Page 323 of Fatality

Everything happens at once, an Iron Hound has nowhere to go. He plows into my passenger side.

Another racer clips my rear, a bike cartwheels through the air.

The Charger lifts, all four tires leave the ground.

I hear Ren scream in terror. I can’t react fast enough despite my reflex booster.

The world explodes into motion, the windshield shatters, concrete flashes past.

The Charger slams roof-first onto the refinery access road, bounces, rolls again, tearing through barriers and cargo fencing as pieces of the bodywork scatter across the track.

The cabin collapses around us, my head whips sideways.

Something cracks.

Pain erupts through my body before disappearing beneath pure shock and pain dampeners.

The seatbelt digs into my chest so hard I can't breathe. Another roll, another impact.

The world becomes nothing but spinning lights, flying glass, twisted metal, and flashes of fire.

Then, silence.

The Charger lies on its roof, crushed almost beyond recognition. Smoke curls through the broken windshield.

I try to move but I can’t, I’m blocked, my vision blurs. I slowly turn my head.

Blood drips from my mouth, from my head, I feel it. But I don't even know where.

The pain dampeners aren't enough for that kind of wound.

Ren isn't moving either.

The last thing I see is a black car disappearing down the refinery straight without slowing.

And her.

My troublemaker.

Blushing furiously as she flips me off before I climb back into the Charger.

CHAPTER 64

Riven

The Cut That Always Bleed - Conan Gray

Ifidget with the little Charger charm in my hands, my heart pounding as I watch the race unfold on the giant screen.

I hate this, I hate speed. I'm traumatized by cars.

And I chose to stay with a monster, a gang leader, a racer.

There is genuinely something wrong with me.

Maybe I just have a talent for staying with things I shouldn’t or maybe I simply like living stressed and traumatized.

But I can’t leave, I tried and I failed.