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19/7/3251 /// 1 Sun LJT
Mel was stirred from her deep slumber by a series of quick tugs on her legs. Taking care to not smash her face into the rear windshield, she quickly sat up and felt around in the waning darkness of the early dawn. Her platinum blonde hair was in a mess, with a lock somehow ending up in her mouth, and her whole back was damp with perspiration. She felt her suitcase of clothes and various other pieces of equipment strewn about except for Tanuki, whose sleeping bag was still warm.
Although Mel had packed a tent, last night the two girls opted to sleep inside for extra protection. By tilting the seats forward and moving them all the way to the front, they could lay down in the trunk area and prop their legs on the seat backs or simply let them rest on the rear bulkhead separating the cabin from the trunk.
“Hey, hey! Meru-chan! Wake up! Come on!” Tanuki whispered, holding Mel’s ankles and shaking them to further wring the tiredness out of her. Supporting herself against the B pillar, Mel rubbed her eyes and let out a soft yawn as if it was just any other morning.
“I’m awake, I’m awake!” Mel croaked, unzipping her own sleeping bag and sliding out. The air in the Dauer was suffocating, hot, and stale, a result of them forgetting to crack the sunroof open for venting. A layer of moisture covered most of the windows, distinct objects becoming dark shades against a translucent dark blue sky. “What’s wrong? Are we starting?”
“Everyone else is packing up! It could start at any moment!” There Tanuki sat in the passenger seat, wearing a black sleeveless crop turtleneck and black denim short shorts that exposed acres of her toned legs. She held a 12-gauge Mossberg 500 with black synthetic furniture and bounced impatiently in the bucket seat. “I need to use the bathroom! Keep watch!” Pushing the shotgun into Mel’s lap, she opened her door and ran to the trees.
Grumbling, Mel quickly changed into a new set of clothes, the primary elements consisting of light blue denim short shorts and a red flannel shirt tied into a crop top over a white camisole. She crawled on all fours to Tanuki’s warmed passenger seat and slid her sneakers on, then went outside with a jug of water and her bag of toiletries. She was immediately blasted with a warm gust, which seemed unusual at this time of the day. Indeed, the other teams were hurriedly stowing away their tents and cargo and performing last-minute checks on their cars. Seeing that there wasn’t much time left, Mel washed her face and brushed her teeth before quickly checking up on the Dauer. Oil levels, tire pressure, and battery voltage were all in an acceptable range, and the electronics were in perfect working order. She opened the driver’s door, tilted her seat back into position, and sat inside waiting for whatever was going to come next.
And wait she did, for a grand total of maybe 3 minutes before the unmistakable crack of a single gunshot tore through the entire campsite. Mel instantly ducked down into the passenger seat and clutched the Mossberg as shouts and screams from the other teams broke out all around her. Doors slammed shut, and one by one the haphazardly-modified shitboxes sputtered to life. Peeking over the dashboard, Mel saw the other teams’ cars start to haul ass, leaving clouds of dirt and smoke in their place.
“MEL!” Tanuki’s shrieking was still clearly audible over the clamor of panicked yelling and smoke-belching exhausts connected to engines that bounced off their rev limiters. Out of nowhere, she slid across the Dauer’s hood in one smooth motion, flinging the passenger door open and practically leaping inside. “Come on, COME ON! The rally is starting!!!”
Vocal cords failed to operate as Mel’s instincts kicked into overdrive. She stomped on the clutch and spun the key in the ignition. Eight weary chirps from the starter motor, then the boxer-6 burst into life with a volley of explosions that launched a gust of fumes and sprayed condensation from its two exhaust tips. Mel felt its vigorous rumbling rattle her bones and its punchy soundtrack pound her chest, for even at idle the unmistakable signature of the 632 S was deafeningly obvious.
With a single movement of her right hand and a flash of precise footwork, that same rumbling idle turned into a crescendo punctuated by pops and crackles from the flame-spitting exhaust. The rear wheels became cyclones of alloy, rubber, and steel that threw up a smokescreen of dust, decaying into weak vortices as the Dauer flew by. Tanuki was thrown firmly back into her seat as if someone had hit her with a golf cart, letting out a very accented “HOLY SHIT!” that could barely be heard over the howling of the exhaust and the whooshing of the intake. In a matter of seconds, the yellow, red, and blue wedge had turned into a mere singularity that faded into the distance, leaving a wake of particulate sand and exhaust gasses behind it. It clawed its way through narrow roads and flung itself deeper and deeper into exotic foreign lands beyond all recognition, over streets of dust that gave way to expressways of cobblestone and under an unfamiliar, alien sun.
Under Mel’s precise, disciplined control, the Dauer hooked itself through corners like a rollercoaster on a track, providing similar nausea-inducing effects that would’ve been far worse with a stock suspension setup. Long-travel control arms kept every tire planted on the uneven road surface and made navigating over smaller obstacles a breeze, even at higher speeds. However, it was as much of a curse as it was a blessing; they quickly found that although it was effective at providing good roadholding capabilities and handled jumps well, it was a literal pain in the ass to deal with whether on a pleasant cruise or a blood pressure-raising rally stage.
“Why the hell are you driving so slow?! Step on it!” Tanuki snapped, clinging onto the grab handle above her head as Mel guided the Dauer through a gentle curve that was more like a cooked straight. “We’re getting beaten by crossovers and 50 year old rustbuckets!”
“Look, do you want to end up in a closed casket or get there in one piece? Because I have no idea where the bloody hell I’m going, and it’s been nothing but blind turns!” Mel’s shouts were eventually overpowered by the sound of six horizontally-opposed pistons reciprocating faster and faster with a deafening soprano. Her foot lifted off the throttle as she shifted up and straightened the wheel, rewarding their tired ears with a series of pops and bangs from the exhaust. As the cobblestone roads sped away under four tires that gripped them in confidence, the unchanging impasse of dense forest continuously appeared from just beyond the bend and darted past the two on either side in a blur of greens and browns mixed together.
If there was art to be found in science and engineering, then the Dauer was a living, breathing melody that pleased the senses and stimulated the soul. The mechanical transmission through every shift, the symphonic intake and exhaust notes, and the raised suspension bouncing rigidly over every undulation in the road surface collectively gave way to an overflow of raw emotion, a new kind of thrill that was completely foreign to Tanuki. For the last few years, no day was ever the same as the last, but the one constant that remained was the battlefield and conflict that seemed to follow her wherever she went. Although she grew accustomed to the burst of adrenaline that she associated so closely with the sporadic, ruthless pace of a skirmish or firefight, she now found herself digging her feet into the floor mats and white knuckling whatever interior surface she could hold onto whenever the rear tires started to step out during a sketchy turn or whenever they narrowly missed a stray obstacle or tree trunk at over 80 miles per hour. Mel took notice of Tanuki’s sudden silence; was the ruthless, battle-hardened, playful war criminal finally humbled by the looming proximity of death?
This question would not remain rhetorical, evidenced by a white wedge-shaped silhouette suddenly darting around the vertical horizon of the forest canopy, and on a trajectory zeroed right for the Dauer. Tanuki’s shriek came thereafter, her body thrown sideways against the five-point racing harness as Mel jerked the steering wheel to the right. The triple-hued coupe responded swiftly and with delicate precision, immediately changing direction and swerving towards the right side of the stopped white minivan without as much as a single chirp from the tires. As Mel straightened the wheel, the MCP AWSB transmuted into a white blur that zipped by in a split second with an audible whoosh, nearly clipping the Dauer’s left side mirror. Clearing this unexpected obstacle with relative ease, Mel now had to steer to the left in order to avoid becoming one with a rapidly-approaching tree trunk, and again the 632 S spun on a dime as it straightened itself pointing down the cobblestone road, remaining balanced and stable throughout the violent, sudden maneuver.
“DUMBASS!” Tanuki screamed as she leaned out her window, brandishing her Mossberg 500 at the white minivan that quickly faded into a singularity behind them. Watching them fade into the distance, she sat back down in her seat and set the shotgun aside. “What the hell are they thinking, stopping in the middle of the road like that! They could’ve gotten us killed! Next time Meru, don’t even stop or make way for these bastards. RUN THEM DOWN!”
“Are you mad?” Mel shouted over the overwhelming wind buffeting and tire noise as they flew over a particularly bumpy section of road, fighting the steering wheel as she made minor corrections in the Dauer’s trajectory to keep it from flying off. “Have you seen some of the other cars? If we ram them, they’re going to be the ones walking away, not us!”
Unbeknownst to the quarreling duo as they barreled down cobblestone roads so rough that their firm race buckets turned into massaging seats, a sudden substantial bulge in the surface was quickly approaching the car. It forced itself under the front tires, and after uprooting the rear set, the Dauer catapulted itself through the air at a blinding pace. As soon as Mel saw the roads fall away from her peripheral vision and the great blue expanse take up the entirety of her windshield, she screamed and gripped the steering wheel so tightly until her fingernails dug into her palms, drawing blood. Her hair grew weightless and started to float, the horizon and the forests it bordered coming back into view as time seemed to slow into a standstill. Over the cacophony of the boxer-6 bouncing off the rev limiter, Tanuki was also screaming. This time, however, instead of bracing for impact or holding onto the oh shit handles, she raised her hands, and Mel realized in a brief moment of lucidity that Tanuki wasn’t actually screaming in fear. If anything, it sounded like she was enjoying it. It sounded like she was laughing.
The front set of tires touched ground with relative ease, but it was the rear slamming into the ground as if it was dropped from the Empire State Building that hurt. “FUCK ME!” Mel screamed as the Dauer crash-landed and nearly bottomed out the rear suspension. It felt as if they got rear-ended by a freight train, and were it not for the racing harnesses and upgraded suspension the two of them would have most certainly been internally decapitated or turned into paraplegics. As she gasped deep breaths and wrestled the car back into control, Tanuki howled with high-pitched laughter, completely unfazed. “Where the hell did that come from?! You ok?”
“Yabeeee~!” Tanuki cooed, still quivering from the rush of adrenaline from when they initially went airborne. “Meru, Meru! When we finish this stage, turn back! I want to do that jump again!”
“Have you lost your mind?” Mel winced, shooting an are-you-fucking-kidding-me glare at Tanuki, as lively as ever. “I think I shattered my tailbone after that!”
The cobblestone road quickly gave way to a grand clearing, presenting before them a river that parted the unending sea of woodland. On the adjacent side was what appeared to be the site of a former lumber mill, and on the other a humble settlement composed of buildings and homes constructed out of wood and other materials from the land. To Mel’s surprise and Tanuki’s disappointment, however, it appeared that half of the rally entourage had already arrived before they did and were setting up camp. A green Eastern bloc truck, the MCP AWSB from before, and an unassuming white hatchback arrived in that order shortly after they did, which only added to their emotions. Mel parked the Dauer on the edge of the riverbank, making sure that they wouldn’t be too isolated from the others. With the arrival of the final car, the Anhultz Dione, the first stage formally came to an end, and all of the teams set up camp by the riverside.
For dinner, Mel started a small fire to boil some water, which she used to heat up two servings of instant rice and boil some canned chicken, carrots, potatoes, and onions together to make some botched chicken soup. “Dinner’s ready!” she called out to Tanuki, who had just finished cleaning her HK416. She washed her hands and skipped over, sitting down in front of the fire and warming herself up. “Watch the bowl, it may be hot,” Mel said, handing her a tray of steaming hot rice and a bowl of heterogeneous chicken soup.
Tanuki balanced the tray of rice on her lap and turned away, moved her facemask down, then brought a spoonful of the poultry-and-veggie concoction to her mouth. She remained silent for some time, processing the many different flavors splayed across her palate. Mel wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but waiting for Tanuki’s verdict on her cooking was more nerve wracking than when she met her the first time.
Fortunately, Mel’s anxiety was short-lived. “Mmmmm! Suge~!” Tanuki swooned, bouncing her legs as she chewed and swallowed the lukewarm, watery elixir. Moving her face mask back up, she turned back to Mel in approval. “Heh, not bad, intern! Keep this up and maybe I’ll give you a promotion!”
“Thanks!” Mel almost caught herself smirking a little. Intern? Is that what she’s calling me now “It’s far from perfect, though. I wish I could’ve brought some of my spices, or maybe some milk to make it creamier instead of this… chicken cereal with water.” After rinsing the pot and spatula, she got her own servings of rice and chicken soup and sat down across from Tanuki.
“Oi!” Tanuki shouted, startling Mel. “Not there. Back to back.”
“Oh, right.” She got up and sat behind Tanuki, and the two of them leaned against each other as they faced opposite directions. “Just curious… what would happen if I did see your face?”
“Well~,” Tanuki smiled as she took off her mask, “I could show you if you really wanted. But you know what they say… curiosity killed the cat!”
“Right!” Mel nodded once in acceptance. “I figured. How about why, then?”
“Daring today, aren’t we!”
Effectively discouraged from prying any more, Mel and Tanuki ate in peace for some minutes, taking the time to savor their soulful meals.
“You know, it never crossed my mind that a terrorist organization would have a company card,” Mel chimed as she scraped at her empty bowl with her spoon. “And I’m even more surprised that the Walmart self-checkout accepted it.”
Tanuki scoffed as if Mel had just said something so blatantly obvious (to her at least, it was). “Tch. Of course! We may be a PMC, but we’re still a legitimate business! We’re not like those madmen who run around with car bombs, beheading random journalists, calling themselves ‘radical extremists’ or ‘free state republics!’ We’re professionals, and professionals have standards.”
“Riiiiight,” Mel nodded. “Terrorists with standards… fuck me.”
“Hey, did you take a look at the other teams when we were still driving?” Tanuki asked. “How the hell are all of these bastards beating us?! Aren’t Germans supposed to make the best weapons and sports cars?” She put her face mask back on and turned around in place, tapping Mel’s shoulder to get her attention so they could both face each other. “In a rally like this where anything can happen, we can’t rely on pure speed alone… we need an element of surprise! If nobody is going to play fair, then we won’t either! We make a perfect team, Meru-chan! I’ll leave the driving to you, but if anyone tries to mess with us…” Mel could see her eyes sparkle with flames, even behind the nearly-opaque black glass of her sunglasses. She leaned closer until their noses almost touched. “Hey, Mel, ever fired an RPG-29 before?”
“Absolutely not! We are not blowing anyone up! But… you do make a good point. We need to rethink our strategy, because clearly having the fastest car isn’t enough to guarantee us a win. Besides, the rally’s only just started… anything could go arse up over tits at any moment! I’m not counting on anything happening just yet, including us winning or losing.” Mel responded, naturally erring on the side of caution. “Besides, we haven’t even seen what the other teams are capable of just yet.”
“How about that red SUV?” Tanuki chimed, pointing in its direction further down the riverbank. “Did you see how fast those guys were going! Plus, it’s a 4WD! I think they could be powerful allies!”
“I’ve had my eyes on them too,” Mel nodded. “ Or that white hatchback that came in not long after us. Whoever it is, we need to act fast. I’m a bit sussed out by this rally, to be frank with you. If the first stage is already this chaotic, who knows what’s going to happen next.”
