How many miles are there left?”
“Fifteen.”
Nic’s nostrils flared. “Fuck.”
Because of the swirling wind, the rain moved in strange ways. Sometimes it hit the window from the left. Sometimes from the right. Sometimes, it moved sideways and made it impossible to see from which direction it was coming. As it was, Jo could suddenly see out of her passenger window, just in time to see the great cargo ship being pulled in from the sea. It was far enough away at the moment, but if the storm surge brought it in. . .
The same moment, the land ended, and they were looking at a twelve-mile-long bridge. The tablet beeped to let her know they’d reached a checkpoint. At least there would be no drone cameras here, only the ones on light poles and trees. However, the council hadn’t thought this one through. trees and light poles didn’t survive hurricanes any better than people did.
The light pole to their right, fastened to the bridge, swayed wildly in the wind. Jo had seen cars and semi-trucks crashed into those poles. They rarely moved, rarely snapped off, but here they were, swaying as if they were nothing more than trees in the wind.
Debris began to litter the road, old wood and trash from the ocean pushed onto shore. Tires, pieces of wood, branches, fish, whatever was in the ocean was being pushed ashore as if this was mother nature’s way of returning all the pollution humanity had thrown into her waters.
“Nic, there’s a cargo ship out there. With the flow of the water and the storm surge, it’ll be pulled in this way.”
“Which means this bridge is in danger,” he nodded. “Got it. But we can’t go any faster without the wind literally picking us up. One strong gust could tip us over.” He glanced out his window at the elves struggling to keep up with them. “At least we’re not like these assholes.”
Reinforcing Frankie had been a risky decision. A heavier car could cause them to lose, could cause trouble in certain climates, but here, it was helping them. Slow and steady, but strong and hardy. That was their mantra, and it would lead them to victory.
“The crows look like they’re having just as much trouble,” Jo commented, and as if she summoned it, a great gust of wind slammed into the cars, forcing the crow’s Ferrari into their side. It barely jarred them, but the crows fell behind just a little, their side scratched up and cracked.
“Hope they have insurance,” Nic said, his face serious. When Jo met his eyes, they both laughed. As if anyone had insurance here that would cover such things.
“Ten miles to the next section,” Jo said, glancing from the tablet to the windows. When the rain cleared just enough to see, she took in all details, measured how far out the cargo ship still was as water began streaming across the road. The bridge was climbing upward in a slow incline, but the water was chasing. Curious, she looked out the back window, getting a glimpse of the road behind them. The water was rising fast, and the road was nowhere to be seen. “Road’s gone behind us.”
A transformer on one of the power lines fastened to the side of the out-of-date bridge blew so suddenly, it made Jo jump from the sound and the sudden bright light. Sparks flew off the large box, lighting up the world around them. Lightning flashed, revealing just how terrifying the clouds above them were.
The elves fell back as the water kissed their back tires, the crows similarly struggling to keep out of the water, but the crows were faring better than the elves, who’s Maserati was quickly losing traction.
The windshield cleared again just as lighting arced across the sky. The cargo ship was closing in.
“Nic, go faster,” Jo breathed, staring at the massive ship. The closer it got, the bigger she realized it was.
“I can’t,” he said, gritting his teeth. “This is as fast as we can safely go.”
“Then be unsafe,” she said, looking at him. Lightning flashed again. “Because we’re about to die.”