The sound of tires skidding on gravel echoed like a siren of doom. Hugo's bike wobbled violently, swerving left and right as though possessed by some malevolent spirit.
A malevolent spirit that wanted nothing more but to turn Hugo into the same thing as it was!
His heart sank into his stomach as the world around him slowed to a crawl.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Hugo screamed in his head, each word more desperate than the last. His fingers gripped the handlebars with the force of someone clinging to the edge of a cliff.
His eyes darted to Lisa up ahead, her bike speeding smoothly like a racehorse. He wasn't going to let her win. No way. Not today.
If she won, he was going to die. There was nothing more to be said. He had to ensure he won!
But his bike had other plans. The wobbling intensified. The bike tipped to one side, then the other, like a drunk goose trying to find its balance.
