Stella Urbem

Chapter 2: Part 8

"Racers, to your marks!" Jey, Tack, Lizz, Glow, and every other racer who was well enough followed the marshaller onto the runway. "RC to racers, prepare for countdown." RC sat at a chair in the Mission Control Center, along with the rest of the mechanic team and the SRH engineers. "Start the countdown." "Starting countdown," Aura replied, pressing a button on her iPad. Jey took a deep breath and thought of Drey. Glow closed her eyes and smiled, not feeling sick at all this time. Tack revved his engine. "...5, 4, 3, 2, 1." The racers took off and headed for a nearby unnamed star. Meanwhile the control room was bustling with questions and commands. "Have we rewired the energy panels to withstand the impact of a new energy source?" "Can't do that without the source itself." "How much time before we lose the last of the energy from our star?" "55 hours, 40 minutes, and 36 seconds." "Ready to engage hyper speed?" "Negative. Awaiting response from racers." "RC to racers, are you ready to engage hyper speed?" "Lizz to mechanic team, negative, still straightening ourselves out." "Copy that Lizz." "Aura to Venice, report carbon monoxide levels." "Venice to Aura, carbon monoxide levels at zero percent. Oxygen levels at 99. No change." "Copy." "Lizz to mechanic team, we are good to go for hyper speed." "Copy. RC to control team, racers are clear to engage hyper speed." "Copy, engaging hyper speed in 3, 2, 1." Jey fell back into his seat as his hypercar reached hyper speed. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and felt everything go still. He opened his eyes and saw the new star directly in front of him and the other racers. "Jey to racers, all accounted for?" "Glow to Jey, I will check with the control team. Glow to RC, please scan for all racers." "Copy. RC to Chess, begin scan." "Copy." Chess pushed a button and all 46 racers appeared on the screen. "Chess to RC, all racers accounted for." "Venice to Aura, no change in oxygen or CO levels." "Copy." "Jey to RC, ready to deploy IRAS." "Copy, preparing to deploy IRAS." The control team typed into their keyboards and Jey felt a vibration beneath him. A satellite-shaped tool appeared from underneath his hypercar and aimed itself at the star, as did all of the others. "Glow to RC, ready to receive energy." "Copy. RC to racers, please proceed with caution. We don't know the magnetic force of this star. We hope the IRAS will sustain the energy but be prepared to evacuate if the star's force is too strong." "Copy," Jey said. "RC to control team, the racers are ready to receive energy." "Copy. Control team to racers, you may now send out the IRAS signal." Jey slowly pulled up on a lever as the lights signifying the levels began to turn on next to it. 20 percent. 30 percent. 40 percent. The other racers did the same. The IRAS' signal made its way to the star, which made a loud returning wail. Jey could feel the air around him thickening. "This star has a lot of energy," Glow noted. "It feels like we're getting heavier," another racer added. "Jey to control team, our vehicles feel like they're getting heavier. This energy must be thicker than usual. Not sure if we can achieve hyper speed with this extra weight, or how much more energy our cars can take." "Control team to racers, retract your IRAS' and return to base immediately with the energy you have." "Copy." Jey turned his vehicle around, but it felt much heavier than before. The racers moved away from the star and tried to pick up enough speed to activate hyper speed, but there was too much weight on their vehicles. "Tack to control team, it's no use. We won't be able to achieve hyper speed this way. How long would it take us to fly back on our own?" "RC to Tack, about 40 years." "Oh..." "Jace to control team, what if they used the energy itself to engage hyper speed?" "Control team to Jace, that's very risky. We don't know the magnitude of this energy source. If they use more than a certain amount, it could result in spontaneous combustion." "But it's better than nothing, right?" Jey thought out loud. "RC to Jey, it'd be safer if we just thought of something else." "Just let me try it. Please. I'll go first and if something goes wrong, you'll know." "Jey, don't be a hero. Don't do this..." Glow begged. "Jey to Glow...wait for me." Jey pulled down on the IRAS levels at the same time he engaged hyperspeed. He held his breath and sped out of sight. There was silence. "Jey?" "Jey!" "Jey buddy, speak to me!" "Jey!" "Yes?" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and cheered when they heard Jey's voice. "Venice to Aura, no change in Jey's oxygen or CO levels." "Copy," Aura said happily. "Jey to racers, listen closely. Lower IRAS levels to 30 percent while engaging hyper speed at the same time. Do no more and no less." "Copy," all the racers replied. They all did just as Jey instructed and were back at Stella Urbem before they knew it. "RC to Chess, all racers accounted for?" Chess tapped her scanner again. All 46 racers appeared on the screen once again. "Chess to RC, all racers accounted for." "Jace to racers, get back down here you crazy thrill-chasers!" The racers laughed and made their way back down to the runway. After landing, all the mechanics ran outside to congratulate the racers on a successful mission. Jey and the rest of the team came together to hug. "You guys are our heroes!" Venice cheered. "No way man, you guys are our heroes," Jey corrected. "Seriously, thank you guys. You're always there to get us out of trouble," Glow added. "And we always will be," RC said, hugging Glow. "Group hug?" Chess offered. "No," everyone said in unison, followed by laughter and cheering with the other racers.

When Drey had first woken up, it was just a few nurses surrounding him. He was still in a daze and didn't remember much. After a few hours, his strength came back and he demanded to know where his friends were. The nurse smiled and said, "let me check for you." Drey's heart pounded, hoping and praying that they were alright. If anything had happened to them- "Surprise!" The entire team came in with balloons, ice cream, and adorable teddy bears. Drey smiled and laughed in disbelief. Jey lightly rubbed his shoulder, trying not to get emotional. "Thanks for saving us man." Drey smiled at him and held out his hand. Jey gave him a long bro hug. "Can I hug him next?" Chess asked innocently, followed by annoyed moans and groans. "So...what happened?" Drey asked. "Basically we all almost died and then we didn't," Aura summarized. Jace nodded. "Yep that's pretty much how it went down." Jey rolled his eyes. "We found another star to power all of Stella Urbem. It's actually more powerful and longer-lasting than our old one." "Are you serious?" Drey asked. "Also Mr. Harley's in jail," RC added. Drey grew silent. He wondered if his brother was in jail. "Also also we can finally go home!" Chess cheered. "Yeah, once the train stations start operating normally again, we'll be good to head back to B27-6," Tack explained. Drey thought to himself. He took a deep breath. "I don't think I can go back with you guys." Everyone's expressions changed. "Why not?" Chess asked. "I should've told you guys earlier, but I'm not from B27-6. I'm from B1, here." Everyone was shocked, but silent so he could continue. "I made a lot of messes here, that's why my parents sent me to B27-6. Now that I'm back, I want to start cleaning those messes up." He looked up at Jey, who smiled at him. "You're doing the right thing." Drey looked over at everyone else, who were agreeing. "Thanks for making me better guys. It's all because of you." "You were never a bad person Drey, you were a good person who got lost," Glow encouraged. As she hugged him, tears slipped down his cheek, remembering how she forgave him after what he did to her. "Uh guys, this ice cream is going to melt if we don't eat it soon," Venice said, killing the mood. Everyone laughed and grabbed a bowl. "Wanna watch a movie?" Drey asked. Everyone agreed and sat down next to his hospital bed. "Just do me one favor," Lizz requested. "What?" Drey asked. "Please don't play the squid movie."