GLADIATOR | ELYSIUM RISING 1 ✔️

⍢ | 11

The countdown approached its end.

He readjusted his grip on the skimmer's handles. For a split second, everything vanished except for him and that countdown. The racetrack disappeared, the noise in the stadium going with it. He didn't see Vonn, the other tributes, or the crowd.

It was just him and the countdown.

The countdown hit one.

Everything else jumped back into view. The audience's cheers were louder than before. The lights around him flared, rivaling the stars dotting the night sky. Moxi shouted into his microphone. Leaning forward, Iggy twisted his handles, revving the skimmer's powerful engine. The crowd roared.

The countdown hit zero and Iggy sped off behind the other skimmers.

#

Iggy thought driving the skimmer would've been the easy part. He'd read about them more times than he could count. For what it was worth, he'd even driven a drill a few times. Manning one of those things was impossible. How much harder could a skimmer be?

Much harder, it turned out.

Iggy fell to the back of the group of racers early. Their skimmers zoomed by as they took on the daunting track. It took every ounce of his concentration just to keep them all in his sights.

The skimmer sputtered over the ground, hovering inches above the pavement as he tried to get a handle on the engine's power. Revving the handles too hard caused him to lose control. Too soft made him inch forward like a glowsnail.

Looking up, he watched the other racers enter the track's first phase—an array of crisscrossing lanes that went up and down in dizzying fashion.

He needed to catch up. Fast.

Muttering to himself, he coaxed his ride forward. The crowd around cheered as an explosion sounded. Up ahead, he spotted a skimmer on fire with its rider still onboard. They crashed into a barrier. Other racers whizzed by, all vying for those first five places.

Like the driver who crashed, Iggy was as good as dead.

His fingers tightened around his handles. C'mon, Iggy, c'mon.

"Looks like tribute Green is struggling there at the back!" Moxi announced. "What a pity!"

Gritting his teeth, he slammed his hand onto the skimmer. Why couldn't he figure this out? He glared down at the ground as angry tears clouded his vision. He was so far behind that trying to catch up almost seemed like a waste of time. His eyes settled upon the glowing arrows in the middle of the track. The lights alternated in a one-two-three sequence.

An idea popped into his head.

Tightening his hands around his handles, he pushed the skimmer forward over the arrows. An invisible force catapulted him forward. His surroundings blurred into streaks of light as he screamed. The other tributes got closer as he sped up. Hope and a tiny bit of terror bubbled in his chest.

Just like in the video games he played as a kid, the arrows were speed boosts.

They were all over the track. If he played this right, he still had a chance. A slim one, but a chance, nonetheless. And that's all he needed

Yanking his handles to the right, he narrowly avoided flying off the edge of the borderless track. He steadied himself and gunned it, leaving a pink skimmer in his wake. Then a yellow one. Then a dark blue. There were thirty riders in total, including him. He might not have been last anymore, but he still had a way to go until he secured one of those top five spots.