An announcer’s roar swallowed the air: “Ladies and gentlemen! Prepare for a special treat! A tantalizing taste of Cirque du Sang’s upcoming tour!”
The crowd erupted into frenzy, a tidal wave of noise crashing over the arena. I revved the engine dramatically, then lifted one hand off the bar and waved. After that, I forgot the world; all that existed was the ramps, the helicopters, the jump that might kill me.
At top speed, I zoomed towards the entry ramp. The race cars didn’t stop their circling. I weaved between them, nearly miscalculating and becoming roadkill thanks to an oncoming late model Monte Carlo. So close, the near collision, that the rush of air slamming against me as I swerved past made my stomach clench. I used to live for these moments, when death teased its fingers across my skin like macabre foreplay. Now, I almost felt fucking nauseous.
I cut a wide arc around the stunt, trying not to look at the oscillating blades. Spinning. Spinning. Ready to slice a man in two.
Lining up, the ramp loomed ahead; its perforated metal surface looked like a rusted ass cheese grater under the harsh arena lights. Putting one foot against the ground, I did a last safety check. Helmet secure. Gloves tight. Body still… present. Ichecked the ground, making sure I was on the mark. Line three, start. Line two, sixty miles an hour. Line three, if I wasn’t up to ninety, then I’d be kissing my ass goodbye. The angle of the ramp, the speed. It all had to be perfect to bridge the 430 feet chasm. If I succeeded, it would be a new world record. Alec The Devil Hardville would be knocked off his throne, which would be wildly satisfying. Guy wasn’t an asshole or anything; I just didn’t like to sit in second place.
I shifted my weight, leaning forward to maximize speed. The engine screamed beneath me as I opened the throttle completely.
Second marker. Sixty-three miles an hour.
Third marker. Ninety-five miles an hour.
I was going too fast, but better than too slow. I’d clear the gap, but the landing might be dicey.
Impact. The front tire hit the ramp with perfect precision. The world tilted as zoomed upward.
Airborne. The world suspended.
My stomach lurched as gravity relinquished its hold. The bike and I separated, my ass floating inches above the seat in a controlled disconnect that would look seamless to the crowd below. As I approached the jump’s peak, I pushed my lower body upward, legs extending, stomach parallel to the seat. Higher. Feet reaching towards the sky above. And then I let go of the handlebars. I flew above my bike for the span of two heartbeats, my face staring down at the blurred edges of helicopter blades slicing beneath me. I felt the air pushing upward, the pitch of the blades adjusted to create an upwards draft instead of sucking air down. The wind cradled my body.
These seconds of weightlessness made me forget the war raging inside.
No longer Xander. No longer the dumpster fire de-factor leader of DemonX.
I was nothing right now.
So featherlight I could blow away.
I was nothing, and I was everything.
Free. Unbound. Unchained from the earth.
Then gravity remembered I existed.
The descent began, my trajectory aligning with the bike below as I reached down to reclaim the handlebars. The crowd buzzed in my ears. I reconnected with the machine, my body settling back into position as if we'd never separated.
The landing ramp rushed toward me. Too fast. Overshooting the speed at launch was about to collect its due.
I braced myself.
My back tire slammed into the ramp first and I leaned forward, shoving the front tire down with my body weight. Then a violent shudder ripped through the fork.
Time stretched. Every detail of my failure hammered into my brain: a twist of metal, the shifting pitch of the engine, how my muscles protested as I strained to recover. But the bike was slipping sideways. Falling. Tires rotating pointlessly now.
I tucked in, twisting to minimize the damage.
Impact.
White-hot pain detonated in my left shoulder.
Back against the textured ramp, jacket getting shredded by the perforations.
A crack.
Air expelled from my longs with brutal force.
