Parador (Juggernaut #2)

Sixteen

Ellie zipped as close to the first waypoint as she dared and turned right as soon as the navigation system confirmed a successful validation. Her skimmer ploughed into the forest. Low branches and shrubbery whipped past Ellie's skimmer at frightening speeds, forcing her to slow, but hopefully forcing the others to slow too.

She was now travelling barely a hundred kilometres an hour but it felt like five times that. Malachi was right, again.

The ground below her was a blur, as was the thick, leafy canopy overhead. The trees here were large, old, with plenty of space between them, but at these speeds Ellie still had to stay alert. She tried not to think about what would happen if the trees suddenly closed in.

Ahead, sunlight flashed on silver and red.

I can't have caught them so soon. They must have slowed to get through the trees. This is just another crash zone to me.

Ellie twisted and banked around a dead tree and looked again. Off to her right, she saw the others flying in a line, like they were on a road.

But this is a forest. Where did they find a path?

Ellie fixed her eyes on the skimmers, dodged another tree, and saw it. A dark, silver line beneath them.

They found a stream. I need to get over there. These trees are getting in my way.

She gently guided her craft left around an uprooted giant then yanked the stick hard to the right, crashing through the dead branches of the fallen tree, and sending matchstick fragments rocketing into the woods.

Ellie reached the stream and turned on to it, following the others. As her skimmer moved from earth to water the flight cushion softened, and her ride became smoother and spongier.

Ellie accelerated along the clear path.

Red loomed in front of her, and she was close enough now for the spray kicked up by the skimmers to settle on her canopy. Self-cleaning systems reacted in seconds and cleared her view.

Farther ahead she could see that Blake was in the lead. His friend, Kian, second. White was in third place, close behind Kian, and Red was last, dead ahead.

They flew low over the water, between muddy banks. The lift generated by their craft blasted water spray in all directions. The thrust of their engines diffused the droplets and illuminated them in a shower of colour.

It was the first rainbow Ellie had ever seen.

Blake and Kian banked sharply to the right to follow a bend in the stream. Farther ahead, through the trees, Ellie saw the silver ribbon snaking back on itself. She flew close to the left bank, on the outside of the approaching bend.

Ellie could almost see hanging in the air before her the racing line Red should take. Red's best option was to swing wide around the bend and then pull in tight. But would he take it? She had to assume he would. That would bring him dangerously close to her ship, forcing her to slow to avoid a collision. But he would also swing up and around as he banked into the first curve to make the second curve easier. He would go higher to make the turn safer for himself while putting more pressure on her to slow down.

Ellie weaved left and right, looking for a way past Red. Ahead, Red did the same, seeking his chance to pass White, who was working equally hard to deny Red his opportunity.

Blake was too far ahead to worry about.

One thing at a time.

Neither Red or White appeared to notice her, but even so, there was no way to pass without heading back into the trees, and a sensible racer would have to slow down for that.