Colin pushed on the wrench braced against the tire of his go kart, wincing at the metal edges digging into his palms. He grunted and gave a final push before the wrench slipped off and his face planted right into the side.
"Owww, dangit."
"You know you're going to put in a dent doing that, right? In the kart and your face."
He looked up from his pitiful dismay. Bri tossed her backpack to the side, sticking her hands in her overall pockets and leaning over to pick up the now scratched up wrench. The tips of her bunny ears gently scraped the ground and she perked right back up, leaning over sideways to peer at him.
"Think you could, uh, help me? The tire blew out and I can't get it off to switch it out."
Bri grinned and flopped down onto the ground next to him. He scooted out of the way so she could lie down and surveying the damage. "The bolt looks rusted over. When's the last time you changed them?"
"Uhhhhh," he drew out, rubbing the back of his neck. "How often are you supposed to do that exactly?"
"Mmm, considering how much you drive it daily, about every three weeks or so."
Dangit. "Yup, I definitely changed it like three whole weeks ago! Must've...hit something...got the bolt rusted with...water? Yeah that's what happened!"
Bri pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh and he cringed in on himself. "Lucky for you, I have spare bolts in my room. Be right back!" She bounced up and ran towards the tower. Colin leaned back and knocked his head against his go kart, breathing out a sigh of relief.
She came back moments later, immediately skidding to the ground and getting to work exchanging the tire. Every so often, she opened her mouth to catch candy Colin threw from his seat feets away. Five gumdrops, seven cut pieces of Twizzlers, and around 35 mini M&Ms made the jump while only a few sugar casualties lied discarded and ignored on the ground.
"Done!" She kicked the damaged tire, letting it solemnly roll away. "You should be good for another couple weeks. Might want to check other tires in a few days, though."
"Sweet!" Colin hopped up. Looking back and forth between the kart and the barricade, an idea popped into his head. He and Bri didn't really hang out on their own much, but... "Hey, want to go for a ride?"
Bri peered behind him, checking for Austin or Marsh. "Aren't we supposed to be on watch for gummy bears soon?"
"Yeah, but..." he gestured to the empty road behind them, "go kart."
"Hmm- Sound logic to me. Let's go!"
"Yes!" Colin pumped his fist into the air and showed her the main mechanism, eager to show it off. It took a whole 2.7 seconds to figure out how the go-kart worked, sitting behind the wheel with a look of glee.
"I got an idea; sit on the hood."
"Are you sure that's safe?"
She simply shrugged, starting the engine. "Probably not, but I'm a good driver!"
He sat on the front of the go kart, planting his feet on the metal and reaching behind him to grip the top.
"Ready?" Bri's eyes lit up with her smile and Colin couldn't help but grin back.
"Ready. Hit it!"
Bri slammed on the pedal and the go kart darted forward. He tightened his hold as it whirled around the bend, throwing him to the side and threatening to send him flying. Wind whipped in his face and he let out a cackle.
"This is so cool!" He tapped on the top. "Go faster!"
The engine revved underneath him and he could feel pressure pressing on his chest. The concrete walls on either side of them blurred into a haze, mixing into the black blur of the cracked road. The built-up air in his ears popped with every bump they ran over.
Bri jolted the go kart to avoid a large pothole, leaving a dark skid mark behind. She yanked on the wheel and it, along with Colin, turned a whole 180 degrees in an arc to obey her movements. A loud screech tore into his ears and he grinded his teeth, forcing himself to keep holding on instead of covering his probably now-injured eardrums.
The go kart came to sudden halt, tilting to one side. As soon as the wheels touched pavement again, Bri slammed the pedal and off they were again. She laughed into the frenzy air, barely audible in the whirling wind in Colin's ears.
They came to a stop in front of the barricade, just barely missing ramming right into the stone. He slipped on the front, landing on wombling but firm legs and jumped up and down. "Whoa! That was kind of terrifying but awesome!"
"Right?" Bri hopped out, joining him in bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That was so fun! This goes so much faster than my jeep."
Colin welled up with pride. "Thanks. I like going fast. You can give it a drive again tomorrow if you want. You know, if we don't end up running from another horde of mutated zombies like that monster back there."
"I'll definitely take you up on that." She swept up her backpack, flinging a bag of candy into her waiting hand. "I'm going to go bother Austin for a bit. See you later for parole!"
Colin waved her off, sighing in contempt and settling back into his go kart. It wasn't until he started it up again that he remembered he was supposed to pick up the supplies down the road before the zombies came.
Whoops.
