A Darker Shade of Fear - Pt 6

Raven

Here - watch THIS!
Joined
May 24, 2001
Darkness covers a multitude of sins…

Actually, it wasn’t so much as Steve and Bill finding ANNIL8R as it was ANNIL8R just waiting for them…

The driver inside the Black Car pulled out of the building and nudged the remote transmitter with a black gloved finger, watching the lighted bay disappear into darkness in the rear view mirror. Pulling out onto the street and heading out towards Westside Minora, the driver adjusted the glove on each hand, pulling the small strap across the back snug and enjoying the fit of the $370 gloves quite well. Made from the finest leathers by St. Cruix Leathermakers in Southern Spain, these gloves were hard to find, but oh so worth the effort.

After crossing town via the quiet neighborhood streets, past the short cul de sacs and avenues, ANNIL8R pulled out onto the busy fourlane heading south. The driver had heard about a supposed wicked-fast GN (or was that a GNX Sarah mentioned?) whose owner was known to occasionally frequent Big Daddy’s Drive-in (‘Where Good Food and Fast Cars Always Come Together!’) but hadn’t been seen for a few months. Not really thinking that a chance would occur on this night and more just wanting a sandwich and a shake, the driver slowed as B/D’s neon sign with the glowing finger pointing downward at the entrance neared.

Light crowd tonight, thought the driver, surveying the parking lot. Of course, it IS only a little after 9 so maybe someone interesting may come this way.

************

Ironically, just minutes after placing the order, an eerie whistle could be heard over the din of the falling night. The few people sitting curbside and benchracing seemed to turn their heads in unison as Steve’s GNX pulled into the lot, the myriad of neon lights seeming to be coming from deep within the onyx black paint that still looked wet. The huge front mount was visible behind the grill, still in its original aluminum color. Steve had debated having it painted but decided other wise not wanting to add any insulating effect to the hugely efficient exchanger and besides, to most everyone else, it just looked damn cool.

The X pulled in and the rear wheels hadn’t even cleared the entryway when both Bill and Steve said together “ANNIL8R…”. It wasn’t said in fear nor in anger; more in respect. On the ride over, Steve told Bill the details about how Dan had raced the Mercury days before and how the Mercury left the Buick sitting like it was in ‘PARK’.

Steve didn’t even pretend not to care – he pulled the X into the slot adjacent to the Marauder and let it idle. Both thought it odd that the windows were up on the Merc since it was a very, very warm night but hey, to each his own. Steve got out and walked right over to the driver’s window of the other black car while every eye in the place now was watching what might transpire next.

Standing beside the door, Steve rapped a couple of times on the glass. Immediately the window dropped barely a half inch, and an odd sickly sweet odor drifted out of the opening – even more odd was that the smell (was it a perfume maybe?) seemed to jog some sort of old memory in Steve’s brain but he just couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. Anyhow, more interesting things were up for the night.

“I hear you’re the baddest of the bad around here anymore” he said to the window. No light could be seen in the Merc, not even the Driver, but a shadow of a hand was seen holding a cup near what was most likely the console. This much tint has GOT to be illegal!, thought Steve.

No reply yet from inside the Merc.

“I said, I hear you’re pretty fast. Is that true?” he baited again.

A quiet chuckle cold be heard from within. Was it TWO people?

Still, no reply.

“Ok, I tried the polite way and that didn’t work. Let’s be more direct – interested in a little action tonight? I’m challenging you to a race out near the airport on the abandoned access road. No money, no bets, just good, ol’ fashioned heads-up racing, winner gets the bragging rights. Wanna play?”

Silence…

More silence…

A click was heard from within.

A crowd had begun to edge closer, having heard Steve’s challenge but no reply – yet.

A sound like a key rotating in an ignition to the ‘RUN’ position followed the a loud mechanical whir of what had to be two fuel pumps building pressure. Then, more key noise as the cylinder was rotated to ‘START’.

‘Har-RUMPH!!!! Budda-budda-budda-budda-budda….’ The car was running now.

‘Va-RABBAAAA!…Va-RABAAAAA!..’ the driver revved the motor then let it idle back down.

Steve stood silently, his arms crossed defiantly and not intimidated.

The window was still only cracked a little, then, it dropped down just a few inches but like a black hole in space, no light escaped nor was light revealed. Darker than hell in there… thought Steve.

Then, another noise…

It sounded like another mechanical sound as if a solenoid was activated and some sort of small metallic scraping could be ever-so-faintly heard. But only for a second – because the exhaust rumble that started out as a subdued but controlled roar, like that of a lion in the distance, became a loud, open exhaust reverberation. Nearly everyone within 50 feet of the car put their fingers near their ears – well, other than the true diehards who thought the cacophony attacking their inner ears was music for the true aficionados.
Trying to peer into the dark car, Steve almost got poked in the eye when a gloved hand reached out with a piece of paper.

“FOLLOW ME – IF YOU CAN” was all it said.

Steve had no more than taken the small note in his hand when he heard the unmistakable ‘CLUNK’ of a shifter being moved into ‘DRIVE’. Immediately, the Merc took on an even more aggressive attitude as the torque caused the car to rise slightly as the motor strained against the brakes. Like smoke, the car was there in the parking spot one second, the next – it was heading out the exit lane of Big Daddy’s, Steve and Bill scrambling to get back into the X.

As were a lot of the others who were near enough to know that a serious street race was about to go down.

************

Luckily, the traffic was still light so keeping sight of ANNIL8R wasn’t too hard. They were even fortunate enough to get up next to the big car at one light in particular but the driver woudn’t even budge. Both cars and a small convoy behind them snaked on out to the access road while out in the distance, the 10:10 freight train continued westward into the night.

‘What do make of this bull****?’ asked Bill. ‘I mean, this guy has got balls the size of honeydews to write this crap – FOLLOW ME IF YOU CAN?”???’ Bill was pissed. Steve was amused.

‘Oh, don’t make too much of it, Bill. He’s just screwing with me, trying to get me all psyched up. We’ll see who follows whom here in just a minute. When we get to the end first, it won’t matter at all…’

*************

ANNIL8R reached the road first and immediately pulled up to left lane. Steve snaked the X in beside it while Bill jumped out and got between the two cars holding his white Sox hat in his hand. No burnouts, no ‘My car is better than yours’ bravado… just two serious cars lined up side by side waiting.

The crowd barely had time to pull alongside the right lane on the shoulder to watch.

Bill’s right hand went high in the air and immediately the deep rumbling of both warriors changed to an angry hiss and howl of maniacal demons with forged rods and pistons. Since both cars had transbrakes, the rpms were maxed out against them. Overhead, a full moon that had just moments before turned the landscape into some surreal nightglo-ish scene now was hidden ominously by a dark thunderhead approaching from the west. Bill thought he even saw a flash of lightning buried somewhere within the fast-approaching front, and the wind changed while simultaneously picking up, nearly blowing the cap from his hand.

Steve and the Driver both had cinched up their belts. Even the passenger in the Merc had pulled her belts snug, loving the anticipation of another ride in the car from hell.

Time seemed to stop for most. The moon was gone, the darkness complete save for the headlights of both cars flooding down the psuedo-track, a mercury light illuminating the ‘Finish line’ 1320 feet away, a line that somehow kept a coat of fresh paint on it during the summer months.
The cars waited, both drivers intently watching Bill’s hand…


*************

Dan and Sally pulled into Big Daddy’s just the clouds hid the moon out near the access road.

‘Wonder where everyone is tonight?’ said Dan as they circled through and up to the speaker box for the drive through service.

After placing their order and pulling up to the window, they waited.

‘Dan! Have you heard?’ asked the young man behind the “PICK UP YOUR ORDER HERE” window.

It was Justin, the kid who lived just two houses down from Dan and Sally and who had just gotten hired at B/D’s for some college money.

‘Hear what?’ asked Dan, reaching out to take the drinks.

‘Steve’s got his GNX in town and him and Bill are out at the access road RIGHT NOW racing!!! Damn! I wish I didn’t have to work – I would give up a week’s pay just to see that race! Man – they just left. I’m surprised you didn’t pass them!’

Sally’s hand was on Dan’s arm.

Dan felt sick inside. He knew how strong Steve’s X was – was it enough? They would never make it in time to see the race but after looking over at Sally, he knew they needed to head out there anyhow.

‘Thanks, Justin. I’ll let you know how it goes.’

‘Oh, I’ll know soon enough. Mark’s out there now and he’s gonna call me on his cell when it starts. Don’t you love modern technology? – oh, thanks for stopping at Big Daddy’s!’

‘Let’s go’ was all that needed to be said. And go they did…

***************

Bill’s hair was blowing wildly about now. A rumble of thunder could be heard, this one sounding like it was half the distance away from the other just a second ago. How fast was that storm coming, anyhow,? he wondered. Looking at the windshields of both cars and hearing that the motors sounded steady, his brain sent the signal down the nerves and neurons to his shoulder muscles.

The arm dropped, the hat fell to the tarmac

The race was on.

Steve actually got a slight jump on the Merc. Both cars planted their rear tires, nearly wrinkling the hides in doing so as both suspensions hooked perfectly. The X’s nose lifted only slightly as the torque of the Stage II was now at full fury. The Big Mouth intakes sucked in the cool night air, snaking it in through support and piping into the gaping maw of the Turbo inlets, being compressed and sent violently towards the custom made, dual inlet frontmount where it criss-crossed across the fins, giving up heat to the cooler outside air flowing freely across them, causing the charged air to cool and become denser, packing more and more energy as it was thrust into the twin throttle bodies that exited into the enormous plenum and runners, flowing downward into each cylinder and exploding with the power of the fuel mixture. The twist on the crank was incredible with each piston’s firing – the transmission’s input shaft absorbing each pulse and sending it on through the Convertor and gears without so much as an overheat. The Heavy Duty universals and drive shaft that were encased in a bright red Driveshaft Safety Loop, tried to twist the differential from beneath the Buick – but to no avail. The differential – now buttressed and beefed up with heavier duty internals – took it all in stride and sent the torque to each axle flawlessly equal with only the slightest amount of initial tire spin. The X was built to run hard and lay waste to the other guy – not itself.

Over in the left lane, when the transbrake was released, essentially the same thing was happening. However, the DOHC motor that had years of technological advancement that gave it a much higher rev limit took its abuse equally well. Nose to nose, both cars left the line.

It would be much different 10.3 seconds later.

*****************

Dan and Sally pulled up to the access road from the other end opposite the starting point of the race, figuring they may pass the cars headed back to town. Seeing that two sets of headlight were coming violently their way, Dan pulled over to the side, realizing that while they might have missed the launch, the end was all that mattered anyhow.

It was easy to tell the two cars apart. From the front, the square headlights of the X were easy to make out, the cat-eye look of the Marauder was a little lower and besides, the fog lights were on as well, giving it an evil look.

And both of them were headed their way, now surely approaching 100 mph….

Inside the X, Steve felt the car shift slightly during the launch and then head rock solid straight ahead. The turbos were hissing angrily, compressing air in a staggering volume and forcing it into the motor.

BAM! The one-two shift nearly loosened Steve’s eyeballs! Rod definitely knows his stuff when it comes to Transmissions he thought little more than 2 seconds into the race.

BAM! The two-three shift smacked his body HARD and his eyes never left the straight ahead. The three-four was rapidly coming up.

90-95-100-105-110… the driver watched the speedo racing upwards. The end was near. Where was that Buick?

95-100-105… Steve’s peripheral vision watched the needle steadily climb. As always, he was focused. He couldn’t tell you if there was even another car racing him – he only focused on the finish line, the sounds of the X, and the gauges. On the A-pillar, the boost gauge read a solid 27 psi of boost. Was it enough?









No.







Nor was it really even close...







As his eyes saw the needle hit 115, his peripheral vision saw the odd shaped tail lights of the Marauder come into semi-focus. The X was now at least half a car length behind the Merc and losing ground with barely fifty yards separating them from the finish.

DID THE MERC JUST LET OFF???? Steve was stunned! The other car had let off BEFORE he even crossed the line!

*************

Dan and Sally sat stunned, watching the big Merc pull steadily ahead of the Buick, passing the finish line almost right in front of them, the X over a car and a half behind…, both of them noting the sound of the Merc's exhaust dropping slightly even before it crossed the line.

*************

Bill could tell from a quarter mile away that the Merc had walked the X. So could everyone else. Even before the racers were slowed almost a half mile away, the spectators were leaving quietly.

*************

But at the other end of the track, the Merc never even stopped. Steve saw its flashers come on after it passed beneath the mercury light and then it just seemed to speed up even more, disappearing into the night.

Who in the Hell was the guy in the Merc?

The passenger in the Marauder reached over and put her hand on the driver’s thigh, squeezing it a little.

‘You did good babe. What a freakin’ rush! You killed him.’

The driver only smiled and nodded. Yeah, it felt good. Real good.

Driving on for a while and allowing the Merc to slowly cool down by cruising the driver headed over to the Clearlake Mall Complex, pulled around to the west side of Sears and parked, letting the big car cool even more.

‘You think he was surprised?’ the driver asked.

‘You KNOW it! How could he not be?’ beamed Sarah.

‘It’s been a long time Sarah. It’s been a real, long time. It feels good to be back…’

Sarah nodded, watching the cars streaming out of Clearlake Mall, the 9:05 showing of '2Fast and 2Furious' letting out, the ricer-mobiles scrambling like ants from an anthill.

She spoke again.

‘Yeah, I bet it does.’

The driver leaned back against the door of the Merc, turning toward Sarah and sighing.

‘You know, I never would have figured my coming back would be like this.’

‘Why is that?’

‘Well, the last time I saw Dan or Sally – before that race the other night – was in divorce court a few years back. He couldn’t even look me in the eye. I thought that was odd…’

“Why is that so odd? Maybe it was too hard for him to look at you, Megan. Maybe it was just too hard…’
 
Dear god, it would be so awesome to have these put into film. Or well....... i dont know.... i guess alot of the thought dialog and stuff would work too well in the film. BUT THESE ARE SOOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Bad links

Originally posted by Trader_Slick
awesome, does anybody have a link to the first few parts i kinda came in, in the middle

Hmmm... apparently the links I listed originally aren't complete. Anyhow, do a search and you'll find all four other parts of this story.
 
Haha, now that is so damn cool, I like the ending to that. Is that the end or not? I remember there being something about unloading it off the trailer and people wondering what was going to happen....

Brian
 
Not the end

Originally posted by il_wolf_li
Haha, now that is so damn cool, I like the ending to that. Is that the end or not? I remember there being something about unloading it off the trailer and people wondering what was going to happen....

Brian

The end? Not by a long shot... wait till you see what's next.:eek:
 
Awesome reading. Thanks Raven.

MEGAN...WOW

Can't wait for the next installment of.... "When Raven posts again"
 
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