Deathrun

XI. On Thin Ice

Rush's dirt bike explodes from the gates, burning rubber. I hold on for dear life, my palms beginning to sweat from adrenaline. It took me 4 years and 358 days to complete 20 minutes... how the hell are we supposed to finish an hour?

Any thought besides hanging on is blown from my head.

During a Race, it's common for the first section to be about sorting the riders. Those who hang on and keep going, and those who get blown off. I fist my hands in Rush's jacket as we speed up a massive dirt hill, one that just gets steeper and steeper.

For a second

We almost

Fall

And then we soar over the hill and my heart stops.

Because for a second I can see the next stretch.

"Oh, shit-" I yell before we're plummeting down the hill's other side quite a bit faster than when we came up. A crash to my left signifies a truck flipping back over front. The rider is crushed in seconds. Rush accelerates and I swear what comes out of my mouth is a squawk.

"W-what t-the fu-ck d-do y-you thin-k-k you're doing?" I shout as the bumpy path jangles my insides. Rush leans forward, bringing me with him as the dirtbike growls and shrieks. We practically

Fly

Over

The next ridge

Rush swears something unintelligible.

I don't even want to know.

The answer becomes clear as we speed down the next hill; the dirtbike's tires barely touch the ground. He overshot the speed... and with an uncomfortable realization, I know it's because of me, the extra weight. My teeth chatter and clack together as we hit the bottom and whiz up the next slope. 

But hey, it sure is nice not having to eat everyone's dust.

Within minutes the separation is clear, and the more aerodynamic vehicles are speeding ahead. I would bet a pretty penny that whatever is next will slow us down. Rush is about to barrel onto the open area after the last hill when I scream "wait!" in his ear.

Karma almost throws me off the back of the bike as Rush slams on the brakes. Thought you said you didn't trust me, Mr. Fuentes.

"You better have a shiny reason why you just-" his voice is cut off by the screams of a car driver. In front of us lies a vast lake, the ice barely thick enough to support us. I press a hand to the top of my helmet. The rider that has just screamed is being dragged underwater by a hulking water beast, its teeth embedded in the rider's flesh. The man gives a last bloody gurgle before disappearing underwater.

***

"What is that?" I croak, goosebumps crawling over my skin.

"I don't know," Rush replies. He's shaking just as hard as I am but pushes the bike forward.

The ice begins to crack.

More riders are coming up hot behind us, zooming down the hill. It isn't long before they fall through the ice and are snatched up by greedy jaws. Others make it onto the ice but are scorched alive by burning water as geysers shoot through the fragile surface.

I get off the bike.

"Angel," says Rush, but what he means is don't do something stupid.

"Get off the bike," I tell him quietly. The loud honk of a tank rolling down the hill behind us is what inspires him to do so with another curse.

"We can't leave our vehicles."

"I know, wheel her with you." I take a hesitant step out onto the ice.

It holds

But

Something

Bumps

My foot.

I force myself to look down and meet the gaze of a distorted being looking up at me with hungry eyes. We begin to walk across the ice, little pops and creaks echoing beneath our feet. Behind us, the tank advances yet I hold back from running, cries of pain resounding across the lake as people are eaten and boiled.

We're halfway across when the tank arrives at the ice, and the entire sheet begins to break apart. The ice rafts are a sped-up motion of tectonic plates, crashing into each other to form mountains, drifting apart on waves of freezing water. One of the shark-alligator hybrids lunges out of the water and begins trying to pull the tank back with it.

I don't have to tell Rush to go faster.

We start running, ice cracking with each pound of our feet, hurried shouts laced with stress and urgency flying to and fro between other pairs. I grab one side of the bike and pull it along as Rush struggles to keep up.

And then I'm alone holding the dirtbike, skidding to a stop on the edge of the lake.

Where Rush was just standing is a hole and

 dark water