The Vertigo Project (CRINGE-FEST 2K15)

Chapter 24 Pressure On the Raceway

"The hell is that?" Phillip thought aloud. There was a group of people, mostly men but some women, gathered around what looked like a very large, old, dirt racetrack. Phillip began to drive slower to get a better look at what was going on. They all could hear loud engines and cheering. The smell of dirt, gasoline and engines filled the air, making Jett feel at home.

Jett took in a large breath, said, "Ahhhh, makes me feel like I'm back at home."

Marie laughed, then stopped when she heard someone call from the outside.

"Hey! Who's that?!" A deep male's voice shouted.

"I don't know, we should take a look!" An annoying, scratchy female's voice replied.

Soon enough, Phillip was unable to accelerate because of the mob that was gathered around the SUV.

"Phillip! Why didn't you just go when you had the chance?!" Jett yelled.

"Well, you see Jett, there were already people in front of us that you couldn't see. So, they ran in front of us. I couldn't just run them over." Phillip replied.

"Why not?!" Jett asked.

Phillip turned around, giving her a glare as the car began to rock back and forth.

"What're we gonna do?!" Heidi asked helplessly, looking out the window at the dirty, crazed antagonists.

"Grab your weapons! We're going to get out of the car, and not kill anyone. We're just going to have them for self-defense." Phillip told. Everybody grabbed their designated weapon, and Phillip rolled down his window.

He called out, "We give! We're coming out! We don't want to cause any trouble, we were just passing by."

The rocking stopped. The guy with the deep voice came out of the crowd, "Get outta the car." He was dark-skinned, had a tight black shirt on, bald head, strong, and he had tattoos decorating his arms and neck.

Phillip opened the door, and hopped out of the car. The tattooed man towered over the eighteen-year-old.

The man scoffed, "Psh, what's your name, and how old are you?"

"Sir, I am eighteen, and my name is Phillip."

"Why did you think it was a good idea to come around here?" The man's voice sounded hollow.

"I was just passing by here because this location was on the way to where I was wanting to go." Phillip replied boldly.

"Hmm," The older man contemplated, "You seem awfully attached to this car. What exactly is in it?"

"Cargo." Phillip bluntly responded.

"Well, my name's Lawrence, but you can call me Larry." He turned to the girl next to him. The same one that had the scratchy voice. She had a thin waist, wide hips, brown eyes and red hair that was put up into a ponytail. She looked as like she was waiting for Lawrence to give her permission to kill Phillip.

"This here is Lauryn. She and I run this whole thing. We know that there are others in that SUV of yours. Mind introducing them?" Lawrence smirked.

Phillip's eyes widened. His breath quickened. He turned towards the open driver's door, looked inside. April was curled up below the dashboard. Her eyes were huge, and she looked absolutely terrified.

Phillip realized that they had no other options. "Alright guys, come on out."

After a whirlwind of whispers and a few moments, the doors to the car reluctantly opened. The kids' heads peeked out. They all tried to not look afraid, but they knew it wasn't going to work.