Stella Urbem

Chapter 2: Part 5

The early hours of the morning bothered very few of the students, who were eager and expectant to begin training for what would be the most important mission they had ever been a part of. The ten teens gathered at the elevator and made their way down to the lobby, not as talkative towards each other as per usual. Once they reached the ground floor, they bustled out of the elevator and checked their training schedule. "Racers will be at the SRH training track, and mechanics are heading to the SRH Motor Garage," RC clarified. "It looks like I'll be with the mechanics," Lizz noted. "That's weird, you're usually doing more racing," Jey wondered aloud. "I guess they want me to hone my weaker side more," Lizz replied. "Welcome to the cool side Lizz!" Venice, cheered, giving her a high-five. "Hey!" The racers all said in unison. Everyone chuckled. Tack tapped a blue button on his holographic schedule and a path made of light appeared in front of him, leading the way towards the training track. Aura did the same, but hers led to the motor garage. "This technology is just too crazy," Jace said, shaking his head. "We can meet back here for lunch," RC offered. "Sounds good," Jey agreed. "Go show those other racers who's boss," Venice encouraged. Jey and the other racers smiled. "We couldn't do it without you guys," Glow replied, nodding at all the mechanics. "Thanks for keeping us going...literally," Tack said, smiling at Jace. Jace smiled back. Chess, feeling mushy with love, gave Glow a big hug. "Common guys! Group hug!" "No," Drey quickly answered. Everyone laughed and started in the direction they were heading. "Go kick some butt!" Aura called out. "You guys are our heroes!" Jace added. "And you guys are ours!" Glow called back.

The training was supervised by the SRH team of racers and mechanics, the most elite in the industry. Jey and the other racers practiced take-off, taxi, and landing in the 777 Hypercars. They also learned how the engine runs and other important factors. Meanwhile the mechanics were learning from James Harley himself, who was one of the best mechanics in the business, unlike his father, who excelled in racing instead and had wished the same for his son. Mr. Harley took it upon himself to make sure that each mechanic was able to not only understand the parts of a car, but be able to take an entire car apart and put it back together by the end of their training. If there was anything to know about Mr. Harley, it's that he had an unmatched passion for cars and mechanics. The next two days were filled with long hours, heavy lifting, high speeds, grease stains, occasional trips to the SRH infirmary, and anxiousness. Every student, trainer, mechanic, engineer, chemist, director, janitor, racer, and citizen was doing their part to make this mission a success. The students also studied the stars and how the tool, called the Infrared Radiation Astro Satellite (IRAS), would be used to gather the necessary amount of energy from the Stella Urbem Industria. It would be attached to the bottom of the hypercars, and once powered on, would attract the energy from the star and contain it until able to be examined. The recycling formula had been perfected and was ready for the energy. The more everyone trained and tested and perfected their work, the more confident everyone was that the mission would be an absolute success.

Drey was taking a seat in a classroom for an astrology session when he saw a face that he never expected to see. It was his younger brother, Eeon. When Eeon saw Drey, he stopped dead in his tracks, then pretended as if nothing had happened and went to his seat. They both continued with the class as if nothing was different, then they both left the classroom without saying a word. Drey tried to walk away, but Eeon said something that stopped him. "They'll want to see you." "I doubt that." "They already know you're here. And they know that you're...different now." "So now what, they want me to come home so they can shower me with love and affection? Cause they've always been good at that right?" "Guess you're still as stubborn as before." Drey turned to him. "Do me a favor: leave me alone. Don't tell anyone who I am to you and don't talk to me. I'm not going back." "I was always good at pretending I was an only child anyway," Eeon stated. Drey walked away without looking back. He walked for so long that he didn't realize he was missing his next session. At that point, he didn't care. He could have walked off of the edge of the city and he still wouldn't care. Hours went by as Drey replayed his life in his head. The yelling, breaking things, hurling insults at teachers and friends, breaking rules, court dates, juvenile hall, and the crying and fear all around him. He never even understood why he had acted the way he did. It could have been the neglect from his parents, the pressure of having to be perfect for the family of an SRH board member, the gossip, the drugs... He was the kid no one wanted, the unloveable. Yet even now, he blamed his family for abandoning him. Drey knew he was a failed child, but really, he wanted someone to show him that he wasn't. To his surprise, no one seemed to be in the motor garage. He showed the scanner his ID, grabbed a car key, and locked himself inside of one of the hypercars so he could be alone, away from the world and everyone in it. He nearly fell asleep until he heard mumbled voices and footsteps. He could tell that one of the voices was Mr. Harley. "...have to be during the ceremony tomorrow. Does your team have the tools they need?" "That's not a lot of time. The ceremony is only supposed to last thirty minutes." "I'm giving the speech. I can stall for as long as you need. But if it goes longer than an hour, people will grow suspicious." "I can make an hour work, but you'll have to make sure no one comes in the garage while we're at it." "That won't be a problem." "Then I look forward to working with you Mr. Harley." Drey heard the two shake hands. "Now you'll do well not to forget which hypercar I'll be driving." "Show me and I'll mark it." The footsteps grew louder. Oh no. He saw their faces through the windshield...and they saw his. Drew turned on the car and tried to drive out of the garage. He crashed into other hypercars as he made his way to the garage door. Closing his eyes, he attempted to bust through the door, but instead the car crashed into the door, leaving a large dent on the door but only a few scrapes on the car itself. Drey came to himself just in time to be pulled out of the car and thrown onto the ground. He could see the shoes of Mr. Harley as he looked down at him. "What are you going to do?" Drey demanded. Mr. Harley bent down. "As much as I'd love to sit down and chat about it, I think it'd be better to show you." Mr. Harley nodded at the older mechanic, who dragged Drey to a storage room and locked the door. Drey picked himself up and banged on the door. He noticed the two men were talking to each other again, so he quieted down and peeked through the small hole in the door. "...shouldn't be a problem. No one's going to come looking for him before the ceremony. Just spray this under the door and he'll be out for a few hours." Drey desperately tried to block the gap at the bottom of the door with his body, but the gas came in nonetheless. He tried to cover his mouth and nose but he began to cough so much that he couldn't stand it. Within seconds, he had fallen to the ground, unconscious.