My Fiery Finish

Time stretched endlessly in the silence.

No matter how I screamed, all I heard on the other end of the comms was the team manager, Ben Sutton’s repeated questions.

It was then that I realized Thomas had cut off my audio feed long ago.

Thomas’s feigned worried voice rose over everything.

“Oh, Ben, don’t worry. You know how stubborn Jane is. She says she won’t make contact unless she breaks the record, insisting on creating a miracle all by herself.”

I frantically adjusted the signal transmitter, my throat raw as I spoke out.

“Ben! The brakes and doors have been tampered with! Send someone now!”

However, all that reached me was the static hiss of electricity.

From the other side came the faint scrape of a chair and the tap of keys.

Then Mandy’s anxious voice cut in.

“Sigh, I really don’t know how far Jane wants to take this car. The fire is already huge, and she still won’t slow down or stop.

“Are those empty honors really more important than her life?”

Silence swallowed the comms again.

Then came Ben’s disappointed sigh.

“Jane is too impatient and shortsighted to handle great responsibility. This time, she must be dealt with seriously.”

“Click.” The sharp sound of a closing door echoed.

My last hope had been utterly crushed.

…

Just as my consciousness teetered on the edge of darkness, Thomas’s mocking voice returned.

“Did you hear that, Jane? In everyone’s eyes, you’re just a fool seeking your own death.

“Be good and stay on the road. I’m in a good mood. I might even burn a little paper for you, so you won’t have to beg below.”

Each word landed like a hammer blow against my chest.

Before I could recover, Mandy’s impatient voice cut in. “Jane, do us a favor and hand over your bank password before you go, will you?

“You’ll be dead anyway. No use wasting it.”

That money was a life-saving fund I had left for my mother’s treatment.

Dizzy and near death, darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

However, the thought that they would never spare my frail mother once I was gone ignited a surge of desperate, furious strength through my body.

‘Mandy, you and Thomas thought you could use my life to secure your promotion?

‘Then I’ll send you straight to hell to earn it!’

“Boom!”

I slammed the scorching gas pedal to the floor with every ounce of strength I had.

The burning car shot forward under the cameras, dragging a trail of fire across the feed.

“Jane! Are you insane?!”

As the commentator for this event, Thomas was the first to notice my move.

This time, though, I ignored him.

Through the haze of my vision, their commentator booth grew rapidly closer, enlarging on the screen.

Finally, someone noticed the suicidal trajectory and shouted in alarm, “No! She’s coming right at us! Run!”

Thomas’s voice could no longer carry any composure. Only the sound of collapse and desperate shouting remained.

“Stop! Jane! Stop right now!”