Fluctuating Lights: First Stage

Chapter 26: Tragedy (Backstory)

Chapter 26: Tragedy (Backstory)

WARNING: This chapter includes a pretty violent scene. Read at your own risk.

A/N: this chapter takes place two years before the start of the story.

EEEEEEEEE!

The sound of tire squeals can be heard echoing through a mountain pass as a car is tearing through the asphalt road. A car's pop-up headlights can be seen entering checkpoint three of the Grant Hill Trail. The long hairpin fills with tire smoke as the car starts to enter a slide upon entering said hairpin. Said car exits the hairpin and illuminates the darkness in front of it. The car is a white 1989 Toyota MR2 with a carbon fiber hood. Jack is driving with his dad in the passenger seat. It passes by a local on the side of the road. "A gray S15 Silvia huh, looks like Dylan is up here tonight." Jack observes as he passes by the car. "Gotta say Jack, you've gotten better lately. When you first started you spun out every corner. But now you're clearing those corners with relative ease." Dave says with a grin. Jack presses down on the gas pedal more than he was before. The car's engine roars and echoes through the asphalt road as it speeds down the mountain towards checkpoint four. 'He sped up, Jack sure is more confident in driving faster now.' Dave thinks to himself.

Jack and Dave enter checkpoint four. The car goes down the steep decline at high speeds. "Don't you think you're going a little too fast down the hill? I wouldn't want us to crash." Dave says. "Don't worry about that, this is just my style." Jack says with a laugh. They approach the tight hairpin at the bottom, Jack starts to slightly put pressure onto the brake pedal. As they enter the hairpin he does a heel and toe technique while downshifting. He steers into the corner as the car enters a slide.

EEEEEEEE!

The MR2 drifts through said hairpin as Jack applies countersteer and enough throttle input to not spin out into the guardrails on both sides. 'Damn this corner is a bitch, how in the hell do people enter it at full speed?!' Jack thinks as he struggles to exit the corner without crashing into the guardrail. The car suffers from a little bit of oversteer upon exiting the hairpin into the straightaway. "Fuck, I can never get that hairpin right. Is it the way I'm entering that makes such a difference on the exit?" Jack says. "Could be, I usually hit the brakes pretty hard beforehand. But also downshift while flicking the steering wheel the opposite direction of the hairpin and allow the weight to transfer but then steering back in to enter the hairpin. You probably know that technique as the Scandinavian flick. Or more well known as the inertia drift." Dave explains. "Yeah yeah, I know that technique alright. It's just hard for me to pull off most of the time. I guess that just shows how far I need to go to get to a point where I can do techniques like that without thinking about it." Jack says as the first hairpin of the three consecutive hairpins comes into view. Jack goes into full focus mode as they approach the first hairpin.

...

The next morning:

"Hey Ash, do you think mom is gonna knock it out of the park again in today's rally race?" Jack asks while sitting at the dining room table. "Maybe, it's not like it's set in stone she's going to win." Ashley says while looking at her phone in the seat across from him. "I think she's going to! Mom is the best rally driver I've seen. She may not win all the time but she always dominates on wet surface asphalt." Jack states. "Sure, whatever you say Jack." Ashley says with an uninterested tone. "What's up with you, Did something happen?" Jack asks. "Nothing happened, I'm just tired, that's all." Ashley says. "I'm not so sure I believe that sis. Something is clearly bothering you." "I said... Nothing happened! Everything is fine!" Ash says in annoyance. Jack's expression turns to one of concern. He knows something is wrong, but he doesn't know what it could be. It becomes an awkward silence for about thirty seconds.