Thread: Driven to the Edge [Blu and Driven]

The sky was clear, the moon was full and the evening weather was crisp and cool it was the perfect night for what a rather rambunctious group of young adults had in mind. Every so often - at least four times a month, lately more - this group of gear-headed young people gathered together to heat up their engines, burn their tires and see who could come out on top with some friendly competition. Some nights it was a simple quarter-mile drag other nights it was more of an actual road course, and on a night like this, it was a scene damn near identical to a movie. Cars were parked in the empty lot that had been the designated meeting place. Winged imports from old to new, neon lights, cars more for show than for racing, sway bars, turbos, superchargers, everything. And, of course, the group wasn't without their own women taking advantage of the gathering of men to let themselves 'hang out', so to speak. Trunks were open and music was playing. It was definitely a good night for this. God, Lara didn't love anything more. She had put this group together her senior year of high school and as the years passed, it had only grown larger. This was her safe place and everyone knew it. No one asked about her personal life and she didn't ask about theirs. As of late, however, it appeared this balance of peace was being disrupted... She made her entrance fashionably late as usual, approaching at a decent speed and flicking the car - her baby - sideways with spinning and screeching tires to drift a lovely arc at the empty center of the lot before coming to a halt to the laughs and cheers of her compatriots. She smirked as she shifted into neutral and tapped the gas to let the rumble of the American V8 accented by the faint shutter of a turbocharger blow off valve punctuate her arrival before engaging the handbrake for safety and turning the key to let the exhaust note die out. She opened the door and stepped out, her black sneakers hitting the pavement before she rose in tight-fitting jeans, red tank top and a smile, greeting several of the guys as they approached her. Her self-proclaimed baby was a steel gray, 1991 Ford Mustang GT. From the outside, it didn't look like much. Except for some aftermarket rims, aftermarket hood, roll cage, a change in suspension to lower the ride height and a few other mods to help with handling, it wasn't meant to immediately grab attention. It was what she had under the hood and behind the wheel that she most prided herself in. A friendly connection had left her with the crate motor of the most recent 5.0 Coyote engine. With some sweet talk, she had helped and completed the engine swap, added some sway bars, upgraded everything she could in due time and threw on a turbo kit that the engine had taken to immediately. She had poured her heart and soul into making this car fun, fast and an all around blast, and she was proud of where she had gotten it. She brushed her wavy brown ponytail over her shoulder before finishing her conversation with an old friend and moving on to another. She threw an arm around the lanky blond and hip-checked him into the door of his old Firebird. His lack of rebuttal disappointed her and she could feel the tension in his posture and shoulders. Clearly something was bother him and she had a feeling she knew exactly what it was. You haven't heard or seen anything yet, have you? she murmured, just loud enough over the chatter and various noise around them. Luke was among the first to join the group with her when they were seventeen and they were still close friends five years later. He shook his head and shifted his weight uncomfortably. Not yet but you know he's gonna show up again. He's found us twice, already. We've gotta be sneakier about this or someone's gonna end up caught or worse! She sighed and dropped her hand to her side. Despite the carefree attitudes around the group, she knew there was a little extra anxious cloud hovering over them. The efforts of local police to catch and stop these raucous kids had been amped up, and the officer that had showed up at their last few meets definitely put a twist to the game. She had managed to lead him away and distract him long enough to get everyone out of harm's way but she wasn't sure if that would hold up. And if she was totally honest with herself, she was rather enjoying the challenge. The guy was a far-better driver than the vast majority if not all of those left around. If he shows up again, it's the same plan. I won't let him get any of us, you know that. Luke shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. I really hope you're right.