Social Order

Part 1

Sean gripped the leather handlebars of his motorcycle tightly, reviving the loud engine for everyone in the stands to hear.  All around him bike engines roared to life.  The Slum Races was the only way for him to make any decent amount of money.  The only thing that paid more was being a slum whore and he swore he'd ever sink that low.  He had a reputation to uphold.  Raising a hand, he lowered his acid green visor glasses from his loose messy brown bangs.  The visor came to life, showing him the views from all around his bike and details on the track.  As he revived his engine again, his speed showed on his visor.  Beside him, a member of his gang shouted out to him confidently.  "You're going to let someone else win this time, right? Make it interesting?"  Sean smirked devilishly, stating back cockily.  "Where's the fun in that? Just get faster. Speed is key, Nate!"  Nate rolled his eyes, kicking up his kickstand as the hovering lights moved out over the line.  No doubt the city built high above the lower city was watching them race for their own petty amusement.  

It was disgusting.  The lower city was falling apart.  It looked as dirty and grimy as the people.  While Valhalla sat above them like a glistening jewel of lights and bright colors.  They lived in luxury. While the people in the Slums killed each other just to eat.  The first orb turned red and Sean revived his engine.  Winning this would give him enough credits for a week of good living.  For the last twelve races, he had gone undefeated.  He just had a natural talent for racing.  The second orb turned yellow and Sean revived his engine again.  Glancing over to his left, he saw his rival gang leader.  Bradley of the Red Cyclones.  Bradley flipped down his half-helmet visor and flicked him off.  Sean rolled his eyes in response.  Bradly had been king of the Slum Races, until he had started racing.  The orb turned green and Sean revived the engine once last time before letting off the brake. His back-tire squealing as it lit up in a stunning green before taking off, leaving green flames in his wake.  In the stands a few men cheered, holding up signs with a large green dragon on it.  Sean smirked leaning sharply into the first turn.  His bike was known for making cutting edge turns.  Behind him, Bradley was hot on his ass.  

Bradley couldn't turn as sharp, but he could turn just fast enough.  Bradley's bike was designed for both speed and impact.  While Sean had designed his to be more for speed and handling.  Dashing down the straightaway, Bradley's bike started gaining on him.  His tires starting to ignite in a bright red flame.  Sean cursed; Bradley was going to force him to use up his plasma charges.  Sean started to drift away from the inside track, but Bradley revived up to block his back-tire.  Through the racing link in his visor, Bradley teased out.  "Not today, Jackass! I'm going to tear your ass up!"  Sean's heart skipped, watching Bradley jerk his bike up into a wheelie to bring his flaming tire within inches of his back.  Sean cut into the next turn, forcing Bradley to put his tire down to make the turn.  Bradley laughed over the com-link, asking him smugly.  "Feeling the heat, Mcloughlin?!"  Sean clenched his jaw and focused his eyes on the track.  Sean kept his speed up, heading for the ramp that was built to be a short cut to pass the muddy part of the track.  

He had to take it. His bike wasn't designed for muddy terrain.  Over the com-link, Bradley stated out to him.  "Out of my way, Mcloughlin!"  Sean's bike launched over the ramp and into the air.  The seconds passed like minutes as the bike fell through the air to land back on the pavement.  Sean knew this track by heart and knew the limits of his bike.  So, just after landing, Sean cut into the next turn sharp enough to give him some distance from Bradley.  Since Bradley's bike was built for impacts, it made his bike heavy and hard to handle after a jump.  While Sean's was built light enough to recover much faster.  Reviving the engine for more speed as the upcoming winding turns approached.  Sean smirked to himself.  He was starting to pull away from the crowd now.  This was the part of the track where his bike really excelled.  It played to his strengths perfectly.  Winding turns was his domain.  In his visor, he saw Bradley a few feet behind him.  Just as Sean was leaving a sharp turn, Bradley was going into it.