The cold air wrapped around the three girls, making them shiver. It was almost freezing in the forest, and the only sound was the occasional crickets in the distance and the soft crunch of leaves beneath their shoes.
Ethan jogged ahead of them, his tall figure weaving effortlessly through the trees as if he knew this place like the back of his hand. Maddie, Nina, and Aileen crept behind him at a distance, squinting their eyes as they tried to keep track of his form in the darkness.
Nina, on the other hand, had enough.
"This is so not legal," Nina whispered, her voice tinged with curiosity and panic. Fear crept on her spine like a snake that was waiting to bite her as her imagination ran wild.
She continued, "Like, who just jogs into a forest at night? This feels like the start of a horror movie, and I don't want to be the first one to die." Goosebumps rose all over her arms.
Maddie, crouching behind a tree, rolled her eyes. "We'll be fine. He's not going to murder us. Ethan doesn't even know we're here."
Aileen, who adjusted her glasses for the hundredth time, piped up, "I don't get how I didn't know about this place. I mean, I know everything that happens on campus. It's kind of my thing."
She looked genuinely offended by the fact that something had slipped by her.
"Well, clearly you missed something," Maddie said, her eyes glued to Ethan as he moved deeper into the woods. "But whatever it is, we're about to find out."
As they continued to follow him, the trees began to thin out and faint lights shone in the distance. The glow was soft at first, but as they got closer, it became brighter. They were closer to the clearing now.
Nina, nervous and shaking, stumbled over a tree root and lurched forward. She crashed into Maddie, who lost her balance and toppled over. Maddie smacked right into Aileen. The three of them went down like a row of dominoes.
"Shit—" Maddie gasped as she hit the ground, her hands flailing in the air.
"My glasses!" Aileen yelped in a shrill voice as her thick frames flew off her face and disappeared into a pile of leaves.
Nina groaned, rolling over and clutching her shoulder. "Okay, ow. Why do I have to go through this suffering?"
From where they lay in a tangled heap, they noticed Ethan stopped in his tracks. He turned around and scanned the area, his brows furrowed in concentration.
Eyes wide, Maddie slapped a hand over Nina's mouth to shut her up, while Aileen fumbled blindly around for her glasses.
"Don't move," Maddie whispered, her voice as small as a buzzing bee. "If he sees us, we're dead. We might just be starring on tomorrow's news: three dead bodies."
They held their breath, each of them freezing in place as Ethan's eyes scanned the darkness. He seemed to be staring directly at the spot where they hid, and for a second, Maddie was sure their quest was over.
They were busted.
But then—thankfully—George appeared, calling out to Ethan.
"Yo, Ethan! You coming or what?"George's deep, casual voice sliced through the tension like a knife through butter.
Ethan turned toward George's direction, looking momentarily distracted. "Yeah, I'm coming. Did you see the bike?"
"Ready and waiting," George answered, gesturing for Ethan to follow him.
The three girls collapsed behind the bushes, their hearts pounding in their chests.
"That was a close call," Nina whispered in ragged breaths as she wiped the dirt off her shirt.
Aileen finally found her glasses and slipped them back onto her face. "We almost died."
Maddie gave her a look. "Oh, come on. We almost got caught. Big difference."
Once they were sure Ethan and George were out of view, the girls scrambled to their feet quickly and carefully moved closer to the clearing. They stayed low behind the thick bushes.
They peered from behind the foliage, and what they saw had all of them staring in shock.
"Umm... what the actual hell? "Nina muttered, her eyes wide. "Are you saying that this is happening in a CAMPUS of all places?"
The clearing was massive, and it was lit up like a scene from a high-budget action movie. Big trucks lined the edges, each one loaded with sleek, high-end motorcycles. They looked like these bikes had been customized for speed, even to an untrained eye.
This place was bustling with people. The crowd was a mix of men and women, but they didn't look like your average citizen, or rather, students. They guys dressed in expensive-looking casual wear as if they just stepped off a yacht or an exclusive club. The girls, on the other hand, were either glammed up in designer dresses or dressed in racy, skin-tight outfits that screamed "racing queens."
Men in suits acted as securities; they looked like they were straight from some secret government agency, standing at attention like they were guarding state secrets. They were sleek and... dangerous.
Maddie took it all in with wide eyes, her mind processing a mile a minute for the implications of this event.
"Okay, this is some Men in Black shit," Maddie murmured, her eyes scanning the scene. "What is going on here?"
Nina nudged her with her elbow. "What do you think, genius? This is probably the Velocity Club."
Aileen, who was surprisingly calm for someone who had just been face-planted into the dirt, nodded. "It's definitely a race. I've been to a few races before—but nothing illegal. This is... next level."
Maddie was overwhelmed, feeling like she was in over her head. This world was so different from hers. How did her delicate, quiet best friend get involved with this?
Then her eyes caught Ethan, George, and Killian, along with two other guys Maddie didn't recognize. She frowned. So they had other friends, she thought, but then she berated herself. Why am I even interested?
One of the guys—tall like a linebacker, muscular, and with a jawline sharp enough to cut glass—was laughing and clapping Killian on the back. The other was leaner, calmer, and he seemed to take in everything around him.
Maddie's eyes landed on the bold, golden letters emblazoned on the side of the truck: Velocity Club.
"Well, that's not subtle at all," Maddie muttered as she pointed at the truck. "I mean, could they make it any more obvious?"
Nina shook her head, her eyes laser-focused on George. "So, what? Do you think all five of them are members?"
Maddie nodded slowly. "Has to be. And if one of them is involved with Lila... one of them could be the father."
Nina's eyes widened even more. "Wait, you think one of them is the baby daddy?"
Maddie shrugged. "It makes sense, right? Lila got involved in something shady, and she didn't tell us who the father is. What if it's one of these guys? We can only assume."
Aileen tilted her head thoughtfully. "Perhaps, yes. Maybe not."
Nina groaned. "Okay, but what are we supposed to do now? We can't just walk up to them and ask, 'Hey, which one of you knocked up our friend?'"
Maddie, however, had already made up her mind. "I'm going in."
Nina's jaw dropped. "Maddie, no. We are not sneaking into a criminal racing club. That's, like, the worst idea you've ever had."
But Maddie was already moving, slipping out from behind the bushes and heading toward the sidelines of the track. She put her head down as her heart pounded in her chest like a drum. If she could just get closer to the building she saw in the distance, maybe she could find something.
Like records. Or clues about the man who got Lila pregnant.
"Maddie, wait—" Nina hissed from behind the bushes, but it was no use. Maddie was hell bent on doing this; not even lava could stop her.
She weaved through the crowd, doing her best to stay inconspicuous. But as she was just about to pass a group of people, a hand landed on her shoulder.
"Where's your invitation?"
Maddie, frozen like a statue, turned her head slowly. A guard stood behind her, staring at her with a suspicious look.
"Uh… I forgot it?"Maddie said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
The guard raised an eyebrow. "You forgot your invitation to an exclusive event?"
Maddie forced a nervous laugh. "Yeah, you know how it is. I'm a little forgetful."
The guard didn't seem amused as his eyes narrowed. "We don't take kindly to rats around here."
Maddie's heart jumped into her throat. "Rats? What? No, no, I'm not a rat! I'm a human."
Before she could finish the sentence, the guard reached for his walkie-talkie, reporting her.
That was when Maddie did the only thing that made sense in her adrenaline-fueled mind: she ran.
She bolted, her legs pumping as she sprinted through the crowd, dodging people left and right as the guard shouted after her.
"Hey! Stop! Get her!"
Maddie's heart pummeled in her ears as she ran faster than she ever had in her life. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't stop.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ethan by the truck, talking to George, Killian, and the other two boys. His eyes flicked up, and when he saw her, his face twisted into shock.
"What the hell?" Ethan muttered, stepping forward. "Is that—Maddie?"
George, noticing Ethan's expression, turned to look in the same direction. He squinted, and then his eyes widened in disbelief. "It is her. What is that crazy girl doing here?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. "I'll handle it." Ethan sprinted after Maddie.
George, still reeling in surprise, glanced around. He mumbled, "If Maddie's here, does that mean... Nina's here too? Damn it! I should have chained her to the bed when I had the chance!"