i pull my car up to the track, only a few scrapes littered the sides, i keep my car well kept what can i say. i shot a cocky smirk at minho who clenched his teeth in annoyance. i know it was petty of me to trail them and enter every race they did just so i could beat them but i did. i had beaten them three times now- this was gonna be my fourth. did i feel bad? no.
the crowd cheered as i got out my car. i waved at them happily. they had gotten to know me pretty quickly considering i won all the races. before i could bask in my brilliance minho came storming over.
"the shuck are you doing here? i get it- you're hurt over the fact we didn't accept you but following us to every race isn't exactly putting you in our good books"
minho seethed getting into my space. i took a step back.
"first off- say it don't spray it. secondly, i'm not! i just need money and you always just happen to be here. call it luck"
he sneered at me and went back to his own car. before either of us could get in an eerie silence fell over the crowd. silence interrupted occasionally brown by the sound of crunching gravel. i turned to see an all white- pristine car pull up slowly. the word WCKD was imprinted onto the side. minho looked furious and a little fearful.
a man stepped out with an obnoxious grin.
"ah- A7 good to see you. how's A9 and sweet A5 "
my eyebrows furrowed. what were these names. they were more like subject names in a lab. minho grimaced. i looked back to the man- he reminded me of a rat with his grey suit which hung loosely on him and his beady eyes. not to mention the graying hair. everything about this man screamed asshole.
"finally crawled out your griever hole"
minho sassed. but what was a griever? the man laughed bitterly.
"now that's just hurtful- those sweet dogs are in the back if you want to say hi!"
i glanced to his car- two large dogs with scars all over them barked against the window. they didn't look too sweet. minho said nothing and turned away to his car again.
"and besides, we only had to pull out of races after whag you did to me, unprovoked i might add"
he said nonchalantly. i watched as minhos entire body stiffened. i could prsctically see the anger rolling off him. i decided to keep quiet and watch.
"you know damn well why we did that. you had plenty of room, you could have stopped, could have swerved. but you didn't did you?"
the man smirked.
"it was impossible. i never would have wished for that to happen... just an accident. if it means anything i apologise, A4- chuck wasn't it? so young"
he didn't sound very sorry, he sounded smug. minho stormed to him and lifted him by the collar of his shirt. fire blazed in his eyes. his breathing was erratic and i had half a mind to help him.
"shut. up."
he growled.
"i'm dedicating this race to him!"
the man responded. minho punched him square in the face and the guy went sprawling to the floor- i gulped, maybe i shouldn't provoke minho so much. the guy only laughed loudly as he got up. wiping a trail of blood from his mouth.
"see you at the finish line"
that was the most disturbing and concerning thing i've witnesses in a while. a thousand questions flooded through my brain- none of which i could get the answers to. i dared a glance at minho who was now close to tears- guess chuck meant a lot huh... i took a step forward- intending to comfort him but he spun on his heel and strode back to his car- slamming the door.
i sighed and got into mine- maybe it was time to give this up... after all i was just making life harder for them.
the race was on an abandoned airport, made up by tyres and run down cars. it looked like a death trap. i sat in my seat ready to go when someone ran behind minhos car sneakily. he went out of sight for a moment before strolling back towards the crowd where i kept sight of him, he had the WCKD uniform on. what had he been up to.
i wanted to get out and find him- at least tell minho but the buzzer went off and i was left in the dust. cursing harshly i slammed on the accelerator and shot after the others.
the race was going smoothly, i was third- behind minho and WCKD. i trailed behind him as he overtook WCKD. so did i. we were a couple hundred metres in front of him when a loud book echoed round the expanse.
minhos car was smoking from the back, most of it broken and the back windows were shattered. his car went spiralling into a wall of tyres on the side. my car shot by. WCKD too, i was still in front of WCKD and on route to win but... this wasn't right.
i slammed on the breaks and reversed backwards quickly. WCKD swerved to avoid me. my car screeched to a stop in front of minhos. he had gotten out and was punching the bonnet yelling in frustration. i jumped out my car.
"hey! are you alright?"
i yelled. his head snapped up.
"the shuck are you doing? get back in your car and win crank!"
he ordered back. i shook by head- why was i even doing this? we hated one another.
"get in- that guy is an ass and getting punched in the face isn't enough- he fucked with your car, i saw a WCKD crew member place something on the back of your car moments before the race. so imagine the look on his face if you drove right past him"
he gave me a hard look.
"why are you even helping me. go get the victory and the money you came for"
he spat. i rubbed my neck awkwardly.
"i wasn't really after the money, i was being petty but i don't want to fight with you guys, i wanna earn your trust"
he eyed me up carefully
"why now?"
i shrugged.
"there are much worse people to call my friends and there are much better people to call my enemies than WCKD"
i admitted honestly. he shook his head, lifting it only to catch the trail of dust WCKD had left behind.
"it's too late. we would never catch up"
he argued. i rolled my eyes.
"it doesn't matter- were not gonna lose alright? just get in the goddamn car already, maybe we can go home with second prize money"
he looked conflicted but relented and trudged towards me. i got into the passengers side and did up my belt.
"i'm driving?"
i nodded. a small smile broke onto his face as he jumped in. i pointed to the big red button.
"whenever you want"
he grinned widely now and smashed the button. the car jolted forward with a deep growl and careened round corners. minho expertly drove it round right bends and we began to overtake the other cars. barely missing a. few. Minho already caught sight of the WCKD car just as it passed the finish line, I watched his shoulders slump in defeat but I smacked his arm
"go on- we can still get second"
he nodded and presses harder down on the pedal. his eyes looked unnervingly calm as my car sped down the track. we were gaining and quickly- the finish line was within sight and minho rammed the other car right off the road- stealing second place for ourselves, a grin broke out on my features.
we crossed the finish line and came to a sharp stop. smoke billowed from my car. I turned to him and held out a hand, he looked at it for a moment before taking it firmly.
"good race"
"yeah even for a shank like yourself"
I snorted and we got out the car- the crowd cheered for us as if we had won and i couldn't help grinning at them. the gladers looked a little taken aback but before they had a chance to ask us questions a loud obnoxious laugh came from behind us.
"oh that was cute- really it was but... you still lost- chuck clearly didn't mean too much to you"
he laughed loudly as if it was hilarious, I saw minhos expression and grabbed a hold of him as he tried to move for the WCKD driver.
"its really not worth it- we'll beat them next time."
I mutter in his ear, he stares at me intensely for a moment- probably trying to work out if im lying. he nodded stiffly. I relaxed and let go of him. although keeping an eye on the racer just to make sure he didn't lunge.
"tell you what, we'll give you one last shot, how about that. but this time we'll destroy your car and you both completely... anyway- see you in two weeks time"
the driver finished before grabbing the wad of cash he won and waltzing off. I turned back to Minho.
"we might not like eachother but lets work together... lets destroy WCKD and any joy they have"
Minho let out a laboured sigh before agreeing. he took a pen and a scrap piece of paper and began to write something down.
"meet here in two days- 10am don't be late"
he handed me the paper with a stern look. I nodded in understanding and took my car away. I have tow days to think of a way to break WCKD completely.