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Description

(Resubmitting with text because you can't zoom in to read the notes and my handwriting sucks, I've deleted the previous submission so no duplicates)

Hello! Thanks so much for another opportunity to test my skills as a digital artist XD I spent WAY too much time on this, like, thirty plus hours, so clearly I still need to work on my speed in art lol I'm not sure what's up with the quality, it looks great and clear on my computer, maybe the canvas size is too big for the site? I hope ya'll can see it okay
Anywho, I got a little carried away with the story part heh, but I was honestly super inspired by this and may actually finish this story, if that's allowed XD

Racer: Darius, age 25. He's a little hot-headed, perhaps too self-confident. He loves his mother, but was always closer to his father, who encouraged and helped to grow his skills in mechanics. Since the death of his father, Darius has been working a full-time job at a popular garage in his hometown to pay off his father's debts, while his mother grieves. As a result, he's been rather short with his mother, and while he signs up for the race because he wants to provide for her and make her happy, he's too stubborn to tell her this.

Ride: Nova, a massive hovercraft built as a mechanical dragon, fitted with an AI (autopilot disabled for the race) While hyper-intelligent, "she" has a personality and characteristics much like a dog

Lucky charm: Darius's mother gives him his father's scarf. His father had died of cancer the year before the race, leaving the family in massive debt from medical bills--and from Dad's gambling addiction.

Special Trick: Nova is a hovercraft, but with some modifications, Darius built six jet-like engines into her sides that provide a massive boost in speed. She can fly at sixteen-hundred miles per hour at max speed for as long as the boost is activated. Her fuel supplies, while slightly more than that of an actual fighter jet, are still limited, but the checkpoints have fuel ready to use.

"Short" story:

    The rules weren’t too complicated:

Anyone with a vehicle can enter, all fuel expenses are paid for by the sponsors.
For vehicles with flight capabilities, flight time is limited to two hours per day over land.
No outside help is to be received after the race has started, with the exception of basic needs (food/water, fuel, and medical necessities)
All racers must stay within two thousand miles north and south of the Equator for the entire duration of the race. Those who go out of bounds for more than thirty minutes are immediately disqualified.
Checkpoints are set up every five thousand kilometers and are equipped with emergency medical equipment. Every racer is given an emergency contact device to carry at all times to use in case of a serious emergency. The racer is responsible for his or her health and safety alone, the sponsors, hosts, and viewers are not to be held liable for any injuries sustained during the race.

    The prize? Three-hundred million US dollars. With that kind of money, Darius could pay off his father’s gambling debts, jumpstart his dream to design and manufacture a new line of cars, and make sure his mother never had to worry about money again. He would be stupid not to enter.
    Darius set the flier down on his work bench, looking up at Nova. The giant mechanical dragon hummed softly, her wings folded at her sides. The turbines turned slowly as Darius approached. “Think you can make it girl?”
    Nova clacked her jaws, her tail sweeping back and forth behind her. She bobbed her head up and down.
    Darius smiled. His father had insisted they program her with an AI and the personality and loyalty of a dog, despite the fact that she was originally designed to be a basic vehicle with autopilot capabilities. At the time, Darius had thought it a stupid idea--it was expensive--but now it felt like a little part of his father wired into the mech’s circuits.
    “Yeah, an all terrain beasty like you would crush the competition.”
    Nova rumbled her agreement.
    Darius turned back to the flier, flipping it over and filling out the entry form on the back. “The race is in three weeks, I’m pretty sure I can finish that booster of yours before then. I just need to figure out how to keep the jets from interfering with the turbines….” He looked over the blueprints. “I mean, we could always move the rockets to your butt.”
    Nova huffed out a plume of black smoke, the exhaust pipes on the back of her head spitting fire.
    “Okay okay, I was just kidding.” Darius laughed. “Besides, they’d get in the way of your legs.”
    The barn door shuddered open behind him. Darius glanced over his shoulder. “Hey Mom.”
    “Honey, you can’t spend the rest of your life in this crappy old barn.” Mom wrinkled her nose at the smell of exhaust and mildew.
    “It’s a workshop, Mom.”
    “At least take out the hay, it can’t be good for you to breathe in here.”
    “I left the windows open,” Darius said distractedly. He erased the wings on the sketch of Nova’s blueprints, redrawing them as bigger, and longer. When Dad designed her, she was built more like a hovercraft with legs, with short, stubby wings built around the turbines. It was only when Darius, eight at the time, pointed out that she looked like a dragon, that Dad decided to make Darius’s fantasy a reality. Over the years, he and Darius worked on rebuilding Nova into a massive mechanical dragon. He always had been too eager to spend money on his son.
    Mom leaned over his shoulder. “Still changing it’s design?”
    “Her design.” Darius shut his eyes. “Did you need something?”
    Mom was quiet for a moment. “Dinner is ready.”
    “I already ate.”
    “Okay.” She turned away, then paused. She picked up the flier, skimming over the application. “What is this?”
    “It’s nothing.”
    “Uh-uh, I saw the ad for this on TV you are not entering this race.”
    “Mom--”
    “No, not a chance. The people who enter races like this are just a bunch of greedy lunatics who will do anything for a few bucks.”
    Darius clenched his fist around his pencil. “It’s not just ‘a few bucks’, Mom, it’s three-hundred million dollars. Nothing like this has ever been done before.”
    “I don’t care, it’s not worth it.” Mom crossed her arms as if the motion was supposed to make it final.
    “Not worth it?” Darius threw his arms out in a grand gesture to the barn around him. “We are eighty-thousand dollars in debt from Dad’s medical bills, not to mention his gambling debt which is what, two-hundred-something thousand? We are screwed, Mom, the bank is like two months from taking the house and the property and auctioning off everything in it. The Garage can only give me so many hours, where else are we supposed to get that kind of money?”
    “You could sell the mech?” Mom shrugged, pointing at Nova. “When are you ever going to use it? It’s not street legal, it just sits in the barn all the time.”
    “I am not selling her, I’d sooner move out!”
    Mom faltered. “Well--we have been making payments on the debt--we can--”
    “I have been making payments! I have been working sixty-hour weeks and pulling all the overtime I can get since Dad died and I’ve still barely made a dent in what we owe. With interest rates and property taxes on top of that--Mom, we will both be dead long before that debt is paid.” Darius pounded his fist on the workbench. “I want a life, mom. I’m twenty-five, I should have my own house with my own family by now--”
    “Not everyone your age has that--”
    “But I want that!”
    Mom looked down, shutting her mouth.
    Darius sighed. He glanced back down at the adjusted blueprints. “I have my own dreams, Mom. If I win this, I can open my own factory, and we’ll never have to worry about debt again. I’m entering this race, and I’m riding Nova.”
    “Can it even--”
    “She.”
    Mom hesitated. “Can she even handle that kind of travel?”
    “Nova can handle anything, Dad spared no expenses.”
    “I’m sure,” Mom muttered.
    “She’s an AI, capable of maneuvering through any terrain with only basic commands from me. All I have to do is tell her what direction to move, and she figures out the rest. Other racers will be limited to roads and ferries and stuff, with Nova, I can just jump across a river or canyon. And with her boosts,” Darius pointed to the jets on Nova’s sides, “she can blast across any large body of water at sixteen-hundred miles per hour, whereas other racers will have to go around.”
    “Sixteen-hundred?” Mom took Darius’s hand as he picked up his pencil. “Darius, this is dangerous.”
    “It’s no faster than a fighter jet.” Darius pulled away from her. “Besides, she can only do it three times before needing a refuel, I’ll only use it when I need it.”
    “I mean the other racers--Darius do you really think that they’ll all play fair?”
    “Nova isn’t just a vehicle, she’s a weapon. Plus I’m taking Dad’s shotgun.”
    “Do you really think you could shoot someone?”
    Darius made a face. “Well yeah, if they’re gonna kill me.”
    Mom shook her head, her eyes glassy. “Darius….”
    “Mom. I’m racing. Period.”
    “What if you don’t win?”
    Darius hadn’t thought of that. “Then I guess we’ll be right back to square one.”
    “You’ll be gone for weeks, what about your job?”
    “You get a job!” Darius snapped. “It’s been a year, Mom, you can’t use grief as an excuse anymore! I didn’t get a break, it’s your turn!”
    Mom’s tears finally spilled over.
    Darius turned away from her, leaning over the workbench. “Just…. Call Nana, maybe she can help while I’m gone.”
    Mom rested her hand gently on Darius’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”
    Darius didn’t feel like trying to explain how impossible it was for them to raise two-hundred and eighty thousand dollars without letting the bank take the house. “Your dinner is getting cold,” he said quietly.
    Mom waited a few seconds, then let go of him. She left the barn without another word.
    Nova nudged Darius’s back with her nose, releasing a burst of exhaust from her horns.
    Darius sighed. “I know I know, I’ll…. apologize later.” He picked up the blueprints, holding them up so Nova could see. “How’s this?”
    Nova’s shutter-like eyes narrowed as she focused on the sheet of paper. The gears in the back of her throat clicked out “might work” in Morse code.
    “Well, we’d better get started then.” Darius led Nova to the back of the barn, where Dad’s sheet metal was stacked against the wall. “I have to work tomorrow morning.”

    Three weeks passed quickly. Between work and building Nova’s new wings, Darius got very little sleep. Even less was said between him and his mother.
    Darius slammed Nova’s seat down, sealing his luggage inside. He didn’t pack much, just a few pairs of clothes, a large backpack-water bottle, a jet-boil with twenty packs of dehydrated meals, and three cases of shotgun ammo. He had considered borrowing his grandma’s pistol, but he was a lousy shot. With a shotgun, even if he mostly missed he could at least stun an attacker long enough to get away. Anything else he could probably purchase on the trip.
    Nova raised her head, tipping her nose to the barn door just before it opened. Mom stepped in. She held a small box in her hands.
    Darius slid down Nova’s front leg, stumbling as he landed. “Mom, if you’re gonna try to stop me again, it’s not going to work.”
    Nova clicked her disapproval of his tone, but Darius ignored her. Leave it to Dad to program the mech to tell him to respect his mother.
    “I figured.” Mom looked defeated. She held out the box. “I found this in the back of my closet.”
    Darius sighed through his nose. He lifted the lid off the box, and his heart twisted. Dad’s old scarf was folded on top of tissue paper inside.
    “I want you to take it with you. Maybe it can be like a lucky charm.” There were tears in her eyes.
    Darius took the scarf out of the box. The little beads on the end clicked together softly as he wrapped it around his neck. It still smelled like motor oil and Dad’s cologne.
    “Please be safe out there,” Mom whispered. She rested her hand on his cheek. “I can’t lose you too.”
    Darius pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll come home. I promise.”
    Mom didn’t say anything, struggling to maintain her composure as she held her son tight.
    Darius pulled away, holding her at arm’s length. “Hey, I’m gonna win this, and then we’ll never have to worry about money again.”
    Mom gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be praying for you.”
    Darius hugged her again. “Thanks Mom.”
    “Will I be able to call and talk to you?”
    “Not really--I can try and call at checkpoints, but I don’t want to spend too much time in one place. But, you can watch me the whole time--we’re all given cameras that broadcast live through satellite, my channel is one-forty-two.”
    Mom took a shaky breath. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
    “Kinda, I’ve been training a bit after work.” Darius scratched the back of his head. “Mainly my goal is to just stay as far ahead of everyone else as I can. I think my biggest advantage is the oceans. Nova can fly across them on her own, I don’t have to rely on some other form of transport to carry her across. There are three oceans, and each has at least a hundred aircraft-carrier checkpoints. I can refuel at one of them--Mom, I’ve got this. No one else has a vehicle like this, Nova can’t be beat.”
    “Don’t get cocky.” Mom glanced up at Nova. “I’m sure at least some of the other racer’s have recognized the oceans as a serious disadvantage, the fact that you can fly across them will likely make you a target. Watch your back, Darius, and--I hate to say it, but don’t trust anyone.”
    For the first time since he signed up, Darius felt a twinge of fear. He really didn’t have any idea what he was getting himself into. “I won’t. I’ll stay away from everyone, even at the checkpoints.”
    Mom squeezed his hands. “I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”
    Darius clambered onto Nova’s back, pulling on his helmet. “Let’s see, two-hundred miles per hour, with the occasional sixteen-hundred mile per hour boost? I think I can make it less.”
    “You still need sleep.”
    “I will.” Darius hesitated. “I love you, Mom.”
    Mom gave him a tearful smile. “I love you too honey. Goodbye.”
    Darius leaned forwards and gripped Nova’s handlebars. He shifted her into gear and eased her slowly out of the barn. The semi from the sponsors was already parked in the driveway. Four men stood ready to strap Nova to the flatbed.
    Nova climbed onto the trailer, and Darius powered her down. He slid off her back and helped the men secure her to the flatbed.
    The race was to begin in Quito, Ecuador, right on the Equator. Darius gave his mother one last look over his shoulder before ducking into the black limo that had accompanied the semi. They had a long drive ahead of them.

    There were six-hundred racers in total, Darius realized as he signed in at the starting line. Six hundred.
    The woman behind the table handed him a number to stick on the back of his jacket, along with one for Nova. “You’ll also need to keep this on you at all times.” She handed him a tiny go-pro. “And this on your dash pointed at you.” She handed him another, this one with a heavy duty suction cup on the base.
    Darius accepted both of them. “Do they have chargers or….?”
    “Each should last you at least twenty-four hours. But be sure to take a new one at each checkpoint you stop at, just in case.” The woman handed him a small tablet. “This is your tracker and map. Do not lose this, keep it on your person no matter what. The line in the middle of the screen is the equator.”
    Darius accepted this as well, zipping it in his jacket pocket. “Thanks.”
    The woman leaned around him. “Next!”
    Darius looked around as he made his way back to the semi. Most of the other racers seemed to have brought sleek, high-tech looking motorcycles. There were a couple of mustang-like cars with jet engines--could they fly? I guess I wasn’t the only one who figured to bring something that could cross the ocean without too much help. But as far as he could see, Nova was the only mech.
    Someone scoffed behind him. “You gonna be riding that?”
    Darius turned around. A tall, lanky young man stood next to a stretched out, fat-tired motorcycle, leaning against the seat with his helmet under his arm. The number ‘63’ was embroidered on the left breast of his jacket. Two other boys stood beside him.
    “Do you see anything else for me to ride?”
    “I saw a pony on the ride over here, might get you a little farther.” 63 laughed. His friends laughed too, elbowing each other like a bunch of middle-school boys.
    Darius squinted at him. “So what are you gonna do when you have to forge a river?”
    “Uuuh, I don’t know, maybe find a bridge?” 63 snorted. “Not that hard.”
    “Sure, have fun losing time by sticking to the roads.” Darius waved sarcastically as he turned back to Nova. He undid the last strap holding her down and climbed onto the flatbed, scrambling up her leg and onto her back.
    “You know you’re only allowed two hours of flight time over land, right?”
    Darius powered Nova up. The mech hummed softly before her engines roared to life. Black smoke spewed from her exhaust pipes as she rose to her feet. Darius shifted her into gear, and she leapt off the back of the truck, landing heavily next to 63’s bike. The ground shuddered beneath her, and the bike tipped to the side.
    “Hey!” 63 jumped back as Nova took a step forward.
    “Whoops.” Darius smirked.
    “All racers to the startup line!” A voice echoed on a loudspeaker.
    Darius eased Nova’s handlebars forward. She walked smoothly to the starting line, her tail slowly sweeping behind her. He had oiled all her gears and shafts the night before, everything was running perfectly. But Darius had lost the edge of his confidence. Whether or not 63’s bike was limited to flat ground, it looked fast. Nova’s boost may be his only advantage, and while it had worked the other night, it was still a little uncertain how long she could hold the boost without falling apart. She could travel as fast as a jet, but she wasn’t nearly as streamlined.
    The other racers lined up next to him. There were definitely others that were capable of flight, but it looked like most of them had wheels. There was one that had a track like a tank, and another that had heavy duty legs that arched around it like some sort of blocky spider, but most appeared to be standard vehicles. There had to be some trick to each of them--how would any sane person expect to win a race around the world in one of these without the ability to cross the oceans?
    Racer 141 pulled up next to him. She rode a small, streamlined bike. Two jets rested behind the seat, and small wings with turbines jutted out on either side. She was about to put her helmet on, but paused when she saw him looking. “Need something?”
    Darius blinked. “Nope. Just admiring your bike. Did you build it?”
    “Nah, just modified it. My uncle builds planes, he helped me out.” 141 put her helmet on, tucking her long, dark hair up beneath it. “What about you? She’s beautiful, but do you really think that beast can handle this race?”
    “You’d be surprised.” Darius smirked. “She can run pretty fast.”
    “Yeah? How fast?”
    “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.” Darius revved Nova’s engine.
    Nova roared, her turbines spinning in her wings and her horns spewing exhaust.
    Several other racers hit the gas, engines revving all down the starting line.
    “Ha, don’t get too cocky one-forty-two, you haven’t raced against anyone like me before.”
    I haven’t raced at all, Darius thought with a sudden pang of dread. What was he getting himself into? He forced a smile. “Well, I look forward to kicking your butt.”
    141 barked a laugh, shaking her head. “Sure buddy, good luck.”
    “You too.” Darius grinned, putting his own helmet on.
    She seemed nice enough. Maybe she wouldn’t try to kill him. 143, on the other hand, looked terrifying. He was big, bald, and had spikes on his helmet. Darius was pretty sure the slots on the side of his mustang opened to reveal guns of some kind. The guy looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. Darius quickly looked away. This will be fun, he told himself, twisting the beads of Dad’s scarf between his fingers. You got this.
    I’m gonna die.
    “Alriiiight racers!” A man rolled out in front of the starting line on the back of a pickup truck, his voice blasting through the amps around him. “Are you ready for the first ever Radical Race around the world?”
    Several racers blared their horns.
    “I trust you have all read the rules and signed the wavers?”
    More honking.
    “Good! Here’s a few tips. Most cities know you’re coming, which means that you shouldn’t have any problems with cops so long as you don’t break the law. However, if you cause property damage, or hit a civilian, or cause any kind of accidents, you will be held liable by the laws and courts of whatever country you committed that crime in. So be careful within city limits. Furthermore, the sponsors will not be held liable for the deaths or injuries of any civilians or racers. If you hit someone, and it gets caught on your camera, you’re screwed.
    “I also had some questions about the race track limitations, so allow me to make it clear: you are to follow the line of the equator, as shown on your trackers. If you stray too far from that line, you’re out. Any other questions?”
    More honking horns.
  “Right, cheating is not allowed--no outside help, and no autopilot. Racers will not be held liable for damage to other vehicles or the deaths of other racers, so don’t be afraid to play dirty ladies and gentlemen!”
    Darius paled. “Did he just say what I think he said?”
    141 looked up at him, but he couldn’t see through her tinted visor.
    “Alright racers, let’s get ready to kick up some dust!”
    The racers all revved their engines, a black cloud of exhaust forming above them. Darius lowered his goggles over his eyes and leaned forwards. He gripped the throttle, taking slow, deep breaths through Dad’s scarf, hoping the familiar smell would soothe his racing mind. His heart was pounding.
    The man held up a large, checkered flag. “Three!”
    Darius looked around quickly. 141 was laying flat on her bike, her feet resting on the base of its wings.
    “Two.”
    143 was giving him a dark look through the window of his own vehicle on Darius’s right. He drew a line across his throat with his finger.
    “One!” The man in the pickup waved the checkered flag. “GO!”
    To be continued? This is going on too long for an art prompt lol maybe I’ll add more in the comments…. maybe…. If you made it this far, thanks for reading <3

Description

(Resubmitting with text because you can't zoom in to read the notes and my handwriting sucks, I've deleted the previous submission so no duplicates)

Hello! Thanks so much for another opportunity to test my skills as a digital artist XD I spent WAY too much time on this, like, thirty plus hours, so clearly I still need to work on my speed in art lol I'm not sure what's up with the quality, it looks great and clear on my computer, maybe the canvas size is too big for the site? I hope ya'll can see it okay
Anywho, I got a little carried away with the story part heh, but I was honestly super inspired by this and may actually finish this story, if that's allowed XD

Racer: Darius, age 25. He's a little hot-headed, perhaps too self-confident. He loves his mother, but was always closer to his father, who encouraged and helped to grow his skills in mechanics. Since the death of his father, Darius has been working a full-time job at a popular garage in his hometown to pay off his father's debts, while his mother grieves. As a result, he's been rather short with his mother, and while he signs up for the race because he wants to provide for her and make her happy, he's too stubborn to tell her this.

Ride: Nova, a massive hovercraft built as a mechanical dragon, fitted with an AI (autopilot disabled for the race) While hyper-intelligent, "she" has a personality and characteristics much like a dog

Lucky charm: Darius's mother gives him his father's scarf. His father had died of cancer the year before the race, leaving the family in massive debt from medical bills--and from Dad's gambling addiction.

Special Trick: Nova is a hovercraft, but with some modifications, Darius built six jet-like engines into her sides that provide a massive boost in speed. She can fly at sixteen-hundred miles per hour at max speed for as long as the boost is activated. Her fuel supplies, while slightly more than that of an actual fighter jet, are still limited, but the checkpoints have fuel ready to use.

"Short" story:

    The rules weren’t too complicated:

Anyone with a vehicle can enter, all fuel expenses are paid for by the sponsors.
For vehicles with flight capabilities, flight time is limited to two hours per day over land.
No outside help is to be received after the race has started, with the exception of basic needs (food/water, fuel, and medical necessities)
All racers must stay within two thousand miles north and south of the Equator for the entire duration of the race. Those who go out of bounds for more than thirty minutes are immediately disqualified.
Checkpoints are set up every five thousand kilometers and are equipped with emergency medical equipment. Every racer is given an emergency contact device to carry at all times to use in case of a serious emergency. The racer is responsible for his or her health and safety alone, the sponsors, hosts, and viewers are not to be held liable for any injuries sustained during the race.

    The prize? Three-hundred million US dollars. With that kind of money, Darius could pay off his father’s gambling debts, jumpstart his dream to design and manufacture a new line of cars, and make sure his mother never had to worry about money again. He would be stupid not to enter.
    Darius set the flier down on his work bench, looking up at Nova. The giant mechanical dragon hummed softly, her wings folded at her sides. The turbines turned slowly as Darius approached. “Think you can make it girl?”
    Nova clacked her jaws, her tail sweeping back and forth behind her. She bobbed her head up and down.
    Darius smiled. His father had insisted they program her with an AI and the personality and loyalty of a dog, despite the fact that she was originally designed to be a basic vehicle with autopilot capabilities. At the time, Darius had thought it a stupid idea--it was expensive--but now it felt like a little part of his father wired into the mech’s circuits.
    “Yeah, an all terrain beasty like you would crush the competition.”
    Nova rumbled her agreement.
    Darius turned back to the flier, flipping it over and filling out the entry form on the back. “The race is in three weeks, I’m pretty sure I can finish that booster of yours before then. I just need to figure out how to keep the jets from interfering with the turbines….” He looked over the blueprints. “I mean, we could always move the rockets to your butt.”
    Nova huffed out a plume of black smoke, the exhaust pipes on the back of her head spitting fire.
    “Okay okay, I was just kidding.” Darius laughed. “Besides, they’d get in the way of your legs.”
    The barn door shuddered open behind him. Darius glanced over his shoulder. “Hey Mom.”
    “Honey, you can’t spend the rest of your life in this crappy old barn.” Mom wrinkled her nose at the smell of exhaust and mildew.
    “It’s a workshop, Mom.”
    “At least take out the hay, it can’t be good for you to breathe in here.”
    “I left the windows open,” Darius said distractedly. He erased the wings on the sketch of Nova’s blueprints, redrawing them as bigger, and longer. When Dad designed her, she was built more like a hovercraft with legs, with short, stubby wings built around the turbines. It was only when Darius, eight at the time, pointed out that she looked like a dragon, that Dad decided to make Darius’s fantasy a reality. Over the years, he and Darius worked on rebuilding Nova into a massive mechanical dragon. He always had been too eager to spend money on his son.
    Mom leaned over his shoulder. “Still changing it’s design?”
    “Her design.” Darius shut his eyes. “Did you need something?”
    Mom was quiet for a moment. “Dinner is ready.”
    “I already ate.”
    “Okay.” She turned away, then paused. She picked up the flier, skimming over the application. “What is this?”
    “It’s nothing.”
    “Uh-uh, I saw the ad for this on TV you are not entering this race.”
    “Mom--”
    “No, not a chance. The people who enter races like this are just a bunch of greedy lunatics who will do anything for a few bucks.”
    Darius clenched his fist around his pencil. “It’s not just ‘a few bucks’, Mom, it’s three-hundred million dollars. Nothing like this has ever been done before.”
    “I don’t care, it’s not worth it.” Mom crossed her arms as if the motion was supposed to make it final.
    “Not worth it?” Darius threw his arms out in a grand gesture to the barn around him. “We are eighty-thousand dollars in debt from Dad’s medical bills, not to mention his gambling debt which is what, two-hundred-something thousand? We are screwed, Mom, the bank is like two months from taking the house and the property and auctioning off everything in it. The Garage can only give me so many hours, where else are we supposed to get that kind of money?”
    “You could sell the mech?” Mom shrugged, pointing at Nova. “When are you ever going to use it? It’s not street legal, it just sits in the barn all the time.”
    “I am not selling her, I’d sooner move out!”
    Mom faltered. “Well--we have been making payments on the debt--we can--”
    “I have been making payments! I have been working sixty-hour weeks and pulling all the overtime I can get since Dad died and I’ve still barely made a dent in what we owe. With interest rates and property taxes on top of that--Mom, we will both be dead long before that debt is paid.” Darius pounded his fist on the workbench. “I want a life, mom. I’m twenty-five, I should have my own house with my own family by now--”
    “Not everyone your age has that--”
    “But I want that!”
    Mom looked down, shutting her mouth.
    Darius sighed. He glanced back down at the adjusted blueprints. “I have my own dreams, Mom. If I win this, I can open my own factory, and we’ll never have to worry about debt again. I’m entering this race, and I’m riding Nova.”
    “Can it even--”
    “She.”
    Mom hesitated. “Can she even handle that kind of travel?”
    “Nova can handle anything, Dad spared no expenses.”
    “I’m sure,” Mom muttered.
    “She’s an AI, capable of maneuvering through any terrain with only basic commands from me. All I have to do is tell her what direction to move, and she figures out the rest. Other racers will be limited to roads and ferries and stuff, with Nova, I can just jump across a river or canyon. And with her boosts,” Darius pointed to the jets on Nova’s sides, “she can blast across any large body of water at sixteen-hundred miles per hour, whereas other racers will have to go around.”
    “Sixteen-hundred?” Mom took Darius’s hand as he picked up his pencil. “Darius, this is dangerous.”
    “It’s no faster than a fighter jet.” Darius pulled away from her. “Besides, she can only do it three times before needing a refuel, I’ll only use it when I need it.”
    “I mean the other racers--Darius do you really think that they’ll all play fair?”
    “Nova isn’t just a vehicle, she’s a weapon. Plus I’m taking Dad’s shotgun.”
    “Do you really think you could shoot someone?”
    Darius made a face. “Well yeah, if they’re gonna kill me.”
    Mom shook her head, her eyes glassy. “Darius….”
    “Mom. I’m racing. Period.”
    “What if you don’t win?”
    Darius hadn’t thought of that. “Then I guess we’ll be right back to square one.”
    “You’ll be gone for weeks, what about your job?”
    “You get a job!” Darius snapped. “It’s been a year, Mom, you can’t use grief as an excuse anymore! I didn’t get a break, it’s your turn!”
    Mom’s tears finally spilled over.
    Darius turned away from her, leaning over the workbench. “Just…. Call Nana, maybe she can help while I’m gone.”
    Mom rested her hand gently on Darius’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”
    Darius didn’t feel like trying to explain how impossible it was for them to raise two-hundred and eighty thousand dollars without letting the bank take the house. “Your dinner is getting cold,” he said quietly.
    Mom waited a few seconds, then let go of him. She left the barn without another word.
    Nova nudged Darius’s back with her nose, releasing a burst of exhaust from her horns.
    Darius sighed. “I know I know, I’ll…. apologize later.” He picked up the blueprints, holding them up so Nova could see. “How’s this?”
    Nova’s shutter-like eyes narrowed as she focused on the sheet of paper. The gears in the back of her throat clicked out “might work” in Morse code.
    “Well, we’d better get started then.” Darius led Nova to the back of the barn, where Dad’s sheet metal was stacked against the wall. “I have to work tomorrow morning.”

    Three weeks passed quickly. Between work and building Nova’s new wings, Darius got very little sleep. Even less was said between him and his mother.
    Darius slammed Nova’s seat down, sealing his luggage inside. He didn’t pack much, just a few pairs of clothes, a large backpack-water bottle, a jet-boil with twenty packs of dehydrated meals, and three cases of shotgun ammo. He had considered borrowing his grandma’s pistol, but he was a lousy shot. With a shotgun, even if he mostly missed he could at least stun an attacker long enough to get away. Anything else he could probably purchase on the trip.
    Nova raised her head, tipping her nose to the barn door just before it opened. Mom stepped in. She held a small box in her hands.
    Darius slid down Nova’s front leg, stumbling as he landed. “Mom, if you’re gonna try to stop me again, it’s not going to work.”
    Nova clicked her disapproval of his tone, but Darius ignored her. Leave it to Dad to program the mech to tell him to respect his mother.
    “I figured.” Mom looked defeated. She held out the box. “I found this in the back of my closet.”
    Darius sighed through his nose. He lifted the lid off the box, and his heart twisted. Dad’s old scarf was folded on top of tissue paper inside.
    “I want you to take it with you. Maybe it can be like a lucky charm.” There were tears in her eyes.
    Darius took the scarf out of the box. The little beads on the end clicked together softly as he wrapped it around his neck. It still smelled like motor oil and Dad’s cologne.
    “Please be safe out there,” Mom whispered. She rested her hand on his cheek. “I can’t lose you too.”
    Darius pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll come home. I promise.”
    Mom didn’t say anything, struggling to maintain her composure as she held her son tight.
    Darius pulled away, holding her at arm’s length. “Hey, I’m gonna win this, and then we’ll never have to worry about money again.”
    Mom gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be praying for you.”
    Darius hugged her again. “Thanks Mom.”
    “Will I be able to call and talk to you?”
    “Not really--I can try and call at checkpoints, but I don’t want to spend too much time in one place. But, you can watch me the whole time--we’re all given cameras that broadcast live through satellite, my channel is one-forty-two.”
    Mom took a shaky breath. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
    “Kinda, I’ve been training a bit after work.” Darius scratched the back of his head. “Mainly my goal is to just stay as far ahead of everyone else as I can. I think my biggest advantage is the oceans. Nova can fly across them on her own, I don’t have to rely on some other form of transport to carry her across. There are three oceans, and each has at least a hundred aircraft-carrier checkpoints. I can refuel at one of them--Mom, I’ve got this. No one else has a vehicle like this, Nova can’t be beat.”
    “Don’t get cocky.” Mom glanced up at Nova. “I’m sure at least some of the other racer’s have recognized the oceans as a serious disadvantage, the fact that you can fly across them will likely make you a target. Watch your back, Darius, and--I hate to say it, but don’t trust anyone.”
    For the first time since he signed up, Darius felt a twinge of fear. He really didn’t have any idea what he was getting himself into. “I won’t. I’ll stay away from everyone, even at the checkpoints.”
    Mom squeezed his hands. “I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”
    Darius clambered onto Nova’s back, pulling on his helmet. “Let’s see, two-hundred miles per hour, with the occasional sixteen-hundred mile per hour boost? I think I can make it less.”
    “You still need sleep.”
    “I will.” Darius hesitated. “I love you, Mom.”
    Mom gave him a tearful smile. “I love you too honey. Goodbye.”
    Darius leaned forwards and gripped Nova’s handlebars. He shifted her into gear and eased her slowly out of the barn. The semi from the sponsors was already parked in the driveway. Four men stood ready to strap Nova to the flatbed.
    Nova climbed onto the trailer, and Darius powered her down. He slid off her back and helped the men secure her to the flatbed.
    The race was to begin in Quito, Ecuador, right on the Equator. Darius gave his mother one last look over his shoulder before ducking into the black limo that had accompanied the semi. They had a long drive ahead of them.

    There were six-hundred racers in total, Darius realized as he signed in at the starting line. Six hundred.
    The woman behind the table handed him a number to stick on the back of his jacket, along with one for Nova. “You’ll also need to keep this on you at all times.” She handed him a tiny go-pro. “And this on your dash pointed at you.” She handed him another, this one with a heavy duty suction cup on the base.
    Darius accepted both of them. “Do they have chargers or….?”
    “Each should last you at least twenty-four hours. But be sure to take a new one at each checkpoint you stop at, just in case.” The woman handed him a small tablet. “This is your tracker and map. Do not lose this, keep it on your person no matter what. The line in the middle of the screen is the equator.”
    Darius accepted this as well, zipping it in his jacket pocket. “Thanks.”
    The woman leaned around him. “Next!”
    Darius looked around as he made his way back to the semi. Most of the other racers seemed to have brought sleek, high-tech looking motorcycles. There were a couple of mustang-like cars with jet engines--could they fly? I guess I wasn’t the only one who figured to bring something that could cross the ocean without too much help. But as far as he could see, Nova was the only mech.
    Someone scoffed behind him. “You gonna be riding that?”
    Darius turned around. A tall, lanky young man stood next to a stretched out, fat-tired motorcycle, leaning against the seat with his helmet under his arm. The number ‘63’ was embroidered on the left breast of his jacket. Two other boys stood beside him.
    “Do you see anything else for me to ride?”
    “I saw a pony on the ride over here, might get you a little farther.” 63 laughed. His friends laughed too, elbowing each other like a bunch of middle-school boys.
    Darius squinted at him. “So what are you gonna do when you have to forge a river?”
    “Uuuh, I don’t know, maybe find a bridge?” 63 snorted. “Not that hard.”
    “Sure, have fun losing time by sticking to the roads.” Darius waved sarcastically as he turned back to Nova. He undid the last strap holding her down and climbed onto the flatbed, scrambling up her leg and onto her back.
    “You know you’re only allowed two hours of flight time over land, right?”
    Darius powered Nova up. The mech hummed softly before her engines roared to life. Black smoke spewed from her exhaust pipes as she rose to her feet. Darius shifted her into gear, and she leapt off the back of the truck, landing heavily next to 63’s bike. The ground shuddered beneath her, and the bike tipped to the side.
    “Hey!” 63 jumped back as Nova took a step forward.
    “Whoops.” Darius smirked.
    “All racers to the startup line!” A voice echoed on a loudspeaker.
    Darius eased Nova’s handlebars forward. She walked smoothly to the starting line, her tail slowly sweeping behind her. He had oiled all her gears and shafts the night before, everything was running perfectly. But Darius had lost the edge of his confidence. Whether or not 63’s bike was limited to flat ground, it looked fast. Nova’s boost may be his only advantage, and while it had worked the other night, it was still a little uncertain how long she could hold the boost without falling apart. She could travel as fast as a jet, but she wasn’t nearly as streamlined.
    The other racers lined up next to him. There were definitely others that were capable of flight, but it looked like most of them had wheels. There was one that had a track like a tank, and another that had heavy duty legs that arched around it like some sort of blocky spider, but most appeared to be standard vehicles. There had to be some trick to each of them--how would any sane person expect to win a race around the world in one of these without the ability to cross the oceans?
    Racer 141 pulled up next to him. She rode a small, streamlined bike. Two jets rested behind the seat, and small wings with turbines jutted out on either side. She was about to put her helmet on, but paused when she saw him looking. “Need something?”
    Darius blinked. “Nope. Just admiring your bike. Did you build it?”
    “Nah, just modified it. My uncle builds planes, he helped me out.” 141 put her helmet on, tucking her long, dark hair up beneath it. “What about you? She’s beautiful, but do you really think that beast can handle this race?”
    “You’d be surprised.” Darius smirked. “She can run pretty fast.”
    “Yeah? How fast?”
    “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.” Darius revved Nova’s engine.
    Nova roared, her turbines spinning in her wings and her horns spewing exhaust.
    Several other racers hit the gas, engines revving all down the starting line.
    “Ha, don’t get too cocky one-forty-two, you haven’t raced against anyone like me before.”
    I haven’t raced at all, Darius thought with a sudden pang of dread. What was he getting himself into? He forced a smile. “Well, I look forward to kicking your butt.”
    141 barked a laugh, shaking her head. “Sure buddy, good luck.”
    “You too.” Darius grinned, putting his own helmet on.
    She seemed nice enough. Maybe she wouldn’t try to kill him. 143, on the other hand, looked terrifying. He was big, bald, and had spikes on his helmet. Darius was pretty sure the slots on the side of his mustang opened to reveal guns of some kind. The guy looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. Darius quickly looked away. This will be fun, he told himself, twisting the beads of Dad’s scarf between his fingers. You got this.
    I’m gonna die.
    “Alriiiight racers!” A man rolled out in front of the starting line on the back of a pickup truck, his voice blasting through the amps around him. “Are you ready for the first ever Radical Race around the world?”
    Several racers blared their horns.
    “I trust you have all read the rules and signed the wavers?”
    More honking.
    “Good! Here’s a few tips. Most cities know you’re coming, which means that you shouldn’t have any problems with cops so long as you don’t break the law. However, if you cause property damage, or hit a civilian, or cause any kind of accidents, you will be held liable by the laws and courts of whatever country you committed that crime in. So be careful within city limits. Furthermore, the sponsors will not be held liable for the deaths or injuries of any civilians or racers. If you hit someone, and it gets caught on your camera, you’re screwed.
    “I also had some questions about the race track limitations, so allow me to make it clear: you are to follow the line of the equator, as shown on your trackers. If you stray too far from that line, you’re out. Any other questions?”
    More honking horns.
  “Right, cheating is not allowed--no outside help, and no autopilot. Racers will not be held liable for damage to other vehicles or the deaths of other racers, so don’t be afraid to play dirty ladies and gentlemen!”
    Darius paled. “Did he just say what I think he said?”
    141 looked up at him, but he couldn’t see through her tinted visor.
    “Alright racers, let’s get ready to kick up some dust!”
    The racers all revved their engines, a black cloud of exhaust forming above them. Darius lowered his goggles over his eyes and leaned forwards. He gripped the throttle, taking slow, deep breaths through Dad’s scarf, hoping the familiar smell would soothe his racing mind. His heart was pounding.
    The man held up a large, checkered flag. “Three!”
    Darius looked around quickly. 141 was laying flat on her bike, her feet resting on the base of its wings.
    “Two.”
    143 was giving him a dark look through the window of his own vehicle on Darius’s right. He drew a line across his throat with his finger.
    “One!” The man in the pickup waved the checkered flag. “GO!”
    To be continued? This is going on too long for an art prompt lol maybe I’ll add more in the comments…. maybe…. If you made it this far, thanks for reading <3