✓ WORKING FOR THE KNIFE ━ lando norris. ¹

[ 049 ] Terrible Awful No-Good

   

  

   

( ACT III. ── Fearless )
chapter forty-nine / Terrible Awful No-Good

  

  

   

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Qatar was torture. The heat, the tyres, non-stop nausea exacerbated by the shaking of the car, the last-minute track changes on a sprint weekend ─ Annika hadn't even gotten out of her car in parc ferme and she was already dreading next year's race here. With her visor open she felt like she could finally breathe better, but the closest she had gotten to actually leaving the car was unbuckling her harness. All the meager energy from pure self-preservation that had kept her conscious enough during the race to prevent her from crashing and killing herself ─ it was gone.

She had only managed P8, and considering the conditions, she was more than content with that.

With shaking hands, she pulled out her steering wheel and placed it beyond the halo, and then had to take another break.

It was a miracle that everyone survived this. Driving was supposed to be hard, yes... but not like that.

One attempt to pull herself up failed.

The second one also failed.

On the third attempt she was able to struggle upwards, leaning heavily on the halo. Her legs were oddly numb as well. When her vision went blurry and then fully black, she had no choice but to stop, placing her head down on the halo, deep breaths, deep breaths.

She wasn't entirely certain that she would be capable of leaving this car in any sort of competent manner.

When one of the marshals came up to check on her, Annika didn't even realize it until there was a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

"I don't feel well," she said, shaking her head.

With the help of two marshals she was able to climb out without falling on her face, and when she was finally in clean air, it was better. Not great, but better.

Med center. Immediately.

Right now she would usually be heading to interviews or to watch the podium, but fuck that. Staying upright was enough of a battle.

This was, by far, the absolute worst race of her entire career.

Once she was sitting down with her helmet off and a IV line of fluids in her arm, the repair process finally began.

She found a text from Matt on her phone later in the night.