Driving Me Crazy

Chapter Forty-Five: Part One

Katana

My heart beats fast and hard as I wait for the lights to turn off. I never processed just how dangerous the sport is until I saw him spin yesterday, causing my anxiety to be on edge today. The lights blink and one by one the cars lurch forward, closing in on each other as they attempt to gain positions. The back of the grid is a catastrophe, but my eyes don't leave the shimmering red car that I know is Charles'.

He launches the car ahead of the identical Ferrari and takes the racing line by storm as he continues the lead. Out of sight, I watch anxiously on screen, praying inside my head that he manages to win without too bad of a fight. That prayer was left unanswered when Carlos flies up behind Charles with DRS enabled, allowing him to take the lead for a split second before Charles steals it back. This track is not one for passing, with slim corners and not much wider straights. The two Ferrari cars dance back and forth throughout the entire first three laps causing my legs to cramp from tenseness.

In the fourth lap, the team radio comes over my head when Fred says, "Boys, this is a race for constructors. Be easy on the tires and stop fighting each other." The cars back off slightly, but I know Charles is mad considering they waited until Carlos had DRS and took the lead before saying anything.

The rest of the race goes by with an insane amount of tenseness, clipping corners, and many yellow flags. A pink car goes tumbling into the walls causing my stomach to clench as they wave the red flag and bring everyone into the pits. With only four laps left in the race, Carlos maintains the lead with Charles following and Lando right behind. Anxiety is high as everyone wants to see the Monegasque driver take his home race, but the track is unforgiving here. Minutes pass as they pull the mangled pink car off the track and allow the drivers to line up once again. Pierre Gasly makes his way to the pits after exiting the crashed car, unharmed.

Lights go out and the cars jump away once again, but again, Charles was faster at the launch and takes first place. My body fills with energy as he carries that place to the next corner, taking the sector records with him. This is the fastest lap he has done on this track, set to beat the record held by Lewis Hamilton, the former world champion who just doesn't have the car this year. Turn after turn, he makes his way through the track, flying towards the corners that caused him problems before. He slows the car, but nowhere near the amount that he has previously and his rear tires lock up. Smoke billows from the tires as the red car slams into the barriers and nearly surpasses them with the amount of force he carried. The car disintegrated, leaving nothing but a mangled mess when it catches on fire.

A scream tears from my body, leaving my throat raw at the sight of the screens in front of me. Without thinking, I sprint toward the track, unsure of what I would do when I get there but knowing I needed to see him. I get partially out of the pit lane as Camryn slams her body into me, pushing me to a halt. "I need... I need to help... get him out of the car... please!" I shout at the body holding me back. I know she's speaking, but I can't seem to hear anything other than the blood flowing through my ears.

Cars go around us, pulling into the pit lanes and being backed into the garages before the drivers make their way to their setups, praying that Charles has gotten out of the car. Sitting on the ground of the garage, people shout around me and I get a glimpse of the burning car on screen once again. Charles still has yet to get out, nearly a minute later. Tears fall from my eyes as I break down into the concrete flooring, having lost everything I gained. Camryn sank to the ground with me as she screams, "Get him out! What's going on? Lando!" It was at that point that I realized that Lando, Carlos, and Daniel were running toward us, fear on their faces. Lando comes up behind me and throws me into a wedding-style hold as my numb limbs hang from the side. My head falls back on his shoulder, watching the world spin around me as they place me on a couch in the Ferrari garage. Tears don't stop falling, but my tears come silently as I stare at the screens, still no word. Camryn sits behind me, holding me up and rubbing my back with Lando at my feet and the other two drivers on the floor next to me.

Panic flows around us, but all I can manage to do is watch the screens and count the seconds that he stays in the burning car. Fire Marshals spray the car with extinguishers, but nothing seems to be helping. They believe that he is stuck inside the halo, upside down. The steering wheel broke off, leaving him separated from his radio button, unable to speak with us. The helmet he wears has an integrated speaker which allows him to hear us, so Fred has been nonstop talking in an attempt to wake him if he is unconscious.

"Charles, you need to get out of the car. Charles, do you copy? You need to get out of the car. The car is on fire, you need to get out. It's been two minutes, and your fireproofs are no longer effective if you have been touched by flame, you need to get out of the car..." Fred sighs and slams his hand down on the counter in front of him. Taking in a deep breath and turning to look at me, he begins again, "Charles, you need to get out. Do you hear me, damnit! Katana is sitting here, watching you die. Your best friends are sitting here, watching you die, get out of the goddamn car!" He shouts at the headset, expecting an answer despite knowing he won't get one.

Closing my eyes, I shut out the world. My mind runs heavy as I remember the pain of losing Indi, and now Charles. Every time I love someone, I lose them. I thought this could be forever with him, something out of a movie almost. Now, because he wasn't focused, he crashed and it's my fault. Camryn gasps and shakes my shoulder before saying, "Look!" prompting me to open my eyes. When I do, The flames have gotten substantially smaller and the car is more visible. My heart still hangs heavy when I say, "He's still in there," my voice barely audible. Lando grabs my calf in an attempt to give me comfort by being there and Daniel grabs my hand, Carlos taking his. The five of us, sit there in silence as they manage to get the car off of Charles's body.

The crane comes over the car, lifting the mangled mess directly up when you hear the silent crowd gasp. Looking closer, the guardrails are balled up around the halo and Charles is nowhere to be found. Confusion hits everybody as we all stand up, still, hand in hand. The marshals run over to the mangled mess and all of a sudden, start motioning for people to come to help him. The car had mangled the guardrail, but the metal had wrapped around the halo and spliced it from the car, creating a protective barrier around the halo and an upside-down Charles.

Once they bend the metal back, the camera shows Charles' arm fall out, not moving. A steward grabs his arm and drags his unconscious body out of the metal mess and does what everyone was waiting for, checking his pulse. The milliseconds seem like years and my breathing has stopped. He says something over the radio before he switches it to the channel at which everybody can hear when he says, "Pulse is strong, must have passed out from heat exhaustion. The race is over, we're getting him out of here." I drop to my knees as Lando sprints out of the garage. Camryn breaks into tears with me as we cry on the garage floor out of sheer happiness. The pit crew joins us on the floor, some on their knees praying, others using the floor as stability after their body gave out.

"I didn't lose him, Cam. I didn't lose him," I say to Cam through a mangled mess of tears and whimpers. She responds with, "No you didn't. He's going to be alright," As she pulls me into a hug and cries with me. Someone that I haven't seen before comes up to the both of us and says, "They're taking him to the hospital, would you like a police escort there? We are leaving right now." My heart jumps at the idea of being near Charles again as we stand up and race to the police car waiting at the exit. Getting into the passenger seat, Camryn in the back, we race to the hospital in silence.