JUST AS THE TWO were about to speak, Stephen fell to one knee.
"Steph!" Kimberly shouted.
He furrowed his brows in frustration, not because of anything in particular, save the fact that his body was giving up on him after just skating a couple of miles. Kimberly tried to help him up. Denying her aid, he said he was fine and stood up on his own.
This caused her to worry about his health. Noticing that his fatigue wasn't regular, Victoria said, "That's the aftereffects of pushing your body so hard on Dyna Blades. Just look at your wheels."
He wasn't aware of how damaged his wheels were. They had been fine before the race, but now they looked charred with holes in them.
"With the way you're riding, you'll burn through parts every week."
"Vicky's right, Steph. You have to ride more carefully."
Barely able to keep his balance, he tried his best to hide his anger. The two looked at each other, knowing that if they tried to help, he would only get angrier.
"Want us to tell you how that mullet-haired guy stopped the truck?" Victoria grinned.
After he calmed down, he asked her if it had to do with Dyna Blades. Kimberly wasn't the least bit surprised at how quickly he understood.
"That's right," she agreed. "What most people don't know is the special mechanics behind DBs. Each time a Road Rider uses one, they're basically exercising their legs. If a rider wears DBs while exercising something else, they'll notice a boost in their body's physical performance."
"How's that possible?" he asked.
"You birdbrain," Victoria answered. "It's all in the DBs. It jolts the wearer's nervous system, helping with all types of circulation. Red blood cells get more oxygen, allowing their bodies to go beyond their normal limitations. You mean you haven't noticed how much stronger you've gotten since you first started wearing them?"
Victoria was right. Since before Dyna Blades, he had gotten thrashed while barely putting up a fight. After them, he could hold his own, being faster and much stronger than he had been just last week.
"That explains why Vicky's so much stronger than me," he smirked.
Irritated by that comment—as if he were implying she cheated her way up the physical strength ladder—she used her fingertips to effortlessly push him more than three feet away, causing him to trip backward.
"Ah! Vicky, you didn't have to do that to him!"
Stephen struggled to get back up as Kimberly rushed to his side. He confirmed that he was okay. Oddly, he was caught with a grin as he said, "Didn't think you were holding back all those years."
"Yeah, you wanna go now?" she asked, punching her hand.
The two smiled at each other. It was obvious they weren't going to fight. Rather, he was more relieved to know there was a method he could use to help him get stronger. Allowing them to continue speaking the truth regarding Dyna Blades, they stopped revealing anything more.
"But what about that 'Road' thing Skyler mentioned?"
They had practically forgotten the topic after seeing how hurt he was. Instead of answering his question, the two reprimanded him for having brought that up again.
"If you mention anything about Roads to anyone, we'll keep you from riding for a month," Victoria threatened.
A month was a harsh punishment. He decided not to pursue the matter further. After all, his entire reason for coming here was to learn the truth anyway. Things didn't work out exactly as planned, but he got some more information out of it.
"Oh yeah!" Victoria said, snapping her fingers. "Since you were out riding late again and went to see Skyler today without permission, we're not gonna help you fix your DBs."
Stephen sighed at the punishment. It wasn't as bad as not being able to ride, but it wasn't any different. He was all out of money, and his roommates weren't going to lend him any spare wheels to replace his old ones. What truly troubled him was how they knew he had gone to see Skyler.
There were only a few explanations as to how they knew. The girls had either (a) been following him without him knowing, (b) talked to Skyler while he was racing, or (c) all of the above. Whichever the case, he was exhausted and his Dyna Blades needed repairs.
The next day, Stephen's body was more sore than it had ever been in his life. He was accustomed to post-workout soreness, but this was on a whole other level. With each movement he made, his body's pain receptors exploded. It took him almost five minutes just to put on a simple shirt.
After leaving home, he was almost late to class. He would have missed all of the first through fourth periods had Kimberly not given him a ride on her bicycle. Since his body was so sore, she advised him there'd be no training today until he healed. Training or no training, he still hadn't fixed his Dyna Blades yet.
"Hey, boss," Maxwell whispered. Class was in session. Behind him sat Maxwell, while Castiel sat right across. "Have you gotten our DBs yet?"
"Wait a little longer."
Stephen had practically forgotten that he still had to get his teammates a pair. Not just one, but he needed two. Considering they ran for thirteen thousand dollars each, that would run him twenty-six thousand dollars in total. Things couldn't look any grimmer since he also needed to buy himself new wheels.
"I need you two to do me a favor," he said.
"Anything, boss! Just name it!" Castiel whispered.
"Check online if you can find any parts for sale. Specifically wheels with good traction against metal rails."
"You got it, boss!"
School officially ended. Kimberly remembered how sore he was, so she waited by the school's entrance to give him another lift home. There was a moment when he felt so drowsy that he wound up falling asleep on her back. When he awoke, he wondered why her face was so red.
In his room, he wasted no time unpacking before heading straight to bed. Attending school was one thing, but being a part-time Road Rider was another. It was taxing. He couldn't help but think how Victoria and Kimberly managed to be students and Road Riders without feeling the stress that came alongside it.
But the biggest anomaly had to be Mila. The girl was only ten. Not looking to think any more about the world of Dyna Blades, Stephen finally rested his eyes before falling asleep.
Three days later.
The entire house was sitting down for dinner. Tonight they had the traditional Italian dish of spaghetti and meatballs. Kimberly had finished early, so she went out for a walk. Despite how hard it had been to move the first two days, his soreness had decreased significantly.
Throughout those three days, the only thing that had been on his mind was that vision he saw during his race against the Rottweiler's leader.
Since then, he had been patiently waiting to ride again. Victoria was kind enough to let him watch their training videos. It was nothing special—just tape recordings of other riders teaching how to execute complicated tricks.
After dinner, he asked her if he could go out for a small ride tonight. Mila teased him, saying, "Ooh! Brother Steph's trying to get another punishment!"
"I thought you were sore?" Victoria wondered.
"My body's feeling better after resting a few days."
"Did you fix your wheels yet?"
"No."
"Suit yourself then. See if I care if you wind up breaking your leg because you chose to ride on broken DBs."
The comment was harsh, but he paid no mind. He was allowed to go riding, and that's all that mattered.
In his room, as he strapped on his worn-out skates, he couldn't help but think how controlling the girls had been lately. Authoritative or not, no one was going to take his freedom away.
He stood in the middle of his room, backed up slightly, revved up his Dyna Blades, and then shot right out the open window. Kimberly, who had just made it home, was surprised to see him stretching out his arms and gliding through the air.
She quickly ran inside and put on her Dyna Blades to chase after him.
Moments later, he was trailing down the highway with cars incoming. The speed limit was forty-five here, but he was swerving through traffic with ease.
'Who needs a car when you can ride the wind with these things?'
The holes in his wheels made the cruising a little bumpy, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. He performed an advanced three-sixty spin to turn the corner, speeding down a random neighborhood. The wind brushed through his hair, and the smell of freshly cut grass filled the air—all of it was exhilarating.
He was so engaged in the ride that he hadn't noticed Kimberly trailing behind him. Had he seen her face, he would have noticed how amazed she was at him for executing that trick on such a tight turn.
Jumping over a house, he grinded on the fence before rebounding off to skid over someone's barbecue party. The people there hadn't even seen him pass by. Kimberly was more than impressed by this point. In her heart, she believed that if they were riding in a straight line, she'd undoubtedly be unable to catch him.
After passing a few more neighborhoods, the two eventually made it back on the main road. She had secretly wondered if he was going to the mall to see Skyler. The moment she turned a corner after him, he suddenly vanished. She had lost sight of him!
Little did she know that Stephen had leapt so high in order to land on a bridge. This same bridge connected to train tracks that he used to grind to reach his destination. A few minutes later, he arrived at the mysterious Dyna Blade shop.
'Looks like they station themselves here often,' he thought.
Assuming they weren't here for the night, he'd keep coming back until they came.
Riding to the front, the Russian woman from before was pleased to see him. This time he was on Dyna Blades, just like the old man instructed.
"Good to see you again, korol. How do you like those wheels we gave you?"
Those wheels were more unique than he bargained for. They had been giving him a lot of trouble. Each time he tried installing them, they either wouldn't fit or the Dyna Blades wouldn't power on. In basic mechanic terms, they were simply incompatible with any of the Dyna Blades he used.
"I honestly haven't gotten the chance to use them yet," he answered.
"What?!" she said, slamming her palms on the counter. "I can't call you a korol then, malchishka. What have you been doing then?"
"Practicing."
"Practicing?!" she loudly repeated.
The Russian woman then blinked three times before letting out a burst of laughter. Her boisterousness lasted for half a minute until she finally stopped, saying, "Bwa-ha-ha-ha! You're telling me we gave our rarest gift to a salaga? Ain't that just great!"
A "salaga" is Russian slang for rookie. She was quite blunt for a store owner.
Stephen heard what sounded like someone typing on a keyboard. He looked over her shoulder to see that it was the old man with the large aviator sunglasses. In front of him was a computer connected to a single pair of Dyna Blades. Seeing how interested he was in what the old man was doing, she explained, "Regulations on DBs have gotten a lot stricter lately. These programs are a real hassle. All new models you see in stores have built-in speed limiters."
The old man typed rigorously without missing a single stroke. His glasses were glued to the computer screen as the woman continued, "Software encryptions the companies put on these things are getting harder to crack."
He understood what she was saying. Special parts are one thing to own, but if the Dyna Blade's motherboard system isn't recalibrated, it's basically a children's toy. That explains how he was able to ride so fast next to cars on the street. If a Road Rider desired to become better at their craft, they need to break a lot of rules—even if it means hacking into the skate's mainframe to make them operate faster.
"Whether you have good parts or not," the woman added. "If you suck, then you suck."
Walking to the wall, she grabbed a wheel and showed it to him.
"Like this wheel. People pay lots of money for just one. But you'd have to be at least a C-rank to even notice the difference in them."
This was the first time he had heard mention of ranks. So he asked, "What are the different ranks?"
The woman slapped her forehead, saying, "Holy korova! You're kidding me, right? You've been racing, and you don't even know your rankings?"
Most of the information he'd gathered came through word of mouth, not from people who owned any Dyna Blades.
"He's an F-rank, 'ma," the old man commented.
"We're not talking about his rank; we're talking about the ranking system."
It looked like she was ready to send Stephen away after seeing how much of a rookie he truly was. But remembering her gift to him, she inhaled and exhaled, preparing to explain.
"Teams and riders are divided into six ranks, ranging from 'F' to 'A.' Each challenge also has its own ranking. I'm sure you've been in more than one by now… A team can rank up by either winning three times in a row against another team of the same rank or by winning one time against a team of a higher rank."
The woman then pulled out a chart with a pyramid structure on it. At the bottom said F-rank, and at the top said A-rank. Next to each rank were labels listing the different challenges. It didn't take long for Stephen to see that the recent races he'd been in were all F-rank called "Sprints."
"The higher the Road Rider advances, the more their views about riding tend to change. Maybe you'll understand someday, malchishka."
The woman returned the chart and the wheel to their respective places. Stephen thought about what she said. Remembering his last race, he whispered to himself, "Like that blue road of light…"
The woman snapped, asking, "You mean you saw it?!"
"Ho-ho!" the old man laughed aloud. "See 'ma! I told ya, didn't I? Ha-ha-ha!"