Page 117 of Hyperspeed
Zylo and Jax talked among themselves, while I looked over everyone’s heads, trying to spot my favourite scowling face. With every driver who returned before him, my unease deepened.
I was just about to check Zenith’s garage, worried I might have missed him, when Sam walked past, his face pale.
“Sam,” I called out.
He looked over at the sound of his name, changing course to approach us. His hair was messy, like he’d run his hands through it.
“Everything alright, mate?” I asked.
“No.” He looked wound tight, like a spring about to go off.
“What’s going on?” I kept my voice low, and Jax and Zylo huddled in closer.
“It’s bad, man,” Sam said, eyes haunted. “Like, seriously fucking bad.”
“Is someone hurt?” Jax asked, frowning.
“Worse,” Sam mumbled, his voice breaking at the end.
“Fuck,” Zylo muttered, panic sharpening the edge of his voice. He glanced around the pit lane, likely searching for the same thing I was. “I can’t see Rev.”
Zylo had already lost a teammate in the past, and I knew he had a huge soft spot for Rev. But this time, he wasn’t the only one feeling frantic.
Rev wasn’t my teammate, but he was so much more than just another driver in the league.
Jax placed a comforting hand on Zylo’s shoulder. “I’m sure Rev’s fine.”
Then he turned to me and nodded.
I hadn’t told him what was happening between me and Rev, but I’d be foolish to think he didn’t already know. After all, we’d grown up together, and Jax knew me better than I knew myself.
He’d also seen us at dinner, and there was no hiding the way I’d been looking at the rookie over the past month.
“It’s not Rev,” Sam confirmed.
My shoulders slumped in relief, and I knew I should’ve felt guilty. I didn’t want to lose anyone in the league, but knowing it wasn’t Rev went a long way towards calming me down.
“Do you know what happened?” Zylo asked.
“The live feed caught it,” Sam replied. “The footage is already doing the rounds on InSTARgram.”
The three of us checked our watches, ignoring Sam’s half-hearted protests that we should wait for the officials’ word.
Deep down, he knew just as well as we did that there was no point. Before they could even decide what to say, all the drivers would watch the footage online.
“I’ve got it,” Jax piped up, and with a few taps, the hologram hovered above his wrist.
I recognised Rev’s car right away, with Cass hot on his tail. My breathing picked up, and I glanced up at Sam.
“I thought you said it wasn’t Rev.”
“It’s not,” he breathed out, hollow and broken.
I returned to the footage just as Rev entered the cave at turn ten, with Cass too close given the track conditions. The drones surged ahead, and as darkness fell, the feed switched to night vision.
All seemed normal until Cass’s vehicle crept to the right.
Jax’s eyes grew wide, saying what we were all thinking.
