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20/7/3251 /// 4:70 Moon LJT
It was a night hotter than any other, one that made even an Australian like Mel writhe in agony. No amount of midnight outback heat could compare to the furnace-like conditions she was trying - and failing miserably - to fall asleep in. The wind was slow and the air was hot; cracking both windows, the sunroof, and even the tailgate open did little aside from providing ventilation. The quick bath she took in the river earlier had gone to waste now that she was trying to sleep in a pool of her own sweat, making her clothes stick to her back. To make matters worse, a certain war criminal was sleeping with her, and the body heat of two girls trapped inside a greenhouse combined with a sweltering Crugandr midnight made them feel like they were getting cooked alive. And indeed, Mel’s trauma was not an isolated experience, but rather a trauma shared with Tanuki.
“Meru-chan… Mel! I can’t sleep!” Amidst endless tossing and turning that rocked the entire car, Tanuki finally voiced her complaints out loud. Mel clasped her hands over her ears and buried her face in a pillow, but nothing she did was welcoming enough to the unavoidable embrace of the slumber she so desired. Not when Tanuki was being as restless as she was.
“God! What is it now?” Mel kept her voice quiet but sharp, glaring at Tanuki in annoyance. She still wore her black face mask even when in bed, or perhaps it was only because she was sleeping with Mel. Strands of black hair fell sideways across her face, partially obscuring her eyes that were already barely visible in the foggy void of the night. At least she doesn’t sleep with her shades on too, Mel smirked.
“It’s too hot! I feel like I’m getting cooked alive!” Tanuki whined. The two of them had inadvertently tucked themselves away from each other as far as the confines of the Dauer’s interior would allow them in order to escape the body heat of the other. “Hey! Turn the AC on!”
“What? No! We have to conserve our petrol! Doesn’t exactly grow on trees here!” Mel shot back. “Just get out of your sleeping bag!”
“I already did, but it’s still too hot!” Silence, and then Mel heard the sound of damp clothes being frantically peeled off. “Fine! If you won’t turn the AC on, then I’m stripping! You better not look… or else!” Tanuki hissed, sitting up as far as she could in the Dauer’s cramped interior and sliding her black gym shorts down her legs. She tossed her soaked pajamas to the passenger seat, landing with wet rustles. Mel unknowingly caught a glimpse of the forbidden sight as Tanuki fell back down on her makeshift mat. Her back was turned towards Mel, exposing her surprisingly toned lats and trapezius that were somewhat concealed under a binding sarashi cloth wrapped tightly around her breasts. Now that she had stripped down, the hands of fate would occasionally reward Tanuki with a gust of wind that blew through the cracked open windows, cooling her down and quenching her restlessness.
How silent the night was after that damned war criminal stopped fidgeting about! Save for the incessant din of various insects and pests chattering and chirping in the forest canopy around them, the campsite was swathed in a midnight serenity. Silent, stationary, and most importantly, asleep. Despite her cruel, teasing, at times bombastic demeanor, Tanuki’s snores could barely even be called that, being so soft and gentle that you couldn’t have heard it unless you were right up against her. Mel took this occasion to simply take in the rare moment of tranquility she had been granted. A blackened night sky unmolested by urban light pollution with no hint of distant traffic or commotion, just the sounds of nature. Just like the old days, where weekend-long camping trips in the outback were just among the many monthly festivities.
Unfortunately for Mel, who was just about to drift into the first stage of sleep, the virgin silence of the night would not remain untouched for much longer. A set of rapid gallops emerged from the canopy of silence, growing louder and closer. The Dauer was violently jostled as something struck a loud glancing blow on the right rear fender. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t there to stay, and the hasty, thundering footsteps disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.
“What the hell was that?!”
The duo sat up in unison. Their eyes met each other’s, then the cloudy windows around them. Through the thick fog that rolled through the campsite, they could see rapid flashes accompanied by the dangerously close, ear-piercing chatter of automatic gunfire. Dark silhouettes darted in and out of the fog around them like a swarm of locusts, their heavy footsteps sending ripples through the ground. In a matter of seconds, the two of them hastily threw on whatever clean clothes were immediately within reach and began buckling up in their respective seats.
Mel stabbed the key into the ignition and twisted it, the starter chirping loudly as it spun all six cylinders of the engine. First came the spray of the air-fuel mixture, then the spark, and the rapid gunfire of the exhaust rang loudly through the entire campsite. She turned all eight lights on, only to be blinded right back as the fog reflected most of it into her eyes. Turning off the rally lights and keeping the headlights in low beam mode, Mel and Tanuki could now clearly ascertain the quickly evolving - or devolving - situation around them. Wolves, but not just any ordinary group of specimens of the canine family. Perhaps wolves on steroids was a more fitting name; these creatures were two to three times as big as the dingoes she was used to seeing back at home, and probably over twenty times as massive. Their jaws were big enough to fit an entire head inside and their powerful legs were bulging with muscle under their fur, and the pack swarmed the campsite in increasing numbers, barking and howling loudly.
“Strewth! What the bloody fuck are those?!" Mel cried. Tanuki reached behind her seat for her shotgun; 5.56mm wouldn’t suffice, not even 7.62 NATO. Suddenly, an explosion sent a pressurized wave of air smacking into the Dauer’s side, even setting off the alarms of the other teams’ cars. Chaos to the maximum possible order was in session, and Mel could barely even hear her own thoughts over the sound of automatic gunfire, screaming, bone-chilling roaring and howling.
Off to her left, Mel saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring right back at her. The outline of its canine head emerged from the cloudy obscura, and it silently stepped into a visible range. Maintaining eye contact with this colossal beast, hands glued to the steering wheel with a vice grip, Mel looked right at the face of death and remained as still as possible, frozen in fear.
Tanuki elbowed Mel in the shoulder as she brought the shotgun to her shoulder, aiming at the unwanted, hungry visitor. “MEL! DUCK!” She screamed, pushing Mel out of the way to clear the tip of the barrel.
Mel grabbed the steering wheel and planted her face into it, and the Dauer honked loudly in response. The beast bared its fangs with a growl, dug its paws into the ground and launched itself right for the door that it could easily rip into shreds as if it was paper. But Tanuki’s aim was deadly, and immediately after the booming signature of the Mossberg 500, a 12 gauge slug ripped through the massive Dyre’s open mouth and past a terrifying gallery of long, sharp teeth. Not even letting out as much as a whimper, its huge muscle-bound, fur-lined body crashed into the ground with an abrupt thud that they could feel even inside the car. It came to a rest after twitching once, exposing the fist-sized exit wound on the back of its head that carried blood, bone fragments and brain matter through it. “MEL!” Tanuki practically yelled in her ear, racking the pump back with authority and ejecting the spent shell. “Drive now, or you’ll end up like that bastard and I’ll take the wheel myself!”
No other commands were necessary. Mel threw the gear lever into first and released the clutch at half throttle, then spun the wheel to the right as she fully depressed the gas pedal. The Dauer’s trajectory evolved into a tight spin, its rear tires throwing up a mini localized cyclone of dust and dirt that disoriented and confused the Dyre immediately around them. Their dark shadows and glowing eyes disappeared in the swirling makeshift smokescreen through which not even all four of their aftermarket rally lights could pierce. Mel’s quick thinking bought them enough time to quickly leave the campsite without attracting any more of the Dyre, and the 632 S went barrelling down that same gravel road by the river, singing the vibrant anthem of its boxer-6.
The car rattled and shook vigorously as it rocketed down the road of gravel and dirt with reckless abandon, carving through pitch black and the dense gray fog that shrouded them in blindness. Their visibility was limited to everything that lied no further than 20 or so meters, and combined with their rapid pace, every bend, turn, dip, hump, bank, off-camber, and obstacle in the road would materialize out of thin air and force itself under the car. Given these sudden changes in road conditions, Mel had very little room for error and even less time to react and adjust her steering angle or throttle/brake application. But given the speed of these Dyre and their ability to sustain a pace that nearly matched some speed limits in Adelaide, they didn’t have much of a choice. Their heart-rending howls that echoed for miles in the woods only seemed to grow in intensity, occasionally being overcome by the soaring throaty rumble of the Dauer’s own howling motor.
Louder grew the sounds of rocks being thrown up by tires and hitting the wheel wells, and harsher became the shaking and the swaying car as the road it sped over became rougher and bumpier, marked with deep scars running along the length of the road and random dips that could cause the Dauer to bottom out if Mel didn’t choose a good line. She eased on the brakes, but as a pair of red lights situated in a familiar boxy orange profile suddenly cut through the fog, she pushed the pedal all the way into the footwell and the entire car lurched forwards, rapidly decelerating. “HEY!” Tanuki yelled, her body most certainly having harness-shaped welts after that harsh maneuver. “It’s those bastards! What the hell are they doing?!”
“Do you see where we’re driving? Trail’s absolutely fucked! That, and thanks to this fog we’re as blind as bats!” Mel shouted back, getting thrown left and right in her seat as she followed the Dione closely, almost tailgating it. “And next time,” she glared angrily at Tanuki, “give me a good warning before you fire a fucking shotgun right next to my ear! My eardrums are still ringing, bloody hell!”
“A thank you would be nice, you know!” Tanuki hissed, jabbing a pointer finger into Mel’s sternum. “You’d be their next meal if it wasn’t for my quick thinking and perfect aim! Next time, show some respect to the cute girl that saves your life!”
Their bickering was rudely interrupted by a series of loud barking and snarling in very close proximity around them, and from the corners of their vision they could see dark gray shapes dart in and out of the thick fog around the impromptu convoy of vehicles spearheaded by the orange Anhultz. One of them lunged from the canopy of blindness in the Dauer’s direction, and Mel swerved the vehicle to the right, narrowly missing a strike that would have been powerful enough to cripple a door or tear a wheel clean off. She fought the slipping rear of the 632 S and quickly brought it back on course, muttering obscure bogan obscenities she wouldn’t say twice around her parents lest she receive a swift ass-whopping.
“They’re back! The doggos are back!” Tanuki loaded another shell into her shotgun and flicked the safety off. “Meru-chan, focus on driving, but try to keep the car steady, okay?” she winked and rolled the window down. A hot breeze of wind sifted through the cabin and Mel’s platinum blonde hair, dancing in the warm wind like blades of grass serenading the sunset over green Pacific cliffs. Unbuckling her racing harness, she leaned out the open window, wrapping her legs around the seat and harness to keep her anchored in place.
Mel made sure to keep the Dione within her direct line of sight, a task made easier by its vibrant paint that contrasted well against their dark, drab, low-vis surroundings. The suspension and chassis responded immediately and precisely to the frequent, sudden derivations in the road surface, perhaps a little too well; as the car was set up primarily for high-speed tarmac courses, the springs and dampers were tuned much stiffer than what would be typically found in other rally cars. Every little bump and rock in the road was amplified and transmitted directly to Mel’s weary body, which only made her fight against her inescapable tiredness harder as time went on.
“They’re coming!” Tanuki’s yelling was barely audible over the noise of the wind that poured inside and the boxer-6 flying through the higher end of the rev range, but Mel steeled her fortitude and smoothed her inputs, making gradual and gentle motions as opposed to quick and sudden maneuvers with her hands. She heard the roar first, and from the corner of her eyes saw a shadowy extrusion turn into an eleven foot-long Dyre, its mouth wide open and ready to devour the twin-tailed warmonger. “ORRRA!” Tanuki shouted, gratuitously rolling her r’s. With a pull of the trigger, the barrel shotgun erupted with a flash of white and yellow light and a thunderous clap that echoed loudly through the forest. A subsonic slug wedged itself in the Dyre’s midsection with enough stopping force to throw its lifeless body slightly off trajectory, missing the Dauer narrowly as it flew past.
A second Dyre came into view, this time on Mel’s side of the car. Tanuki swung the Mossberg around with her upper body and propped it on the roof, using her left hand to hold onto the ceiling grab handle. As she steadied her aim on the gargantuan wolf that readied itself for a pouncing attack, the Dione in front of them suddenly swerved around a random sharp protruding rock placed conveniently in the middle of the road. Just as Tanuki lined up her shot and pulled the trigger, Mel mirrored the Dione’s actions and swung the Dauer violently around the sudden obstacle. Although the slug found its target, the punchy recoil from the shotgun combined with the sudden movement made her lose her balance, and she fell over backwards, pulled by the unforgiving hands of inertia.
As Mel straightened the car, heard a high-pitched scream to her right, and from her peripheral vision saw Tanuki falling down. Moments before her legs loosened and her head dipped below the window sill, Mel reached over and grabbed Tanuki by her shirt with as much grip strength as she could afford. In a single powerful motion, she yanked her small-framed co-driver through the open window and back into her seat. Amazingly, she was still clutching her shotgun and stopped screaming once she realized she was safe.
“Crikey!” Mel cursed, loosening her grip on Tanuki’s shirt. “You okay?”
“I’m fine!” Even in the face of death, she was as stubborn as ever. Completely unfazed. “Do you job and I’ll do mine!” Making sure to wrap the harness around her legs and waist, Tanuki leaned outside the window with her shotgun, once again ready to protect them and the other vehicles from sudden Dyre attacks.
Tanuki’s powerful legs (and now the harness) helped her remain anchored in place, even with the occasional sudden braking, accelerating, turning, and hopping that naturally came from the Dauer traversing the rough terrain. She was the shotgun messenger, the German coupe was her stagecoach, and Mel its driver. She kept her head on a swivel, watching for any unusual manifestations from the thick fog that got a little too close for comfort. They would strike without warning, but Tanuki’s razor sharp reaction time would grant them a swift death via a 12 gauge slug through center mass or one of their eye sockets, whichever came first.
Minutes passed into hours of loud, droning engines that ripped through the trail at wide open throttle, frequently broken up by the resounding bang of a Mossberg 500 that they were growing used to. With each Dyre that fell, their attacks grew less coordinated and less frequent. By the time she was halfway through a second tube magazine, the Dyre had stopped attacking for a few minutes, and the handful of cars closely giving chase to the Dione in a single-file line were finally at peace.
After just over five hours of rough trail taken at considerable speed, half of which was also dedicated to warding off unsolicited Dyre attacks with a certain pump-action shoulder-fired cannon, the brightly-colored Dauer came upon the new campsite, having managed to keep pace with the familiar Dione through most of the course. This time, a generous clearing was situated between the campsite and woods, giving them not only a peace of mind but also a much shorter distance to the nearby settlement, Duskriver Village. Most of the other teams had arrived well before they did much to Tanuki’s chagrin, but Mel couldn’t have given more than a sliver of rodent’s ass. With barely a few hours of sleep that preceded five long, grueling hours of driving through heavy fog that was now only starting to lighten, her entire body ached and her eyelids were begging to meet each other and consummate for a full night’s rest.
After peeling her clothes off, not even sparing an extra minute to slip pajamas over her undergarments, Mel mounted the sunshade on the inside of the windshield and crawled over the rear passenger bulkhead into the boot area. Shortly after, Tanuki wedged herself into her half of the hatch, crawling under a thin blanket that the two of them shared.
“Meru-chan?” Tanuki’s whisper was soft and relaxed, a true sound for Mel’s sore, ringing ears. Her voice was close; she could tell from the tickles of her breath against the back of her neck.
“What is it?” Mel grumbled, but her weariness reduced whatever hint of annoyance was in her voice into barely intelligible mumbles. Inches away from comatose, she was slipping further and further into unconsciousness, barely held up by the loose thread of Tanuki’s silent beckoning.
“What if… what if you just let me fall back there?” Unlike before, where Tanuki’s enthusiasm and energy carried enough momentum to persist through breaks or pauses in her words, now there was only an eerie dread that Mel felt in her voice. She continued to interrogate her partner. “Meru-chan, why did you do it? What if you didn’t see me or hear me… what if I died back there?”
“Oh, bite your arse, will you!” Mel snapped, raising her voice above a hushed whisper as she tilted her head in Tanuki’s direction. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters! Stop getting your tits in a tangle and be quiet!” With that, Mel rolled over to her side away from Tanuki and closed her eyes, praying for the sweet embrace of sleep that she so desired.
And an embrace she did receive, but much to her surprise, the giver was not what - or who, rather - she was expecting. It was only for a moment, such a short lapse of time that she doubted if it actually happened at all, but she was almost certain that she could feel a slender pair of arms wrap tightly around her waist and Tanuki pull herself into Mel’s scantily-clothed back. Her soft, labored breaths against her bare skin were like a heavensent breeze of cool, moist wind from an oasis embedded deep into the Sahara.
“Thank you.”
