The Embacadero, San Franciscolt

The enclosed space of the garage erupted, with the sounds of twin V8s and a Flat 6 engine revving to high RPM and warming up the cars ready for a race. Flames shot out of the exhausts, producing satisfying cracks, mixed in the roar of all three engines.

“So boys, you ready?” Viral inquired about her cohort's status.

“Fired up.” Dean answered, revving his Porsche's engine a few more times, to assert his dominance (that was really never there).

“Locked ‘n loaded.” Akula seconded.

“Fantastic, we need to get moving now. There's about 3,000 miles and 200 other drivers between us and that prize. The start line activated a few minutes ago and if we don’t make it we won’t get picked up on the tracker. Let’s get to Nob Hill before we miss the race.”

Viral led out with her Camaro, followed closely by her companions as they climbed the hills in the bustling city. The streets had some early morning traffic, but nothing the trio couldn’t navigate as they made their way to the top of the hill. Akula took the point from Viral on a left kink, the M3 taking the corners much better than the muscle car. Dean, meanwhile, couldn't stop fishtailing his Porsche in an effort to showoff. Thankfully, neither Akula or Viral would see his attempts.

As they continued, more cars began converging one them with the same destination in mind. But most of them were easy to keep ahead of.

One in Particular, a Pagani Zonda, turned the corner ahead of Dean and caused him to swerve away to avoid the hyper car.

“Bloody idiot!” He cursed at the driver of the car that could out speed his Porsche. But there was nothing that Dean could to to exact revenge, as the Zonda easily began to pull away, thanks to its 100 kph advantage over the 911 Carrera, the car with the highest top speed in the group.

As the stallion continued on, Viral’s scanner began to pick up radio traffic. It wasn't anything to be worried about much at first, as the officer reporting was confused as to why so many cars were gathering at Nob Hill. But it wasn't lone before the lone cop, outnumbered at least 20-to-1, called in for backup. She knew the cops would be on this one, but this quickly? This was going to be a problem. They doubled back, attempting to find the quickest way to their destination by following the trails of other cars that came before them. As they went back down the hill, a pair of Crown Vic patrol cars crossed the intersection responding to the calls over the transponder, the red and blues flashing.

“V, what’s the status of cop presence?” Akula inquired, having spotted the cruisers as they continued.

“Full swing, kicked up a hornet’s nest and stomped it for good measure. We need to get moving before shit gets too dangerous.”

They were now on the adjacent road to their start location and with one more double left turn the start line was in sight. Just as they approached, two more cars swung out from the roads on either side. They weren't much trouble, except for a lone Audi R8. Each pony crossed the tracker line to start the race, as a secret camera watched them and added them to a massive list of competitors.

D. Akula

211

V. Velocity

212

D. Dean

213

Just as they crossed the starting line, Viral saw the route of the Run added to her tablet and her current position to the screen. Same happened with her friends.

“It’s on boys, and we’re dead fucking last.” Viral noted.

“What’s the plan?” Dean inquired.

“Las Pegasus, if we want to stay on pace to get to the front we need to be in 150th. We can’t do that and we’re fucked.”

“Got it, game on!” Akula responded as his M3 took massive air and rocketed down the hill at top speed.

But things were going insane in the city. The number of street racer in the city had sent the SFPD into a frenzy. Every single unit in the city was dispatched to stop the racers by any means necessary. But there was too many cars for the thinned out officers to deal with.

"Where in the name of Celestia are all the guys coming from??!!!"

“...full containment. I want all major roadways to the city shut down now!”

“Shit...they’re shutting down the city. They’re never this fucking active.” Viral forwarded, complaining about the persistence of the department on this particular day.

“Well that’s fucking brilliant.” Dean seconded the mare’s opinion.

Onward they continued, passing by several patrol cars that had stopped on the shoulder either stopping traffic, blocking roads or even having stopped some would-be racers. They made their way towards the coast, cutting across a boardwalk and continuing north. Just ahead of them was the Magic Melody Bridge, which was busy with rush hour traffic being held up by the city lockdown.

But then there came a radio report from an SFPD officer that did not being about any good news.

“Units, be advised, stopped a Code Six with a police scanner in his vehicle. Keep all major roadblocks off the air.”

Viral was not happy about that one. “Shit! Fucking morons.”

“What’s the call V? We can’t just drive in circles like this!”

“Uh…bridge. Head for the bridge, the northbound exit is under construction. Light traffic so it should be open.”

After a sudden right turn, they pulled onto the bridge. A lone Crown Vic picked up their moves and followed them on. They weren’t the only racers with the idea, as along with some mild traffic several other cars were weaving in and out.

On the bridge, Viral and Dean began to pull away with more power under their hoods, leaving Akula to deal with the patrol car giving chase. The thoughtless officer gave him a shunt as he called for the changeling to pull over, which only aggravated Akula more. And if there was one thing you didn't do, it was piss off the Demon Lord.

He let off the throttle slightly, causing the officer to react and veer to the right. As this happened, the patrol car veered left to stay straight, and Akula turned into him to unsettle the car even further. As it spun around, it toppled over and began to roll down the bridge.

“Good fucking riddance.” Akula, satisfied, as he gunned the M3 to catch up with his friends.

He caught up to Viral and Dean at the tunnel, and immediately noticed the sign on the side of the bridge.

Road Works Ahead

But there was more than just road work. A blockade spreading across the entire motorway lay in their path, catching any and all cars that tried to exit the city.

There was, however, one part that wasn’t covered, something only a desperate idiot would attempt... Or rather three desperate idiots. Dean inched over to the left shoulder, noticing the damaged section of bridge and a crane that just so happened to form a makeshift ramp. Viral would have complained if Akula didn’t mirror this exact action, both of them smashing through the roadworks signed that did a bad job at stopping them from taking the road.

With little option but to silently agree, she too moved left.

“Head’s up! Got some cars out of control here!”

"Hold position!! HOLD POSITION!!!!"

Dean smashed the “Road Closed” sign clear out of the way, and took air off the bridge over a bulldozer and out towards the open water with Akula and Viral following. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the sirens in the distance dwindled away and were replaced by 1 thud of concrete….then two thuds...then a third thud as the Porsche, BMW, and Chevy landed rather loudly onto the empty freeway section.

“Fuck yeah! Wooooooo, that was fucking awesome!” Dean screamed in utter jubilation.

“Yeah, keep going Dean...this is just getting started. We’ve got a long way to go before we start celebrating anything.” Viral responded, bringing the stallion back to earth.

“Yeah Dean, don’t get too excited. We’ve got a long way to go before we reach Manehattan.” Akula agreed with Viral's statement, as the three of them leftvteh great city and continued on the Run.

D. Dean

205

D. Akula

206

V. Velocity

207

Author's Note

Extra thanks to RDgamer321 for his help on making this chapter!