The old bike was far more savage than the championship car.
The engine temperature climbed fast, the heat searing through the frame and into my thighs.
But it was like I couldn't feel the pain at all.
Only one thought was left in my head.
Run. Run for everything I had.
One curve after another fell away behind me.
The tires skimmed the rock face, the bike leaning to its absolute limit.
The commentator's voice cracked with excitement in my ears.
"Christine is charging back like a madwoman!"
"And she's riding the old model, the one that got phased out years ago!"
"My God! She's already broken into the top five!"
"Second place! Christine has taken second place!"
And on the other side,
Margot, riding my championship car, kept falling back.
She'd started out holding the front of the pack steady.
But as the race wore on,
Fifth.
Seventh.
She slid into the middle of the field fast.
A reporter's shocked cry even came through the comms channel:
"Margot's crying!"
"She's riding and sobbing at the same time!"
"The pressure's clearly gotten to her!"
I didn't pay any of it a shred of attention. All I saw was the tail of the leader's bike ahead.
One last long climb.
And I'd have the pass.
That was when it happened.
Rufus's voice came through the earpiece, fury barely held back.
"Christine, are you done throwing your tantrum?"
"Slow down. Now."
"Drop out of the lead group."
"Get up there and break the wind for Margot."
I gripped the handlebars.
My voice came out ice-cold:
"No."
The earpiece went silent for a beat.
Then Rufus's voice dropped to absolute zero.
"Christine."
"Don't forget you still belong to this team. If you don't follow orders, I will fire you, and I mean it! You'll never set foot in this industry again, and you'll be buried under millions in penalty fees!"
"And don't you forget our engagement! Keep pulling this stunt on me, and I'll seriously reconsider whether we get married at all!"
I locked my eyes on the leader, closer and closer now, and spoke calmly:
"I already told you."
"I don't want the team."
"And I don't want you."
"Rufus."
"You can't threaten me."
"My glory is mine to protect."
The other end of the line went quiet for a few seconds.
Rufus didn't explode. If anything, his voice turned terrifyingly calm.
"Christine, you're going to regret this."
My heart dropped like a stone.
The next second,
the bike began to shudder violently.
The steering started swinging wild.
The whole machine whipped left and right like it had lost all control.
The color drained from my face,
and one horrifying thought slammed into my mind.
The bike had been tampered with.
I fought the steering with everything I had, struggling to hold the bike steady,
throwing my life on the line, hurling myself toward the finish,
even if it killed me. I would die past that finish line!
The speed spiked to its absolute max, and the out-of-control bike tore straight off the track.
The crash roared through the entire mountain road.
My whole body was flung viciously through the air, slamming hard against the rocks.
Blood blurred my vision in an instant.
My awareness scattered, piece by piece,
and in the last second before I blacked out,
Rufus's low sigh drifted through the earpiece.
"Why couldn't you just listen, even once?"
The next second.
The whole world went black.
When I woke, it was already that evening, and the only person in the hospital room was an intern assistant who'd joined the team not long ago.
The moment she saw my eyes open, her own rimmed red, and she scrambled off to find the doctor.
After the doctor finished examining me, he told me, his voice heavy with grief,
