I Ain't Done Yet

The First One

With engines roaring, short flames spitting out of the exhaust pipes, we all get ready for the race. Fetzer kisses the the picture hanging from his mirror, Pony pulls on some driving gloves, Ace tweaks her rear view mirror and I am just relaxing with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the stick.

Fetzer sticks his hand out the window displaying all 5 fingers. Everybody starts revving their engines in almost unison. 4 fingers, 3, 2. All of the cars are revving at take-off speed. 1, my hand grips the wheel and stick. His hand disappears and we all pop the clutches.

The wheels spin and all you hear is tires squealing as the cars rapidly gain speed and slide onto I-15. Fetzer is way ahead of us, Hao wasn't lying when he said he's the best off the line.

The four of us get in a straight line, Fetzer, Pony, Me then Ace, but I am quickly gaining onto Pony. I shift into third and the speedometer reads 100. Fetzer starts to lose ground, so Pony and I both pass him; one on each side. Amazingly, there is very little traffic on this interstate

As Pony and I are neck and neck, occupying all three lanes, I watch Fetzer and Ace get smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror. I shift into 6th too early though and Pony flys ahead of me by at least two and half seconds.

"Shit!" I exclaim into the steering wheel and glance down at the speedometer; 150mph with only 2.8 miles to go. So I downshift to 4th and shove the throttle through the floor, making the tachometer soar to 6,000rpm and counting. The huge V-10 engine can only spit out 7,500rpm before overworking itself. I start picking up speed and Pony's Evolution gets closer and closer to me. At 7,200rpm, the speedometer reads 160mph and I shift up to 5th, kicking the revs down to 4,900 and the speed continues to build past 165 and 170.

With the Vegas lights getting closer and brighter and the exit for the speedway getting nearer, my Viper zooms past Pony at about 175 and I shift to 6th pushing the car even faster. I look in the rear-view mirror and see Pony's face in amazement as I pass him.

But with the exit right infront of me, I down shift and let off the gas, letting the engine slow down the car. The engine roars up, the slowly slows down so I downshift again, slowing the car until we get to the turn. I ride the right shoulder at about 60, but when I turn the wheel, I force it into 2nd and gun the throttle, making the rear wheels spin and the car slide sideways into the turn. I perfectly drift through the turn and speed off towards the speedway. As I near the entrance of the parking lot, a bunch of people are lined up to mark out the finish line. So I fly towards them nearing 100 again, but as I look into the rear view mirror, I see all three of them about 5 seconds back with Fetzer in front of Pony and then Ace.

The crowd of people are getting thicker and thicker until I pass a brunette, wearing short shorts and a white spaghetti strap tank top, waving a checkered flag. I won.

"FUCKIN' A-RIGHT!" I scream slamming my fist into the dashboard. I pull up on the hand brake, which locks up the rear wheels and makes the car slide side ways to a stop. I cut the engine, step out of the car and swarm of people surround me congratulating me. But I can see Fetzer, Pony and Ace drive by and disappear in the crowd of people.

I have guys smacking me on the back, fist bump me, girls kissing me on the cheek and taking photos with me. Hell, I like it, but I really don't understand why they are so excited. I'm a rookie who just one his first race.

Within seconds, Hao makes his way through the crowd of people with a huge smile on his face.

"Holy shit, brotha! Nice driving! Told ya you can drive. You made me good money tonight kid. Here" he happily says slapping a huge wad of hundred dollar bills in my hand, "There's two grand by yourself something nice". He walks off laughing and the crowd surrounds me again.

But all I can think about is where the hell those three went. Even with all of the loud music, bright lights, beautiful women and crazy cars, all I can think is of those three.

As my mind stays focused on Fetzer, Pony and Ace, I mindlessly weave my way though the crowd of cheering people, looking for them. I search through many rows of cars, couples making-out against the trunks of vehicles and I finally see the Trans Am, Evolution and Civic parked with their neon illuminated in the corner of the parking lot. Ace and Pony are leaned over and talking into the passenger window of the Trans Am. I walk over to them and the drivers window rolls down.

"Hey kid! You did a great job out there tonight, can't wait to face ya for real soon" Fetzer says from the drivers seat. Pony and Ace straighten up and look in my direction. "I'll catch you guys later" Fetzer says and flips up the head lights, illuminating the area in front of the car. Something in his voice didn't sound right.

The car pulls away and I walk up to Pony and Ace saying, "Where's he going?"

"Probably back to the Mandalay Bay. He lives there you know" Ace says.

"Yeah I know that. Is he ok?" I ask.

"Fetzer? He'll be fine. He just hasn't talked about the accident since it happened. So it kinda has shaken him up" Pony says.

"Hey I didn't mean to hurt him or anything... I didn't know" I say, trying to stay innocent.

"We know" they both say in unison and Ace turns toward her Civic.

"Well, I should be getting back. It's pretty late" a Ace says and gets inside the car.

"Me too" Pony agrees and slides into the drivers seat of his Evo.

"I'll see you guys on the flip side" I say as the two of them start their engines. They wave goodbye and pull away side-by-side.

I sigh and start my long, lonely walk back to the 302. "God damn. I can't even imagine what he's going through"