Tristan held off on unleashing the Skyline's true power
until they had cleared the abandoned railyard and were back out on the open
road. "Okay, traffic's sparse, weather's good… you picked a good night for
your first taste of speed," Tristan remarked. "Alright, here
goes." With a loud roar, the Skyline began to rapidly accelerate down the
high street, and Lien felt herself pushed back into her seat by the sudden
G-forces. She wanted to look over at the speedometer, to see just how fast they
were really going, but she could not tear her gaze away from the view through
the windscreen, as the cars in front of them began to get closer and closer,
moving faster and faster.
Tristan, naturally, was undaunted. With smooth, sweeping
motions of the steering wheel, he neatly swerved past every car that he
encountered. Soon the Skyline was at 100 miles an hour, then 120, then 140, relentless
accelerating to speeds Lien had never experienced or even imagined before. The
scenery around her turned into a neon blur, and she found herself wondering how
on earth Trist could possibly navigate with such precision in the street-lit
night.
Tristan slowed to turn right at an intersection, skipping
the red light and drifting his way round the 90-degree bend. Lien let out a
little squeal of surprise as the sudden centrifugal forces shunted her to the
left. As terrified as she was, she could already feel the adrenaline starting
to surge through her body. The fear excited her. It was a thrill unlike any
she'd ever experienced before, and although it petrified her to the core, she
had already fallen in love with it.
Having swept round the right-hand turn, Tristan was now
driving into the oncoming traffic, but still he negotiated his way through with
ease. Lien clutched the seat for dear life, her eyes wide with shock as she
watched the vehicles hurtle towards her one after the other, each one vanishing
to the side at the last second. A man driving a sedan swerved hard onto the
pavement to avoid the Skyline, slamming head-on into a lamp-post, and at this
point Tristan decided he had better move back into the correct lane, not just
for his own safety but for that of the other road users. A head-on impact at
these speeds would kill everyone in both cars.
As the Skyline veered back onto the right-hand side of
the road, Lien breathed a sigh of relief. She had never been so relieved to see
a car's taillights in her life, even if they were still hurtling towards her at
considerable speed. "Holy shit, this is crazy!" she exclaimed.
"This is completely crazy!"
Tristan did not respond, nor did he make any indication
that he had heard her. In all probability, he hadn't: he was concentrating so
hard on the road, and making his way through it, that he had blocked almost
everything else out, including the voice of his companion. He had not, however,
forgotten that Lien was in the car. Indeed, he was driving specifically to
impress and/or frighten her, getting closer to the traffic cars and swerving
later than he had to, not to mention the little trip down the oncoming lane.
Tristan's next trick was to take a left turn at another
four-way intersection, drifting his way between two cars with pinpoint
precision; another couple of feet either way and it would all have ended in
disaster. This manoeuvre elicited another squeal from Lien, and a sharp flinch
at the expected crunch, followed by a drawn-out gasp of relief and astonishment
as she realized they had made it. Her adrenaline levels continued to rise, the
excitement only building with each near-miss, and with it came a sudden rush of
affection for the man who held her life in his hands and was juggling with it
like a circus performer.
Suddenly, however, Lien heard the shrill wail of a police
siren behind them, and her blood ran cold. "Oh my god, there are police
after us!" she exclaimed. Looking in the passenger mirror, she could just
about make out the red and blue flashing lights behind them. "What are we
gonna do, Tristan?"
Tristan's response was simply to go even faster. The
police in Jade City had tried to upgrade their cruisers' performance levels, in
an attempt to keep up with the street racers during pursuits, but the street
racers had been three steps ahead and their cars outmatched the police cruisers
in every possible way. The flashing lights and sirens swiftly faded away as
Tristan roared through the city, and the pursuit was over almost as quickly as
it had begun.
Feeling that his passenger had perhaps had enough for one
day, Tristan slowed down until he was back at the speed limit, then pulled off
into an underground car park, sweeping into a space and coming neatly to a
stop. "They won't find us in here," he said. "We can wait here
for the heat to cool off." He then turned towards Lien. "So, how was
it? You enjoy yourself?"
In the passenger seat, Lien was still catching her
breath, recovering from the sheer intensity of what she had just experienced.
She could still feel the adrenaline coursing through her, and as she realized
she had made it through the drive in one piece, she suddenly felt more alive
than she ever had in her life. She caught sight of herself in the rear-view
mirror: her hair was dishevelled, her face was flushed, and her eyes were still
wide with shock, but she was smiling. In spite of all the near-misses she had
just endured, she was smiling from ear to ear.
Trist caught sight of her enraptured expression.
"I'll take that as a yes, then," he said. "Let's wait a little
while, until the cops stop looking for us, and then I'll drive you back to your
house. Sound good?"
Lien finally managed to catch her breath, then nodded,
sweeping her hair back into place with one hand. "Yes, please," she
said, her voice a little breathy. "And I'd… like to do this again
sometime, if that's possible."
Tristan nodded. "Sure," he said. "Might
start charging you for gas, though."
"That's okay," said Lien. "There's… one other
thing I'd like to do with you as well." She started to unfasten her
harness, looking over at Tristan with a fiery passion in her eyes. "How
long do you think it will take for the cops to stop looking for us?"
Tristan gave no indication that he had cottoned on to
Lien's intentions. "I dunno," he said, "maybe half an hour.
Why?"
Having unfastened her harness, Lien slipped herself out
of it and then launched herself at Tristan, pulling him into a passionate kiss
as her pent-up adrenaline finally unleashed itself. It took Tristan only a moment
to respond, returning the kiss and pulling Lien closer. The girl obligingly sat
on his lap, her tongue sliding into his mouth as their hands began to explore
one another…
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