Roulette Runner [FINAL RESULTS]

#Team Arstotska

Mike: Sure am glad we got approved for the comp!
Josh: Yeah man, How is the car holding up?
Mike: were you not paying attention the whole way here?
Josh: I kinda fell asleep in the back on the way here…
Mike: oh, anyway, It seems to be running okay, though the carb can use a small bit of a tune
Josh: Oh, shouldn’t be too much of an issue, what is one less MPG anyhow
Mike: difference of getting stuck somewhere without roads
Josh: oh, oh well, lets hope we don’t run out then
Mike: i’ll be sure to top it off in the morning, for now, claim either the rear or the front seat.
Josh: that’s obvious man, give me the back, there’s an actual mattress back there
Mike: okay then, guess i’ll try to get comfy in the front. I’m taking a pillow to at least let me lay across the front seats.

7 Likes

Team Outriders

Marc: Okay, here’s a long stretch, no traffic.
Blake: Looks good, hit it.
(The Enforcer roars up as Marc floors the gas pedal, the car accelerates hard with no unexpected loss of power. Marc then slows down)
Blake: Son of a bitch! No sign of any issues.
Marc: I definitely felt it lose power on the way here, why is it not doing anything now?
Blake: Hell if I know, she’s getting a solid spark.
Marc: Anything come up on the scanner?
(Blake looks at the Petoskey XGV scan tool that’s plugged into the Enforcers DLC. The XGV is not the latest scanner in service, but it is more than adequate for the 1997 car)
Blake: Bah! No codes, nothing amiss from sensor outputs, according to this piece of junk, the car should be top notch.
Marc: I’ll turn her around and we’ll try again.
Blake: Yeah, and watch the scanner just conveniently cuts out the moment the problem surfaces again.
Marc: I wish we could’ve stopped by the Motor Pool before setting off, some extra eyes on the car would probably be helpful.
Blake: Except we only have a handful of Enforcers now, Before I left Luigi was mostly involved with those new BlackFoot Interceptors.
Marc: Last time I stopped by he was wrapping his brain around that turbo problem with the Owossos.
Blake: Nothing on that pass either, (sigh) Let’s go find lunch, I’m starved.
Marc: Good idea, maybe we can think better on a full stomach.

10 Likes

Previously.

Team POD; Pre-trip.

In this camp ground of 20 hoopties. One car in particular seems especially pathetic. Not many people have seen one since Peter Gabriel was in Genesis. 3 blokes, all with grey hairs, were loitering around the thing. The 1967 Platts Special Siskin.

People around them were bewildered. Because the car in question doesn’t look like it should be allowed anywhere near the road. Let alone on a 500 miles road trip. Hell, it shouldn’t exist today. Everyone thought these were long gone. Owing to terrible reliability and subsequent catastrophic sales number.

Then, a car appears on the street. It was a brand new Bavaria type car. An old, thin man with a friendly face stepped off the thing and walk towards the bucket that was the Special Siskin. 3 men had been expected the arrival of this guy.

“Hello chaps.” The thin man said with a smooth voice “I heard there’s been some problem with the car. How serious is it?”
“It could be quite serious, Trevor.” The oldest looking man replied. “You know these Platts have the Bork-Warwick transmission. They’re quite fragile. And yesterday while merging onto a motorway, it slipped into third. But then again Mister Monnet here was driving.”
“What are you implying, Rory?” A relatively young looking guy with a cigarette in his hand chuckle while reply. “I never broke a car while driving, only when crashing!”
“That’s what worrying me.” The other guy who was packing stuff into the back of the Special Siskin started speaking. “As far as I know, people call you The Wiltshire Flipper. I have seen a picture of you next to an upside-down Znopresk, like Erik Carlsson.”
“Hey, don’t knock on him too much alright, Mr.Derr? Jimmy Monnet’s driving might be a bit exuberant, but he’s not an idiot. Right?” Trevor said while visibly sneering at Monnet. “Hey Rory, is there any other problem with the car?”
“Apart from it being a Special Siskin? For crying out loud Simmons. It’s a British car that was made using obsolete technology and with British electronics before sitting still in a barn for 30 years. It’s basically made out of rust and shorted circuit. This bloody car is the devil’s child of the Prince of Darkness himself!”
“Well for all it’s shortcoming, I think this isn’t a particularly bad example of a Special Siskin. And there’s a reason why I chose this alright. We could have been doing this trip in a Bavaria UWOT30, that would be a really nice car. Or a Kowai Kool, those are great. But come on, what readers want to read about a 500 miles trip in a Kowai? They wanted something interesting alright? And this car will certainly give them ‘interesting’…”

8 Likes

Team DSD

We arrived very early at about 8 am in the morning.

Romeo: OK so we are “camping” here tonight seams strange for a camping ground?

DS5: Yeah I know right. Its completely different to our Aussie camping grounds…where’s the grass?

Romeo: There’s some…under the concrete picnic tables.

DS5: Feck me the yanks are strange look at the size of that Winnebago, this isn’t camping.
I mean wheres the dirt, the long grass and gumtrees? The tents here are bigger than my house! I am guessing we don’t have to worry about snakes, wombats and shit. This is so strange I’ll never get used to America.

Romeo: Oui. I know, it is beautiful but, and most of the people we have met have been open and friendly. And this is the land of the the v8.

DS5: yeah we have seen some amazing cars on the highways, nothing like home but…Ok anyway we are lot 23 over there I think…yep thats us…oh feck we have kids next to us fuck me.

Romeo: well lets set up the tent and shite and then go get some supplies…hopefully they will be gone when we get back.

checklist of stuff we need.

DS5: yep ready lets here the list

Romeo:We need supercharger belts, 500miles is about 800km’s so we should get at least 10 belts just in case.
We need spare thermostats, and intercooler and radiator piping and we need to make a new drivers wiper somehow…prob just duct tape a squidgy to the motor??
We need spare globes and fuses and have to gt that headlight working
Vacuum tubing and silicon for the brake booster and plenty of fluids.

DS5: And a radio I need something, anything


After returning to campgrounds few Hrs later

DS5: wow there’s a lot of old cars here…mainly vans…did we bring the wrong kinda car?

Romeo: Nope we are good… Those kids are still here.

DS5: – — – — ----- ----- ------ ----------- ----------- --------- ---- ------ – ------- - ----![due to the nature of the comment we at DSD have censored the above rant]

DS5: I am going fishing feck these campers little fecking screaming machines

Romeo; the other teams are setting up for the night I am going to go suss out the competition and make some friends… Do something useful and bring home a trout for dinner please?

DS5: No worries buddy do me a favor and say g’day for me I am just not in the mood for people at the moment.


Darkshine5 returns with two average sized trout at about 7p.m Romeo is waiting looking nervous.

DS5: I got dinner. Fecking fell in twice.

Romeo: yeah we got problems…Big problems . Put the fish over there and come here…

There’s another bunch of Aussies here and they have a Maesima and it looks pretty good.

DS5: So what…our ute is faster, better offroad and made in France hehe.

Romeo: Oui Oui are you on my side or theirs?

DS5: well…

Romeo: Ok shut up you Peu doué homme! The car is having problems with the American fuel i think.

DS5: HEY don’t make fun of my size you know I’m sensitive about that shit it’s because of a fucking shrapnel wound you insufferable frog! What issues? we tuned the car for 91 oct before shipping here from Australia?

Romeo: yes but, it seems that American 91oct is different to Aussie 91 oct, they both contain ethanol but the American stuff seems to hold a lot more water in it. I checked the fuel filters and they are full of water! We need to find a parts shop or a diesel vehicle that we can obtain a water separator and filter, preferably something from a large truck or bus.

DS5: Its 7 at night nowhere is going to be open…but there are some massive diesel Winnebago’s here…

Romeo: look at this stage just get me a filter I don’t care where it comes from.

DS5 slinks off


an hour later

DS5: I got one will this fit

Romeo: oui perfect … where did it come from?

DS5: you know those campers next to us with the loud fucking kids…well tomorrow when we leave they will not be following us hehe.

Romeo: did you really have to do that?

DS5: yep it was that or take it from the officials vehicle or one of the other teams, and that just seamed like a dickhead move.

Romeo: oui better to make friends than enemies. I will fit this but you will have to cook dinner petit homme.

DS5: DONT CALL ME SMALL!!! grrr yours is going to have the scales left on you bloody Émulsion vaginale!


7 Likes

Team Twin-Snail

Before departing to the campgrounds.

The Storm Automotive garage was a whirlwind of activity two days before the event. Luke yelled items off the list in desperation as panic started to set in. Meanwhile, Scott, Amy, and Linda were having a screaming match over who packed the blankets on top of the motor oil and didn’t check that the bottles were all closed first.

“Someone, stop screaming at each other, and go get the damn transmission fluid already! I shouldn’t be the only one packing the fuckin’ car!” Luke yelled, losing his temper. “We’ve got less than 48 hours, we’ll have to cannonball through the damn night to get there on time, and you three are wasting air screaming at each other instead of fixing the problem.”

Amy Storm was the first one to leave the shouting match, unloaded the soiled blankets and the burst motor oil bottle, then made some room for their industrial-sized container of automatic transmission fluid. “You know, Luke, this wouldn’t be necessary if you’d have just pulled the transmission and swapped it.”

“And defeat the spirit of the challenge, Amy? Buy a junker, patch it up, and drive the hell out of it. It never said ‘replace all the broken bits’ before ‘drive the hell out of it.’ So that’s why the old Sinistra has the automatic with the leaky valve body. The devil you know, after all…” Luke said.

“… Is at least one you can be prepared for.” Amy finished. “At least the trunk’s big enough for our stuff. Hey, Assholes, how about doing your share of the work!” she yelled to Scott and Linda.

“Fine. I’ll pack the food.” Scott said.

“No more fuckin’ beans, Scott. Seriously. We’re going to be on the road for quite some time, and the last thing any of us need is you and your atomic ass-blasts.”

“As if you and your perfume is any better, Linda. I’ll leave the beans out of the food if you leave the little spray bottle here.”

The hours flew by as the Raceworks Division finished packing the old Sinistra Savage, painted “Team Twin-Snail” on the trunk lid, and prepared for the long drive to start with.

“All aboard the Snail-Boat!” Luke said, getting into the driver’s seat. Linda and Scott took the back seats, and Amy took shotgun.


The drive to the campgrounds.

“God damn. Someone’s just failed their fucking emissions test!” Amy said, gagging as she rolled down the window. Luke rolled his down out of courtesy, as Linda looked like she was about to vomit.

“The least you could’ve done, Scott, is warn us first.” Linda said, before spraying the perfume in the back seat in a vain attempt to reduce the smell. This, however, had the unintended effect of making everything smell worse.

“We’re in a convertible, drop the top.” Scott said, trying to grab the perfume from Linda before he got another faceful of it.

“It sticks.” Luke said.

“I don’t care.”

“Fine, Scott, but you will when or if it starts raining.” Luke said, pulling off to the side of the road and hitting the switch for the top. It whirred quietly as the folding rag-top disappeared behind the rear seats, with just an ominous clunk being the only sign something was wrong with it. “And while we’re stopped, time to check and replace the fluids.”

“Yeah, and mind oiling that screaming bearing?” Linda said. “It’s driving me up the wall.”

“Two choices, Linda: Live with the noise, or I cut the power steering lines and we go without.”

“Not like I’m driving.”

“You might have to at some point.”


At the campgrounds.

“Ouch time!” Luke called, as he lobbed the car up over a parking divider in the parking lot, drove through the campsite following exactly none of the paths, and parked off to the side, looking at the chaos he’d caused with their oil-burning Snail-Boat and the huge cloud of blue smoke following them.

“Really? We’re not even in the challenge yet, and you’re already trying to kill us, Luke?” Linda said.

“Says the one who fucking hosed the back seat in perfume so that all I could smell up here was shit and roses.” Amy snapped, giving a little glare at both Linda and Scott. “And you, one more exhaust leak like that on this trip, and you’ll be walking. I don’t care if Luke says you’ve got off-road experience, that was worse than walking into the Engineer’s Bathroom.”

“Like I can control my farts, Amy.” Scott said.

“Put your gassy-ass to good work and help set up some tents, Scott.” Luke said, tossing a bundle on the ground as he went for the transmission fluid and a bottle of motor oil.

“Oh, fine, make fun of me because I had a gas attack.” Scott mumbled, only for Luke to respond with, “We do have a spare catalytic converter in here, if your gas attacks are going to be frequent and noxious. I’ll gladly fit it.”

“No thanks, Luke.” Scott said.

Linda hopped out of the car, grabbed some supplies, and promptly got a little fire going for the team to cook over. Which is around the same time that the three living members of the team realized no one really knew how to cook on a campfire. Sure, Scott knew how to wrap things up in tin-foil and snuggle it up to the engine for warmth, but they’d get thrown out of the campsite if he started revving the smoke-machine to get that big cast-iron block warm. Amy and Linda knew a little of cooking, though Amy preferred letting her boyfriend, a chef in a notable restaurant, do the cooking for her.

Which is precisely when Luke unpacked his bag of supplies and brought out several pans. “You guys thought you were doomed to cold food, weren’t you? No, I don’t need to eat, but I’ve been looking forward to trying a few recipes I’ve committed to memory.”

“So that’s why you had a bag labeled ‘Food’ in the car. Pots and pans for cooking.” Amy said.

“Yeah, along with my usual stuff. Some spare parts for fixing the car, hydraulic fluid and clamps in case I blow a line, the little things. Spare chassis air filter in case someone tries polluting the air again.”

“I said I’m sorry already. What more do you want?” Scott said.

“Well, for starters, no more of that in the car without warning. Because I can’t have the rest of the team complaining and wanting to throw you overboard. I am the captain of this ship, and I will not tolerate mutiny.” Luke said.

It didn’t take long for Luke to make a quick meal, and shortly after, the team retreated to their resting areas. Scott was in his own tent, Amy and Linda were sharing a rather large one, and Luke settled back into the driver’s seat of the Sinistra. It wasn’t that he distrusted the other teams, more that he had no need for sleep, and preferred keeping watch. He checked the screen on his arm, a completely un-necessary thing to do, but he preferred to do so when configuring it. He set the display to just show the time, date, and his current system stats.

Shortly after, Luke switched off his wifi, internal GPS, cellular radio, and satellite internet connection, going as off-the-grid as he could to keep in the spirit of the challenge. He then placed the little compass he’d brought with on the dashboard, right above the gauges.

“Now the true challenge begins.” he said quietly to himself, watching the other teams.

10 Likes

Team Cignale

[…]
-Ribs? -Check
-Sausages? -Check
-Steaks? -Check
-Breams? -Check
-Pepper? -Check
-Beer? -Check
-Wine? -Check, but i think 25 liters for 2 days is not enough
-Okay, take another damigiana (5 liters bottle, the one with straw around)
-I think we have everything, we are ready to start this race.
-Hey guys, they sell maps, it might be useful!
-How much?
-12$
-It’s a theft, but let’s buy one, it can be useful. Where we need to go now?
-In the mail that they sent me it says that they organized a base camp here [Luca indicates a small map on a sheet]
-Let’s load those thing and go there guys! I’m hungry.

At the camp:
-It seem we are the biggest around, look at that!
-What it is?
-I think an Inne Grasshopper, '85 or so.
-It look like the shrunken version of our van, even the same colour
-Here in America they love pick-up trucks, i’ve never seen so many all together.
-Please, stop talking, i want to eat something. Luca, at the kitchen, Marco, turn on the external speakers, i prepare the table, the party is starting!

6 Likes

Just reading through, as this thread is going to be like an interactive story, could all the teams please link to their original post (so we can see what their team and car is all about) when posting an RP? :slight_smile:

Otherwise I like how this goes so far :+1:

7 Likes

Oooh, that’s a great idea - I think that I’ll link all my previous RP posts too :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Yeah, I can do that. Makes sense if everyone’s trying to follow the story to be able to find the start of the story.

2 Likes

#Team Cunning Stunts: Prep Day

S=Stephanie
L=Lawrence
A=Alex


S: Alex have you got the sleeping bags sorted.
A: Yup, all unpacked and put in the back. Lawrence is getting the tents sorted.
L: Care to give me a hand anyone?
S: Sure will do, let me get the fire started first, dont want to be freezing when night comes.

L: Man, I havent gone camping since cadets.
A: Alright the fires started. Ill check up on the car. Sis you go help Laurie out.
L: Please dont call me Laurie.
S: Sure, Ill help you Laurie :wink:
L: Why…

Car Condition
Alex
Looks like it made the trip alright. No major issues to be found yet. The boot isnt really big enough to fit all the equipment so Lawrence had to strap some stuff to the roof. Thankfully, I forgot to remove the spare tyre, so we’ve got a spare, but it wont last long if we have to use it. Not sure if Gasmea permits firearms or weapons as such, so Stephie brought along a crossbow and a big knife just in case. We’ve also stocked water, so we have enough to drink. The engine is doing just fine in the heat at the moment, but it was a good idea to replace the old air cooled intercooler since its boiling here in midday. But even then, overheating is going to be a problem. The tyres may be second hand, but theyre looking fine. While not offroad tyres, they’re a hard compound can take a bit of a battering before they break.

Ive also had a little scout around the other guys cars. We’ve got a Petroskey Enforcer, looks like its in great shape. I think sis said something about how they were easy to drive when she was doing stunt driving for a cop film. There’s also an old riot van. Looks pretty beat up, but the guys working on it look like they know what they’re doing so its probably fine. Surprisingly, I’ve only seen two trucks. I thought they would have been the obvious choice, but it seems pretty rare in the sea of vans, sedans and hatchbacks.

3 Likes

First Post ------ Next Post

-----LED work lamps shine down from the top of the van.------

Bill is checking for surprise leaks under the van, while Toni checks the supplies off.

Toni: I could have so much fun here! A few of these cars look worse than the ones I drove in the 80’s! I thought this would be boring, now I can just have flashbacks. I wonder if I’ll recognise anyone.

Bill: I doubt your old friends will be here. On the plus side, we aren’t the oldest… I mean most senior… experienced… people here. Those guys in the grey thing take that honour. What about the young guys in that van before, aunt Toni? Those guys, I think they might be trouble.

Toni: In the big green van? No, Bill, they were trying to work out what we were driving… and, they don’t look scary, more confused if I read their faces right. Where’s Wookiee?

Bill: I think he said something about scouting. I saw him over… Where the hell is that smoke coming from? What is THAT?

Bill crawls out and they both look at the blue smoke cloud trailing the arriving car, which narrowly misses a broken picnic bench and two bins.

Toni: Blue. Big. Ragtop. Rumbly. I’m going with a Sinistra. Haven’t seen one of those since…Oh, before you were born. Literally, like, the day before. I passed one on the way to the hospital, same colour. Back to Wookiee?

Bill: Umm, yeah. That hill. rolls his eyes Are you gonna be quoting Star Wars the whole way?

Toni: Always clouded, the future is.

------------10 minutes later----------

Wookiee: (Emerges from behind a tree) Hey, bro! They do shut fush’n’chups here!

Bill: Seriously? You don’t have an accent!

Wookiee: You know that, and I know that, but it’s more fun if THEY don’t know that. You know, it’ll be really easy to get lost out there. Wouldn’t want that to happen to somebody, would we? Did you take my detour signs out of the van? I’m sure we can mess with SOMEONE!

Bill: No, didn’t touch 'em. Where did you get the beer?

Wookiee: Haha! Pinched it. There. Three rows back. White ute. Ugly as shit bonnet. I think he stole something from under a camper. His friend was too busy cooking to notice. Now, HE had an accent. You want? Toni. Free beer. Throws a can up to the top of the van

Bill: I’m in. takes a can To our benfactors, our hosts… and our competition. May they all have nasty problems. Bottoms up!

Wookiee/Toni: Hear hear!

7 Likes

#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post

The story so far: Three third year uni students have decided to spend part of their summer not at festivals or on some sleazy Greek party island, but a bonkers rally challenge in an Erin Berlose that, suspiciously, doesn’t seem to be playing up…yet

“Spag bol or sausage casserole?” shouted James, crouched down next to the portable gas cooker as he chopped up some vegetables and heated up a tomato sauce of some kind.
“Er” replied Martin, who was tinkering with the engine, his voice muffled by the bonnet, “Casserole sounds nicer if I’m honest”
“Bangin’’” said James in a cheery tone, and he dumped a load of peppers and mushrooms into the pot.

Seb came over to the hob, having just been for a scout around camp. “How much tomato sauce did you prepare for this trip?” he questioned in his Spanish accent.
“Quite a lot” said James. He did like to bulk cook, and he was certainly in no mood for eating tinned food on this trip. “What’s the news from the rest of the camp?”
“Interesting” said Seb. “Big mix of teams. There was some minivan over on the far side and there’s a proper motorsport tent round the corner”.
“Geez” said Martin, having just dropped the bonnet.
“Yeah, some people are taking this a lot more seriously than we are it seems. How’s the car?” said Seb, turning to Martin, and in the process swishing his thick black hair.
“As good as it’s been so far. I know it’s definitley about to go wrong, but we can deal with that when it happens, right?” Martin chuckled, wiping some grease off of his hand. “Where’s the beer?”
“Right hand side of the boot” replied James, who now seemed to be fixated on his casserole. “I reckon we’ll dish up at in about 20 mins”

“Dammit guys” - Martin broke in suddenly - “I though it sorted and ordered this”
“Oh that was me” said Seb “I was trying to find the tenting equipment”
“You know how particular I am with this kind of stuff” Martin snapped. James sniggered in the background
“I hope you aren’t gonna be like this the whole trip” said James, finally looking up from his pot. Martin gave him an unimpressed look.
“Right, I suggest we piss off the rest of the teams with some loud music” said Seb, echoed by a “Good idea” from Martin who’s mood had suddenly switched back. Seb went into the car and a few moments later, some classic Oasis song was blasting out of the iPod dock.

You could already sense the other teams getting pissed off by them.

6 Likes

Team Riot Uncontrol

-Somewhere in a shed-

Paul : This should be the last hole.
Aaron: Perfect. Our Duct Tape ran out
Paul : Time to check if we got everything.
Paul gets a clipboard and a pen
Paul : Holes ?
Aaron : Closed with various qualities
Paul : The Glass ?
Aaron : Replaced with Plastic
Paul : The Chassis ?
Aaron : Duct-taped
Paul: Good enough ummm Food and drinks
Aaron: Nope. But we have to refuel the car anyways so we can get some later.
Paul: Tents ?
Aaron : Somewhere in there
Paul: Thats not a yes
Aaron : And not a no
Paul: …
Paul: I’ll write plausible. Do we have our work stuff in the back ?
Aaron. I got my toolbox and a lot of spare parts.
Paul : Wheels ?
Aaron : Yep
Paul: UH the most important. Does the siren works ?
Aaron climbs on the passengers seat and flips a switch. and the siren starts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIcGlwdpbu0)

Paul : Thats everthing ! Time to get there
Paul gets behind the wheel, turn the starter key and nothing happens.
Paul : Um
Aaron : Ummmmm

“Fuck”

6 Likes

(out of character here, but gotta ask, if we’re going to respond to events others are making, should we just post another continuation of the story, or edit the old one? Just asking out of old role-playing etiquette, as I’m a little rusty. It’s one thing when you’re writing a story, it’s entirely another when dealing with other people. If we choose to respond in new posts, then I’ll just overwrite this after confirmation, because inevitably the loud music will bother Luke, who is, after all, sitting behind the wheel of a large V8 that just happens to have a car attached to it.)

2 Likes

@Madrias I reckon we should just decide by ourselves whether to respond or not, some people will probably want to while others might want to RP on their own.

2 Likes

Also, feel free to collude with each other via PM to come up with inter-team stories to post as well.

@F17Francesco, I love how the Italian team has decided that 25 LITERS of wine isn’t enough for 2 days… lol

Edit: Hey guys! Meet the recovery crew and vehicle!

Thunder Valley Towing

Sid is the owner of Thunder Valley Towing, which covers all of the communities and roads within the footprint of this event… and more! He has satellite towing yards in Niles, Monsen, Toreyville, and Pearson. Sid is a lover of cars, and has a small collection of classics himself. He didn’t feel like sacrificing any of them to this torturous route, so instead he volunteered for recovery duty, along with one of his tow operators, Dave.

They are available for recovery assistance using the FRS radios that teams were requested to carry with them. And here’s what they will pick up dead cars and stranded participants in:

Sid’s 2015 Ardent Yorktown Limited. After all, if you’ve broken down, you’ve suffered enough. Might as well make the trip back to civilization with multi-zone climate control, leather, and dual sunroofs, right?

10 Likes

#Team Clockwork Orange

Car and team details

Pre-race checks went as planned, the tiny car had to have its rear seat partially folded to put all the cargo in. But this was the seventies, there was no split folding seats. Thankfully, they had realised the lack of boot space and hacked off the seat, so the car became a strict 3.5 seater. That meant all the supplies could be put in the car. Beer case, check. Crisps, check. Tent, check. Bog roll, check. Some other essentials, such as spirit and canned beans, check.

All good to go.

4 Likes

##Team Science Guys

Car, and Details.

The three young men sat around their campfire, Steve, the youngest, was the only one of the three who really had a tendency to camp for fun. He’d been the first to arrive, and spent the day fishing and hiking. Tired out by this point, he laid on his back on the ground, staring up at the sky. Augustus and Nicholas both sat in folding chairs that they had brought with them. Nicholas seemed to be in his own world, with a computer on his lap, and his smart phone in hand, looking back and fourth, doing something with the both of them simultaneously.

Steve noticed, and looked over to him. “That Kinda defeats the whole purpose of camping y’know…” He said.

Nicholas didn’t even look back to him to snobbishly reply. “If Lewis and Clarke had technology, they would have used them as well.”

Agustus sat across from them, three empty cans of beer piled next to his chair, and one in his cupholder. He picked it up and took a sip… “At least tell me you’re being useful and not playing that dumb car making game again…” He grumbled, surprisingly sober for having downed so much alcohol.

“I am!” He said angrily, finally looking up from his technology setup in his lap. “Just looking over the journey, and the competiton…”

“Well, anything good?” Augustus asked, putting his beer back in the cupholder, he grunted as he got up and walked over to see Nicholas’ computer.

“Yeah… Two Sixteen year olds bought a van with alternator issues.” Nicholas scoffed.

Agustus winced at this… “ooh…” He said, long and drawn out. Knowing the pain that the duo would endure throughout the journey…

“Holy shit, it’s water damaged!” Nicholas burst out laughing. “They’re sixteen and they think they can handle a water damaged van! Haha!”

“Hey… Not like ours is much better.” Agustus looked over to the team’s car, parked a few yards away. The light blue in the front illuminated by the fire.

“Pff… It’ll do the best! Body on frame cars are invincible!” Steve Chimed in.

Nicholas laughed at this. “See?” He gestured to Steve.

“…Whatever…” Agustus rolled his eyes. “Anything else noteworthy on there?”

Nicholas took a deep breath, calming himself… “Something British… an Erin I think.”

“An Erin?” Augustus snatched the laptop… Causing Nicholas to yell in anger, but he ignored this… “…Holy shit… brought it all the way from England… I’d like to see that…”

“Well you’ll see it when it’s parked at the side of the road.” Nicholas reached back, stealing his laptop back.

“You laugh, but those things hold up better than you think. It’s certainly going to do better than any of those fucking vans…” He sighed and shook his head slightly, going back over to his chair. He grunted and sat back down. “Steve… You’re in charge on camping equipment, remember? Don’t make me remind you again.”

“I know… I know… Sheesh. Just be up early or else I’ll steal the tents while you’re in them…” He grumbled, getting up and going over to their tent, while the older two resumed sitting around the fire…

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**Hobo team **

Thirsty for adventure they packed their new home with some canned food, canned dog food and of course plenty of that magical liquor to warm up their souls, and some weed … Hobo fitted the van with an old CD player radio bought in a scrap yard.

The sun was shining, all going well on the road, the van surprisingly doing good … And then a slap in the face! Yep Hobo fell asleep at the steering wheel, while Hobo girl still packed all the stuff… Until she slapped him again.

Hobo Hmm what?? I was just checking…er things!

Hobo girl Oh Yeah? I know what you were checking… Oh, you were checking “things” with this empty bottle of gin right? You homeless drunk piece of sh*t …yep let me do all the work… Don’t move a thing! And where’s that crappy piece of stinky dog?? Where the hell he is?? Go do something and find him… Dog found, all packed, ready to go!

On the way to the camping site the van seemed to be a bit down on power and noisy…

Maybe too much Gin on the back? Hmm i think the dog’s too fat, said Hobo.

Maybe too much Gin on your head! replied Hobo Girl.
Stop the van! Let me check it. I suspect something…

Open the hood!

Aha! Small crack in the exhaust manifold… JB Weld will do the trick!

They arrived at the camp. Gin, weed and some Delta Blues for company… The dog barked.

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NOTE:
My speech is in italics
Evan’s is bold
Also, be prepared for a bit of a read. I originally planned for it to be like 600 words but it turned into a little novella lmao

#Team Yokai
A solitary cloud wafted by overhead, with its lonely patch of darkness dragging along behind it on the ground. Jumping off my rental bicycle and pulling my headphones out I walked ahead towards the faded yellow house. Around the house were rolling fields of luscious green grass parted in the middle by a meandering two-lane highway. It looked like it was in the middle of nowhere, but we were barely 2 kilometers from the main cluster of people huddled together in central Brunswick Island. Coming to a stop I waited from the crunching gravel sounds behind me to get nearer.
You ready?
Why wouldn’t I be?
Evan reached up and pressed the worn out door bell. A few moments passed and the battered door flew open to an enthusiastic elderly man. With silver hair and a stubbly chin, he reached out to give me and Evan a firm handshake each.
“How are ya, boys?” he boomed, with a hint of an Australian accent. He simply radiated positivity even with those sleepy eyes. “I take it you’re here for the car?”
Oh yeah, Jordan, we flew in here all the way from New Jersey
It’s the first real car we’re going to own by ourselves, so you can’t blame us, can you? Evan chuckled.
“Oh, I can imagine your excitement. Well, come on, let me show you around the car.”
“1990 Kimura Arctos. If this doesn’t define sleeper then I don’t know what does. So what’s in front of you is the slightly higher spec base model. It’s got a meaty V6 in the front driving all four wheels and a bunch of space inside. It made well over 180hp back in the day…” he paused, “but knowing Kimura reliability I’ll be surprised if it’s fallen below 150 today.”
Pacific Coast Aqua. Nice paint. It’s a bit faded but if anything that only makes it more sleeper.
“It really is. Sad to have to let it go, but now all me kids have moved out so it doesn’t make sense for me to keep it anymore. Wife got a nice convertible so it’s got to go. Ahh, I’m not young anymore so I just want to take it easy and in comfort. Well, either way, I’ve already got your payment so take a look around the car or step inside for a moment and I’ll find the keys for ya.” he said watching us inspect the car from different angles.
If you don’t mind, can we just take a few minutes to fix the flooded ECU you mentioned?
“Do what you like, boys, it’s your car now!” he gave us a thump on our backs and went back inside.

I gave the bicycle one last push and then reached up to shut the trunk.
All loaded up, Evan, let’s get going.
We looked at each other. This was it. The moment that decided whether we would make it to the campsite or not. He turned the key and both of us held our breath for a second. The engine struggled a little and fought its way to live. Feeling the reassuring vibrations coming from the front of the car, Evan cautiously tapped the accelerator pedal.
Eugh. The exhaust doesn’t sound like… it even exists.
I don’t hear any rattles or squeaks though and nothing’s leaked yet. Guess the best way to find out if we’ll make it is to hit the road. At least that ECU thing is sorted for now.


The fruity sound of the V6 bounded off the grey concrete walls of the tunnel. The LEDs running along the roof flew past in a blur as the van - our van - sped down the asphalt carved between the hills of Brunswick Island. Flooding the van with light as we flew out of the tunnel, the sun’s orange rays cut in at a slant angle through the windshield from slightly to the left. Shifting up to 5th gear, we wound down the windows and with our sunglasses on, me and Evan were enjoying the warm summer breeze slipping past us, enveloping us.
Hey, pull over will you Evan? We’re over halfway back to the city center, are you going to let me have a go or what? I said with a smile playing across my face. 16 years old and on an adventure with great people, great music (well that’s what Evan was playing at the time and it seemed like he was enjoying it. I’m not a fan), great weather… could it get any better than this? I was in the driver’s seat now, and to my side was Evan laid back in the reclined seat. As the next tunnel approached I pressed down the clutch and tugged on the gear lever. Gunning the engine, the revs rose and the roar of the engine swelled as the void engulfed us. I grinned. I knew this was going to be a good time even if we had issues. That’s all part of the fun, after all, isn’t it?

So we have a day’s break here at Granite Ascent announced Evan. Continuing, he said, So, uh, grab as many supplies as possible.
Yeah, besides we don’t need those rear seats anyway so we can just keep them permanently folded down and put everything else on them.
Drop me off at this place here and drive on to the workshop. I’ll get some chow for now and meet you there.
Have I told you that your rhymes make me want to kill myself? I teased.
He grinned and got out of the car.

Right, so, here we are. What’s our first task? I shouted to Evan from inside the workshop over the glorious Norwegian Death Metal playing in the background.
First turn down that fucking Satan worship and listen. I laughed and turned to the stereo.
Alright. So the cats are shot. There’s some 3-inch stainless steel piping somewhere, just go weld that to some point in the exhaust.
You call me Satanic but you shoot cats? I jovially quipped with mock horror. No response. Barely able to suppress my laughter I said, Okay, okay I’ll go grab the van by the pussy. Evan groaned and swore under his breath. This was going to be good.

What are you even doing?
Expressing my inner love for IKEA, I replied. Want to see? Sliding the door open, I gestured what I had made on the inside. Two sleeping bags are stretched out over the folded down rear seats but the cool stuff is above that. Attached to the roof is one big MDF box with many little divisions, cubbyholes to put stuff, like parts, tools, food, clothes - all that shit.
Evan gaped at me like I was some demented primate with only half a brain and a face like a slapped ass. Catching himself, he spun 180 degrees and walked into the workshop like he’d never seen it.
Fuck it. Come in here. He was leaning on the lift and looking at the whiteboard. Quickly scanning down the list, it appeared to be me like we’d done almost everything. I resisted the urge to take a quick jab at his appalling handwriting.
I’ll leave you to have your nerdgasm, then, Evan. I joked as he moved from the board to go pick up his laptop.
You thought I would do the electrics? No way. I’m calling in a friend. Mike. We’ll throw a conservative street tune on it. It’s already got the ECU in it, the filters are changed, ummm, new fluids, alternator replaced, and most of the plugs at the end of the loom looked dead for some reason. That was a quick chop and solder job since I got a working loom off a junker. And a quick disassembly and WD40 for the trunk’s latch.
Just don’t break it.

The soft whoosh of the wind from outside swept inside through the window slightly ajar, blowing a weak gust. It’s a good thing we have some experience in this between us. We might just be 16. We might be underdogs. But we can do shit. I turned over. Night, Evan.

Fire. Food. Gasoline. Opening the door and stepping out the strong odors immediately stuck.
Give me a moment to stretch, and I’ll join. We’ve been sitting here for like 6 hours.
Evan shrugged and simply walked on ahead. A moment later I traced his footsteps. Sparks flew up from the crackling campfire, the red glow illuminated the surrounding trees. The fireflies buzzed in the humid summer night air. Laughter. I caught up with Evan and stopped just behind him, in front of the ring of people around that fire. They turned around, those lit up faces, to see who these newcomers were.

We had reached.

Team Yokai made it to Walker River valley.

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