Fluctuating Lights: First Stage

Chapter 3: Green Phantom

Chapter 3: Green Phantom

"J-Jack, i l-love you." Ashley says as her last breath leaves her body. "Ash? No, this can't be happening. First my parents and now her. She was the only family I had left besides my Uncle who lives about thirty minutes away. From where we live." A gray Trueno pulls over to the side of the road. A man with short brown hair and a beard hops out of the car. He grabs a flashlight and lights up the area. "Jack?! Is that you?" He says "Uncle Ryan that you? What are you doing here?" "I came to watch the race. I wanted to see you two go head to head. It looks like you guys became one of The grim reaper's victims." "Uncle. Ashleys dead." "What?!" Ryan says coming down the mountain. "Yeah. She's... gone." "Jack I'm so sorry." He says embracing his Nephew. Jack lets go carefully. "I called Nine one one as soon as I saw her fall off the mountain since I was parked right up there." He points to the corner they exited before Ashley's 22B fell off the mountain. "Uncle, do you race?" "Yeah, this is in fact my home course. I'm kind of a local legend here. Mainly because I drive an outdated car." "You can say that again." Three police cars and an ambulance pull up to the scene. "You two ok down there?" One of the officers says. "We're both fine. The one who crashed is dead." "What?! Get them up here so we can be sure." Both of them climb up the mountain with lifeless Ashley in tow. The officer checks Ashley's pulse and nods confirming her death. Jack falls to the ground and starts crying. Uncle Ryan leans down and starts rubbing his back. "That fucking bastard. I swear I'll get my revenge on you." Jack says getting up with fire in his eyes. "You may be skilled Jack but you won't be able to beat him with the level you're at. I'd be happy to introduce you to a friend of mine who was the best racer on highway 57 way before you even started racing. He could train you." "Really? I'd love to but first we've got to mourn Ashley. After that I could see if I would want to or not." "Yeah, I wasn't forcing you. I can understand where you're coming from." "Where do you want her to be buried?" The cop asks. "A cemetery will be fine for us." Uncle Ryan answers. "Alright we will let you know when she's ready to be buried." They put her on a stretcher covering her with a white cloth putting Ashley into the ambulance. The cars drive down the mountain while Jack and Uncle Ryan get in their cars following them.

One week later:

It has been a week since the death of Ashley. Jack has been nowhere to be found since then. None of the locals of highway 57 have even seen his car on the road.

A Millennium Jade R34 is seen speeding down the highway with a black 2017 Acura NSX following it. "I haven't seen those cars here before. They must be here to try and face the Grim Reaper." Sydney says sitting on the curb leaning against her 2011 Impreza coupe. She gets in her car and tries to keep up with them. 'Damn these guys are fast, I don't think I'll be able to keep up with them. My impreza isn't tuned for the highway.' "Huh? There's someone behind us." The NSX driver says. He honks at the R34. "So, we have someone that wants to race. I'll give them a race that won't even last five seconds." The R34 driver says. The NSX pulls into the other lane and slows down. Sydney and the R34 zoom past him. Sydney thinks of Ashley and slows down. She pulls over to the side allowing the R34 and the NSX to pass her. Tears fall down her cheek. "Why did the Grim Reaper have to ruin everything? I can't even drive without thinking about you Ash. I hope you're watching me from heaven." Sydney catches a glimpse of a white MR2 speed by her. "Jack? I haven't seen or heard from him since what happened." Jack pulls behind the NSX and the R34. "What?! Another person is following us. The other person probably pulled over so this guy could catch up with us." The NSX driver says. Jack passes the NSX with zero effort and gets behind the R34. The R34 pulls ahead with Jack right behind him. "What the hell?! This guy is good. Wait a minute. Is that a white MR2? It's the driver nicknamed the white ghost because he drives off into the night after he wins." Jack gets right up to the R34's bumper pressuring him to speed up. "No one adds pressure to the famed racer Honshu Rukio. They call me The Green Phantom where I come from for a reason." Jack turns into the other lane trying to pass him. Honshu speeds up leaving him in the dust. "Fuck! I've been losing left and right, what has happened to me. I can't win at all anymore." The NSX passes by him catching up with Honshu.

Both the Honshu and the NSX pull off the highway and head towards the mountain. They get to the top and park in the parking lot. Honshu and the NSX driver get out of their cars. "I  haven't seen you two around here." Michael says walking up to them. "Yeah, we're here to race the best racers around this area." "Oh yeah? Then you must've heard the mountain is off limits right now because of an incident that happened here about a week ago." "Off limits? What happened?" "I won't go into detail but long story short two racers became involved in a race that got one of them killed." "Holy shit. I didn't hear about this. Well, I guess we'll get going then since the mountain is off limits. Let's go Rye." Rye gets back into his NSX. "You know, how about one race. I will turn on my hazards to let you know when we start." Michael says. "Alright, let's see what the locals are capable of here." Honshu fires up his GTR. The car backfires loudly. Michael gets in his Supra RZ and descends down the mountain. Honshu and Rye follow him. Michael turns on his hazards. "Here we go, get ready to hold on tight. This will be a high speed race." Michael speeds up. Honshu does the same getting up to Michael's bumper. Rye pulls in behind Honshu but hits his brakes so he can pull ahead. Michael pulls off a flawless drift around the first hairpin. Honshu grips the asphalt around the turn and gets right against Michael's car. They exit the corner at subliminal speed. Rye stays back. "I'm just gonna spectate this one. I will properly race soon enough." They pass a Silver 1990 Mazda RX7 FC. "There's a race going on huh. Not worth my time right now. The competition here isn't good enough yet." Honshu and Michael enter the second hairpin. Michael turns his car into the gutter of the road imitating the gutter run from Initial D used by Takumi Fujiwara. "Ha! I'm the true tofu delivery man! Even though that would belong to that gray Trueno that races here." Honshu speeds up and passes Michael. He tries to catch up to the R34 but can't keep up with the pace Honshu is setting. Rye presses on the gas pedal further passing Michael with no effort. "Fuck, i guess i lost this one." Michael slows down until he comes to a complete stop. He gets out of his car and leans against it. He looks up to the moonlit sky. "Huh, I wonder what Jack is doing right now. I hope he's okay. He hasn't answered any of my texts or calls." He spots a Black 22B speeding down the mountain. "Huh? It's probably just my imagination." The car disappears from reality. Michael gets back into his car and descends the mountain.