Van Terra [MOVING JUNE 30]

Chapter Thirty-Six ~ Vroom Vroom

"That's rich, coming from you," Holly replied.

"I wouldn't blow up a building!"

"You blew a hole in the roof of the Silvium Center just yesterday," Thea pointed out.

"And Atzy's," Grace added, quieter.

"Wait, when were you at Atzy's?" Holly asked.

Jasper ignored the question. The course shot under an overpass, and she veered up onto the side, using the higher ground to survey the other racers. She spotted South Siren near the front, hekten wrapped around her upper arm.

Perfect. Jasper eased back down into the flow of traffic. The Silvium Center's dome glowed up ahead against the darkening sky. The first racers left the road and headed up the long set of stairs leading to the north entrance. When Jasper reached them, she hopped onto the railing instead. She wobbled but managed to keep her balance as she shot past the vehicles climbing the steps.

She flew off the railing at the top and landed right behind South Siren. As they passed through the front entrance, South Siren extended the arm her hekten was perched on.

Jasper's hand darted to the neoworm in her pocket. She popped the lid off its container and swerved to avoid the first blast from the hekten. The fluorescent green worm inched onto Jasper's gloved hand. She held it up.

The hekten hissed and scrambled up to South Siren's shoulder.

"That's right, you dumb cephalopod!" Jasper flung the worm onto the hekten's head. That should put the thing out of commission for a week or so. South Siren yelled a string of curses as Jasper shot ahead.

Jasper navigated the tables in the food court—and the people running around them—with relative ease. Larger vehicles were forced to take the long way around. They would also be forced to take the grand central staircase up to the second floor.

With her motorcycle, Jasper was able to instead aim for the nearest up escalator. "Outta the way!" she shouted at the last few people scrambling off.

From there, the course ran along the same path Jasper and the others had used during their little joy ride a couple of days earlier. Jasper tipped her head back and laughed as she flew off the roof and sailed through the air.

She whizzed through the parking lot and onto Silvium Drive. The sky was all purples and pinks and blues now. Jasper lifted her gaze to take it in.

Storefronts and restaurants and casinos and dance clubs flew by, a blur of flashing lights and glowing signs. As traffic lessened and buildings became shorter and father apart, a bang went off in a passing alleyway.

"Was that a gunshot?" Jasper asked. She glanced back, but there was no sign of anyone behind her.

"Where?" Thea asked.

"Near intersection of Silvium Drive and Sunshine Boulevard."

Grim Machine's tank form was coming up on Jasper's right. She frowned when a long pipe emerged from his side. That had to be some kind of weapon, right?

More racers broke free of the city traffic and turned onto the older road leading out into the desert. Grim Machine summoned a surprising burst of speed and passed Jasper. As he did, a pale cloud shot out of the pipe.

The racers that the dust touched didn't show any immediate adverse reaction. Still, Jasper steered clear. "I don't suppose anyone could tell me what this weird cloud is."

"Hold on, I'll bring up a camera feed," Thea replied. "Make sure your smartsphere is pointed forward."

After a moment, Jax said, "Looks like some kind of bird seed."

"What? How do you know what bird seed looks like?" Jasper asked.

"I go bird watching sometimes."

"There aren't any birds in Kronos."

"There are in the Tide District," Thea said.

"Don't those birds eat people?" Holly asked.

Grace chimed in. "I thought that was a myth."

"This debate is completely pointless, because there is absolutely no reason for Grim Machine to put bird seed in the air during a race." Jasper opened her camera as the robot fired off another cloud. "I'm going to send Thea a close picture so someone with more than half a brain cell can tell me what it is." Jasper zoomed in, snapped a photo, and sent it to Thea's tablet.

"Oh, yeah, that's definitely bird seed," Thea said.

"Yep," Jax confirmed.

Jasper frowned. "Really?"

"It's this super potent brand that's meant to lure in birds from up to a mile away," Thea continued. "Honestly, I'm disgusted he's using it. It's awful for the environment—"

Something shrieked in the distance. A long-forgotten memory stirred in Jasper's mind, of desperately seeking cover, of watching people get snatched up like mice. "No, no, no, no, no—"

"Jasper, what's wrong?" Jax asked.

"This is bad."

"Jasper?" Grace pressed.

Focus. She needed to focus if she wanted to get out of this alive. "Snatchawks." Jasper fought to keep her eyes on the road and not the sky. "Invasive species. Brought in during the Waste Wars to destroy armies."

"Oh." Holly's tone was more intrigued than concerned. "I've always wanted to see one of those in person."

"No, you don't," Jasper told her sharply. "They're monsters. And Grim Machine's summoning them to pick off racers." He had nothing to worry about, being a massive robot.

The shrieks were closer now.

"You sound like you've seen one," Holly said.

Jasper didn't answer Holly. She barely heard the statement. The first of the red, helicopter-sized birds of prey appeared on the horizon.