Need for Speed Night Streets Side Story

Chapter 7 - Battle of Braking

10:30 p.m. Jackson Heights. The race between Ellie Yajima and Kaliyanie Kawasaki is about to begin. They were starting off slow as they were about to hit the first corner. Once they passed the first corner, Yajima accelerated and the race has begun! The drivers shifted up as they were coming up on the straightaway that leads into the next corner. Ellie brakes in and takes the next corner as she grips it while hugging the inside as she gets back on the gas during the cornering moments. Kaliyanie was surprised of the Z33's driving style and they were heading into a straightaway. "Those guys are killing it!" A female spectator exclaimed. "Hold up. Why is Kaliyanie's EM1 doing the chasing?" A male spectator asked. "Maybe it's because they knew the race would be over before it started if she was out in front." Another female spectator answered. "So do you think the girl's just showing off?" A male spectator asked. Ellie was coming into the next corner fast. "Woah, I'll tell you one thing. The girl driving that Z33 knows what she's doing." The male spectator said. "You got that right. I mean she just shot through there like it was just some kind of straightaway." The female spectator replied. Kaliyanie was closing in a little as she was catching up to Ellie. Parking area. "I expected that Kaliyanie wanted to lead. But she chose to chase instead. An impressive decision and a really smart one." Jill said. "Hey Jill." I called. "Yeah?" Jill asked. "When you jumped on the phone with Yajima right before the race started. You told her something. What was the advice?" I asked. "I wouldn't go so far to is say I gave her advice. I just had two basic instructions to give in." Jill answered. "And they were?" I asked. "Not to look into her rearview mirror. No matter what, don't look into it until the first heat is over." Jill answered. "Wait, what do you mean? I don't see how that would improve her timing in the race." I replied. The race still goes on as they were on the straightaway. "Didn't some idiot last night spaz off about racing other teams being fun? Yeah, right. They've gotta be kidding me. This girl can compete in a race with the Advan School guys right now and give them a real run for their money. Who the hell is she?" Kaliyanie wondered in her mind. The RPM of the Z33 was hitting around 5,500. Ellie shifted up again. "It just doesn't make sense. I don't think there's been anyone in the Advan School's history who could drive this well on a course after just practicing for 1 night and we're the best that is. Of course I have no idea how much her engine's been tuned. But I know that it revs just as high as my car's B16A2 engine. The sucker corners tighter than an out wreck. That car isn't a Z33. Does this mean even an FR can run like this if you had it tuned properly?" Kaliyanie wondered in her mind as she steps on the accelerator hard and revs it. "You might've been on a winning streak before. Using that car on all of those away races. It looks like your luck has run out. You're on our turf now. This is the home course of the Advan School." Kaliyanie said in her mind as she steps on the clutch and lets off it as she shifts up. They were passing by on the next corner onto another straightaway. Before they were heading into another corner. Ellie brakes in and shifts down as she takes the corner with a drift guarding the inside. "I mean even though she's been trashing the girl's Z33 this whole time. She must've put something together in that head of her's right before the race because her whole attitude changed. That'd have to be why she's agreed to be the chaser." Michelle explained. "Hm?" A girl asked. "If it would've been me in that car, I'd like to think I would've made the same call. I'd want to see how these guys were supposedly the fastest in Bayview to drive. Best way to do that is to follow right behind them. And if the girl couldn't do better than a half ass performance. I'd just blow right past her and put a period on the end of the race." Michelle answered. "You have a point there, Michelle. And isn't Kaliyanie supposed to be the best driver among the current students? What's she good at anyway?" A girl asked. "Well make of it what you will but Kaliyanie's good at braking. I know what you mean. It might not sound that impressive, but..." Michelle answered. "It's actually an excellent skill to have. There's no better weapon of your disposal on the downhill. As a Advan School student. You should've been taught that on Day 1." A girl replied. They were coming up on the next straightaway and onto the next corner. They braked in and took it fast. A flashback comes to Ellie as she was remembering an instruction that Jill told her to follow for the first run. "She's gonna be the one chasing. I want you to listen to me carefully Ellie. *transitions to flashback* I don't want you looking into that rearview until the first run is finished. I want your focus on mastering the course. If you drive like you normally do, you shouldn't have any trouble not being passed. You understand? This is very important, do not look back." Jill explained. *transitions to present* They were taking the next corner fast and heading into a straightaway and onto the next corner. "I think I've figured out what's going on with that Z33. It runs a whole lot better than I expected. But I still don't think that's enough to worry about. My school's reputation is on the line. I need to end this before the 2nd run. But that means passing her somewhere. I'll have to create the opportunity by pushing her. I can't wait to see how long she can hold out with me." Kaliyanie said in her mind as Ellie brakes into the next corner and she brakes in too as they took it fast. "They're so close! How are they doing this?" A male spectator exclaimed. "One of them will hitch and both of these girls are gonna crash!" Another male spectator replied. "Everyone knows that in this class of cars the FF's are just playing faster than the FR's. But on top of that, my car is the ultimate. It's the Si. I can't be collecting dust behind this Z33 for very long. I'm ending this thing on the first run." Kaliyanie said in her mind. "As a driver brakes going into a corner. The moment that she lets her foot up and stops braking is way more important is when she pushes down to start. The moments of deceleration and acceleration need to be precise calculated. Too soon or too late and they can both lead to a loss of time. A driver with a killer technique can always find her way out of a mistake that she makes. But on any given corner and there's one perfect place to let off that brake. Even the best drivers out there can't recover from screwing that up." A girl explained. "Yeah, that's true. Chief said braking is always the most difficult technique to master when it comes to driving a car. No other technique can come close to it." Michelle answered. "She's a smart girl." A girl replied. "Kaliyanie's expertise is into determining just where that point is on a corner. No matter how long she's had her foot on the brake. She yanks it off right on the money every single time she's never early and never late. She's a natural. I can't explain it in any other way. It's all instinct." Michelle said. They were coming into the next corner and Kaliyanie steps on the brake as she takes it. She also gets back on the gas when she and Ellie were taking the corner fast. Kaliyanie was heading into another corner and she brakes in again but the Z33 was blocking her on the inside onto the exit of the corner coming up onto another curve. The next corner was coming up. The EM1 was about to make its move before the corner but the Z33 brakes in and blocks it as it takes the inside guarding it to prevent the overtake. They were also coming up into a straightaway. "There may not be a center line on this road but the sucker is plenty wide. I got my pickup places on where I can pass this girl. But every time I pull close using my braking, I miss my chance to pass by a hair. I had no clue that an FR could corner this quickly." Kaliyanie said in her mind as she shifts up. Ellie looks at her tachometer as she shifts up and they were zooming through the corner. They were also coming on to a straightaway after they approached the corner. "Her focus on the road is unbelievable. It doesn't matter how much I press this girl. I can't get any kind of reaction out of her. Even the students at school show will some kind of reaction if I went this far to pressure her." Kaliyanie said in her mind as she was coming up into the corner and they both took it fast. "I don't even need to look into my rearview to know she's behind me. Right on my bumper. I can feel the pressure against my back. It's almost painful. Once I made up my mind not to look back there. It made it a whole lot easier to concentrate on this course. Jill only gave me two simple instructions. All I have to do is follow them." Ellie said in her mind as she feels the pressure of Kaliyanie behind her bumper without looking back and shifts up. Parking area. "Okay, Jill. So what's the other one you told her?" I asked. "Hm?" Jill wondered. "The other thing that you told Ellie before she went out there." I answered. "It's real simple. Rev limiting. If you didn't know, that Z33 of her's revs up to 7,500 rpms. But I told her to stay off the top 2,000 rpms and that she should just reabsorb to shifting up at the 5,500 rpm mark." Jill explained. "You can't be serious. Why would you have her do something stupid like that?" I asked. "Because I didn't want her showing all of her capabilities to her opponent right out of the gate. After all we both know Yajima isn't quite ready to play mind games just yet. In an effort not to cloud her mind with too much confusion and overthink it. It seemed like the best way I can get the better results that I wanted. I know it's some risky business to hold back your abilities against an opponent of a calvary she's got tonight. But if she manages to hold and survive the first run, that should be able to create a winning simulation. I'm aware it's a enormous gamble out of place." Jill explained. "That's risky. She's staying ahead of the Advan School's downhiller. And she's got her top 2,000 rpms sealed off. Why did she get the skills to attempt something like this?" I asked. "She's always had it. This girl can adapt to any situation you throw at her." Jill answered. Ellie shifts up as the revs go up to the 5,500 rpm mark. She was coming up on the next corner as she brakes in and takes it fast as she drifts it when getting back on the accelerator. Her hair was blowing through as well during the corner moments once they were now on the straightaway. "What she's trying to do requires a degree of concentration greater than she's had to use." Jill said. "Make sense. That's why you told her to keep her eyes off her rearview mirror. That way there's no chance she'd be affected by the pressure of her opponent bearing down on it and breaking her focus." I replied. The drivers were coming up to the next corner as both of them braked in hard. Kaliyanie was about to make her move to pass but Ellie shifted down as she was taking the corner fast guarding the inside and blocking the EM1 from passing her. They were now coming into a straightaway. "It's incredible. I can't believe this. I never expected it to be this crazy tonight. I made a big mistake by chasing on the first run. Every move I make looks like I'm struggling back here." Kaliyanie said in her mind. The first run was now finished and they were now onto the second run. A few minutes later. Downhill start point. The drivers were revving up their engines as they were about to begin the next run. "Alright, here comes the second round!" Adena exclaimed. Both of the drivers shifted up as they were slowly coming out of the start until they accelerated hard after they passed the first corner. Kaliyanie shifts up to a high gear. "I saw enough of what the Z33 and it's driver can do on the first run. I got this locked down. They don't have what it takes to beat me. They just don't have the speed. This will be over in seconds." Kaliyanie said in her mind as she takes the next corner fast and she was pulling away a little. "She's fast." Ellie said in her mind as she was noticing the EM1 pulling away a little and the tachometer was now back at 7,500 rpms. They were now coming into a section of corners coming up. "Not good, this girl's got speed. No room for mistakes, I'm riding the razor's edge on this run. She's going at a pace that's a lot faster than the first time around. Am I really gonna keep up with this girl?" Ellie wondered in her mind as she and Kaliyanie were coming up on the next corner. "When Yajima is the one chasing, she holds a staggering degree of concentration. Her ability to adapt to a pace she's never experienced before is greater than skill. It's more like instinct. If she's being pulled along by a local driver who is faster than she is. She'll methodically make the opponent's speed into her own." Jill explained. The RPM was climbing up on the 7,500 rpms mark of the Z33 and Ellie shifts up. "If this whole thing works out like my simulation says it will. Then she should have no problem beating her." Jill said. "I'm counting on you Ellie. It's all on you now." Jill said in her mind as she looks away. They were coming up on the next corner. Ellie brakes in as her foot was stepping on the brakes slightly. She does it again and shifts down as she takes the next corner fast. They were coming up on a hairpin turn as they were drifting through it. The Z33 is still behind the EM1. "What's happening? I don't understand, I should've figured out her top speed on that first run. I know I'm moving at a faster pace than that now. She shouldn't be able to keep up with me at all. What are you still doing back there?" Kaliyanie wondered as she notices that Ellie is still keeping up with her EM1 and they were passing by through corner and corner. "This is starting to scare me. I've never know a downhill could be this frightening before. If I let off the accelerator, I could release this fear. I know it. But there is this other part that is saying, whatever you do, don't let go." Ellie said in her mind as she and Kaliyanie were sliding on the next corner onto the next hairpin. "No way. Alright. So according to the guys at the first hairpin turn. There's no distance between the two." A guy said. "What? I don't understand this. Think we got a problem here." A girl replied. The EM1 was trying to pull away from the Z33 as it was coming up on the next hairpin coming up with the next corner that leads to a straight and another hairpin. Kaliyanie slams on the brakes as Ellie was closing in on her bumper during the braking moments and they were passing through the next hairpin. "I still can't shake her. She's keeping steady with a pace that's twice as fast as our first run." Kaliyanie said in her mind as she still can't shake the Z33 and it was closing in on her bumper. "If Yajima can keep up an interesting factor with the merge, it'll happen on the 2nd half of the course and it will be an enormous advantage. Any idea what that might be Chloe?" Jill asked. "Um, I'm mean, no. To be honest, the whole thing's kinda confusing." Chloe answered. "What about you?" Jill asked. "Heh, I get the basic just to what you're saying. It's the difference between an FF and an FR. In an FR, it's the job of the rear tires to do all the acceleration, they push the car. An FF overuses the front tires. For both acceleration and cornering. The downhill race by its nature is already gonna put stress on the front tires of the car. So that EM1 being a front wheel drive is gonna have its tires give out first." I answered. The drivers were coming up onto another corner as the EM1 brakes in. It was coming up on the next corner Ellie noticed the Civic's tires were worn out because of how it was starting to give out. "Damn!" Kaliyanie exclaimed in her mind as she steps on brakes when cornering. "This is bad. I thought I'd beat her on the first run so I pushed my car way too hard. That was the biggest mistake I could've made. I put too much stress on my tires!" Kaliyanie exclaimed in her mind. "This whole part of rev limiting was part of a disturbance tactic. A driver with enough skill will be able to learn everything about her abilities simply by driving behind her for enough time and she'll only determine not where to make her pass, how?" Jill explained. "So the girl in front wears down her tires and brakes even more." I answered. "Exactly." Jill replied. "That's really amazing girl. I guess I had no idea those two pieces of advice had such deep meanings behind them." I said. "The important stuff happens from here on out. The tires on the Z33 won't last for much longer either, everything now is left up to whether or not Ellie can capitalize on that advantage has been given." Jill replied. Kaliyanie tries to grip the next corner but she was starting to slip a bit due to the worn tires. Ellie is still intact for the race but her tires are also about give out soon. "I'm not imagining this after all. Her cornering is getting slower. Is it her tires? I wonder if they're starting to give out under the stress. Mine still seem to have plenty of grip but who knows how long that'll last." Ellie wondered in her mind as she notices the EM1's slow cornering due to the worn tires and they were now on the straightaway. "It's time to pass this pathetic EM... and put this battle to bed!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind. "If you were up there behind the wheel of the Z33, where would you make the move to pass?" I asked. "There are places on any course where the more you push your car, the more difficult it is to find the right place to shift gears I'm sure you've experienced this. I'm talking about those points where you're heading into a corner and you're hesitating for moment while you decide whether you upshift." Jill answered. "Yeah, sure I know what you're talking about. When the tachometer's in the redzone but there's still isn't enough room left in front of you to shift gears and accelerate into the turn. When you're in a moment like that. You can't do anything else but wait it out, it's so annoying. Talk about being tied down. You can't go faster. You can't slow down. You're just screwed." Chloe explained as I was in shock that I understand the answer. "That's it. That's what you were talking about. I think I get it Jill. It's all in the engine of the Z33. It revs higher than the engine of the EM1! That's the key to this whole thing! The whole point was to seal off her top 2,000 rpms. You didn't want the girl from the Advan School to have any idea they were even there. That was it." I answered. Ellie was now trying to figure out a place to make her move as she and Kaliyanie were now battling through the corners. Their RPMS were clinging on the redzone. The engine was still running well on the Z33 and Yajima is now making her move on the straightaway. "What??" Kaliyanie wondered in her mind as she notices that Ellie is going on the outside lane to make her move. As soon as they were on the left bend. They were now coming up on a right turn corner. Both of the drivers braked in. The Z33 was few meters ahead of the EM1. Ellie shifts down and takes the corner fast as she dashes in the inside as well as drifting as she is now in the lead. "She beat me... it's over. But braking is my thing, it's what I do best... and she still passed me." Kaliyanie said in her mind as Ellie was pulling away from her and the downhill was over. They were now driving down to the parking area as one of them were heading back to their teams. "Hey girl." Michelle greeted as Kaliyanie got out of her EM1 and closed the door. "I lost. I'm sorry guys." Kaliyanie replied. "Any idea how the hell that happened? I can't believe that you'd actually lose on your own home course. What's wrong with you?" A girl asked as Kaliyanie looked at Ellie from a distance. "Got to admit, I'm impressed Yajima. I think you did one hell of a job out there tonight." Jill said as Ellie gave her smile while she and Adena walked away. April handed Ellie a water bottle as she took a sip from it. "I'm glad I did it. I may have gotten caught up in the insanity at the moment. It sweat bullets when I was strapped in. It's not that often I see Jill looking like that. She's happy. I must've lived up to her expectations this time. It feels good." Ellie said in her mind as she sees Adena talking with Jill by one of the vans. A few minutes later. It is now my turn to race on the hillclimb as I was behind Michelle's DC5. We stopped our cars at the starting line as we were about to start the race. "Do your best out there Branden. I'm pulling for ya." Chloe said as she looked at me and then walked away. "I'm ready. And I'm gonna push it to the limit on the very first run." I said in my mind as I revved my car to prepare for the race. Michelle revved her engine as well as she can hear the VTEC kicking in while revving it before the race begins. "Alright guys, we're gonna start the uphill now." Adena called as she was about to start the countdown and the drivers were about to start. The race between me and Michelle Blackwell is about to begin.