The Racing Blood

Awakened

     The wreck was a replay in Kasey's mind that he wanted to get out. He could still see it just as clear as day. He saw K.J.'s car tear the roof off of #19 Eric Roop's car, and he saw K.J. hit the track and the inside wall at well over 100 mph. 
Fear and panic consumed him. He had no idea what to do as emergency workers swarmed the track, directing the drivers off the surface and covering the crash site. Kasey's eyes locked on the two cars involved, and it was apparent right away that something was wrong in twenty-year-old Roop's car. 
     The emergency workers around Roop's car stopped and looked at one another. Roop's team stood on the pit wall, just a few stalls down from K.J.'s team. The track was completely silent as the drivers cut their engines. Kasey looked at the workers, one of them shaking his head. They carefully put a blue tarp over the car to cover the dead boy inside.
     Screams of horror from Roop's crew filled the track. His crew members all collapsed in a circle in his pit stall, and Kasey felt like his own heart had been ripped from his chest. He never wanted to see a racer and a child cut down in the prime of his life. His eyes focused again on his son's car. Fear engulfed his soul.
     K.J.'s car was upside down, and the crew was attempting to flip it right-side-up without causing more damage to K.J. within. What seemed like forever was only a few minutes. They flipped the car and began to cut away the roof to extract K.J. 
     Kasey watched as they removed K.J.'s limp body from the car, his helmet tossed on the ground. They strapped him to a backboard and carried him towards the ambulance. The entire team began the sprint towards the infield care center.
     They arrived shortly after K.J., but only Kasey and Kale were allowed in. The crew knelt in a circle, heads bowed. It took about ten minutes to prepare K.J. for the helicopter flight to the hospital, and Kale walked out to the crew. He knelt in the middle of the crew, and their eyes locked on him.
     "K.J. is unconscious, boys. We don't know much. I'm on my way to get his momma, and Kasey is gonna fly with him. We want you boys to go home and pray real hard for our driver..." Kale's voice cracked. "And our family. Pray for Eric's team and family too."
     "Kale, did that boy die?" asked rear tire changer Hank Johnson.
    Kale looked at the ground. "Yeah... He died. Something under K.J.'s car cut through the boy's chest." The crew sat in stunned silence. "Go pray."
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     Now Kasey and Amira stood in the hospital room, watching K.J. His heart monitor was the only sign of life they had from their only child. Kasey's arms held his wife as they both fought tears. It had been two hours, and K.J. hadn't made any improvement.
     "K.J.," whispered Amira, walking toward her son. She put her hand on his forehead. "Wake up, baby. Daddy and I are here."
     K.J.'s eyes fluttered slightly, and he opened them slowly. Kasey and Amira gasped in happiness. He looked at his parents, then around the room. "What...? Where am I?"
     "The hospital, babe. The wreck. You don't remember?" K.J. shook his head slightly. "Good..." said Kasey.
     K.J. nodded slightly. "Am I okay?"
     "I think so. No one has said that you aren't.," said Amira.
     "Was anyone else hurt?!" asked K.J. Silence. "Dad!"
     Kasey frowned. "Eric Roop. He was... He was killed, K.J."
     "I KILLED HIM?!"
     "K.J., no. You didn't-"
     "I fucking killed another driver!" screamed K.J. He sat straight up in the bed. "I... What the hell!!" His heart monitor raced as he screamed. The sound brought nurses running into his room. They were quick to sedate him.
     He was quiet on the bed. "I killed... I killed him." was all K.J. mumbled as he fell asleep. Kasey and Amira watched him. Speechless.