//------------------------------// // Training (Part 2) // Story: Run That Race // by The Unseen //------------------------------// 17TH NOVEMBER 2023 ------5 MILES FROM ROAD AMERICA------ It was now 8:00am here in Wisconsin. Sunset, Sonata, Powerslide, and the other trainees were a little surprised at why Comet Flash had brought them here, to a rallycross track just around 5 miles, or 8 kilometers, from Road America. The cars had also been brought here, including the one with the broken mirror, which had now been fixed after that little fiasco some days earlier. On the second attempt at the parking lot slalom course on the 15th, everyone had made it. However, one trainee had to go home after he had violently puked after his run on the slalom course. So, only 14 of them were left now. Comet Flash had instantly disqualified him right then and there, stating that only weak racers puked at such low speeds. They were all wondering why they were at a rallycross track when Comet Flash showed up, finally. "Alright, kiddos, I guess you're all wondering why you're here." said Flash. "Well, today, I'm gonna test how well you can handle your cars on a track." "But, Mr. Flash, if you want to see how we can handle our cars, why not do it at Road America, instead of a rallycross track?" asked Sunset. "Well, Miss Shimmer, you see, if you wanna learn how to race better on asphalt, you need to learn how to race properly on dirt. Learning how to race on dirt will help you drive better on asphalt as you'll understand your car. But if you continue to struggle in keeping your car straight on dirt, then you'll struggle to keep your mobility out on an asphalt track. Hence, we're going to be doing laps on the rallycross track for a few days." explained Flash. "Okay, Sir." said Sunset. "I'll give you a hint to controlling a car on the asphalt, since I'm a nice guy. If you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right." said Flash. "So, you're basically saying turn right to go left?" asked one trainee. "Yep, turn right to go left. That's all I'm telling you. I'll be watching you..." said Flash, as he walked off, to an observation point. The trainees were a little stressed about this one. None of them had ever driven a car on a dirt track IRL before. The first group of 5, which included Sunset and Sonata, would hit the track first. As they walked up to the cars, they realised that to make it tougher, Flash had put slicks on the Porsches. Oh, this was going to be tough, thought Sunset, as she hopped in the red GT3, while Sunset hopped in the black one. Their only advantage was that the cars were AWD. The Porsche 911s were started up, and were driven out onto the dirt track. The moment they entered the track and hit the gas, the cars fishtailed, since they were not built for dirt racing. In a straight line, it was okay, but the second they tried to take a turn, the cars would not turn, and just skid sideways down the track. Sunset spun out doing this, but Sonata on the other hand, made the turn. An annoyed Sunset instantly hit the gas again, intent on catching up to Sonata. She did wonder what Comet Flash meant by 'Turn right to go left.' That was weird. Why would you go the opposite direction of the way you wanted to go? Sunset decided to try it, and on the next turn, which was a left turn, she turned right instead. However, just like on the previous turn, she ended up spinning out instead. Except for Sonata, Sunset's fellow racers weren't having much luck either. Thankfully, none of the cars were damaged so far, but they had all spun at least once, and were having a hard time on the dirt. Sunset angrily recovered her car, and sped up again, intending to overtake Sonata. Well, Flash's hint hadn't worked, so she'd just try it her way. As Sunset entered the next turn, a right, she turned right, doing around 80 miles per hour, and as she did so, she felt the car begin to spin. Sunset instinctively turned the car the other way to not spin, countersteering. As she did so, the Porsche didn't spin. Instead, the car drifted through the turn, as Sunset hit the gas and countersteered at the same time, to avoid spinning out. Sunset now realised what Flash meant by 'Turn Right to Go Left'. She had to use drifting to get through this track. As she did so, she could see her fellow drivers in the rear-view mirror also mimicking her moves, realising what they needed to do now. Sunset also was having fun, doing some drifting, feeling like a real rally driver. She was also catching up to Sonata, who was surprised to see Sunset gaining on her. Sonata instantly hit the gas, and so did Sunset, but the Porsches weren't performing in the dirt as well as they would on asphalt. Sunset realised why Flash had made them do this test, to see how well they could maneuver their vehicles. Now that they knew what to do, the trainees' confidence went up, as their cars began drifting through the mud. It looked like a rallycross event, albeit with expensive German sports cars instead of rally cars. As the race continued, Sunset continued gaining on Sonata, coming closer and closer to her car with every drift she made. Sonata was also using drifting, but she wasn't as good at it as Sunset was. A few laps in, Sunset's car was literally tapping Sonata's rear bumper. This time, it would be easier to pass, since Sonata's car was fishtailing quite a bit in the dirt. However, Sonata kept moving aggressively, to prevent Sunset from overtaking. This kept up for a few turns, before Sonata understeered on one turn, going to the outside. This gave Sunset the chance to overtake, which she took, putting herself in first place. Now, she was not going to let Sonata overtake her, thought Sunset, smugly grinning at the wheel. The race continued, and five laps later, Sunset crossed the finish line in first, with Sonata behind her. The others came in close behind. They all pulled into the pit area and got out of their vehicles. Thankfully, despite the multiple spin-outs in the first few laps, there was no damage to any of the cars, except for the fact that they were extremely dusty, as if they had been through the Dakar Rally, and the stone chips on the front bumpers. Flash came over to talk to them, before the next group was going to head out. "Okay, I see you were able to get the hint, and make it through this course. See, since you were able to handle your cars well on dirt, now, you should be able to handle them easily on asphalt. Now, the second group is gonna head out." said Flash. The second group included Powerslide. The racers headed out, and since they had seen how their friends had done it, they also used drifting to their advantage, and were able to get the hang of the whole track a few laps in. However, on the 10th lap, disaster struck. The guy in front of Powerslide, driving the white GT3, which was now brown from all the dust on it, attempted to take a turn while still keeping Powerslide behind him. During this, he somehow managed to snap oversteer, before he could countersteer for a drift, and ending up ramming a barricade at around 40 miles per hour, causing heavy damage to the left rear of the car, damaging the rear bumper, taillight, damaging the suspension, and bending the wheel. The car went on three wheels for a second on impact, before it came back down. The trainee was protected by his gear, but the car wasn't in such good condition. "Well, that was a silly, stupid AVOIDABLE mistake! You're going home!" shouted Flash, through his bullhorn, as track safety ran to the trainee's car, which he was getting out of, a little shaken, but unhurt. The race was temporarily stopped, as the safety crews went to get the wrecked car off the track. While this was going on, when Powerslide pulled in, he and Sunset quickly began chatting. In fact, Sunset hadn't admitted yet, but she was starting to have feelings for Powerslide. Despite the fact that he was 19, and she was 17, she felt a strong feeling of attraction towards him. While the crashed car was towed off the track, Flash told the others to get ready and back in their cars, because once some of the remaining debris was removed, they would be back on the track. The second that happened, he shouted to the trainees to drive out, which Powerslide and his group did. Within seconds, the competition was re-engaged, albeit minus that one trainee. The remaining two groups proceeded to finish off their laps without much incident, and soon, all of the remaining cars came in to pit. Comet Flash came out for another talk. "Well, I guess you're now able to control your cars on dirt. Remember, drifting could come in handy any time in a race. It could save you on the track, at any time. You could use it to recover from spins, overtake opponents, avoid crashes, and what not. Plus, you can use it in any form of motorsport, no matter what you drive. Cars, motorcycles, trucks, even go-karts can be drifted, so you never know when drifting could help you. Okay, we're heading back to the main center now. Another on the dirt, and then, we'll start doing laps on the track." said Comet Flash, as he directed the staff to load the cars back onto the flatbed trucks that had brought them here. It was now almost 2:30pm, as the trainees all hopped in the two minivans that had brought them here, and a minute later, they were heading back to Road America, a short drive away. The conversations ensued, and throughout this time, Sunset kept giving Sonata smug grins, having finally crossed the finish line ahead of her. During this, she was also chatting with Powerslide. Sunset had to copy her school notes when she got back, now that school had restarted. Thankfully, her friends were sending Sunset notes and homework. The vans arrived back at Road America at almost 3:00pm. Everyone got out and went straight back to their rooms, where Sunset got to work on her schoolwork. Once she was done, she and Powerslide decided to chat for a little bit. The trainees usually were allowed to walk around in their free time, so they could get some fresh air. At around 5:30pm, they chatted, Powerslide suddenly said, "Sunset, I wanted to admit something to you." "What? What is it?" asked Sunset to Powerslide. "I wasn't always this cool, nice guy that you see. I used to be real messed up, until four years ago." said Powerslide. "What do you mean?" asked Sunset. "My childhood was real rough. My mom left when I was five, and my dad... well, all he was was a drunkard. He was addicted to the bottle. He beat me and my older sister in his drunken rages, all the time. He also sexually abused my sister." said Powerslide, trying hard to fight back the bad memories. Sunset was shocked at this. She couldn't believe this. Was Powerslide even telling her the truth? "I assure you. This is the truth. Do you see this scar?" asked Powerslide, rolling up his shirt's sleeve, and showing Sunset a huge scar on it. It looked like the scars of pirates in movies, except it was on his arm, not his eye. Sunset nodded at that. "My father did this to me when I was just 10 years old. When I refused to go and get him a fresh bottle of beer from the fridge, he angrily pinned me to the floor, took a knife, and..." Powerslide hesitated to speak more. "Oh my God! Powerslide, how could your father have done such things to you?" asked Sunset. "I don't know, and I don't care. All I cared about was getting out of that house. When I was 13, me and my older sister, who was 16 at the time, ran away. I ended up living with my 18-year-old pothead friend, since I had no one else to go to. I did go to school, but didn't really pay attention in class. I ended up being a junkie, until I was 15. That was when the incident that changed my life occurred." said Powerslide, holding back tears. "What happened, Powerslide?" asked Sunset. "You know how I said my friend had a GT86 that got totalled, right? Well, I caused that wreck. So, me, and my friend, while high on pot, decided to go on a drive. During that drive, we encountered some guy in a Charger, and in our drug-induced haze, we decided to race him. During that race, we approached an intersection at around 90 to 100 miles per hour. The Charger guy, being sensible, slowed down. Us on the other hand, sped into the intersection at 94 miles per hour, just as a minivan had entered and was making a turn, since it had a green light." said Powerslide, still trying to hold back the tears. "Oh, no..." said Sunset, guessing what had happened. "We killed someone that night. One of the passengers in the minivan. A little girl. She was just 4 years old." said Powerslide, sobbing, reliving his bad memories all over again, as Sunset hugged the 19 year old. "What happened to you after that?" asked Sunset. "Well, my friend, he got sentenced to 40 years in prison. Me, on the other hand, the judge saw potential in me. She felt I could redeem myself, become a good person once more. She told me personally, that she was not willing to give up on a 15 year old boy. For three years, I was in rehab, and that is where I got into video games and simracing. I got when I was 18, my identity was changed, and I got myself a job, as well as a place to live. I play RaceWorld today, to remind me of what happened throughout my life. I always remember the name of the little girl who lost her life that night. Her name was Emerald Aura." said Powerslide, a little composed now, but tears still coming out of his eyes. "I know how you feel, Powerslide. I also went through something very similar. I now feel like telling you my story as well." said Sunset. "How bad can it be, compared to mine?" asked Powerslide. "Well, it is quite bad, but I want you to swear this to secrecy. This may sound like nonsense, but trust me when I say it is totally real." "Okay, what's your past?" asked Powerslide. Sunset began to tell her story, and after she was done, Powerslide seemed a little astounded. "So... you're actually an alien from another planet, temporarily turned yourself into a monster, was a bully, redeemed yourself, and you stopped multiple interdimensional magical threats from coming to our world? And you're saying that Sonata is a monster from that same planet whom you defeated? That sounds a little hard to believe." "I know, it does, but this geode is proof." said Sunset, showing Powerslide the geode she had gotten at Camp Everfree, which granted Sunset her mind-reading powers. "Wow, so this small gem gives you the power to read someone's mind?" asked Powerslide, in amazement. "Yep, it does. I'm going to have to prove it to you by reading yours. Whatever happens, do not tell this to anyone." said Sunset, as she placed her hand on Powerslide's head, and willed her powers to activate. Her eyes glowed white, spooking Powerslide a little, as she began to see into Powerslide's mind. Five seconds later, she was in one of Powerslide's memories, watching it as if it were a movie. As she looked, she saw a dark blue Toyota GT86 tearing through city streets at high speeds, side by side with an orange Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. The GT86 was definitely modified, as it had a carbon fiber hood. As the vision shifted to inside the GT86, she could see a younger Powerslide, along with an older boy of 18, with cyan skin and red hair. This was probably the friend Powerslide had mentioned. Both of them were laughing, and Powerslide was shouting, "Come on! Smoke that guy! You said this thing has 350 horsepower!" Their voices were slurred, and their eyes were red, as if they were under the influence. The two cars were roaring towards an intersection, just as the light turned red. On seeing that, the Charger driver instantly hit the brakes, and began slowing the muscle car down. The GT86, on the other hand, continued to barrel towards the intersection. The two boys were laughing, shouting how the Charger driver had chickened out, not noticing the minivan in front of them. They did notice it, but it was too late. She watched horrified as the GT86 slammed into the rear-left side of the minivan. The impact obliterated the front of the GT86, and the minivan's side. It also tossed the minivan away from the impact site, due to the high speed of the GT86. The GT86 continued on and hit a tree, airbags deployed. As the vision shifted to the minivan, Sunset was horrified, and wanted to see no more of this vision, as she saw blood spattered all over its rear seats, and the mortally injured little girl in the van. Suddenly, the vision shifted, to another one. This showed a much younger Powerslide, around the age of 10. His sister was also there. She looked a lot like a female version of Powerslide himself. They were standing in a rather dilapidated house, along with their drunkard father, who was whipping Powerslide with a belt, scolding him for not getting him another bottle of beer from the fridge. Sunset watched horrified as more visions from Powerslide's past played in her brain, until she purposely made the visions stop, as she could take no more. "Oh My God, Powerslide... I couldn't believe that was your past! How could your dad have done such cruel things to you?" asked Sunset. "Mom was the only thing preventing Dad from turning everything on us. When she left, it opened the gates to abuse us. I thank my stars that we both ran away. I still remember the entirety of the night I stepped into that car." said Powerslide. "Powerslide, that crash was never your fault. Your friend made you step into that car that night, and you were under the influence of drugs. He caused the death of that little girl, and was appropriately sentenced for it." said Sunset, comforting him. "I still haven't paid. I've felt that I didn't deserve the pity of that judge." said Powerslide. "Look, Powerslide, or whatever your old name was, she knew that it wasn't your fault. She knew you could still turn your life around. I mean, look at you now! You're training to be a real racing driver!" said Sunset, trying to lift his spirits up. "I know, but still, part of me has always felt guilty. I mean, you've also managed to turn your life around, after you turned yourself into a demon, and almost destroyed the world. But still, you didn't kill anyone. I did." said Powerslide. "Look, Powerslide, it wasn't your fault. You have to let go of the past. Trust me, it is the only way." said Sunset. "Let it go, like smoke in the wind." "I guess so." said Powerslide, taking a deep breath, trying to let go of the bad memories of his past. As he breathed in and breathed out. Sunset held his hand, to calm him down if he got nervous. As Powerslide let it all go, he could feel a heavy weight lift off his chest. He hadn't slept peacefully since he was a child. Maybe he would be able to finally sleep peacefully now. Tears, this time of happiness, began welling in his eyes. "Thank you. I needed that." "Look, don't hesitate to talk me if you ever need anything. Also, by the way, I may or may not be in love with you." said Sunset. "To tell you the truth, I also have had feelings for you ever since I first met you in person." said Powerslide, smiling now, leaning over to kiss Sunset. The kiss was passionate, one only true lovers could have. Incredibly, no one had seen this whole conversation happen. As the duo got up after that, Sunset asked him a question. "You know, you never told me about what happened to your sister." "Well, after we ran away from home, we lost contact with each other, until that accident. She used to visit me all the time when she found out I was in rehab, and was the first person to meet me after I was released. She helped me out with getting a new job and everything. Today, she's working on getting a law degree." said Powerslide. "I see. Was she happy when you got into RaceWorld Academy?" asked Sunset, as they began heading back to the Academy. "Well, she told me to take the opportunity, as it could give me a pretty bright future." said Powerslide, smiling a little now. As the two lovers walked back to the RaceWorld Academy building, they knew that their future would be bright. One day, somehow, they would be together, no matter what. Hopefully, they would also be able to accomplish their dreams of becoming real racing drivers while doing so.