BOOK 1 - CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 14

“Jamie, no!” Johnny cried out in horror, watching helplessly behind a cage of his own car as a racer drove into the back of Jamie’s fleeing vehicle. The horrific crunch of metal was punctuated by a wicked and eerie laugh— at the front seat was a member of the Road Rage Renegade, his face hidden behind a black helmet painted with an ever-stretching red smile as his laughter continued to echo.

While his cackles mocked Johnny, Jamie’s body was ejected from his car, bailing out through the driver's side window. Tossed several feet in the air, arms and legs flailing as his panicked screams grew to a haunting crescendo right before he— Thud!

Jamie landed headfirst, his neck twisted and his limbs sprawled out in all the wrong ways. He didn't so much as twitch as blood began to pool under him, enveloping the raceway, soaking the stands and staining the world red. There was silence but Johnny didn’t notice it over his own blood curdling screams.

The bleeding racetrack warped into a hospital room. Johnny gasped at the sight of his mother and Clara, he hadn’t seen them since—

“Dammit, Johnny! Why did you have to bring Jamie into all of this?” Johnny’s mother yelled at him. Poking him in the chest.

“You..you just had to let him race with you didn’t you Johnny.” Clara sobbed; she was in her space school uniform for some reason even though she had graduated years ago. “We already lost our father; we can’t lose Jamie because of your recklessness!” Tears streamed down her cheek as she pounded her fists against Johnny’s chest. She wiped her cheeks, still crying all the same and shot him with a glare before running off.

“Clara, wait!”

“Let her go!” his mother snapped. “You’re a disgrace, dragging Jamie into your reckless nonsense. If you want to chase death like your father did, joining the military and now running in those damn death races, then fine! But don’t you dare rope Jamie or Clara into your suicide mission!”

Words of plea stuck in Johnny’s throat. No matter how hard he tried they’d never believe how hard he tried to convince Jamie to do literally anything else, not even when Jamie told them himself that it was his choice. His accident would always be Johnny’s fault.

The hospital faded into blackness, leaving Johnny with his brother sat in a wheelchair. Jamie grinned up at him, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, one that deepened Johnny’s guilt-stricken sorrows. Jamie as well faded away into the darkness, leaving Johnny alone, just as he had been for years of his life and now, his death. The last thing he remembered was falling face first into a river with no one around to save him, Albert had no hands after all.

This must be my eternal punishment. Johnny thought to himself. Now consciously aware of the vast sea of nothingness that enveloped him.

“This isn't your eternal punishment,” A feminine voice spoke into the darkness. “This is what would have happened if you did die. Without you as my champion, the universe would cease to exist. It is fortunate my followers could save you before you drowned.” The voice radiated with power, each word from her pierced the darkness with light until a blinding light was all that remained.

When Johnny opened his eyes again there was a tall, glorious woman with a waterfall of silver hair. She was doused in white and gold light rays, the very photons around bent to fashion a dress.

Johnny gasped, his eyes wide with wonder and no small amount of fear in her presence. “Who are you exactly? And…I’m your champion?”

“I am the light of the universe, the Radiant One who governs the stars in the heavens and, Johnny you are my last hope of protecting this universe from the Loathing One’s consumption. When you awake again you must aid the Radiant Alliance on this planet, they will provide and inform you of all that is needed.”

Johnny wasn't sure what to believe now. A significant part of him still believed he was still drowning, dying so slowly and painfully to poison and suffocation that his brain's chemicals are producing this…reality and its goddess.

The Radiant One chuckled, her laughter sounded like the jingle of summer bells and filled Johnny with warmth. “You are not in a coma my dear Champion. You are safe among my followers' camp; you will be taken care of.”

Ignoring how she just read his mind, Johnny went on to ask. “If I'm your chosen champion then how haven’t I heard of you before now? I wasn’t meant to be on this planet, if it wasn’t for Brandon I would…be where I was meant to be.”

The Radiant One glided closer to him, the shine of her presence washing over Johnny like a blessed heat. She caressed his face and smiled, “And where do you think you were meant to be if not here? It was trickier than I anticipated but your arrival was by design, my design. I wish I could have transported you right where you are now, into the bosom of my followers, but my power wanes amidst the war with the Loathing One, some of my powers are now…faded.”

Johnny opened and closed his mouth several times, struggling to gather his words in full view of her beauty. In the end he looked away from her, hiding a blush while he gathered his thoughts to ask, “I…I’m not here for a fight or for adventure. I’m done with that; I retired from Banzai Bangers and this…this was just meant to be a quick thing I did for DRIFTERS. I want to go home not…not save the world.”

“The Universe, Johnny, the entire Universe is what’s at stake.” The Radiant One said, letting his cheek free as she glided away. With a wave of her hands an interstellar view of the universe appeared, its vastness replacing the Radiant space they were in.

“Woah…” Johnny gasped, finding himself afloat in space and among the stars. A red planet was directly below them and by the green moon that circled it, Johnny recognized it as Magmasphere.

“Look Johnny, these stars…the red and the gold.” The Radiant One said, pointing at the zoomed-in Universe that hung over their heads like a tapestry. “What do you notice?”

Johnny inspected the skies and found there was really only one thing to make a note of. “There’s far more red than gold?”

The Goddess smiled faintly, “Indeed, my Champion. The red stars are worlds already consumed—snuffed out by the Loathing One and his minions. Each one a grave. Cities, forests, oceans… entire civilizations turned to ash. Screams swallowed in the dark.”

“And the gold…those are the last few bastions of life under my protection.” She reached into the heavens and plucked one of the gold lights like a firefly from a jar. It unraveled in her palm, revealing Earth—his blue-green home—spinning slowly in the palm of her hand. “Including your home world, Earth. Without me and now, without you fighting against the Loathing One, it won’t be long before Earth is visited by the same atrocities and evil that plague this one. You must fight, Johnny.”

Johnny felt his stomach drop. That golden light looked so small, so fragile in her hand. Just one among thousands—surrounded by red. He swallowed, his fists tightening. “What… what happens if I don’t fight?”

The Radiant One didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. He looked at Earth again and saw it flicker.

Johnny heaved a sigh, swallowing a hard lump in his throat, “But…I have seen some of those monsters and I think I’ve seen your alliance. I’m nothing like them; I don’t have lightning powers or know how to wield a sword. I…how am I meant to fight those things when all I know is racing?”

The Goddess found her joy again and smiled widely at Johnny as she pressed a finger to his chest and said, “By having faith, my Champion. You are blessed with my power, the Radiant Energy required to repel the Loathing One’s Rift Essence. You will discover abilities beyond any you’ve witnessed and a thousand times more valuable. You alone can redeem the corrupt for you are my Chosen Champion, Johnny Victoris.”

Brows furrowed deeply, Johnny couldn’t help but doubt and wonder, “But I—”

“Shhh, that is all for now, my time with you is limited and it's about time you wake up as well. We will speak again, Johnny but never forget to have faith.”

With the last comment the dreamscape fell apart, waking Johnny out of his slumber.

***

Johnny woke up with a start. He felt groggy and stiff as he sat up in a warm bed. “That goddess just now…was any of that real?” As Johnny questioned his sanity, he looked around to figure out where he was now. The last memory he had was falling into a stream of water before blacking out with horrendous injuries.

Cautiously, Johnny raised a hand to his face. His fingers brushed over coarse bandages wrapped across one cheek, and beneath them, the dull ache of a healing wound. He traced the line of his nose next—intact. Not broken anymore, perfectly set back into place. His brow furrowed as he looked down at himself. Bandages wrapped around his arms and torso, neat rows of stitches traced along old gashes, and where the worst wounds had been, the skin was smooth—completely healed. Even the deep, burning pain inside his ribs, the pain that had haunted every breath since he fought with Brandon, was gone.

Someone must have patched me up while I was out. And also taken the liberty to dress him apparently. His torn race suit was nowhere to be found and in its place was simple white and gold hemp trousers and a shirt.

He inspected the room from the bed, finding it was much less a room and more a furnished prison cell, except, it was fully furnished with comfortable chairs in the corner, a wardrobe, an endside table, and even carpeted floors.

His growling stomach inspired him to inspect the cell from up close. He found it locked from the outside but there was a long hallway from which light penetrated at both sides, he could hear faint sounds of people out there and in his hunger, Johnny almost yelled out to them before reconsidering.

Dream or not, he didn’t know who these people were, and they’d taken many liberties with him and while the cell was nicely furnished— certainly an improvement from what he’s been experiencing— he couldn’t trust them, whoever they are, on a dime.

He searched the room for a very important item only to find it on his wrist. He facepalmed and tapped the VoyWatch’s screen to wake Albert up only to find it was turned off. He quickly turned it on, hoping there was still a connection to the Voyager from wherever it was now. At the thought of the Voyager being lost in the Savannah his heart sank into his stomach and he paced the cell anxiously while the VoyWatch fetched the connection.

“Johnny, is that you?” Albert chimed cautiously.

“It is.” Johnny replied.

“I had to go into power saving mode over the past two days.”

“Two days?!” Johnny clamped a hand over his mouth, shocked at his own exclamation, “Two days? What happened?”

“A Dragon man and his friends saved you before you drowned, they brought you here.”

Johnny hummed, he remembered seeing a Dragon man, he’d saved him once before and now again. Twice. “That’s all? What about the Voyager?”

“The Voyager is fine, I drove it alongside the Dragon man, but a message did come in from DRIFTERS, Cole Mcdaris says he's going dark for a while. Things have escalated between DRIFTERS and Banzai Bangers. Evidently, DRIFTERS has been under investigation by the Convar Imperial Corps for defying the regulations on space travel monopolies. DRIFTERS has accused Banzai Bangers of using their race events to slowly wipe out humanity. Fortunately, the United Earth Regime council has been involved in the matter, and they’ve managed to reach some kind of peace.

“But DRIFTERS has completely pulled out of Banzai Bangers. Your friend Terry’s leading their new thing now—it’s still racing, but in virtual leagues instead of the death-trap races Banzai Bangers was running. You’re still being kept up to date with, but communication is severely limited, I don’t believe we could get in contact with them even if we wanted to. You’re on your own now, Johnny.”