“Gah!” I called as the entire truck flashed and teleported. Mongo screeched in surprise, and Donut let out a yowl.
We teleported to a dark driveway with an opening garage door.
The bugbears’ minivan had disappeared, but the trailer and the chains remained. The chains clattered loudly on the ground.
I pulled us into the cavernous garage, pulling forward far enough to get the trailer inside.
“Have you noticed?” Donut asked as I put the truck into park. “The AI voice is getting all weird and glitchy.”
“Yeah,” I said.
Hedy the mechanic started jogging toward us.
Behind us, Mongo growled at Hedy.
“No, Mongo. She’s a friend.”
The moment Donut said that, Mongo burst out the back of the truck, causing the doors to fly open. He jumped off the trailer and started bouncing all around the small mechanic, who fell on her ass.
The GPS unit beeped, and the female voice spoke.
Limited details on the next race are now available.
Distance: 10 kilometers.
Track: Asphalt-paved road. Rolling hills.
There are two paths for this race. You will be assigned one of two paths at random.
Tasks required to complete: Each path is of equal length. Each path has a gatekeeper monster along that path that must be killed to resume.
Special Rules: Your vehicle may only travel your assigned path.
Environment: Torrential downpour of rain and giant hail.
Hazards: Well, we have the hail and the gatekeeper monster, whatever that might be. But I’d suggest that our biggest hazard is the fact that this bucket has to be driven by a fucking cat this time.
Time Limit: 3 hours.
“Hey!” Donut cried. “Carl, why is the GPS thing a jerk?” She paused. “But she is right. How the heck am I supposed to drive this thing?”
I laughed.
“We have ten hours to figure it out. It sounds like we can use mercenaries. And if not, maybe there’s an upgrade that’ll allow you to drive. Or we can rig something up ourselves.”
I read the rules for heat two again. “The time limit is halved, but the distance is way shorter.”
Mongo was on his back like a dog, waving his tail back and forth, while Hedy scratched him under his wings. I pulled Rend out, and the meatball made a “wow” sound as he looked about the large garage. Mongo jumped to his feet and Rend bounded toward him.
Hedy stood and tapped the trailer. “Helping the other drivers, I see,” she said. “Almost pulled the whole back bumper off.” She did not sound like she approved.
“If we didn’t, then there would’ve been two teams that didn’t finish,” I said. “I’m trying to avoid that if possible.”
She grunted and examined the truck.
“How’d she drive?”
“Kinda slow, but faster than I was expecting. We’ll need to remove all the kitchen gear in the back. And for god’s sake, we gotta take that gun off the roof. It blocks my view.”