Night time Arrived. The clock eventually passed and the entire day had almost ended. After having a quick meal to kill time, I went out to Meet Skylar. We agreed to meet one another at the nearby convenience store later tonight.
I was quite tired. I could hardly keep my eyes open for any longer. I could feel the drowsiness while walking to the convenience store. I could see other Cars which passed me by. The cars would seemingly disappear into the Darkness of the Night.
"Damn I'm so tired...maybe I shouldn't have agreed to meet up with her.", I said.
"Maybe she wanted to show me some cool things with her S13. Well, that could be quite the possibility, but of all places why would she pick a convenience store?", I said.
What's so special about it?
It's not like there was anything special about a convenience store, was it? Maybe I was just thinking of it wrongly?
I reached the combine once store. It turned out to be a Gas Station as well the name was called 7/11-Seven-Eleven. It was quite large and there was quite a crowd of people parked outside. I noticed that Skylars S13 had been parked at the front of the store. I approached the store. Once I reached the entrance I noticed Skylar had been waiting inside.
I walked inside.
"Hey, what's up...so I'm here just as you said. Why did you want me to come here?", I asked.
"Ah sorry, OMG! I should've told you. Tonight there's gonna be a Meet here. You know?", Skylar said.
"Huh? What exactly do you mean by a meet?", I said.
I had no idea.
"You know a Car Meet. There's supposed to be Racers around here who will show up soon. Usually, there are battles from the start of the expressway to the end. It is quite the challenge.", She said.
What a Car Meet? I've never actually been to one, but man this was so out of the blue. I should've come prepared. Too bad I left my Z at home, well it's not like it was prepared anyways.
"Damn it...maybe I should've brought my Z."
Taken the chance of opportunity if there was going to be racing then I wanted to take part in it. But bad enough my Z was halfway across the city back at home. I had walked this far, so it's not like I would ever want to walk back. It was a 30-minute walk at least. No thank you!
Me & Skylar waited. A few minutes passed by the other cars showed up. There was a large group of 5 cars coming our way. A group of Muscle cars appeared to have been a Dodge Demon, Dodge Hellcat, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger & Dodger Dart. Of all cars, the Dart must've easily been the slowest.
All of their Cars had a logo on the rear-fender. 'The muscle knights'. That was the name of their group. We're such a thing really common? To have a logo for a group of cars I never seen or heard such a thing before.
"The Muscle Knights..."
"J-just why exactly do they have those Logos? What exactly is the point of that?.." I asked.
"There are multiple groups around the entire world. Car Culture has spreader over the recent years like Wildfire. Teams of people have begun starting their clubs to race and compete with other clubs to gain ownership over territories.", Skylar said.
"Huh...such a thing exists?" I asked.
Damn, there was a lot I didn't know.
Just how much did Skylar know...I'm becoming quite skeptical about her.
Skylar continued her explanation.
Car Clubs gain ownership over territories through battles. Once a territory is claimed no other club can enter. Logos from the opposite team are placed on the winner's car and the Logo is sliced to show that the opposing team has accepted defeat.
This territory belongs to that group...the Muscle Knights...they are the fastest in the region.", Skylar Nodded.
The guy in the front driving the Dodge Demon was the fastest. My ears were able to pick up the sound of a Supercharger screaming under the Hood. They pulled up to the Gas Station & parked out in the front.
The person who was in the Demon must've been the leader. They all got out of their cars & stood outside for a while. They must've been waiting for someone.
I wonder who they're waiting for?
Me & Skylar observed the bunch. They took notice of us but didn't pay us any mind. They looked as if they were focusing on a Battle tonight. Their attention was solely placed on their cars.
"All right everyone are you ready. Tonight will be the night we conquer the streets. Once we defeat the Z boys this territory will be ours.!", the leader shouted.
"Yeah, there's no way in hell they'll get us this time. We've got American Muscle on our sides. Those JDM losers don't stand a chance in hell against us. We will mop the floor with them for good!", the guy in the Hellcat said.
"Your right...We always win on the straights. We are undefeated, the streets belong to us!"
"You're exactly right!...it's just as you say. After all, we are the fastest in the region. No one can top our speeds at all."
The group stood around for a while discussing their plans for tonight. Meanwhile, I had a lot of questions in mind. I wondered why they seemed so mad but then...
More cars started showing up.
A lineup of Bright headlights pierced through the night. One car in front led the rest of the group. In the front, there was a Nissan much like my own. It was a Green-240sx. Behind that was a Red-280z fair lady & behind that one was a Yellow-200zx. There were only 3 cars! I wonder why their group was so smaller compared to the Muscle Knights. They pulled up at the gas station.
They Parked on the right side of the muscle knights in front of the store. In front of Me & Skylar was the group. There was a sticker on all of their front fenders that read "THE JDM BOYS." Their cars were vibrant.
All of their cars stood out. I could see just how flashy they were being. The cars didn't appear to have been from America. They were Right-hand drive. Cars like this were imports from Japan. They were called JDM cars.
I never took notice of how popular JDM was. Respectfully I hadn't seen them before. I used to live in the countryside so cars like those weren't common at all. Man what a sight!
The 3 drivers got out of their cars. They began approaching the muscle car group. The atmosphere became tense, it felt like there would be a war on the streets tonight.
"Hehe...tonight's the night! Are you ready to have your asses handed to you...", the JDM leader said.
The JDM-group leader was quite tall & masculine. His hair was Jet Black & spiky. He must've easily been in his earliest 20's. He wore a black leather jacket & a jewel on his chain. He seemed to fit the bad-boy stereotype. The reason why was simple, he had an aggressive & assertive look to him. He must be the leader?
"There's no way in hell you'll beat us, get lost, and give it up. The streets belong to us. This will be our turf, not yours. You may rule the mountains but the straights belong to us. But if you insist you get your asses to kick go right ahead. We won't hold back! We'll end this once and for all!", the Muscle Leader said.
"Sure I don't care. We will put an end to this once and for all. We are tired of your arrogance and reckless driving. You're a hindrance to drivers!", the JDM leader said.
"Okay?...So what!? Besides aren't you 1 driver short? Where is your little princess, I'm sure she won't be coming out tonight to race either! She knows her place. The rest of you should get lost!", the Muscle guy said.
"You're wrong...I did come tonight!", she shouted.
The girl next to me. Skylar the girl from my job turned out to be the leader of the Care Group. It blew my mind away at the moment.
Everyone turned their heads towards Me & Skylar. I'm not sure exactly what I had gotten myself into but at the moment it wasn't looking so good. The muscleheads looked very furious. The leader himself began clenching his fist & look sort of frightened.
"No...no way that's her?...the Drift Queen. She's the fastest Drifter in the Mountains & Streets. She's unstoppable, her & that S13...they're both unstoppable. She hasn't lost a single race yet. Not to anyone. She's the fastest!", the Dodge Dart Driver said.
He looked so frightened. His facial expression started to shake. He couldn't stay calm, it's like he had seen a phantom.
There's no way. Could Skylar have had such a huge street reputation? Wait no-it couldn't be?!
I looked at Skylar. Everything about her, her energy & aura had completely changed. Is this who she truly was? If any of this was true then that means she's one of the best racers in the city.
"Alright, boys...so what will it be? You will either rush me or go back crying home. You're a disgrace to all street racers. You should know your place!", Skylar said.
The musclehead's leader looked very pissed off. He walked up to her & threw a punch.
"Damn you!!!", he shouted.
I caught it. I had caught the punch with my hand. I shouldn't have stepped in but, I couldn't let him hurt my friend. He was going too far and it even began to piss me off as well.
"You lay off her! You have some nerves to lay out all your anger on a girl. Why not raceme. And I'll shut you up.", I said.
Wait no, what am I doing? Oh no...
I got involved...was it a bad move?
"You damn runt. Who the hell are you anyway?... You have no right to race me. My Dodge demon will blow you away. Get lost!...this is between me & that girl...The Drift Queen!", he shouted.
I could feel the intensity building up in the atmosphere. There was like a fire burning, I could feel the pressure & heat. I wasn't used to this. Street Racers were the worst of the worst so getting involved with them could potentially cost me an Arm & leg. Damn it!...
"We will settle this once and for all with one final race...tonight.", the Hellcat driver shouted.
"One person from your team vs. one person from our team. The winner takes will claim the territory as their own & do as they please...any other questions? Exactly I didn't think so. The race will begin in 30 minutes. From the start of the Bridge to the end.",
"You just can't call the shots like that? Remember you follow me & only me got that.", the leader said.
"You're in no position to tell anyone what to do. Your reckless actions will give us a bad reputation. Until you can calm yourself I'll be hosting tonight's race. So now who will be racing?", the Hellcat driver asked.
"I will Race!..." I shouted.
Everyone was thrown off by what I had just said. It was quite unexpected. How could I possibly race without having a car? Just what the hell was I doing...? At the time I was living in the moment. If I did want to become a professional racer then I would have to start by taking on the Streets. Even if I had to put my life on the line.
"Aster...there's no need for you to get involved... the reason why I brought you here was to show you what Street Racing is like. I'm sorry? it's all my fault I should've been more considerate of how you would feel."
"No, it's okay don't worry."
"Okay, the. It's settled...", Skylar Nodded.
I wanted to step in & put my skills to the test. Not even I could hold back my Need for Speed.
I was mentally prepared. But I didn't have the Z with me & it was in no condition to race. So I had to make use of what I had. All I needed to do was get started. But even if I did race...what if I was to lose?
Would I upset Skylar & the rest of her team? The pressure was building up.
The Muscle Knights needed to have one representative of their team as well. I wondered who it would be between all of them.
"I'll race you...I don't mind. Besides, there's no way in hell you'll smoke me on the straights. I'm fast enough...much faster than you.", the Dodge Challenger driver said.
"Okay..then it's settled. 40 minutes from now we will meet on the bridge & the race will begin immediately. Both drivers will do 3 loops around the expressway and whoever comes in 1st place is the winner.", the Hellcat Driver said.
"Okay sounds good. Alright everyone let's move out.."
Everyone got in their cars & left out. Only me & Skylar were the only people left. I didn't have a car with me of course & I wasn't sure whether or not if I should bring the Z out tonight. Man, this isn't good.
"So what are you gonna drive?...do you have a car or would you like to use mine?", Skylar asked.
I hated to depend on other people & besides I was unsure or not if my current skills were good enough to drive Skylars Nissan Silvia (S13). I didn't want to Crash her car & even worse... I had to consider the fact that I would be going against a Souped-up Dodge Challenger SRT. I didn't have much of an option.
Dodge Challengers were the king of the streets. Dodge in general was hella fast. Sure Skylars S13 had a turbo but muscle cars were on a whole other level especially the ones that are tuned. It's not like any of their cars were stock, to begin with. The Challenger was one of the most intimidating cars out there.
My only chance of winning was parked at home hidden underneath a Cover. So I did all that I could at the moment. I had to run back home...
"Hey, aster where are you going!? The race will start soon!", Skylar shouted.
"I'm going home...to get my Car I'll be back!", I shouted.
"Don't worry, I'll just give you a ride over there. You don't have to run. It'll be easier.", Skylar said.
"Okay...that's fine. Thank you!"
I stopped running. Once I came to a complete stop then I hopped in the Nissan Silvia (S13) with Skylar & headed home. Tonight the Ghost S would make its debut on the Streets. Now Is the time I put my skills to the test!
"Let's go!", I shouted.
[END]